Last weekend I had the pleasure of teaching a workshop
in the “Fun with Textiles” series for the Sadu House in Kuwait. The workshops
are sponsored by Gulf Bank and are to expose children aged 6-12 to the textile
arts. Since the Sadu House is a cultural museum based on the art of traditional
Bedouin weaving, I thought it would be nice to introduce them to the basics of
weaving. I know that some children may have done a little weaving already, so I
wanted to make this workshop a little different. We had them draw and color a
picture on a paper towel first, and then cut it into strips to weave into their
piece. Adding this element really showed their creativity.
We used cardboard looms and showed them how to warp the
loom, and how to do a plain Tabby Weave (simple over 1, under 1 weaving). I wanted to show them more
weaving techniques, but they all loved the basic weaving so much, that they
just wanted to continue with that. Those who finished quickly were able to
learn how to make tassels on each end of their weaving.
I was so impressed with their creations. They were all so beautiful and unique! I hope it opened up their minds as to some of the amazing possibilities of weaving and working with yarn.
Gulf Bank put together a promo video from the day, and there is some great footage of the kids hard at work. Click on the play button in the post below to see it!
Great idea's. I've always been afraid to weave with my k-4 classes. I think I'm going to try this.
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