How to Make a Paper Weave Basket for Kids
Woven paper baskets are an easy kid's project good for a variety of purposes. Paper baskets can hold candy, greetings and other goodies on Easter, Valentines Day or Halloween, and their crafting can help teach children about weaving techniques used by Native American or Pacific Islanders. This craft project also can be simple fun at home on a rainy day.
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Instructions
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Set a large piece of construction paper on a flat surface. Choose two colors of paper if a multiple-colored basket is desired. Use a ruler and pencil to mark strips that are 1 inch wide and 17 inches long on the construction paper. Create 10 strips from the first color and nine strips from the second color.
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Cut out the strips with a pair of scissors. Lay five paper strips in the first color side-by-side on the flat surface. Position the strips so that they are laying vertically on the table and are about 1/2 inch apart.
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3
Select one paper strip of the first color. Weave this strip horizontally over and under the exact centers of the five vertical strips. Weave two additional strips of the first color in the same manner above the first strip. Weave two more strips of the first color in the same manner below the first strip.
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Push the horizontal strips close together so their sides are touching. Push the vertical strips together so their sides are touching to create a tightly woven square. Fold the loose ends of each strip at the edge of the woven square so that they stand upright.
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Join two strips of the second color by gluing their ends together. Weave this strip in front of and behind the upright strips of the basket's base to create the first row of the basket's sides. Fold the strip at each corner when you come to it. Place a drop of glue on the surface of the upright strips before passing the side strip over them to hold the weave in place.
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Clip the excess length of the side strip after weaving it through all sides of the basket's base. Glue two more strips of the second color together and weave them around the basket in the same manner as before. Position the second strip above the first strip. Repeat this step two more times to create four rows in the basket's side.
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7
Cut off the excess lengths of the upright strips so that they are even with the top side strip of the basket. Select the last strips of the second color. Glue one end of the strip to the inside of one of the basket's sides. Glue the strip's other end to the inside of the basket's opposite side to create a handle.
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Tips & Warnings
Shred colored construction paper into small strips and place in the bottom of the completed basket to form grass.
References
- Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
