Q&A for How to Make a Homemade Stethoscope

Yes. If the funnel is not touching the bare skin directly, you may pick up the sound of rustling fabric.

In that case, you will have to snake the stethoscope under the person's shirt so that their shirt stays down but the stethoscope touches the skin.

Using a pair of headphones may make your stethoscope look more like one your doctor would use, but it won't actually work. You need a tube.

Unfortunately, this is not possible. A sphygmomanometer is used with a stethoscope but is a completely separate instrument.

You need a flexible rubber tube. The size depends on how big your funnels are.

You can make a super simple one with a funnel and a balloon. Start by cutting the tail-end of a balloon off, then pull it over the larger opening of a funnel. Pull it tightly enough so that it is stretched taut over the funnel, like a drum. If the balloon keeps coming off, wrap a piece of electrical tape around the edge to hold it to the funnel. Find some clear, flexible, plastic tubing that's wide enough for you to stick the end of the funnel into. Measure 24 inches (61 cm) of the tubing, cut it, then stick the narrow end of the funnel into it. If you want to make the stethoscope a little more powerful, add a second matching funnel to the other end of the tube. Place the balloon-covered end over your heart or someone else's heart, and the other end against your ear to use the stethoscope.

You can put together a pretend stethoscope pretty easily. Use a simple, U-shaped plastic headband for the headphones. Keep in mind this stethoscope won't actually work. Cover the ends of the headband with matching ribbon for the earbuds. Then, cut a piece of 2 in (5.1 cm) circles out of gray felt and glue the end of the ribbon between the 2 circles. Add a decorative accent by cutting a 1 in (2.5 cm) heart or cross out of red felt, coating with hot glue, and then pressing it against the center of the gray disk. And there you have it! A fun stethoscope craft project.