Rags and Cereal Boxes : Upcycle Weaving

Weaving is a can be a great project for young people and it doesn't have to involve a lot of fancy tools or equipment. You don't even need string. So when you are done with your cereal, let's have some fun with the box before it goes into the recycle bin.

Supplies

Cereal box, or any other type of cardboard box that is light weight

Ruler

Pencil

Scissors

Rags. ASK FIRST. Young people, don't just use stuff without asking permission. Woven materials work best; old pillow case, old shirt, (not a t-shirt) - does someone in the family sew? Ask for some rags.

Start by Cutting Up the Cereal Box

•You only need one of big sides

•Cut off and save all the other bits, you might be able to use them later

•Mark ½ inch lines lengthwise

•Leave a good space on top and on bottom

•Cut the lines

See, All Done

•Now you are ready to weave.

•What you’ve done here is created a warp to weave your fabric on

•Get out your fabric, it’s time tear stuff up.

Snip and Rip: Creating Your Weft.

•If you have older fabric it will tear very easily

•If you have a plain weave fabric it will tear on straight lines.

•If you are not finding any of these things to be true get out the scissors and cut out some strips of fabric.

•Play around with what size you make them.

•Experiment.

PLEASE remember not to cut up anything with asking your folks first.

Start Weaving

•You have just created your weft materials so now you are ready to weave

•A basic weave goes over one, under one

•But it doesn’t have to

•Start on one side and go all the way to the other side using the pattern you have chosen

Finishing a Line

•When you have reach the end of a line tear the fabric off

•Or cut it

•Be sure to leave a tail sticking out otherwise the fabric tends to unweave itself.

•Repeat on the second line reversing your pattern, if you went over, go under. Do the opposite of the line below you.

So You Keep Going

•Over, under

•Under, Over

•Over, Under

•Under, Over

•Your goal is to get up to the top and have something like the picture on the right.

•Guess what, if it doesn’t look like that, it’s all good, you can do it again, the cereal box is pretty sturdy, I did mine two or three times before I liked it.

Try Different Patterns, Try Different Materials

•Try different patterns, the picture on the left is called a twill pattern

•It goes over two, under two, but you offset the pattern by one each time so it goes in a distinctive diagonal pattern

•If you want to get fancy look up different weaving patterns online

No Fabric, No Problem

•Use what you can find

•On the right is a picture of when I used the other side of the cereal box to weave

•I cut the lines of the cardboard all curvy to make it more interesting