Weaving

Become a Weaving Whiz with these great weaving ideas - perfect for teaching fine motor skills!

Clay Weaving Frame

Combine your modelling and weaving skills to create a beautiful hanging clay weaving frame!
  • Step 1Take 300g of clay and use a rolling pin to roll into a slab approximately 7mm thick. You may wish to create a specific shape for your slab but we have chosen to use the organic shape that we rolled out.
  • Step 2Use the paint pattern rollers to create patterns in the slab. You could use all the rollers or choose just one or two.
  • Step 3Use the needle tool in the pottery kit to cut a circle from the centre of the slab as shown. Adult supervision is recommended when using a needle tool. Be sure to keep the circle cut out. You can use anything as a guide for this step - we used the inside of a roll of sticky tape. Just make sure the circle isn’t too big as we want to keep a nice thick border
  • Step 4Use the needle tool to poke an odd number of holes into the frame around the outside of the circle cut out, as shown. We have created 11 holes, but you can create as many as needed for your sized circle. Be careful not to poke the holes too close to the circle cut out as this could result in breakages when weaving. Once you’ve created the holes, flip the frame over and smooth the back with your finger.
  • Step 5Decide which way you want your frame to hang and poke a hole at the top and bottom. Again, be sure not to poke the holes too close to the edges. Poke a single hole into the top of your circle cut out piece. Lay the pieces flat and allow to dry completely.
  • Step 6Once the clay is dry, it’s time to add colour! Choose the colours of ink you want to use - we have chosen pink, yellow and white. Add some drops of the first colour to the clay frame and gently wipe and dab over the clay using a sponge. Continue adding the other colours until you are happy with the design. Allow to dry.
  • Step 7Once the ink has dried, apply at least 2 thin coats of the gloss finish, allowing each layer to completely dry between applications. Allow to dry completely. The gloss is important to add strength to the frame. Whilst air dry clay does harden when it dries, it is still quite fragile and breakable. The gloss adds some extra strength.
  • Step 8Cut a 2m length of soft yarn wool. Adult supervision is recommended when using scissors. Starting with the top hole around the centre of your clay frame, thread the yarn through the hole leaving at least a 5cm ‘tail’ of yarn at the back. Pull the yarn across the circle, down to the bottom hole directly opposite the top hole. Thread the yarn down through this hole and then up through the hole directly to the left of this hole. Remember to keep hold of the ‘tail’ whilst doing this. Pull the yarn across the circle to the hole directly to the right of the top hole as shown and thread down through it. Continue in this way until you make it back to the original top hole, loop it through and tie off onto the tail from the beginning. You may need to double up on a couple of holes to make it back to the beginning. Trim any excess yarn.
  • Step 9Now it’s time to weave! Cut a length of yarn in a different colour. Pull a 5cm tail through to the back and then begin weaving the long length of yarn around the circle using the over/under technique. Continue weaving around and around, pulling tight, tying off and cutting any excess yarn once you are happy.
  • Step 10Continue weaving around the circle using different colours of yarn until you are happy with the design.
  • Step 11Cut a length of yarn to create a hanger at the top of the frame and then another length to hang the circle cut out piece from the bottom of the frame.
  • Step 12Your clay weaving frame is now ready to hang!

Materials used in this activity

Paint Pattern Rollers - Pack of 4
Optional
Product Code: 10749
EACH $14.84 (inc GST) $13.49 (ex GST)
4 or more $10.99 (inc GST) $9.99 (ex GST)          
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Student Scissors - Pack of 20
Optional
Product Code: 10897
EACH $43.99 (inc GST) $39.99 (ex GST)
3 or more $32.99 (inc GST) $29.99 (ex GST)          
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Soft Yarn - 100g - Set of 10 Colours
Optional
Product Code: 12257
EACH $49.38 (inc GST) $44.89 (ex GST)
4 or more $38.38 (inc GST) $34.89 (ex GST)          
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Wooden Rolling Pins - Pack of 4
Optional
Product Code: 16599
EACH $26.39 (inc GST) $23.99 (ex GST)
4 or more $20.89 (inc GST) $18.99 (ex GST)          
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Pottery Tool Kit - Pack of 8
Optional
Product Code: 17273
EACH $18.69 (inc GST) $16.99 (ex GST)
4 or more $13.08 (inc GST) $11.89 (ex GST)          
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CleverPatch Air Dry Modelling Clay - White - 1kg Pack
Optional
Product Code: 18634
EACH $15.39 (inc GST) $13.99 (ex GST)
12 to 23 $13.19 (inc GST) $11.99 (ex GST) 24 or more $11.54 (inc GST) $10.49 (ex GST)
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CleverPatch Gloss Finish - 240ml
Optional
Product Code: 18797
EACH $10.99 (inc GST) $9.99 (ex GST)
6 or more $7.14 (inc GST) $6.49 (ex GST)          
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