How to Weave Using Yarn and a Paper Plate Craft
This craft makes a wonderful rainy-day activity for kids of all ages. The project can be as varied as the yarns in the bottom of your knitting basket. Children respond enthusiastically to learning this new skill--it just feels good to do. Adult crafters can experiment with color blends and contrasts in new ways. There's something very satisfying about practicing a craft that has changed very little over centuries; the very same over-and-under back-and-forth motions have produced and beautified the literal fabric of life for generations.
Things You'll Need
- Paper plate (preferably heavyweight)
- Hole punch
- Yarn (partial balls in one or several colors)
- Large-eyed plastic needle
- Scissors
Instructions
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Fold your paper plate in half and cut out a circle, leaving a rim of paper that is one to two inches wide. Having done this project once, you will figure out how to cut a square or triangle to vary results.
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Using a hole-punch, punch holes 1/2 inch apart and 1/2 inch from the edge of the cut-out circle, all the way around the circle.
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Thread one kind of yarn onto needle and lace through holes thus: come up and through a hole on one side of the circle, then thread through the hole opposite on the circle. Your finished "weaving loom" will look like a sunburst, with threads crossing each other in the middle and radiating out to the holes. Keep threading yarn until all the holes are filled. If you run short of yarn as you thread, just knot a new piece onto the old one (weaving will cover knots). To keep a distinction between the yarn run through the holes and your new weaving yarn, we will now call the yarn run through the holes "loom threads."
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Tie a knot when you finish threading your "loom." Each hole will now have two threads of yarn through it, but for beginning weavers, each of those pairs of threads will be treated as one.
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Beginning in the center of your loom, where all the threads criss-cross each other, thread the needle and start to weave with a new piece of yarn. Leaving the end loose for now (allow a foot of yarn for this), bring your new yarn over a pair of loom-threads, then under the next pair, over the succeeding pair, and continue until you have completed a circle with your new yarn. This is the hardest part of weaving, and your young weaver may need some help making this start, because there are so many threads close together.
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Continue with your second circle thus: where you went over a pair of threads on the first circle, now you go under--you're finally at the "weaving" part. Keep going, circle after circle (over where you last went under, under where you last went over) until you reach the rim of the plate.
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Knot your weaving yarn on a loom-thread, and cut off any excess. Go back to the center of your loom, put the needle back on the loose center yarn. Sew a few stitches with the loose yarn, to make sure it won't pull loose. Trim the excess.
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Tips & Warnings
This is a great project for a variety of leftover yarns; the contrasts and color-changes both add to the final look and help the young weaver remember the over-and-under technique.
You may wish to trim excess paper-plate from the finished project. Usually you can trim within half an inch of the punched holes, but it depends on the weight of the plate. Do not trim so closely that the loom threads lose their tension.
This project can be varied by cutting a square in the paper plate and punching holes that allow straight criss-cross weaving. Experiment and see which version your child enjoys more.
Weaving with a threaded needle is usually easier than just using fingers because the needle will more easily separate pairs of threads. A child happier with using his or her fingers is welcome to do so.
A child to whom weaving is new is likely to make lots of mistakes. Be patient--and ready to tackle some parts of the project to keep the frustration of learning something new in check.
If weaving is new to your child, be prepared to thread the needle over and over--and over. You'll be glad you did as the project takes shape and your child enjoys the pleasure of acquiring a new skill.
