Summer Weaving Project for Children

Now that the school term is over and I've had a vacation with family to decompress, I'm trying to get into a new groove! Summer always brings a variety of new routines for everyone, especially those with children.

Rag Weaving is  a fun project that children can do on rainy days during their summer vacation that doesn't require much in the way of special pricey materials.

What they will need:

A loom: This can be a simple wooden frame of most any manageable size. Even an old sturdy picture frame will do. A piece of sturdy cardboard cut about 3" larger than you want the finished piece to be on each side with slits cut into two ends about 1/4" apart so that the warp threads will stay in place will also work. Old pizza boxes work well. Or maybe you already have a basic store bought frame loom.

Weaving material: Old sheeting can be torn or cut into strips or old T-shirts, spiral cut into one continuos strip about 1" wide as the weft or weaving source.

Warp thread: A cotton crochet yarn like "sugar & cream" that can be found in most discount stores works well and is available in lots of colors. 

Beater: This is used to compress the rows of weaving to make it sturdier and more durable. I use a hair pick comb but a fork will work just as well.

Other supplies: Fabric scissors, a large eyed weaving needle. A popsicle stick with a hole drilled into one end works well too. If you are making a cardboard loom you will also need a razor knife to cut the slits and a ruler and pencil to mark them.

To warp the loom, tie or tape one end of the warp thread to the loom and wrap it leaving a 1/4" space between wraps. Keep wrapping until the threads are as wide as you wnat the project to be. Once your loom is warped and the fabric cut, begin weaving three or four rows using the warp thread remembering to always use an over and under pattern on each row as well as when moving on to the next row in one continuos

pattern. Beginning and ending with the warp thread will create a finished edge for the work. Once that has been done begin weaving with the fabric.

Whenever you change from one end of thread or cloth to another overlap them as shown in the photo. This will ensure a good joint and prevent your woven cloth from having any weak spots.

After every two or three rows of weaving, beat the work to compress it as much as you want to make a firmer piece of cloth. The more you compact it, the less of the warp thread you will see and the harder the cloth will become. Weaving that is not beaten or compressed will not hold up well to heavy use or laundering. Have the children

experiment with beating so that they can see what they like and what works best for their end project. A piece that they create to act as a doily for a bureau may not have to be as sturdy as a piece that they will make to use as a coaster or a place mat.

Part of the learning curve in weaving is to not pull the fabric too tightly when weaving it across the warp to the other end which will create a "waist" in the work. Having the edges even is part of the challenge without making it so tight that the waist is created. A little bit of ease on the edges is OK; eveness at the edges is more important.

Keep weaving until your piece is about a half inch shorter than you want it to be and weave a few final rows using the warp thread as you did at the beginning. The weaving part is now complete. Turn your weaving so that the back side is up and cut the warp threads in the center as shown in the photo. Be mindful to keep the threads in order to make it easier for tieing them off.

Finish off the piece by tieing double knots in the cut ends as closely to the work as possible without making it curl up from too much tension and cut the ends evenly to whatever length you prefer for fringe. (The cut threads can be saved to use in thread painting projects later.) Children can experiment here with knotting patterns. One option is to tie a knot near the work using two threads on each side and then tieng a second row further down by taking one thread from each knot end to create a macrame look.

See how many different end products the children can come up with using this easy weaving method. By using cardboard as a loom various shapes can be woven that can be stitched into small purses and amulets to make necklaces, or a gift set of coasters.

Children gain a mountain of self esteem when they can create something on their own. It is especially important for them to be sure that whatever the outcome of their project is, that their efforts are recognized. In praising their efforts you are fostering their creativity and helping them to develop into independent and confident adults. For children, the end reuslt is not as important as the process :-) 

Until next time............

Spool Knitting, Tie Dyed Halter Tops, Braided Bracelets & Felt on Soap with Children

Teaching in Bermuda has been a fabulous time and experience for me and the class evaluations have been terrific! I have probably learned more than the children and, I feel they've learned alot!
So here is my last official Term Class report... But no worries, I have other plans for future reports for you to enjoy! I will be continuing to work on children's projects for the foreseeable future.

First of all there are some projects that we finished up that I want to tell you about, beginning with the Button Picture Frames that the 5 yr & 6 yr old class children stitched. I held their button work back so that I could prepare a parting gift for them. KAF had some wooden picture frames that I used to hot glue their button stitchery onto. I have taken lots of photos of the children during my classes so found photos of each student and matched it up to their work as a parting gift for them. They  came out great and the children were very proud and anxious to show their mom's their work and their photos! I so loved this project....


The next items to finish up included the 10 yr olds tie dyed halter tops. One student had a simpler embelishment design and finished hers last time but wore it to class for me to see and pohotograph. The others finished theirs this week and anxiously tried them on and gave the KAF office a mini fashion show! What fun! I was so proud of their accomplishments. For new stitchers they did a terrific job! They named this project their favorite because they had liscense to create the embellishing designs on their own and loved that they could wear their very own creations. I remember wearing the first piece of clothing that I ever made for myself and the self esteem and confidence that comes with that is priceless. I hope they enjoy wearing their pieces all summer long and remember them forever!

Our new project of the week for both the 5 yr olds and 6 yr olds was spool knitting. This age old art encourages hand eye coordination and repetition which I feel helps give a sense of achievement and accomplishment. When the tails of their work began to show form the bottom of their spools they squeeled with delight and were motivated by measuring their progress in inches. Even the younger chidren who often get bored or tired kept at it to simply be able to see their progress! They were so proud of themselves :-)

Such concentration and pride show up in the photos at left :-)

The spools were made from toilet paper rolls and lollipop sticks that you can buy in a candy section of your local craft store. I chose a chenile yarn that we had a bunch of becasue of it's soft texture and appearance of bulk. It created a nice fat and soft tube. Of course they asked what they would do with this tube so I put it right back at them and gave a few suggestions after which they were coming up with ideas of their own.
It was interesting to see how even the littlest ones caught on to the idea of turning their work round and round, repeating the same process over and over again. It seemed to give them a great sense of accomplisment since it seemed so complicated to them at first. When they got it, it was a big deal and it didn't take too long. I did purposely spend a few minutes with each child demonstrating and tutoring them as they completed the first stitches and went back to each child as they needed assistance.
I pre- assembled the knitters for the 5 yr olds but the 6 yr olds were able to make them themselves. I like to be able to show them that they don't need anything fancy for their tools; that often we can make them ourselves by recycling.
Each of the children left with their knitters in hand and very proud of the tails they had created :-)

The 10 yr olds melted my heart with their completed Tie Dyed Halter tops. The one student who had finished last time wore it to class and it looked so cute on her I couldn't believe it! Her mom looked just as proud as she did :-) And the backs are just as cute as the fronts!
This class was a modge podge of things allowing time for finishing remaining projects. One student had missed two classes during the Nuno purse classes and finished her bag with the exception of stitching the straps on. Her mom will help her finish it up at home. Halter tops were completed and we then moved on to a simple felt on soap project; one that this group had never done and wanted to before term was up. This basic felting project is a good way to teach basic felting and allowing them to go home with a nice gift or shower soap for themselves.

We had an additional half hour or so of class time after their fashion show and photo shoot so they migrated to the standing loom and decided to braid friendship bracelets for their final project. What a pleasure to see them enjoy practicing skills that I teach and helping them to learn how to tie off their work to create bracelets.
In the end a good time has been had by all and we will miss each other and our time together. I will hope to see them all in my classes during fall camps and Fiber Fest for one more chance for them to enrich MY life!

The content of my reports will change of course but I hope to keep you informed of my creative journey, especially with children.

So, until next time.................