So, here are a bunch of different Spirograph patterns with instructions, plus some mystery patterns with no pictures! Follow the instructions and see them unfold.

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A good toy store may carry the new Spirograph sets made by Kahootz. You can also find them on Amazon. There are many different sets available now, so decide what you want.

All links are affiliate links, meaning I may get a small commission if you buy something.

The most complete set is the Super Spirograph.

There’s also the regular (non-super) Spirograph deluxe set:

Some of the new sets have come with artwork borrowed by the old sets from the 1970s. Don’t be fooled; these are newly manufactured.

Kahootz also uses words like “Original Spirograph” to describe its product. This isn’t wrong at all, as the design is more or less the same as those made in the 1970s. The pieces are compatible, and the sets are mostly the same.

But the new sets are newly manufactured in China, and the injection moulding processes and materials used are not quite as good as they were back in the day. The pieces bend a bit and they are built with less precision in hole placement. The old ones were made in the UK, Canada, the US and perhaps elsewhere (if you know, please tell me in the comments).

There are even cheaper knockoff versions findable online, often pared down to a small number of components. I have not tried any of these sets.

Buying vintage

Real vintage Spirograph sets are better quality. You can look for them on eBay and Etsy. They often have a few pieces missing.

If you don’t live in the US, use eBay for your country or a country near you and search for “vintage spirograph”. For example, if you live in Portugal, try eBay.es (the Spanish version). Today when I search Spanish eBay.es for “vintage spirograph”, I see several sets available, mostly from the UK, but a few from France or Germany. There are also spare parts available if you’re missing a few pieces.

Do not worry about the pens! The old pens will have dried out anyway, and they really weren’t very good. There are so many great pens available now that work much better than the old pens and come in more and better colours.

Do not worry about the pins or the pieces of corrugated cardboard that came with the old sets. They aren’t necessary. If you do want to use pins, you can cut up an old cardboard box, or even better, use a cork bulletin board. But you don’t have to use pins. You can get poster putty, which is exactly the same as the “Spiro Putty” sold with the new sets, for a dollar or two at any office supply store. Blu Tack works too.

If you really want to buy the right pins, look for “map pins“. They are short and stubby, and will hold the ring to the paper properly.

Do not worry about the paper! You can use any paper. I usually use cheap photocopy paper for playing around. But when I want to make something nice, I use fancy paper, card stock, or even watercolour paper that I’ve sponge-painted.

Buying Wild Gears

Wild Gears is a different product. I’ve written a lot about it on this website. It is not compatible with Spirograph. It is much more expensive too, as it is not mass produced. But it’s fantastic. To purchase, go to WildGears.com.

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My favorite thing about this book is how it teaches you some basic principles about making Spirograph designs, then encourages you to improvise. Maybe, as it says, you can create a design that no one else has ever seen.

The writing style is relatively literary, compared to the minimalist writing found today. The booklet walks you through the different things you can do with one ring and one wheel, and takes you to the most difficult designs using two racks.

The older sets had one particular property that got lost sometime in sets made in the 1980s and later. The alignment mark was halfway up one side of the tooth. If you turned a wheel over and drew the same pattern again, it wouldn’t line up exactly. But this could be used to make a denser pattern. This feature is described in the booklet, and some designs are shown that use this technique.

This set also came with some sheets of paper that were divided in squares for drawing your nicest designs. The rings had lines that aligned with the squares, as you can see in the diagrams in the booklet. You could easily use them to make patterns with both rings, aligning them carefully with the squared paper.

Denys Fisher, by the way, was the inventor of Spirograph, and vintage UK sets carried his name. Sets made in the US and Canada did not, nor do the modern sets made by Kahootz Toys.

Thanks Ron, from all of us, for sending these photos and your observations!

Click on an image to see the slideshow of all the pages in the booklet.

The post Vintage Spirograph Booklet from 1968 appeared first on SpiroGraphicArt.

Are you missing a Spirograph wheel or gear? Did a key piece get broken? Did you buy an old second-hand set that’s short a few pieces? Are you wishing for more Super Spirograph parts to make different shapes?

Kahootz Toys, the makers of the new Spirograph, have set up a shop where you can order single Spirograph replacement parts.

Screenshot from Kahootz Toy’s former shop on Shopify, no longer operating.

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EDIT: Aug. 13: See the bottom of this post for an update!

I (re-)discovered spirograph the 25th of June this year when I bought the starter pack with one ring and six wheels. The set was exactly the price of a pack of cigarettes in the Netherlands. I gave up smoking that day, successfully, and am very much involved in spirograph.

I have meanwhile gathered a collection of spirograph sets with the money I would have otherwise spend on smoking. Amongst them one from 1972 with a swing arm. Regretfully without the instructions, and I am very curious on how to use that piece. I have to admit I can not figure it out myself.

My question would be if you can help me out, or otherwise ask the visitors of spirographicart to clarify the “mystery”.

The mystery piece, labelled “SWING MARKER”

Note that the mystery piece has no teeth!

The only clue I see is on the cover of the box. It says ‘New “swinging action” designs!’ next to an unusual pattern:

Obviously this is a piece that didn’t make it to the next edition of Spirograph. If anyone has a booklet for this set, or can imagine how to use the toothless mystery “swing marker” piece to produce the design above, please let us know in the comments!

Here are the box cover and the rest of the set.

Apparently Spirograph can help you give up smoking! Congratulations, Ron!

EDIT August 13:

After looking at a photo referenced from a comment below, I had a “Eureka” moment about how it works.  You don’t need a swing marker, folks, unless you want reproducible results and recipes to follow.  I’m more of a slap-dash experimenter, myself.

It’s all about drawing a pattern while the ring is attached with only one pin (can’t do this with putty) and swinging between stops you’ve set with other pins. Bizarre, yes.

I’ll make a video when I get a chance (not for a couple of days at least). Meanwhile, I’ll share a picture of my initial experiments:

First try swinging spirograph.

Some totally different designs can be obtained.

Note that I’m using a corkboard here as a working surface to stick the pins in, as I described in one of my very first posts on this blog, before the new Spirograph or Wild Gears came out. I can imagine the pivot pin will wiggle itself out in time, probably more quickly if you’re using a corrugated cardboard backing.

Video coming in a few days. Meanwhile, give it a try!

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And we all know, here on SpirographicArt.com, that Spirograph is a Classic Toy. Nice to have the Royal Mail acknowledge it too.

Actually, they have every reason to be proud of it. Spirograph was developed and first marketed by a British engineer, Denys Fisher, and hit the stores in 1965. Kenner acquired the rights for the the American market and started distributing Spirograph in the USA in 1966.

The first patent on spirograph was, according to Wikipedia, registered by a Polish mathematician and inventor, Bruno Abakanowicz, but I have not seen any pictures of his invention. It may have been nothing like Denys Fisher’s plastic gears and wheels which we know and love.

You can purchase the stamp, along with those of the other Classic Toys, on the Royal Mail website here.

PS: Thanks to Jason from New Zealand for the heads-up about this stamp!

The post The Royal Mail Honours Spirograph with New Stamp appeared first on SpiroGraphicArt.

He applies his logical, problem solving mind to common pitfalls people run into, and comes up with creative solutions: where to keep your eyes, adding extra rings, using rare earth magnets rather than pins or putty, marking up your gears, and even cleaning up your mistakes!

A must-watch even for serious spirograph artists!

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Two rack setup with pins

Ready for a Spirograph challenge?

I didn’t get into the two-rack designs as a kid. Maybe I tried it once and found it too difficult; I don’t remember. But a request for some videos about them prompted me to sit down and give it a try.

The result is four videos (below), each one dealing with a different design.

Page 7 of the old Kenner Super Spirograph manual

I followed the instructions in my old Super Spirograph manual (image right). I have prepared PDFs of this page that you can download and print. Choose 8.5 x 11 (North America) or A4 (elsewhere).

The first video shows me first attaching the racks with “Spiro putty” (poster putty). Normally I prefer the putty, but I decided to use pins in this case as they make it easier to position the racks correctly. Note that I’m using a corkboard with the pins.

Not all the new sets (by Kahootz Toys) come with two racks. The Deluxe set has only one; the Tin set has one; the Die-cast set has none. However, the new Super Spirograph has two racks, as do the old Kenner Spirograph and Super Spirograph. See a detailed chart of what’s included in some of the sets here.

These designs are more complex and require a lot of concentration. However, I am now quite curious about experimenting with this method and creating some new designs!

If you try this technique yourself, feel free to share your experience in the comments below.

I’ve put my four videos in a playlist so you can watch them all together.

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If you’re new to Spirograph and are trying to figure out how to make it work, or you just like watching patterns unfold, you’ll enjoy this video. It has been speeded up, so don’t expect your own efforts to go so quickly. Take your time!

Here are links to Mahesh Pendam’s website and Facebook Page, so you can show some Spirograph love.

The post Spirograph Video by Mahesh Pendam appeared first on SpiroGraphicArt.

Two of the patterns are included in the instructions with the set.

For the third, I took out my felt pens and drew on the outside of the ring, then added an inside pattern to match. Added some music, and here you go.

Parts of the video are speeded up.

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