Weaving With Kids

A friend invited me to Bethlehem Days at her church last weekend to demonstrate weaving. I have to admit that I don't know much about weaving in a historical context, but since no one was too concerned with historical authenticity, I just brought my Kombo. I dressed it in natural cotton for plain weave, and wound several bobbins in bright colors for weft. I wanted to let the kids do most of the weaving. The day went really well. Lots of kids wanted to try, and a few were hooked. A couple were really interested in what we were doing but not quite brave enough to give it a try.

This little boy came to visit me several times and really got into it. His grandma got a little irritated with him because he wouldn't leave the loom when she said it was time to go.

I got a kick out of this little girl. She never really got the hang of it, but she had such a good time. She told me she wanted to learn to weave, so she could do it for a living. I had to ask her a couple of times to let the other kids have a turn at the loom. :)

This is my friend's little sister, Faith. She was a natural at the loom and caugh on very quickly. At the end of the day, when I went to change out of my bible costume, I came back to find Faith weaving away, all on her own. She later told her mom that she wanted a "weaver" of her own. Her grandmother used to weave rugs, so it may be in her blood. :)

Here is a bit of the finished piece. It was beautiful, with lots of long floats and crazy selvedges. After finishing it, I gave it to my friend to use as a wall-hanging in the children's room at the church. A couple of the kids were disappointed that they didn't get to keep what they had woven, so hopefully the wall-hanging will be a good memory for them.