Unbeweavable Weavings

January has been a very productive month in the art room for 6th grade. We have been mastering the art of weaving by working on these woven pouches for four weeks! Inspired by this delightful and thorough weaving tutorial I found on Cassie Stephens' Blog this summer, I introduced this project to my 6th graders the first week back from school after holiday break. It didn't take the students very long to start referring to the pouches as handmade iPhone covers. Geniuses, I tell you, geniuses!

The project objectives were simple. By the end of this project I wanted students to be able to:

1) Identify the meaning of loom, warp, and weft.

2) Understand and use the “under, over” technique of weaving.

3) Create a functional weaving using materials, colors, and patterns that describe them as a person. 

For this project I cut my cardboard looms to 3.5" x 10." I told the students to weave the body of their pouch to a length somewhere between 4-7" and the flap anywhere between 2-3." In order to accomplish these lengths I did allow students the option to take their looms home to weave. Every single one of my students took me up on this offer which was mega thrilling! I gave each students a paperclip to weave with since I couldn't send them home with a weaving needle. This project was enjoyed by boys and girls alike. Our work sessions were almost silent because the students got so into it.

Additionally, the students all will walk away having learned how to thread a needle, stitch, and end a stitch which is a skill almost none of them had experience with before encountering this project.