A different Yarnie Craft

Yesterday was was an indoor rainy day and was all about my children. Especially Thing 1 (Dr. Seuss reference for those of you thinking I’m a wicked mom to call my children Things).

My children see me playing/working with yarn All The Time. Yarn pervades the entire household.  So there really is no way to avoid it.  They both have expressed desires to learn to crochet, but it is slow going at times.  So what is a Mom to do to share the yarn crafting love with them?

Why, teach them to weave of course. Particularly Thing 1, as Thing 2 is sticking with the crochet hook for the nonce.

Actually it’s sort of funny me teaching my children to weave, since my knowledge base isn’t a whole lot larger than their own. I’m just blessed with a nimble mind and a small bit of experience from over 30 years ago.

The wonderful thing about weaving is it is so accessible, even for the utter novice.  So I grabbed my trusty utility knife and an empty cardboard box from the recycling pile and declared it was going to provide the bits for a loom and accessories.

Without any real measuring I cut out a flat piece to use for the loom and made small slits along the top and bottom to hold the warp of the loom. Quickly warped it with some acrylic yarn. Then I dug out some oversized knitting needles to act as sheds.

My son and I began to play with weaving a bit of yarn in, but it soon became apparent that we needed some more tools. Like sturdier shuttles for the weft yarn and a shed and sword. So more cutting on the box and I had made shuttles, shed and sword. I also grabbed a comb for him to use as the “beater”.

Then my son went to town weaving happily. He decided this is really a hobby he wants to learn more about.  After he went to bed I did a little research about basic weaving on the internet and learned how to make a simple heddle to use to speed up the weaving process.

Today he and I are going to Boulder to visit “Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins”. This is a LYS that I have visited many times to purchase yarn for crocheting and animal fiber for felt work. As their name indicates, they also have wonderful supplies for weaving. So it will be a great opportunity to look at the various looms available and learn more about weaving from folks that know a lot about the craft.

Since Thing 2 is also expressing an interest in learning more about weaving I’m thinking we will be bringing a potholder loop loom home as well. They aren’t expensive and they are a super fun quick way to learn about weaving that both boys can enjoy.

Best part of this experience is it’s been a wonderful reminder of how much fun it is to do arts and crafts with my kids.  Even if it is just paper-crafts, find some time to craft with your kids, they have a great time learning something new and you may surprise yourself with the new things you learn about them.