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How to make a paper basketball net
How to make a paper basketball net
Design Your Kids An Over-The-Door Basketball Net For Year-Round Hoops | Play
It's basketball season, which means it's time to swish up a kid's bedroom with my over-the-door basketball hoop.
The knotting may seem difficult, but I promise you it's worth the effort. And although this craft uses a wire hanger, I have a feeling that even Joan Crawford would have loved to practice her half-court threes on this adorable game for kids.
Let's get started!
What You'll Need
- cardboard
- paper or bristol board
- clothes hanger
- pipecleaners
- string
- masking tape
- colourful tape
- scissors
- glue
- ruler
How It's Made
To make a sturdy base for your backboard, cut a rectangle of cardboard. The one I've cut here (see above) is about 25 cm tall and 40 cm wide — just slightly wider than the hanger.![]()
Next, use tape to attach your hanger to the cardboard. Roll lengths of tape around the wire to get a sturdy hold on the hanger, then press the tape down on the cardboard. Allow the extra length of tape to wrap up and over the top edge of the cardboard and onto the other side to hold everything in place.
Flip the cardboard to the “front side.” (The side without the hanger.) Cut a rectangle of bristol board to the same size as your cardboard and use glue to attach it. If you don’t have bristol board, using a few sheets of smaller paper to cover your cardboard will work just as well!
Now have fun decorating your backboard! I opted to make a standard backboard in red and white, but you can get as creative as you like. Choose your favourite team colours, decorate with logos or add your own original artwork. To make the lines on our backboard, I used a roll of red electrical tape I had on hand, but you can make your lines and decorations in many ways: with paint, markers or cut paper.
Have your little ones help design it — use prompts like, "who is your favourite athlete or team?" And if they aren't able to recall any sports teams or athletes, you can ask them about their favourite things and incorporate those themes into the backboard!
Here’s my finished backboard, complete with a rectangle for bank shots and trimmed around the border.
Now it’s time to make the rim for your basketball net. Twist two pipe cleaners together to give yourself a longer length of pipe cleaner to work with (shown at the top of the photo). Bring the ends of your pipe cleaner together to make a loop. Twist the ends to close your circle, but leave an extra 5 or 6 cm of pipe cleaner sticking out (shown at the bottom of the photo). You’ll use the extra sticky-outy pieces to secure your rim to your backboard later.
Next, the net! Cut several lengths of string. My string is about the length of a ruler. Tie a string at the north, south, east and west positions of your rim.
A double-knot will keep your strings nice and secure.
Use a bit of judgment to decide how many more strings to tie on. This rim looked good with three additional strings tied in each of the four quadrants for a total of 16 strings. You can tie on more or less, as long as you tie on an even number of strings. For the next steps, you’ll be tying strings in pairs. An odd number of strings will leave you with one string that doesn't have a partner. Note: Before moving on to the next step, trim the loose ends of the double-knots you tied around the rim to make it look nice and tidy.
Now it’s time to start knotting your net. Start anywhere you like along the rim. Find two neighbouring strings. Gather both strands together and tie them into a single knot about 3 cm down from the rim. Move to the next pair of strings, tie them in a knot and so on. This is a task for adult hands, or kids who have the dexterity to tie many knots.
Here is a “flattened” demonstration of a first row of knots.
Keep pairing and knotting strings until you arrive at the first knot you tied. That’s one row complete!
Create a second row of knots a few centimeters down from your first row — but this time, create new pairs. Take one string from one pair and one string from the pair next door. Tie a knot. Create another new pair, until just like your first knots, you arrive back to where you started.
When it’s time to create your third row, you’ll do the same. The third row is in essence reuniting the original pairs from your first row. You can see in the illustration above how the rows of knots and string pairings will start to create the signature diamond pattern of a basketball net as they move together and apart, together and apart.
If during the knotting process you get mixed up or lose your place, hold the rim horizontally at eye-level and give it a gentle shake. The strings will fall downward and sort themselves out. This will make it easier to find your next pair of strings to knot.
The net is pretty forgiving. It doesn’t need to be done perfectly or be mistake-free to look like a very convincing basketball net!
Create as many rows of knots as you think suit the size of your rim and backboard. This net has five rows of knots. Once you’re done tying, trim the loose ends at the bottom of the net with a pair of scissors to make it look even and tidy.
Now it’s time to attach the rim! Poke a hole through your backboard.
Feed the loose ends of your pipe cleaner net through to the back side of your cardboard and use tape to secure them. Take a peek at the front side of your backboard. If your rim is drooping or tilting downward, pull the pipe cleaner ends tighter/through to the back side more and tape them down again.
If you’d like to use your backboard over a door knob or a closet handle, it’s ready to go as is. If you want to use it over the back of a door, you’ll want to change the orientation of the hook.
Carefully and gently twist the top of the hanger a quarter-turn so the hook curls backward and away from the front of the backboard.
Important: The coat hanger has the potential to scuff and scratch surfaces. It’s a good idea to wind masking tape around the hook of the hanger, or to place something soft and protective underneath it like a washcloth before you play. I added another piece of cardboard onto the back of my backboard to sandwich the hanger inside as an extra layer of protection.
Now it’s time to play! Hang up your net, ball up some scrap paper and take your best shot. Log some hours practicing your free throws, three-pointers and baseline jumpers. Or, set up a family March Madness tournament of your own! Draw up a tourney bracket, seed all of the competitors … and watch out for those mid-major upsets!
STEAM@Home: Make Your Own Basketball Hoop!
No application or registration needed.
Location
- Only virtual (online or over the phone).
Find an area where you can lay out materials and do some hands-on construction.
Additional information
Materials:
- A wire hanger. It cannot be a partially metal hanger made substantially of wood or plastic.
- A large, flat piece of cardboard.
- The tape of your choosing. Masking tape may be the easiest to work with; duct tape would certainly make the hoop durable.
- Markers or paint.
- Scissors.
- String (optional).
Instructions:
- Bend the wire hanger into a circle. You do not even have to dismantle the hanger, but just reshape it into a hoop.
- Bend the hook of the hanger so that it is at a 90 degree angle with the hoop. Do not cut away the hook, as it still can be of some use.
- Cut the cardboard to the size and shape of your liking. Standard high school, college, and NBA backboards are rectangular, if you are looking to replicate that appearance.
Try to make sure the relative scale of the hoop and backboard seem reasonable. For comparative purposes, an NBA backboard is 6 feet wide, while the basket opening is 18 inches (1.5 feet). That means the basket width is 1/4 (or 25%) as wide. - Decorate the hoop and backboard to your liking. Traditional hoops are painted red, but you can certainly customize it to fit whatever you desire. The backboard of most high schools, colleges, and all NBA franchises are now made of transparent glass; as there is no transparent cardboard, you can really be as creative as you want.
- Tape the hoop to the backboard. You can attach the hook (which you bent up earlier) to lower back side of the backboard. Make sure the rim is as close to the backboard as possible.
- Attach a net to the basketball rim (optional). You can make make a net out of string, or even out of twisted tape.
- Hang the completed basket to a wall or door.
Masking tape will work well for this purpose, as it will not leave a sticky mess behind like duct tape would. There are two different taping methods you can employ.
This activity supports the practice of these STEAM Habits of Mind: Develop craft, engage & persist, observe, reflect, stretch & explore.
Tips for Supporting Your Children's Learning
Get your child actively involved in their own learning and having their questions drive the learning. Let them observe and figure out, and try to hold back from answering questions for them. Instead, try to ask: What do we know? What else can we find out? How might we figure that out? Don't be afraid to ask your child questions. Also, don't be afraid to say "I don't know--let's find out together!" as a way to respond to their questions. Here's an article to help you support this kind of learning: Of the Value of Saying I Don’t Know
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Want to learn more about making your own sports equipment?
- Science Club for Girls at Home - Make you own sports equipment challenge
- Instructables - MYO Basketball hoops
More hands on activities and learning opportunities:
- Homecourt - basketball skill building app
-
Cambridge Public Schools Virtual Enrichment Recommendations
-
Parkour Generations - Classes
-
Department of Human Services Sports Leagues
More STEAM@Home suggestions!
STEAM Habits of Mind - observe, reflect, engage & persist, stretch & explore, imagine, develop craft
Basketball hoop - how to make a stand with a backboard with your own hands
Love basketball and want to make a hoop? I wanted to make it myself, not buy it, and I ended up making it.
It's pretty cheap, especially if you have some of the stuff you need to assemble.
Let's start assembling the basketball hoop with our own hands.
Step 1: Shape the Ring
The first thing you will need is a ring, I made it with 12mm rod, but it doesn't have to be that size. The standard diameter of a basketball hoop is 450 mm.
To make it flat you need something to wrap it around, this thing should be about 400mm in diameter.
I found an old car rim of the right size, you will need to clamp it to the table with a clamp using a piece of wood.
As shown in photo 2, place another clamp a little further from the first with a rod between them.
As shown in photo 3, slowly wrap the rod around the disk, once you wrap the rod and its edges overlap, cut off the straight ends.
Use a clamp to press the ends together, then weld them together.
To complete this part, place the ring on the ground and straighten out all the curves.
Step 2: Frame
- Bend a piece of flat metal, mine was 4mm thick.
- Weld it to a flat point in the ring.
- Cut two rods 320 mm long.
- Weld them as shown in the photo.
- Drill four holes to match your existing bolts.
- If you need a netball ring, you can simply attach it to the pole and skip the rest of the steps.
Step 3: Mesh Staples (Optional)
Show 7 More Images
Do this step if you need mesh. If you need a network, you will have to buy it.
This step is not as difficult as it seems.
- cut 12 pieces of wire 90 mm long (I would recommend making a few spare parts, as they are easy to ruin.)
- bend them in the middle (it doesn't matter if the tips are the same length)
- clamp the wire in a vise with a steel rod at one end
- bend wire over rod
- repeat this with all parts of
- retighten the wire wrapped around the rod (see photo)
- bend it
- repeat with all parts
- retighten the wire wrapped around the rod
- bend it (at this point you can't just remove the wire from the rod - you will need to slide it to one of its edges and remove it from the edge)
- repeat with all parts of
- divide into 12 pieces and weld on the brackets
Step 4: Backboard
Cut the board to size.
My board does not fit the full size of basketball boards. (the second picture shows the dimensions of a standard shield).
My measurements are 1100mm wide, 700mm high and 25mm thick. (You don't have to be that size.)
Step 5: Paint the Shield
Once you've drawn all the lines on the shield, lay masking tape over them. If you try, everything will look neat.
If you are using MDF, you will need to take care to protect the edges from moisture (as shown in photo 2).
Carefully paint over the areas around the masking tape.
Remove masking tape after enough coats of paint have been applied and the board looks complete.
Step 6: Paint the ring
First you need to sand the metal. I used a grinding disc on a grinder.
The ring must not be black or white, it must stand out from the shield. Usually the ring is painted orange or red.
The easiest way to paint inventory is from a can.
Step 7: Assemble
Put it all together.
