When I was putting together our camp crafts roundup the other day,  it got me thinking about all of the crafty things I used to do when I was a kid.  One of my favorite things to do was weaving on a drinking straw loom, a project I learned in girl scouts.  The result is a strip of woven fabric, perfect for use as a belt or scarf.  You can vary the width of the finished piece by changing the number of straws; more straws yields a wider strip.

Project estimate:

  • Drinking straws, on hand or $1
  • Yarn, on hand or $1 and up
  • Cardboard, on hand
  • Tape, on hand

Total:  Free and up

Figure out how many straws you are using.  (I recommend at least three.  You can add as many straws as you want, but once you get to more than 5 or 6 they start to become a little unruly and more difficult to handle.)  For each straw, cut a  piece of yarn a few inches longer than you want the finished piece to be.  Tie the ends of the strands together with an overhand knot and use tape to anchor them to a piece  of cardboard.

Feed each strand of yarn through a drinking straw, sliding the straws all the way up to the knot.

Tie the end of another piece of  yarn around the first taped-down strand.

Weave the yarn over and under the straws.  Keep the weaving as tight as possible.  As the straws become wrapped  in yarn, slide the straws down to re-expose them.  Continue weaving  until your  piece reaches the desired length.

To finish the end, tie the weaving strand and all of the base stands together in an overhand knot.  Now the only question is, what are you going to do with your yarn weaving?  Whatever you choose, you’ll have fin making it!