Shoebox Loom

We had a very rainy afternoon this past Saturday.  Being indoors made my crafty little ladybugs eager to CREATE!  With Nickel started on some counted cross-stitch, Meatball wanted to do a needlework project of some sort as well.  My supplies on hand for a needlework craft suitable for a six year old are pretty slim. Looking around my craft bins, I came across some weaving I had done at some point in my childhood (yes, I am sentimental and don't throw ANYTHING away).  This piece gave me an idea.

Here is how Meatball and I constructed a shoebox loom:

First, we found a sturdy shoebox lid and some popsicle sticks from our craft bin.  The only sticks that I had were the thicker ones, but after seeing Meatball whip through this project, we plan on reconstructing our loom with the thinner popsicle sticks and adding more of them.

Using a ruler, I marked one inch intervals along the short ends of the shoebox lid.  I then taped the popsicle sticks at each mark using two layers of thick masking tape.  I did this for both short ends of the shoebox.

I then tied a length of yarn to one outer popsicle stick and ran the yarn around the corresponding popsicle stick on the opposite end before returning to the second popsicle stick on the original end.  I continued in this fashion until all popsicle sticks were looped.  I tied off the yarn around the final popsicle stick.  I chose a colour of yarn for these base strings that was different than the colour of yarn that Meatball would weave with to make it easier for her to differentiate the working length versus the base strings.

Weaving can be done with a variety of materials - strips of fabric, different weights of yarn, wool or cotton.  For her project, Meatball decided she would like to make her stuffed dog a blanket in bright ORANGE medium weight yarn (leftover from her poncho).  I cut some pieces of yarn in lengths of about one metre.  This length seemed most manageable for six year old hands.  I then anchored the first piece of orange yarn to one of the outside pink "base" strings.

Using a large, blunt plastic wool needle, Meatball set to weaving her orange yarn over the first base string, under the next string, over the third string and so-forth until all the strings were covered.  We then worked back across the base strings in the same alternating fashion.  As we neared the end of one length of working yarn, we tied on another one metre length leaving a long tail that we could weave in when our piece was finished.

It takes some time to work up a length of weaving with medium weight yarn versus a thicker material such as bulky wool or fabric, but Meatball stayed at it until the sun was out and we could go outdoors.  She also picked it up again the next morning, and two days later, she had worked her way to the opposite short end of the loom.

To remove the piece from the loom, I carefully tied off the working yarn to the outer base string.  I then cut the base strings one at a time at each popsicle stick and tied them to each other in a double over hand knot.  When all base strings were cut and tied off, we wove in the ends of the working yarn where it had been joined to other lengths of working yarn.  We did not weave in the ends of the base strings after they were tied - Meatball decided she liked the look of the loose tie ends - they made a nice fringe to both short ends of the blanket.

 Meatball was so proud of her accomplishment that she plans on taking it for show and tell at school tomorrow!

 And "Little Sparkle" the puppy seems quite happy with her woven blanket too!