How to: Wheat Weaving

Wheat weaving produces beautiful, professional-looking crafts made of wheat, straw or grass.

Wheat weaving is a hand art that consists of making items by intertwining strands of hollow wheat, grass or straw into intricate twists. The strands are held together by strong thread. Straw objects such as baskets and dolls are formed by using floral wire as a base with straw intertwined around the wire to make the shape. Projects that you can make include wreaths, dolls, baskets and other home décor items.

Things You'll Need

• Ruler
• Wheat, hollow straw or grass
• Carpet thread
• scissors
• 22 gauge floral wire

Instructions

1. Choose a project to weave. For beginners, choose a small project such as a simple doll figure or ornament to hang on a holiday tree. Find a pattern to use for the project on the Internet or from books.

2. Gather your supplies for the project. Purchase supplies or a project kit from a hobby and craft store such as Hobby Lobby or from an online weaving supply store.

3. Soak the pieces of wheat in warm water for a few minutes to soften them up for weaving. While damp, tie a knot in the bottom of one of the pieces of wheat. If using a floral wire, wrap pieces of wheat around it and then roll up the end of the floral wire to form a knot.

4. Intertwine wheat pieces onto the floral wire or wrap it around other wheat pieces. You can use different techniques to wrap the wheat such as plaiting (braiding) or marquetry (a decorative type of braiding). Use the carpet thread to tie pieces of the wheat together as needed by your pattern. For instance, when making dolls, use the carpet thread to tie wheat pieces together to make arms or legs.

5. Tie the carpet thread around loose ends of the wheat weaved figure. Allow the figure to dry. Spray the finished with a gloss fixative to add a little sheen. For ornaments, make a loop tie by twisting two small pieces of wheat together around a small piece of floral wire. Attach the loop tie to the ornament by wrapping each end of the wire to the top of the ornament.

References

• Illinois Wheat Weavers: Getting Started
• National Association of Wheat Weavers: About Straw Art
• "Wheat Weaving Projects"; Sharp, G.; 1992

Resources

• Wheat Weaving Company: Wheat Weaving Projects
• "The Book of Wheat Weaving and Straw Craft"; Owens-Celli, M. and Jones, K.; 1998.
• Frank's Cane and Rush Supply: Weaving Supplies