This kit includes patterns for the shaped wheels that were selling with the newer sets on the market at the time (and are included in the new sets since 2013): the triangle, oval, cross and bar. I have made blog posts and videos about using most of these. See: Triangle wheel, Oval wheel here and here, Valentines with oval wheel, Bar wheel.

It also includes a few patterns using the mysterious Swing Marker which I wrote about here.

If you’re going to print these off, click on the images one at a time to get the highest-resolution version, and then send that to your printer. You will have to scale them down to get them to print on a single piece of letter-size or A4 paper. (Go to the printer dialog’s advanced settings and reduce the percentage until the preview shows that it fits.)

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In addition to the patterns on the color envelope, which have instructions, the black and white instruction sheet has 70 “mystery patterns” without final illustrations, for people to try and discover.

If you want to print off one of the images below, clicking it will open the full-resolution image in a new tab, and you can print from there.

The cover envelope mentions two non-super Spirograph Refill Kits, No. 402 and 404. I assume the one we have at the above link is No. 402, so if anyone has a different one and wants to share, feel free to contact me.

The post Super Spirograph Refill Kit appeared first on SpiroGraphicArt.

There’s a link at the bottom to download it as a PDF if you prefer.

The post Super Spirograph 1969 Instruction Book appeared first on SpiroGraphicArt.

As well as the colour photos of the envelope, there was a 2-page sheet of instructions without images, “mystery patterns” that spirographers could try out. I’ve created a video exploring 4 of these 54 mystery patterns. If you’re not sure how to follow the instructions, you might like to watch it first.

The Refill Kit

To make the best print, click on the images one at a time to get the highest-resolution version, and then send that to your printer. (The full images are high resolution and may take a little time to download if you have a slow connection.)

Original post from 2019:

Thanks to Thomas Alan Blalock from my SpirographicArt Facebook Page for being the first to send pictures of the 1967 Spirograph Refill Kit.

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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.

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.

Here are 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.

Give it a try!

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Or use it online:

Another source, in case the one below disappears, from Flickr user mudyfoot:

It was posted to Scribd by user “shootme2001”. Whoever you are, thank you!

The post Original Spirograph Manual appeared first on SpiroGraphicArt.

It’s 39 pages of vintage goodness, including many patterns you can make with the non-super Spirograph. Plus it has ideas for taking them further into artistic creations of your own.

Many of the designs are familiar, but there are some that I don’t remember from any English-language manuals. Perhaps they were part of some of the earlier Denys Fisher versions out of England.

Even if you don’t read any of the languages, illustrations and the color-coded text can guide you in creating the designs yourself.

A particular charm is that the patterns are obviously hand-drawn, complete with misalignments and splotches.

Apparently Spirograph was distributed in Europe by Meccano France S.A., as shown by the trademark at the bottom of the document.

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