My 3rd and 4th grade class just finished making woven God’s Eyes (Ojos de Dios). Students chose yarn and wrapped the strands around the sticks. Then they were all tied to a large stick I found in my neighbor’s yard. Some kids made multiples so they could take one home right away. I was surprised how almost all of them had never made these before. I guess I went to a lot of summer camps where we made stuff with … Read more…
Often I get so wrapped up in the curriculum, I don’t take time to do “extra” projects which are just for fun for holidays. Kids love celebrating holidays and often ask to do themed projects. I am fine with that.. art should be fun! I do like to incorporate skills and art techniques into each project we do. For these yarn-wrapped hearts, I cut cardboard circles into heart shapes. Since they had to be cut with a utility knife, I … Read more…
I introduce paper weaving with my kindergarten class. We use colored strips, scrapbook paper and wrapping paper. Here is a paper weaving tutorial. Check out my Weaving Ideas Pinterest board if you want to see more fun weaving techniques. –>
Weaving is so much fun! I love using up scraps of yarn, but there are other things you can use too: pipe cleaners (or chenille stems.. what do you call them?) tissue paper rolled up fabric scraps cut into strips ribbons feathers raffia I started the kids with just yarn pieces. After 2 days of working, some of the kids were far behind, so then I brought out thicker ribbon, tissue paper and raffia to fill in the gaps. Some … Read more…
Weaving on styrofoam is really easy to do! There is a great restaurant supply store near my school where I can buy meat trays in bulk and have them last for years. 1. Cut slits on the edges of two sides. 2. Loop a sturdy string or yarn up and down the slits. 3. Weave over and under using pieces of yarn, ribbons, pipe cleaners, feathers or rolled tissue paper. 4. Trim the edges that hang over.
Weaving on Styrofoam was a recent project with the 1st graders. A restaurant supply store near our school had a huge package of styrofoam plates for very cheap. Slits were cut at the top and bottom of the styrofoam and string was placed in these slits for the loom. The students used ribbon and fabric to weave over and under the string. Suggest to the kids to choose a variety of colors and textures. I put out some colored wire, … Read more…
Inspiration Avenue’s theme this week is needlework, so I thought I would show you some of the things I have done that goes with this theme. I have taught some needlework projects as well with my elementary students. Finger weaving with children Weaving on straws with children This was one of my 5th grade students sewn works– based on micro organisms Sewn picture on a journal page (mine) Sewn Mixed Media collage (by me) Knitted Ornament Ball by Me Fabric … Read more…
 We finished the giant weaving. I had kids in all different classes work on it when they were done with their projects. I like how it came out. We are going to make a few more and then they are going to be hung in this large window well that is inside the school.Â
 Both of these ideas I borrowed from other people’s recent blog posts. You caught me red-handed! I’ve gotten so many good ideas from other art teacher’s blogs. Go ahead and check my blog roll on the side of my page and you can see some of the other ones that I read. Here are some students working on a gigantic weaving! I’m super excited about this project. It is an “extra” project that kids can work on when they are … Read more…
The 2nd graders made circular weavings this week. Some are still finishing up. They are like the ones we made at the weaving camp I taught. Here is the big jumble of yarn that I have in one of the boxes. I just put this out and the kids pulled out the yarn they wanted from the jumble. I hate to waste yarn (or any art supplies) and this tangle of yarn is a tad bit overwhelming to untangle. They … Read more…
 We made this with my first grade class. I took mat board, and the kids stapled their own pipe cleaners to the ends and then weaved in yarn, ribbons and feathers. The kids did a great job on their weavings, but I think I like this technique better.Â
This is a dreamcatcher ornament that will be sent to the Governor’s Mansion in Madison, WI for the Christmas tree. A group of kids in a 3rd/4th grade class made this.
Paper Weaving. One of the projects I did with the kids for my Weaving Wonders Camp was Paper Weaving. Paper weaving is, of course, one of the first and most basic types of weaving. Kids in kindergarten, first or second grade will often complete paper weavings as introduction to weaving. Preparation:  Gather fancy scrapbook paper, with patterns, bright colors and maybe even glitter. Add some solid colors if you wish. Cut strips on a paper cutter, approximately 1/2-1 inch … Read more…
Circular Weaving is another one of my favorite ways to teach weaving. We did these circular weavings at my Weaving Wonders camp. Beesybee Fiber’s has an explanation as to how it’s done. Obviously, this link shows a very advanced form of this weaving. What we did was to take these mini-pizza cardboard circles and cut an uneven number of slits in them. Then we set up the loom by poking the yarn through the center and then each attach to … Read more…
