A million ways exist to keep kids engaged, and yet nothing you do can be enough. Tragedy is when you spend hard earned hundreds on toys, only to see your child forget it after a day of play.
You can make room for inexpensive activities around home instead. I tried making a circular weaving loom, something you can try with kids on a lazy afternoon.
B
Unlike the regular looms with warp and weft, a circular loom is a little different from the rectangular looms that are universal, and get used by DIYers for a range of pieces such as rag rugs, doormats, plarn projects, etc.
You need spokes, like in a wheel, drawn on the base.
Materials you need for this project:
-- a piece of corrugated cardboard
-- a marker or pencil
-- a ruler, one foot long
-- a pair of scissors
-- a spherical container such as a bowl, made of sturdy material, from your kitchen
-- yarn - chunky ideally. I used jute and wool. You can choose a couple of colours or stick to jute
-- a tapestry needle that is blunt (kids' safety) - optional
Draw a circle using the kitchen cup to guide.
Cut this circle.
Using a ruler, gauge the centre approximately and draw a bunch of lines criss crossing through the center, forming spokes for the circle.
Get the pair of scissors out again, and make small slits on the circumferene of the piece, towards the centre. These slits must be on the spokes.
Knot one end of a twine between the slits of this circle.
And run the thread along the spokes by using the space between the spokes on the rear side of this circle.
Once done with most of the spokes, knot its ends. An get the rest of the yarn out.
The looping of the spokes bit, you can do with your child. The weaving part is definitely the teachable part, where you show how the thread can go over and under the spoke-yarn and form a textured piece. You can optionally use a tapestry needle and demonstrate.
In effect, get your child to start weaving. For fun sake, get another colour yarn, or a different texture yarn to experiment with the thickness.
Either glue it towards the end, or knot the thread.
Optionally, cut of the warp from the slits and knot it up, or use this disc as a little wall hanging instead. Carry it to work, or keep at the kid's desk.
To hang it, cut a piece of wool or yarn and loop through one of the pieces at the slit, and knot it.
Try this in different colours. It's something kids will love, and you will not have to fret over costs.
Pictures courtesy: Radhika M B
For permissions, write to: radicreative@gmail.com
You can make room for inexpensive activities around home instead. I tried making a circular weaving loom, something you can try with kids on a lazy afternoon.
B
Unlike the regular looms with warp and weft, a circular loom is a little different from the rectangular looms that are universal, and get used by DIYers for a range of pieces such as rag rugs, doormats, plarn projects, etc.
You need spokes, like in a wheel, drawn on the base.
Materials you need for this project:
-- a piece of corrugated cardboard
-- a marker or pencil
-- a ruler, one foot long
-- a pair of scissors
-- a spherical container such as a bowl, made of sturdy material, from your kitchen
-- yarn - chunky ideally. I used jute and wool. You can choose a couple of colours or stick to jute
-- a tapestry needle that is blunt (kids' safety) - optional
Draw a circle using the kitchen cup to guide.
Cut this circle.
Using a ruler, gauge the centre approximately and draw a bunch of lines criss crossing through the center, forming spokes for the circle.
Knot one end of a twine between the slits of this circle.
And run the thread along the spokes by using the space between the spokes on the rear side of this circle.
Once done with most of the spokes, knot its ends. An get the rest of the yarn out.
The looping of the spokes bit, you can do with your child. The weaving part is definitely the teachable part, where you show how the thread can go over and under the spoke-yarn and form a textured piece. You can optionally use a tapestry needle and demonstrate.
In effect, get your child to start weaving. For fun sake, get another colour yarn, or a different texture yarn to experiment with the thickness.
Either glue it towards the end, or knot the thread.
Optionally, cut of the warp from the slits and knot it up, or use this disc as a little wall hanging instead. Carry it to work, or keep at the kid's desk.
To hang it, cut a piece of wool or yarn and loop through one of the pieces at the slit, and knot it.
Try this in different colours. It's something kids will love, and you will not have to fret over costs.
Pictures courtesy: Radhika M B
For permissions, write to: radicreative@gmail.com
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