1. Paper Plate Weaving
This weaving activity is perfect for spring time and can be used as a craft for Mother's Day presents, a bulletin board of student collaboration, or you can even tie it in with many other subjects. Students can measure the diameter and radius of their flower as they weave and add on more yarn for a great math lesson. It would also make a great add on activity for studying plants in science or different cultures in social studies. Even though this activity isn't very difficult and almost any grade can participate, it might take a couple of class periods to finish and keep everyone on the same pace. To do it, you start by cutting a sturdy paper or Styrofoam plate around the outside edge to make it look like the pedals on a flower. Start your loom by crisscrossing between pedals and using the remaining yarn to start your weft. The weft is crafted like any weaving project using the over and under pattern. If students can successfully produce the warp of their loom, the weft portion should be quite simple.
2. Straw Weaving
This is a very creative way to weave, especially if the budget is tight. Using 3 straws as the warp, because any more than that would become difficult for students, you can make bracelets, headbands, or even bookmarks. You could even further student creativity by allowing students to come up with their own idea of what to make. First you tape your straws together at one end, leaving just enough space to weave in between them. Weaving with straws is as easy as using a more traditional loom because you weave over and under combing the yarn down as you go. This is a great weaving craft to tie in with a book such as, Charlotte’s Web.
3. Woven Paper Cup Baskets
This Native American inspired basket is easy on the budget and uses the paper cups to make it easy for kids. Make them during November for Thanksgiving or tie them with a U.S. History or Native American Culture lesson to connect the activity with a core content subject. You begin by cutting the paper cup into an uneven number of slices from the top to the bottom and making sure there is an even amount of space between each cut. If flatten the slices out, it makes the weaving part much easier for the kids. After taping the end of your yarn or leather twine into the inside of the bottom of the cup, you can begin weaving inside and outside of the cut slices. You continue weaving until you reach the very top of the cup, you end it by simply tying the warp to the weft on the inside of the cup. To add an even more finished look, use a hot glue gun and swirl the yarn in the bottom of the inside of the cup.
4. Making String Art with Weaving
I know what you’re thinking, enough with the paper plate products, but seriously they make the best looms for kids for an affordable price. This activity is a little different than the circular loom in our first activity. With this activity, you can weave any shape you want! All you have to do is use a cookie cutter or allow students to free hand a drawing of a shape on the back of the plate. Then you use your yarn needle to poke holes along the shape of your drawing about ¼ of an inch apart. You will create the string art on the front side of you plate by weaving through those holes. Then you add yarn to the same needle you used to create the holes. What I really like about this project is students don’t have to spend as much time making a weft. You start by poking through the backside of the plate from any starting point of your choosing and pull your yarn through leaving about 3 inches hanging in the back. Here comes the fun part for kids! There is no wrong way to weave your shape and you can weave in and out of your hole any way you like as long as you get all of the holes. The end result is so neat because every students’ project will look different and be totally unique.
5. Weave a Book Character
It seems as though many if not most of us are familiar with the cardboard loom, but this project puts a whole new spin on using cardboard for weaving. Students will weave a little boy or girl with different colored and styled clothes, hair, and other details. I think this is a wonderful weaving activity for designing your favorite character in a chapter book or creating your own for a creative writing activity. It’s very unique, creative, and fun. However, the downside is that its probably meant for your oldest elementary students, could take about a week to finish, and contains multiple steps in which the teacher will have to model and work along with the students to support them in getting the shapes just right. Students will use the cardboard, a stick, yarn, a pen, tape, and two rubber bands to create this unique loom. Then the loom is attached to a backboard to secure the loom and hold it in place while the students weave. Luckily there is a lot of room for improvising in this activity so teachers can personalize some of the small steps to meet the needs of their individual classrooms and students. You can also utilize any extra buttons, gems, or beads to add extra details on your yarn friends!
6. Weaving With Paper
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Many of the younger kids, especially first graders and kindergarten kids will first weave with paper. Those are really cool because you can do just about anything with them including but definitely not limited to, using them for positive/negative space art, turning them into a city landscape group project, or even cutting and shaping them into animal shapes and Christmas trees. I’ve added some pictures of fun paper weaving ideas such as 3-D weaving and using an idea called wacky weaving that’s been seen in famous books like The Very Hungary Caterpillar and Brown Bear. Honestly the possibilities are endless. This project is a great way to extend on that the initial paper weaving experience by weaving an actual paper basket. Again, this one might be better suited for the older students, but can be a great addition to the historical culture lessons in social studies. It uses the basic over and under technique and the baskets look much better when your weft and warp are two different colors. You can also experiment with it and make different shapes and styles of baskets and maybe even a small trinket box with a lid. Students are going to love making something that can take home and put their favorite things in.