Besides the obvious fidget spinner, do any of the mods have any recommendations for stim toys that spin? I remember spinning anything that would spin when I was younger and I want to compile some spinning toys. Any recommendations are much appreciated!
Anon, I am a little obsessed with things that spin myself … so much so that last night I fell asleep on my fidget spinner and woke up at 1 AM trying to figure out why my shoulder hurt so much. (Don’t fall asleep on your fidget spinner, everyone. Ow. I had a patch on my shoulder that turned bright red from pressing against a bearing.) So I’ve been slowly building a collection of toys that spin in various ways because … well, spinning is cool.
My List of Things That Spin:
(By which I mean, traditionally spinning stim toys!)
- Spinning tops. You can buy these in multipacks in the party sections of department and dollar shops. There’s also incredibly expensive artisanal-type spinning tops (similar to that used in the film Inception) targeted at adults as an upmarket fidget toy.
(In K-Mart, here in Australia, there’s also spinning top marker pens!)
- Spinner rings. You can find many expensive ones on Etsy and more affordable ones on Stimtastic. I’m absolutely thrilled with the infinity spinner ring, but I’ll mark that it needed a graphite treatment in order to spin well.
- Bead rings and bead ring necklaces. I don’t know how other people fidget with them, but I’m constantly spinning the beads.
(You can also make something very similar by threading a bead on a piece of elastic and knotting the end - I stretch the elastic between my fingers and spin the bead. You can see one I’ve made in the photo on this post!)
- Spinner necklaces. @neurodelightful has a few on Etsy here and @spacerobotstudio has several different kinds, styles, colours and shapes involving glittery resin or brass. (Both are based in the US.) Etsy seller Gaze at the Stars has some seriously beautiful, very modern and adult-looking planet-themed spin jewellery - seriously worth a look! (They’re based in Australia.)
- Chain fidgets, if your definition of spinning leans toward “something that can be turned over and over and over”. You can DIY these easily, and find them all over Etsy and eBay, but the ultimate source is Fidgetland. If you’d prefer a plastic one, try the Loopez instead.
- Toy cars. Yes, I’ll admit that a fidget spinner is better, but if you love listening to the spin, not a lot beats the sound of the toy car held close to your ear while you spin the wheels. I’ve got a car that is intended as a desktop fidget and a few meant for kids’ toys; they both work exactly the same.
- Pinwheels. (I was trying to think of the name of this for an ask several weeks ago. It just came to me now, so thank you, anon!) I’ve seen these in the party sections of department and dollar shops, and sometimes in garden stores. You can also DIY these yourself!
(Tutorials: Debbie Chapman has a clearly laid out tutorial, albeit lacking alt text. I’d substitute straws for the skewers, though, as they’ll be easier to pierce with the pin and most of us already have them lying around the house. WikiHow has short, silent, uncaptioned videos accompanying text instructions, also an easily-readable tutorial.)
- Massage rollers. Especially the kind that has a flat grip - like this one I bought from Daiso. They’re meant for rolling over your body, but they spin really well (not as long as a fidget spinner, of course, but mine goes for about fifteen seconds) when pushed by a hand and offer texture while you’re pushing the roller.
My List of Things That Can Be Made to Spin:
(By which I mean, stim toys that don’t spin under traditional usage but spin in my hands because if I can make it spin, I will. Note that these don’t involve the toy spinning on its own axis but on the toy spinning around my wrist or finger, but I include them as a lover of spinning things.)
- Tangles. Either twisted around one finger into a line and spun with one end around my finger or spun with the opposite end held in my opposite hand, turning the Tangle over and over.Don’t spin it around your wrist, because it will come flying off your hand.
- Handmade slime. Mould your slime into a ball, poke your hand through it, let it sit on your wrist, spin your wrist until the slime forms a long, drooping loop, then just remould your slime and repeat.
- Anything with a split ring or keychain ring (bead lanyards, tassel keychains) can be spun around a finger like the Tangle.
- DIY spin band. The bottom of an old T-shirt, cut off a few inches (say 10 centimetres, although it doesn’t much matter) to make a loop of cloth. You can spin this in two ways: either around your wrist or on a finger (it will rise up over your hand like the tangle, but if this flies off, it’s less likely to damage, break or hurt) or looped over both hands and twisted (like the tangle) allowing you to spin your hands around. You can also just twist the fabric and then spin it - there’s many ways to stim with this, and all you need is an old T-shirt and a pair of scissors. If you can sew a basic running stitch, you can cut up the rest of the T-shirt and make loops in all sorts of sizes.
I hope that gives you somewhere to begin. There’s probably something awesome that I’ve forgotten, so feel free to comment away if our followers have more awesome ideas!
- Mod K.A.
