Family how-to: plastic bag weaving
Family how-to: plastic bag weaving
By Lily McGuire and Tiffany Greenoak
Published 7 July 2020
Follow these simple instructions to make a mini loom and have a go at weaving with recycled plastic bags.
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Family how-to: plastic bag weaving
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What you need
• Plastic bags
• Thick cardboard
• String
• Strong scissors
• Ruler
• Pencil
• PVA glue
• Bulldog clips
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Step 1
Cut your cardboard into a rectangle. The larger the cardboard, the larger your weaving will be! Using a ruler (or a finger!) measure marks approximately 1 cm apart along the top and bottom. For younger ones, experiment with spacing these further apart.
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Step 2
Cut along the lines with scissors.
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Step 3
Cut two thin strips of cardboard the width of the loom and glue them down.
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Step 4
Secure the cardboard strips with bulldog or paper clips until the glue dries.
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Step 5
Unwind some string and tie a knot at one end.
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Step 6
Securing the knotted end at the back, pull the string across the front of the loom, then back behind, and so on, to make rows of string. This is called the warp.
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Step 7
Choose your plastic bags, flatten them out and cut off their handles. You could try using a mixture of bags. The heavy duty, reusable ones will be easier to thread.
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Step 8
Fold each bag into long, flat sausages.
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Step 9
Cut each one into segments, discarding the ends. The wider you cut each segment, the wider your plastic thread will be.
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Step 10
Unravel each one to make long plastic threads. You may need to trim off any extra bits and put aside threads that are not fully intact.
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Step 11
Take one of your plastic threads and tie it onto a top corner of the warp, using a single knot. Be as gentle as possible here with more lightweight bags, to make sure the plastic thread doesn’t snap.
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Step 12
Then begin to weave across the warp, holding onto the end of the thread and taking it over one string and under the next. You can weave the plastic thread all the way to the end of the loom, or turn back midway. When you turn back, take note of the thread above. If it goes over the warp, then take your thread under, if it goes under, then take yours over.
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Step 13
When you reach the end of your strip, or want to change the colour of your thread, tie the end and cut off the excess. Experiment with different colours and patterns, creating shapes with your weaving.
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Step 14
Turn your loom over, cut each string free and carefully pull your weaving away from the loom.
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Step 15
To secure the weaving, tie knots in the string at each end.
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Admire your work!
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Show us your results! Share a photo or video of your finished work with @royalacademy on Twitter or @royalacademyarts on Instagram, using #familyhowto.
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