Skate kites were once a huge rage back in the early 1900s when people would often enjoy ice skating outside during the winter months. Today, people use modern kites with their skateboards or roller-skates. The article below is from 1912 and explains how they made their own skate kites.

Here’s Skate Kite

Any Girl or Boy Can Sail Over Ice Faster Than Fastest Train

Any girl or boy may experience the delightful feeling of flying over ice with a skate kite. All that is needed is a sail shaped so much like a kite that it might well be called a skate kite.

The size of the skate kite should depend upon your height. You get two sticks, or spars; the smaller one should be about twice as long as the distance from your neck to your knees, the longer one about double the length of the shorter one.

The shorter stick should be a trifle over one inch in diameter at the center, tapering down to less than an inch at the ends; the longer stick should be about an eighth of an inch thicker at the center than the smaller one, but about the same at the ends.

Cross them in kite fashion, the shorter stick across the longer one near the top of the latter; then cover with thin cotton duck, of which all seams should be strongly sewed, and which should be fastened securely to the ends of the sticks.

A removable sail may be made by putting an end of each stick into a cloth pocket sewed onto the sail cloth, with small ropes fastened at the other ends to hold in position the sail.

The entire skate kite shouldn’t cost over a few cents, and any boy who ever made a kite can do a good, workmanlike job of it. Having the skate kite, you are now ready to try it. Going over to the pond or stream, you raise the skate kite above your head like this:

With the skate kite over you that way the wind cannot touch it enough to effect your progress. Then skate out onto the ice, facing the wind. Bring the skate kite upright against your right side, grasp the shorter stick just above the longer one, with your right hand; with your left reach around you for the longer stick, drawing the skate kite to your back, just a trifle to your right ride, and swing around from the wind.

Lean against the wind, carefully keeping the right foot ahead — that is important to prevent a spill — one foot should always be ahead of the other.

Let the wind blow you over the ice; when you get tired, or have gone far enough, raise the skate kite over your head, holding it by the short stick with both hands.

Should you want to go back against the wind, you must task from side to side as a yacht does, leaning more heavily against the wind than while sailing with the air current.

Don’t try to turn to the left with the skate kite on your right, and vice versa.

Fasten skates to feet more securely than for ordinary skating.

Throw the skate kite over your head to stop, or when nearing shore.

Source: (1912, January 13). Here’s Skate Kite. The Day Book.