030 Paper Plate Weave

Teach kids how to make a beautiful, circular weaving using yarn and a paper plate. This episode guides you through every step of the project to ensure that your students end up with a work of art and a love of weaving.

Step-by-Step Instructions and samples:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gAcfiYpG5U14NZzsl9wFb8xW8ahsl__r/view?usp=sharing

Transcript

030 PAPER PLATE WEAVING  ages 8+

Supplies:

sturdy paper plates or cardboard cake rounds

yarn in a variety of colors for weaving with 

neutral colored yarn cut in lengths of 7 feet or 2 meters, for each plate

plastic weaving needles or popsicle sticks

scissors, tape, marker/pencil

Teaching kids how to weave is harder than it seems. The first time I introduced weaving to a class, I was puzzled at how a project I thought was pretty straight forward seemed complicated for them. For tips I’ve developed over the years on how to teach weaving to different age groups, listen to the previous episode called ‘Weaving 101’. It will turn teaching weaving from frustrating to fun.

Since the instructions for this weaving project are in audio form, I will do my very best to describe the process well, but I attached photos of everything I discuss in a file found at the end of the show description notes. 

This weaving project is done on any size, sturdy paper plate or cardboard cake round. Notches are cut around the edge of the plate to hold yarn that meets in the middle creating what looks like a starburst or spokes on a wheel. Beginning in the center kids will use colored yarn to weave over and under the spokes, working around and outward. There is no change in the weaving method, only over under, over, under. In weaving, the colored yarn used to weave with is called, ‘weft’ and the ‘spokes’ we will weave over and under are called ‘warp’.

I like to prepare the weaving plates ahead of time with the spokes already done. This part of the project is too much for most kids to follow and with the plates ready to go, it leaves us with more time for weaving.

Prepare the plates by drawing 15 marks equally spaced around the outer edge of a plate with a pencil or marker. These notches will hold the neutral colored yarn or ‘warp’. There is always an odd number of spokes or ‘warp’ threads. For this project I will be using 15 notches for 15 spokes, but 17, 19, or 21 work well, too. Use scissors to cut a small notch into each of the marks around the edge of the plate, about 1/4” or one centemeter deep. With a pencil or marker, number the notches going clockwise, 1-15. Tape the end of the neutral colored yarn on the back of the plate and bring the rest of the yarn to the front of the plate through notch number one.

Place the plate in front of you with notch number 1 at the top. Take the yarn straight down the front of the plate and thru notch number 8 at the bottom. Bring the yarn to the front of the plate, thru notch number 9. Take the yarn back up and across the plate, to the right of where you started thru notch number 2. Notice the yarn has criss crossed itself to make an X in the center of the plate. The yarn crosses itself every time it goes across the front of the plate, and will create the warp or what we will call spokes. Pull the yarn taught but not so tight that it bends the plate.

Pull the yarn to the front of the plate thru notch number 3. Take the yarn across the plate and thru notch number 10, then to the front thru notch number 11. Take the yarn across the plate and thru notch 4, then to the front of the plate thru 5. Cross the plate and thru 12, then to the the front thru 13. Cross the plate and thru 6, then bring to the front thru 7. Cross the plate and through 14, then bring to the front thru 15.

The yarn has criss-crossed the plate and there should be yarn through every single notch. Bring the end of the yarn to the center, tuck it under a few spokes and tie a knot. If the middle of the spokes is off-center, tuck it under a few more spokes and gently tug it toward the center of the plate and tie it off. Trim the extra yarn and tuck it under so it doesn’t show. 

Begin this project by instructing students to write their name on the back of the plate in pencil. Provide a variety of colored yarn for kids to choose from. Yarn is one of the easier items to get donated by parents and teachers. Students will need about a yard or meter of yarn each. If they take an end in each hand and stretch both arms out wide, that should be long enough to start with. Let them know that it’s easy to add more yarn or switch colors at any time during the project.

Show students how to tie one end of the yarn to the center of the spokes on the plate. If they claim they don’t know how to tie a knot tell them it’s like the beginning step of tying their shoes, done twice.

The other end of the yarn can be tied to a large plastic weaving needle or a craft stick, although some kids prefer to roll the yarn up in a small ball and weave with that.

Begin weaving in either direction by choosing a spoke and go over it with your yarn and under the next, then pull the remaining yarn through. If some kids have trouble understanding this, put it in another way by instructing them to go under every OTHER spoke. Remind them to pull all of their yarn through after every few spokes. Don’t wait until weaving around the plate once or twice to pull the yarn through or you’ll end up with a mess.

The beginning can be a bit cumbersome. Gently tug the yarn toward the center as you work with it so it stays snug in the middle of the plate. By the third or fourth time around the weaving begins looking really good. 

Adding more yarn or switching to a new color is easily done by tying an end of the new yarn to the end of the old one. The knot can be hidden by tucking it behind the weaving.

Because there are an odd number of spokes, each round will be opposite the one above and below it. Where you have the yarn going under the warp, it will be over the warp on either side, above and below. If students skip a spoke, they will be able to tell because the row above the one they are weaving will look exactly the same. Undo the weaving and back track until you find the spot where a spoke was skipped, correct it, then continue forward again.

There will always be students who really don’t like weaving. For kids who absolutely do not want to do the project, challenge them to make it a few times around and when you are satisfied that they gave it a go, give them something else to do. I was once one of those kids, but over the years I’ve grown to love weaving and I’m glad I was introduced to it.

To complete the weaving, tie the yarn to the nearest spoke, trim the end and tuck it under. To remove the weaving from the plate, begin by slipping all of the spokes out of their notches and off of the plate. Cut each loop in the center and tie the ends in a knot. There will be one oddball spoke left at the end. Simply tie it to the spoke on either side of it. It’s up to the individual whether or not to trim the remaining spoke yarn.

Another version of this project is to create a weaving that looks like a flower. Cut into the plate to create an odd number of flower petals. The notches will be between each petal and the weaving will be the center of the flower. Use colored party plates or have the kids add color to the petals with marker, paint or pastels before beginning the weaving. With this project, the plate becomes a part of the weaving and will not be removed at the end.

Photos of all of these steps and some finished weavings are in a file below the description notes. The project is easier than it sounds and you will have kids who love to weave so much that they will want to make more than one. The finished product makes a cute little wall hanging, or mount it in a picture frame, or use them as coasters.

Remember to collect the plates at the end of the project so they can be used again next year.