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Warp strings are VERTICAL tight strings on the loom. They stay put until we cut the weaving off the loom at the end. When we put these strings on the loom it is called "dressing the loom."

These strings must be strong and tight. We will lift them up in patterns when we weave the weft yarn over and under them.

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You will need:

Ball or skein (UNCUT) of sturdy COTTON yarn.

scissors

masking tape

sticky note

Sharpie marker

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A loom is anything an artist uses to structure a weaving and hold it in place until the weaving is finished, and then it is cut off the loom. Artists might use a couple of tree branches, a collection of strong cords wrapped around their back and feet, a frame of wood, a piece of sturdy cardboard, a picture frame, a paper plate, etc.

Looms can be round, square, or rectangular.

To weave a POUCH, you will need a piece of thick cardboard the width you want your pouch, and twice the length you want your final pouch to be.

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Weft strings are HORIZONTAL. They go over and under the vertical warp strings, back and forth, in patterns to create the weaving. They can be made of many different materials like acrylic yarn, ribbons, strips of fabric, strips of paper or plastic, etc.

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Try to incorporate a few different weaving techniques listed above. Also, don't be afraid to incorporate different materials into your pouch! Instead of yarn, you can try ribbon, fabric, felt, wire, beads, grass, dryer lint, anything!

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Navajo Native Americans, now the largest tribal group in America, live in parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Originally from the north, the Navajo were late arrivals in the Southwest. They...

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Try to incorporate a few different weaving techniques listed above. Also, don't be afraid to incorporate different materials into your pouch! Instead of yarn, you can try ribbon, fabric, felt, wire, beads, grass, dryer lint, anything!

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Navajo Native Americans, now the largest tribal group in America, live in parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Originally from the north, the Navajo were late arrivals in the Southwest. They...

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To finish your pouch, we can weave a cord, or you can use buttons, a large bead, or snaps in any color. Please include how you want to finish your pouch in your written plan so I can bring those materials with me.

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An elementary art teacher blog with art projects and lessons, DIY projects and outfit photos as well as clothing I have made myself.

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Hello, crafters! This week I am going to show you how to remove your completed weaving from your loom. If you have not started your weaving, no worries, you can begin here at Weaving, Part 1. Or, if you've finished your weaving and are now ready for the flap, you can catch up by reading Weaving, Part 2.

However, if you've done it all, then let's get to taking that weaving off the loom! This doesn't take long at all so you should be done in a snap.

You may begin on either side of your loom. I am starting on the side with the flap. Cut two warp strings close to the top. Never cut the warp strings close to the weaving as that will cause your weaving to unravel.

Tie your first knot so that it sits right on top of the weaving or weft strings. Do not pull the knot too tightly or it will cause the weaving to smash down and become uneven.

For the second knot, pull very tightly so that the double knot is secure.

Continue this process of cutting two strings near the top and double knot tying them until you have gotten to the end. If you have an odd number of warp strings, you will encounter three warp strings to tie at the end.

If you have this issue, simply put two strings together as one and tie it to the left over string. Double knot tie it as you have done the other warp strings.

Double check and make sure all warp strings are tied off and secure. At this point, you can snip the warp strings shorter.

When you flip your loom over, you will do the exact same thing. I like to pull the warp strings out from the other side or you could simply cut two as you have been.

Again, cut two, double knot tie two and continue until all strings are tied and secure. Trim warp strings.

Now you are ready to remove the weaving from the loom. This might be a bit of a struggle, especially if you have woven very tightly. But you can do it. Just put the end of the loom between your knees and start pulling the weaving off the loom. In art class, we say it's like taking a too-small sock off of someone's foot.

Don't worry about messing it up because you can't. Although it may look like you are.

And if you see this, don't panic.

Just flip it inside out and flatten by hand. Viola! You've woven a pouch!

Next week, I'll walk you through sewing on a button and making that little warp tail (seen in the photo above this one) disappear. Then we are on to creating the handle which is very easy and fun. Please feel free to ask questions or leave comments if you've got 'em. Happy weaving!

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An elementary art teacher blog with art projects and lessons, DIY projects and outfit photos as well as clothing I have made myself.

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Now that your weaving is finished (ahem, you did finish it, right?), let's get to everyone's favorite part: cord weaving. My students as young as second grade absolutely love weaving these cords. They weave mounds of them, fashioning them into necklaces, bracelets and belts.

For this project, you'll need:

two colors of yarn, four strands of yarn each, all of them approximately 24" in length.

thick cardboard

Begin by cutting out a circle. I traced around an old plastic lid with a 4" diameter.

Make four equally spaced marks on your circle like a compass. We do a short geography lesson in class while marking our loom.

Make four more marks in between your North, South, East and West.

Make eight marks in between each of the aforementioned markings. You should have a total of sixteen equally spaced marks. Cut them.

At this point, I ask the students to bring me their looms and I stab the center of their loom with a pair of pointy-end scissors. While I'm loom stabbing, I send them off shopping (our art room word for supply-gathering) for yarn. Students will need eight strands of yarn, four of one color, four of another.

Have the students tie all eight strands of yarn into an overhand knot like that shown above. Push the knot through the hole in the loom just enough so that only the knot is peaking out from the bottom and the rest of the yarn is on the top of the loom.

See the fork? Easy.

Now using your right hand, begin at the top right side and remove the right string. Place it at the bottom on the right side. Now you should see your "X" again.

It should look exactly as it did a moment ago. If the "X" becomes off-center, do not worry. You can correct that by shifting the strings on your loom if it bothers you.

Now let's talk trouble shooting. As you are weaving, your cord will come out of the bottom of the loom, shown in the photo below. The long strings around the loom can sometimes become tangled, shown in the photo above. To prevent tangling, I usually have my students stand while weaving. This allows the long strings to hang straight and not tangle. If they do become tangled, pull one strand of yarn out of the tangled mess at a time. Do not run your fingers down all of the yarn in hopes of combing out the tangles. It will only make it worse.

After just five minutes of weaving, you should see your cord coming out from the whole in your loom. Yippie!

More trouble shooting: if your cord keeps popping out of the hole as you weave, as shown above, tug on it gently from underneath the loom to bring it back down, as shown below.

The entire time you are weaving, it's a good idea to tug gently on the cord to keep it from popping up.

How do you know when you are finished? When the shortest of the eight strings is no longer long enough to make it to one of the notches. You can see my peach colored string at the top is now too short.

Taking it off the loom is very easy. Just remove the strings from the notches and pull it through the hole.

Viola! A finished cord! Often the kids will ask if they can use strands of yarn longer than 24" so they can create longer cords. I have found that this causes a lot of tangling so I try to avoid the question by changing the subject, "Oh, look, a unicorn riding a rainbow!"

Depending on the time, I'll either show the kids how to sew in their cord or have one of my awesome mom helpers give us a hand. Simply feed a knotted strand of yarn through both ends of the cord...

And attach with a couple of whip stitches. The students are give the option of having the cords sewn on the side like mine or across. Most boys tend to go for the cord on the side as the across one looks a little too purse-y for them.

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An elementary art teacher blog with art projects and lessons, DIY projects and outfit photos as well as clothing I have made myself.