Weaving/Knitting for Kids
My cute niece taught me a new way to weave or knit... I'd never seen this before so I wanted to share it with you! I'm sure everyone knows how to do this, but I thought it was pretty novel!
Think of the fun little scarves you could make, or the doll blankets. You can change how large or small, wide and long according to your desires, but here is the basic concept... easy for both adults and kids!
To start you will need yarn, straws, tape and scissors.
Cut the bendy part from your straws and toss that. You don't want your straws moving as you weave.
Cut the number of strings as you have straws. I did 4 straws wide so I cut 4 strings to the length I wanted. You could make this as wide as you want, may want to start small just to get a feel.
Next thread the yarn through each straw... should have 4 strings through 4 different straws.
After you have threaded the yarn through the straw, fold the yarn over the edge of the straw and tape it with some masking tape so it doesn't move. You only need .5 inch fold over.
After you've taped all of your your yarn...
Gather all 4 straws and tape them together, at the end that has all of the yarn ends coming out.
At the end of your yarn strings tie a knot, this will be the end of your strand.
Now we are going to start weaving!
Tie one end of yarn to the outside edge of your straw loom.
Moving the yarn over and under each straw, then turning back to do the same thing coming back you, you will create a woven pattern...
Continue over under, over under, pushing your weave down as you go.
You can change colors or continue on with one color.
When you come to the place where you want to stop, remove the individual tape from the ends of the straws. You will then pull the straws out of your woven pattern. You can also do this if you are working on a long pattern, the straws are only so long, but you push the weave onto the strings, slide your straws down and continue weaving.
When you are finished you just tie off the end!
Here are some samples my cute niece made...
What do you think? Even if you don't do anything with what you have woven, I think this is a great busy activity for the kids. It would be fun for Activity Days, or to just sit and do while you're watching TV! It's easy enough I can do it!!
