Gather the necessary supplies, as listed below in "Things You'll Need".
Choose your plastic material. Anything from a plastic slip-cover to a garbage can bag can work well. Make sure it's loose and flexible.
Draw a large circle on your plastic. Make it as even as possible so you don't end up with a lop-sided parachute. You can use a large bowl or dish to trace your circle. Or if you're really confident, you can even draw a circle freehand!
Choose your string. Twine or any moderately heavy string should work. Try to scale it to about the same length as the diameter of your parachute.
Cut out the circular parachute. A sharp pair of scissors can help a lot here, otherwise you may stretch and/or tear the plastic. Tearing however is not suggested for it can be very messy. Try taking open scissors and dragging one blade pressing firmly along the circle. Often this leads to a perfect or near perfect cut.
Mark at least 4 places evenly spaced apart on your plastic circle.
Tape over these places as added reinforcement.
Using a hole punch - punch the holes in the along edge of the plastic. A minimum of four holes should be enough. Be careful not to rip the holes—you will be using them to tie your string to the plastic.
Measure 4 (or more) lengths of string that are the same size.
Tie the strings to the parachute. Again, be careful not to tear the holes while knotting, if you are using soft plastic. Avoid getting the string tangled, as well.
Tie the weight to the parachute strings. You'll want something moderately heavy. Any object that weighs about 5–10 grams (0.2–0.4 oz) will work.
Find a high place to drop your parachute. You will want to have some height to enjoy the parachute, but be reasonable. After all, you'll need to go back and get it.
Drop the parachute and watch it Fall! Don't be alarmed if it doesn't open when you drop it at ground level. Even parachutes need time to get air beneath them.
Drop it off a higher place to get it to float better.
Finished.
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