Teaching Kids to Weave with Straws

I recently had the opportunity to teach a class on weaving with straws to some young girls. The class lasted three hours and the girls weren't ready to leave! We had so much fun playing with the different colors of yarn and beads. The girls were fast learners and had lots of fun making bracelets. They went home with what they made, plus they took extra straws, beads and yarn home so they could continue to weave.



First we learned how to make the 'loom' out of drinking straws. We each took four straws and cut them off about 6 inches long. We cut off the bendy part of the straw. Then we cut four 18 inch lengths of yarn. The girls had fun deciding what color yarn to use for the warp. Then we threaded a strand of yarn through each straw. We left about one inch sticking out the top. We folded that over and taped it to the straw. Next we laid the four straws side by side and taped them together at the bottom. We tied a know in the end of the threads going through the straws (warp threads).

Next it was time to pick the first weft thread. We tied that to the first straw making sure the knot was in the back. Time to start weaving, over-under-over-under- and back again. 

The girls had fun picking new weft colors and adding beads. We tied new colors onto the old color making sure all knots were in the back. We added beads by using a small crochet hook to thread them onto the weft yarn.

Each girl finished several projects. Here is some of the finished work!

The girls were having so much fun that they didn't want to leave when the class was over! Each girl took their finished projects home as well as some extra straws, beads, and yarn so they could continue weaving at home. This type of weaving can be used for bracelets, belts, bookmarks, and more. The finished strips can also be sewn together to make scarves, potholders, etc. It will be interesting to see what they create with what they have learned.