If you didn’t know, I love Star Wars. It is my number one fandom. I’m always trying to get the kids to enjoy it as much as me. They both like it, but not to my insane level of Star Wars fandom. That being said, any time they show interest in something Star Wars related I encourage it 110%. So when Wonder Boy wanted to make a pool noodle lightsaber I was all over it.
An easy to make Star Wars craft. Everyone loves pool noodle lightsabers
Making pool noodle lightsabers is a pretty easy project.
I chose to do it the difficult way. Don’t do it like me.
There are a lot of images of pool noodle lightsabers on Pinterest. Many of them lead to links on how to do the craft and some lead to nowhere. The link that I followed lead me to an image that said something inspiring like “Make these simple lightsabers with a pool noodle and duct tape.”
Simple enough, right? WRONG!
Have you ever tried to cut duct tape into itty bitty pieces? It’s an awful experience. First of all, it sticks to itself. And when it does, it’s next to impossible to get apart. I’m not quite sure but I think even Edward Scissorhands wouldn’t have sharp enough blades to cut duct tape straight. I struggled a LOT!
Of course about 30 minutes after we completed the project I thought of a MUCH easier way to make pool noodle lightsabers. That’s the way I’m going to share with you.
Supplies needed for a pool noodle lightsaber
- Pool noodles
- Silver or Gray duct tape
- Black electrical tape (or black duct tape)
- Red Washi tape (or red duct tape)
Instructions for pool noodle lightsaber
Once you’ve assembled your supplies you will need to shorten your pool noodles. A full size pool noodle is just too long if you want to be able to hold it and bat at someone with it. We cut about 16 inches off of each of ours. Fun fact: pool noodles are super easy to cut with a bread knife.
I’m going to assume you are making these epic pool noodle lightsabers with a tiny Star Wars fan. Let that little fan give the lightsaber a few swings before continuing to make sure it’s the right length for them. If needed you can always cut off a few more inches.
Now that you have the perfect length you’ll need to work on the lightsaber hilt. The basic color of most lightsaber hilts is silver. So grab that silver duct tape, we’re going to make a hilt. You’ll want to start by covering the end of the pool noodle. Cut 2, 4 inch pieces of duct tape and place them one at time over the end. You can use scissors to cut slits into the tape so that it will fold over evenly. Don’t worry about the duct tape the hangs over the side, we are going to cover that up next.
Cut the duct tape as needed to get it to fit around the end of the pool noodle.
Now take your duct tape and wrap it around the light saber. You’ll need to do this 4 times to make the hilt long enough for you to grip…errrrr, I mean for your kiddo to grip. You can see how this was done in the image below.
Wrap 4 layers of duct tape around the bottom of your pool noodle to make the handle.
Get creative with your pool noodle lightsaber
You’re now ready to decorate your pool noodle lightsaber. If you didn’t know, the handle of a lightsaber is called the hilt. Lightsaber hilts are as different as the lightsaber user. So you can truly get creative when decorating your hilt. Check out this image with different styles of lightsaber hilts to help you get inspired.
So here is where I failed on our pool noodle lightsabers. I used black and red duct tape to decorate. Like I already mentioned it was a headache. O…M…G…a total headache.
You, however, can learn from my mistake.
Decorate with black electrical tape and red washi tape instead of duct tape. It will be so much easier to work with. Honestly, when Wonder Boy and I made these I did all of the cutting (and cursing). All he got to do was stick the tape on. You’ll be able to make much more detailed designs than I did, and I think it will stick just as well as duct tape. Plus your little one will be able to join in on the fun.
Once you’ve decorated the hilt, your lightsaber is complete. They truly are fun to hit each other with. There has been a couple times when the kids are fighting that I’ll send them out into the back yard with them and told them to have a lightsaber battle. It usually starts out brutal, but they end up laughing. Yep folks, that’s geeky parenting.
The best part about pool noodle lightsabers is that they don’t hurt, but they do give them a chance to beat each other up.
The basic color of most lightsaber hilts is silver. So grab that silver duct tape, we’re going to make a hilt. You’ll want to start by covering the end of the pool noodle. Lightsaber hilts are as different as the lightsaber user. So you can truly get creative when decorating your hilt. Check out this image with different styles of lightsaber hilts to help you get inspired.
So here is where I failed on our pool noodle lightsabers. I used black and red duct tape to decorate. Like I already mentioned it was a headache. O…M…G…a total headache.