If children possess basic paper weaving skills, then they may be ready to weave yarn. For this craft, they should have good fine motor skills. Create a loom from a piece of cardboard and gather miscellaneous pieces of yarn. The textures and colors of the yarn make this an eye-catching piece. Start with a small loom and stop when the piece is four or five inches long.
Make a Cardboard Loom
- Get a piece of cardboard approximately five inches by seven inches. If the cardboard is lightweight, then glue two pieces together, back-to-back. Wait until the glue dries before continuing.
- Mark half-inch increments across the width of the cardboard. Repeat at the other end.
- Cut slits, approximately half an inch deep at each of the marks.
- Set a smooth, acrylic yarn into one of the slits. Make a three or four inch tail and tape it to the cardboard.
- Wrap the yarn around the entire piece of cardboard (front and back), fitting the yarn into the slots. This is the loom’s warp. Cut a three or four inch tail and tape it to the cardboard.
Weave with Yarn
Gather a variety of yarn. (Ask friends and family who knit for samples and try to build a yarn stash.) Try to find yarn with different textures and colors that will look good together. Cut pieces twelve to twenty four inches long varying lengths for each piece. The amount of yarn needed depends on the thickness of the yarn, how closely the yarn is woven, and the length of the finished piece.
Wrap each piece of yarn around index and middle fingers to create easy-to-work bundles.
Select a bundle and tie one end to the warp string furthest to the left. Work over and under the warp strings to the end of the row. This is the weft of the weave. Push the weft string approximately an inch from the top.
Go back in the other direction. If the yarn went over the warp string in the first row, it should go under that string in this second row. Push the second row of yarn next to the first row. If necessary, pull the yarn tighter.
Continue in this pattern, alternating over and under. At the end of a bundle of yarn, tie on another bundle of yarn, varying thin and thick textured yarns. Keep doing this, essentially creating a longer piece of yarn to weave. Anchor tied-together ends in the weft of the piece.
Avoid pulling the yarn so tight that the sides of the weaving pinch inward. (Yes, that would be warping the warp.) Continue until the piece is four to six inches long.
When weaving is finished, trim any ends that stick out where pieces of yarn were joined. Another option is to leave them as texture for the final piece.
Finishing the Wall Hanging
- Turn the loom over and cut through the middle of the warp strings.
- At the top of the weaving, tie together two strings that are next to one another, continue across. Leave approximately a half inch to slide in the stick that will hold the finished piece.
- Tie together pairs of strings at the bottom of the weaving.
- Trim the strings to the desired length, creating fringe.
- Slide a seven-inch long skewer into the loops at the top of the weaving. Tie a single piece of string to either end of the skewer or dowel to hang the finished piece.
Children who have learned paper weaving can test their skills at weaving yarn. By keeping the final size small and varying the types of yarns used, the basic over-and-under weaving motion will create a simple yet interesting miniature wall hanging. After using a simple loom, try finger weaving and wrapping yarn to make party and holiday decorations or fun wearable fiber art.
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