Spirograph Tools

Tool Shapes

• Each kit includes several types of transparent or translucent plastic pieces that form templates for the spiral designs that give the toy its name. The simplest shapes to use are circles and rings, and users can trace around the inside and/or the outside of the ring for absolutely symmetrical work. These designs, with their intricate loops, resemble macramé Christmas decorations in their elegant geometry.

Other Techniques

• Tools such as cylinders and triangles, and the curves included in later kits, produce non-circular designs of increasing complexity. Multi-colored pens enable artists to add variety to their designs. Advanced users can pin two or more stationary tools with their gears touching, enabling even more unusual shapes. For example, several short curved pieces combine to form a "racetrack" pattern. Occasionally, kits include odd tools such as football shapes and rounded triangles, explains Sam Cancilla of SamsToybox.com.

Changes

• The complexity and quantity of Spirograph tools peaked in the 1969 Super Spirograph set, which had some 47 pieces. From then on, the number of tools decreased, although variations in shapes increased. A simplified version for younger children, called Spirotot, appeared in 1972, not longer after Spirofoil, which substituted heavy aluminum foil for paper and included a paint set. A Spirograph "travel set" included one large ring and four circles, according to Cancilla.

Now Available

• As of 2011, Amazon.com indicated that the latest version of Spirograph available was the 2000 kit. Many parents, remembering the complicated toy of their childhoods, compare it poorly to the original via reviews on that website. Only a few large-toothed circles remain, along with a six-holed template, and the pushpins have long disappeared, probably due to child safety concerns, but the original Spirograph has not been forgotten. Anu Garg of Wordsmith.org explains that software enables contemporary users to create Spirograph-style designs by adjusting the mathematical variables that form the underlying theory of this art-making toy.