Here's an easy way to make poi similar to those that the Maori use in their poi dances.

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED:

• Red, white and black wool or other kind of strong yarn or string
• Newspaper
• Colored paper, cut to 12-15" square
• Plastic wrap or Plastic supermarket bags, cut to doubled 12-15" square
• Scissors

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO:

Measure your yarn into 3 or 4 pieces, which are each 24-30 inches long.
Braid or knot the different colored pieces of yarn together. 4-stranded braid is best, if possible.

Crumple up the newspaper into a ball. It should be about the size of an orange.

Wrap one end of your cord around the ball four times (to surround the ball) and tie securely.

Cut the colored paper into a square about 12-15" square.
Place the ball in the middle of the paper and gather the material over the ball.
Tie another piece of cord to tie up the opening in the material.

Now place the ball in the middle of the plastic square.
Gather and smooth the plastic over the ball as you did with the paper before.
Tie securely around the opening, and tie the ends of that string to the braided cord.
Trim the gathered end of the paper and plastic with scissors.

Repeat to make your second poi, and you are ready to learn to swing and dance with your poi! Just be careful to practice in a wide-open space!!