Word Weaving

For this activity, you will need paper, cardboard, scissors, twine, and an adult. Cut a 6 inch by 6 inch square of cardboard. On the top and bottom, cut 10 slits, about a half inch apart. You now are the owner of a loom. Tie a loop on one end of your twine, and knot it. Slip the knot behind the leftmost slit on the top of your loom, then feed the twine down into the leftmost slit on the bottom and around the loom, feeding the twine into the next slit on the top, and so on, until you’ve reached the end and can tie another knot. Here is a great visual of the process.

You have now created the warp, and the next step will be to create the weft. Weaving words are very poetic. Weaving is like poetry in many ways. Like poets, weavers weave what is bright, beautiful and interesting to them, so very weaving can be as unique and complex as a poem. Like a poem, a weaving can tell a story.

Look around you. What materials can you gather that you might be able to weave on your loom that might tell a story about you and your life? Be imaginative. For example, if you have a furry companion, you might gather some hair he’s shed. If you are a basketball champion, you might recycle some laces from your basketball shoes.

Next, read Christina Rossetti’s "Color." This poem is a weaving of the colors the poet sees around her in the natural world. On a piece of paper, make a list of the best colors you see around you like Christina Rossetti. For example, a pineapple is yellow or a car is shiny silver. Write as many as you can. Now, cut each line into a strip. These will be the threads of your weaving. Now, weave your “colors” and your found materials on your loom.

When you’re done, you may choose to leave the weaving on your loom, or cut the twine and tie it off on the top and bottom. Now think: what story does your weaving tell?