In the Art Room: Weaving, Part 1

Woven pouches created by fourth grade artists. You can see more of their masterpieces at our school-wide art show here and here.

Since I shared with you photos from our art show, I've had several questions about the woven pouches that were featured. Because this project is so easy and fun, I thought I'd share it now that the kids are out of school and getting a little...well...restless. It's the perfect summer what-can-we-do-now-? craft.

In the art room, this project has become a rite of passage for my fourth grade students but can easily be created by kids as young as second grade.  Because this craft involves multiple steps, I've divided it up into four posts: Weaving Part 1: Getting Started; Part 2: Weaving the Flap; Part 3: Removing the Weaving and Finishing; Part 4: Weaving a Cord

Please, fellow art teachers and parents, leave comments below on how you teach this lesson differently. And, of course, questions if you got 'em. Have fun!

 Supplies: 

• Scissors
• Tape
• a loom. I purchase ours through Sax but you can create your own with thick cardboard.
• Thin cotton string. This was bought for a couple bucks at Walmart but in a pinch, you could use yarn.
• Big-eyed needles. Again, Walmart would carry these in their craft department.

 Preparing your loom:

These looms that I purchase through Sax have notches in them that are too far apart. When you weave with them like this, it creates a pouch that is a little too loosely woven, in my opinion. So I have the kids cut the part that sticks up (we call them "teeth") in half. It's a struggle because the cardboard is thick and there is some moaning and groaning but they can do it. 

If you are creating your own loom from cardboard, you will want to space your notches about 1/4" apart. I'm not really into exact measurements, so I say just eyeball it. However, make sure that you have the same number of notches on the top as the bottom.

 Warping your loom:

Warping your loom is the process in which you are putting the string on your loom that you will weave over and under. To do this, start at one corner of your loom and tape your warping string into place. I have the kids put the tape at the bottom of the notches. This will prevent the kids from accidentally weaving over or under this small string.

Now begin wrapping the warp string all the way around the loom. For example, from the taped end, go down to the bottom cut notch, wrap string around the back and up to the top notch and then go to the bottom again. You should have strings on both sides of your loom, making certain not to skip any of the pre-cut or notches-you-cut.

While you are warping, keep the string attached to the cone. I do not allow the kids to cut the string from the cone unless I have checked their loom. If they have skipped a notch, this allows them to go back and fix it without wasting any warping string.

 Once you've checked the loom and are certain no notches were skipped, cut the string and tape it down. Again, tape as close to the notches as possible. Use your creepy bending finger (shown above) to scoot those other warp stings over to tape the string underneath.

 Weaving:

The process of weaving is that of going over and under the warp strings in an A-B pattern. The string you weave with is called the weft. No long needle like this one? Tape your string to the end of a pencil or skewer stick.

 Pull yarn through until you have left behind a 1" tail. Turn the loom over and weave over and under on the back. Once finished with that side, turn loom over to the original side.

 Now, this time, weave the opposite of the previous string. For example, in the photo above, I wove over and under because the string underneath was under and over.

 You know you are weaving correctly when you see something like this. Looks a little like the netting of a tennis racket.

 But it's too loose. Do you see all of those white warp strings through your weaving? Well, you don't want to. Use a fork to pack down your weaving until those warp strings disappear and all you see are the weft strings.

 Adding a new weft: 

Okay, this one is debatable. Technically, you are not to tie two stings together but overlap the strings to add another. Or something. But at this point, if I throw one more piece of info at the kids, they are likely to have an aneurysm. So, we simply double knot tie a new string to the old, snip the "tails" and keep on weaving.

 Incorrect weaving: 

How do you know if you are weaving incorrectly? Well, you'll see a lot of vertical warp strings, like you see in the yellow portion of my weaving above. This happens when you are not weaving the opposite of the previous string, but weaving the same over and over again. If you see this, you have to take it out and redo.

 Weaving away...

I tell the kids that their weaving must be somewhere in between 4-7" tall. This allows room at the top of the loom for weaving the flap and tying off the weaving. This should keep those kiddos all tied up (heehee, tempting, right?) until next week. I plan to take mine on an upcoming trip to keep me occupied.

Remember, you are weaving on both sides of the loom, front and back. Ya hear?

 So stay tuned!

Next week, we'll learn how to weave that flap. Again, feel free to leave any questions or comments and happy weaving!

DIY: That 70's Craft

Well, kids, whatcha see here is prolly the most tackiest of my DIY's to date. And that's really saying sumpin, having created such tacky-tastic gems as this and that and, oh, a lil bit of WTFunk-is-that?! But, when I got it in my head that I needed to create some woven mobiles for my art room (I have no earthly idea where these ideas come from but I seriously blame the high voltage of sugary cereals that I consumed as a child. Some folks have LSD flashbacks, I have Cap'n Crunch Cranium, y'all), for some reason, weaving on an embroidery hoop came to mind. Which is kinda odd seeing as how 1. Weaving is not my most favorite thing as it's repetitiveness bores the crap outta me (even though it's my fave thing to teach!) and 2. This DIY looks so 1970's and, well, I just don't dig the '70's, y'all.

But let us first talk about where this idea came from, shall we? Y'all might recall that my seriously awesome second graders created these circle loom weavings this year. Whilst decluttering this summer (which only lasted a day before I put everything back and decided I needed to keep it alllllll as we hoarders are prone to do), I stumbled upon my cache of embroidery hoops. I set aside a class set and just kinda had a staring contest with the rest. 

"What am I gonna do with you, hoops?" 

"DUH, make us into something totally tacky. It's what you do."

Embroidery hoops, these days, I tell ya. No respect for their hoarders.

Speaking of starring contest, if you look deep into those kitten eyes and say "Asha!" three times you'll soon find yourself under her magical cat spell and feeding her way more than her daily allowance of cat food, cheese and whipped cream. True Story: I left a container of pesto unattended for a full 30 seconds on the kitchen table and this fat cat was face deep in the stuff. Word of Advice: Don't eat the pesto at mi casa, ermkay?

If you decide that you need some totes tacky weaving wonders in your life, you'll need to scrounge up the following:

*  Embroidery hoopage

*  Yarn. I liked using the thicker stuff because it made the weaving process go by a lot faster.

*  Um, that's it! Let's do this people!

Since warping el loom-o can be a touch confusing (and if you don't know what "warping" means, no worries! Ima getting there), I thought I'd lay this whole process out for you in a coupla formats. Just below you'll find I made a short clip of me warping the loom and starting the weaving process. However, if you're like me, you also like step-by-step visuals which I've also provided. Because I'm a giver, y'all. 

Video footage-ness. I do hope I made something close to sense although my money is on nonsense. 

If you didn't understand the video or just can't stand the sound of my voice (you and my husband both), then lemme lay it out for you step-by-step style, kay? Here we go:

1. Begin by tucking the end of the yarn under the hoop's screw (heehee), wrapping the yarn around the back to the bottom, wrapping it around the front again and tying the long end to the short end in a double knot. See photo, please, as that sentence made no sense.

2. Yay, double knot! Adjust the knot so that it is centered. What we're gonna do now is warp the loom. That's fancy talk for wrapping a buncha strings around the embroidery hoop for us to weave over and under. So, to get started, flip the hoop over so that the knot is on the back. 

3. Like so. 

4. Now, let's begin rapping, ermay, Eminem? To do this, you'll be wrapping the yarn around the hoop. I have not cut the yarn from the skein as I don't know how much I'll need. You can cut it when you are finished. 

5. As I'm wrapping, I'm bringing the yarn around the loom. As I go, I'm pulling it just tight enough to hold the yarn in place. Since the wooden hoop has a little tooth to it, it holds the yarn in place as I go. However, I can adjust it and evenly space the yarn by simply scooting it around the hoop.

6. The goal is to end up with an odd number of strings wrapped around the loom. It doesn't matter what that odd number is so you can experiment to see which look you prefer. For the first timer, I'd go with a lower odd number so that there aren't so many warp stings to weave over and under. I decided to do 13 so Ima gonna keep going till I get there. 

7. Still going...

8. And, viola!, I've got 13 wraps around my loom! Now take a moment to cut your warping yarn (I cut mine the length of my loom and about 3") and evenly space out your warp stings.

9. Now that our loom is warped and ready to go, let's weave, kay? That rogue piece that you cut free from the yarn is now your weaving yarn or weft yarn if we're gonna use our vocab correctly. When you begin to weave, it does not matter if you go clockwise or counter. However, whichever direction you decide to go, be sure to stick with it! In this photo, I'm weaving counter clockwise and staring by going over the first set of warp strings (both top and bottom of the warp strings) and then under.

10. Keep going over and under...

11. And then pull that weft yarn tightly so that what you've woven gathers in the middle and looks like a mess. And then resume weaving.

12. When you run outta yarn, simply tie your new piece of yarn to the last. And keep going until you have a big fat furry weaving like this one...

13. BOOM! Super Tacky Woven Delight. Your inner hippie love child will thank you. By the way, to end this, simply tie the last piece of yarn you are weaving with to one of those weft strings and you're finished! I plan to loop a piece of yarn though the top of the hoop and hang these fun furry guys in my art room. We'll see how the Fire Marshall feels about that, ahem.

OH! I just wanna mention that those step-by-step photos wouldn't have been possible without the hubs. He's on vacation this week which means a coupla things:

1. He's on blog photography duty. 

2. He's honing his DIYing skills. Which, you gotta admit, could use some work. When I told him I'd broken my glasses he informed me, "I'll fix them!"...and this is how they were returned to me. When I gave him a questioning "Are you for realz?!" look, it was met with a "BOOM! Nailed it." 

 Yeah, much like I did these Totes Tacky Wild -n- Wacky Woven Wallhangings...BOOM! Nailed it!

For more weaving fun, you can check out these blog posts:

Circle Loom Weaving

Tree Weaving

A Woven Pouch

Cord Weaving

Have fun, y'all!

What the Art Teacher Wore #106 During the Craziest Summer Week Everrrr

Just Another Manic Monday: But it was a good kind of manic, if you know what I mean. Arts Academy was in the morning and it was fantastical. That evening, I was reunited with a buddy of mine that I'd not seen in seven years -- not since we attended the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program (I'm thinking they need to shorten that. That's more than a mouthful of sushi right there). We spent hours catching up over plates of sushi and just having the best of time.
palette hair clip: made by me; felted ballz necklace: The Paper Source; Jackson Pollock-y dress: made by me, DIY here; sandals: Target

 Well, hello there friends, old and new! I come to you thoroughly exhausted and yet somehow extremely energized thanks to some "ridiculously relevant professional development" (has Jessica of AOE gotten that trademarked yet, cuz she needs to!) and to my annual week-long gig as a facilitator (read: errand-runner) at the Tennessee Arts Academy. Y'all, this week was so thrillingly exhausting that I collapsed on the couch at 5pm on Friday only to awake hours later to find myself still wearing my Crayon shoes and contacts. And the only reason I was roused was cuz of an obese kitty sitting on my chest demanding a lil dinner. Me-oooowwww, kitty!

Did y'all attend the aforementioned ridiculously relevant AOE online conference? Because I was also attending (and teaching a mini-course in weaving!) the Arts Academy, I could only attend the AOE conference during my presentation to answer questions. I'm slowly making my way through the presentations and loving them all. So many great ideas and just in the nick of time as we start back to school in a matter of (gulp!) weeks. 

Now some of y'all might be scratching your noggin, wondering "what in the world is Tennessee Arts Academy?" Well, lemme first of all tell ya that it's not just of us Tennesseans. In fact, a buddy of mine came all the way from Seattle (hi, Julie!) to attend. Because it's really that amazing, y'all. It's a week of art-making, performance-attending, Ted Talk-esque lecturing and, my personal favorite, eating. Lots of eating. I'll be sharing an official blog post about the event with y'all later this week but for now, I've sprinkled a bit throughout this post. Enjoy and I'll be back Monday so we can chat Artsy Book Club!

 Okay, y'all. I apologize if you are viewing this here image bright and early in the morning as this sight will give you a jolt stronger than a cuppa coffee. Lemme give you the story behind the Behind: on Sunday evening, the Tennessee Arts Academy had a fancy opening reception with a performance, hors d'oeuvres and a run down of the week. The Academy has a photographer who documents the week and posts photos on Facebook. I had no idea this photo was even taken until a coupla buddies told me they had seen it on FB (one telling me she knew it was me because of my "grandma purse" and my "Mr. T in my Pocket" keychain, ha!). I thought it was quite hilarious until the fancy banquet that was held Wednesday night. At the banquet, they have two huge movie screens where a slideshow of images is shown. Whilst enjoying my lobster (yes, the Academy feeds you LOBSTER, y'all!), I hear someone say, "Cassie, your butt!" only to look up and find THIS IMAGE on two large movie screens. Yeah, always keepin' it classy.

 Soup-er Tuesday: Usually the week of the Academy is unbearably hot, being in the middle of July in Tennessee. Howevers, on Tuesday, some much needed rainy weather rolled in and brought glorious lower temps with it. I decided it was a soup-er day for some, well, soup. necklace and black t-shirt: Target; shoes: the perfect shoe for a rainy day that includes walking across a college campus, Crocs; Campbell's Soup Dress: DIY, made by me after Andy Warhol

 On Monday and Tuesday of the Academy, I took a clay class with the awesome art educator and clay artist Gus Miranda. He and his talented and hilarious wife Miranda own a clay studio in Miami, Florida where they teach classes when they aren't at their art educating day jobs. More details on this project soon...I can't wait to share it with you, it was so much fun! 

 Screamin' Wednesday: During the Arts Academy, they offer short classes called "interludes". Me and several other art educators taught these 50 minute classes and it was so much fun albeit intimidating. It's always a little spooky being a teacher teaching teachers (say that 10 times fast!). The Scream Dress: made by me, DIY here.

 I had a great group of art teachers show up ready to weave. Over the course of two sessions, they created a woven pouch, sewed on a button and created/attached a cord. For a complete set of those directions, you can visit here. 

 Y'all might remember my art teacher buddy Stephanie on the left, she was my Pee-wee Baby Shower co-host! AND, you recall I mentioned someone coming all the way from Seattle? That's Julie there in the middle, all lemon-y fresh. You can find details of my Starry Night dress here, if you wanna.

 Still Standing Thursday: The AOE Conference was on this day and I had to be available to field questions about my short session. That was really tough, ya'll. Answering questions about my kinda-sorta controversial prezzie (I chatted for 14 minutes about why I don't believe in having the kids work with technology in MY art room) was difficult especially when some of the questions weren't always friendly. Turns out saying, "because I'm right and you're wrong!" isn't the way to go. I shoulda known, that line doesn't work on el hubbo either. sweater: thrifted; palette pin: gift from a friend, thanks, Paul!; shoes: Shoe Carnival; Great Wave Dress: made by me, deets here

 You wanna know what's worse than sticking sharp sticks under your fingernails? Listening to your own presentation. That's what.

 Last Day of the Academy Friday: I'm, like, literally asleep here, kids. By the way, it's funny the different kind of responses one gets when wearing a get-up like this. At the Arts Academy, among art teachers, it's great! Take one step inside that hipster coffee shop and they're all "OMGaahhhh, is the circus in town?!" crayon clip: made by me; necklace: the Paper Source; crayon dress: made by me, details here; crayon shoes: made by me, details here

 After the Academy ended Friday afternoon, I decided, in my delirious state of exhaustion to go to SMART!, Scrap Made ART Supplies in the Berry Hill area of Nashville. You guys, this place is AMAZING! Here's what they state on their website: "SmART! Supplies is a repurposed art supply store where artists, school teachers, craftspeople, seamstresses and anyone in between can purchase unique, recycled items for any arts and crafts project. Along with providing a cool new art store for Nashville, SmART! will benefit Progress Inc.'s mission of giving people with intellectual disabilities meaningful employment opportunities." 

And here's just a small peak inside. The place hosts two rooms full of INSANELY ORGANIZED boxes of popsicle sticks, bottle caps, fabric, patterns (sewers, this really is the place for you!), cigar boxes, yarn, stamps, stamp pads -- y'all, if you need it, this place has it! I've been there twice now (in three days) and have walked out with armfuls of goodies under $15. In the future SmART! plans to hold art classes and provide gallery space. 

And that's all, folks! Be back attcha soon. Til then, enjoy the rest of your weekend, kids!

In the Art Room: My Favorite Fiber Arts Lessons!

Hey, friends! I'm coming to you today with my very favorite fiber arts projects! Teaching fiber arts is one of my very favorite things to teach, along with clay. This summer and fall, I put in HOURS creating THIS BOOK which will be due out this coming summer:

You can preorder yourself a copy here if you are interested! But if you just can't wait, I thought I'd share some of my very favorite fibers projects right here today. Be sure and follow the links to the lessons as nearly all of them have how-to videos that are perfect for you and your students. Let's start with sewing!

1. These GIANT pizza pillows were such a hit last year with my students that I knew I had to do it again. Because I was wrapping my fibers book this past fall, I decided to kick off the school year with fibers. Usually, I'm all about fiber projects in the spring. This is how we displayed the pillows at last year's art show!  This year, we also made both emoji and donut pillows (size: HUGE) but for details on those, you'll have to scoop up my book.

2. If you are looking for a beginner sewing project on a smaller scale, you might wanna try these stitched monsters on for size. My kids used Smart Fab fabric for the bodies but felt would work just fine. If you are curious what types of needles and thread I recommend, be sure and check out this blog post as well as the others where I break it down for you. 

3. I learned embroidery from my grandma when I was in elementary school and I LOVED it. It felt so good to learn something so "adult" in my mind: creating a picture with needle and thread. I love sharing this experience with my students now too. You can read all about this Our School Has Heart fiber art's experience right here. 

This year, I decided to live dangerously and introduce embroidery to my second graders at the start of the school year...when they are still first graders, really. It was a bumpy start but they got it and loved it. This lesson can be found in my book but I did create this video a while back to help you troubleshoot stitching with kids:

Actually, the above video was created for AOE during one of their online conferences! This is a couple years old but does walk you thru a lot of important details of all things fiber arts and kids. 

And here is my troubleshooting embroidery with kiddos video. I hope you find them helpful!

4. For even MORE details on sewing and embroidery, along with a book I strongly recommend, visit here!

5. Needle felting with kiddos is not something I do very often...but I do enjoy doing it! If you attempt needle felting with children, I'd make certain it's with a group of kids that understand the dangers of the needle felting tool and are responsible enough to handle it. As y'all know, I LOVE needle felting and have put in countless hours stabbing stuff. If you are interested in learning more about needle felting, start here.

6. One of the most popular lessons on this blog has been my string art lesson. This is based on a project I did in 5th grade and LOVED. My students have loved it just as much. I've created videos to walk you and your kids through this lesson so be sure and check out this blog post AND this blog post! 

7. Paper weaving is a must when you introduce weaving to your students. But what to do with the paper weaving when finished? Last year, we made these woven owls and the kids loved them! 

Both this blog post and the one mentioned above have A TON of videos on teaching first graders (and up!) how to make a paper loom and weave. 

8. Circle Loom Weaving has always been a huge hit! I normally do with my second graders in the spring but this year, I did it with third grade in the fall. I can't tell you how many videos I have on this! Be sure and check this blog post out if you have any questions about getting started. 

9. Have you ever tried CD or Embroidery Hoop weaving? So fun and easy! Last year, my second graders tackled CD weaving instead of plate weaving. It was a great way to upcycle those stacks of CD's I'd been accumulating. This type of weaving takes less time than plate weaving as you don't have to spend two art classes painting the plates. They also look super pretty in the window when light hits the CD. Video and lesson details here!

10. Whenever I get stumped for a lesson, I just think back to the things I enjoyed creating as a kid. I remember the summer I spent at a vacation bible school learning straw weaving. So fun! My kids love this one too. Details and video here!

11. Want a lesson that packs a huge punch? Tree weaving teaches landscape painting, weaving and so much more! This lesson of mine has been another huge hit on my blog. I have many videos to walk you and your kids through this fun technique. You can find it here. 

12. I have yet to meet a kid who didn't love making Ojos de Dios. Why not try expanding on that love by making BIG God's eyes?! We did that here!

13. Pouch Weaving used to be one of my all time favorite things to teach. Because it is complex, I created an entire series of weaving videos for you and your students, including how to create that cool cord. You can find the beginning of the series here.

 14. Got yarn? Then you and your kiddos can yarn bomb! What a great activity for your early finishers too. 

15. Shibori! I love shibori dying and so do my students. I created a video that explains EVERY one of these folding techniques and you can see it here. 

So, truth be told: I've been blogging for seven years and teaching for twenty. I KNOW I've left some great lesson links and videos off this list accidentally. So, you are wanting more, give my name and whatever type of fiber project you are interested in a google search...or search in the bar on the side of this blog. Because there are just so many fun fibers lessons out there. AND stay tuned for my book where there are even more!