Weaving with paper strips
Art & Design · Early Years · The School
Over and under
Weaving uses strips of paper. One strip goes OVER the next. Then it goes UNDER the one after that. Over, under, over, under. That is weaving. It is not the same as just laying strips on top. The pattern is what makes it weaving, not the paper itself.
A base to weave into
First you need a BASE. Cut slits into one piece of paper. Do not cut all the way to the edge. Leave a border round the edge, or the base tears. That base holds the strips in place while you weave. Without a base, the strips just fall apart. Cut slowly. A torn base cannot be fixed.
Threading a strip through
Take one loose strip. Push it over the first slit. Then under the next one. Then over again. Keep going all the way across. Push it snug against the last strip. No glue is needed at all. Not once it is woven in properly.
Weave five strips through the base, one at a time. Go over, then under, then over again. Change the order each time, strip by strip. That is what makes a checkerboard pattern appear. Try using a different colour for every strip. Push each one snug up against its neighbour as you go. When you are done, turn the picture over. No glue holds it together at all. Only the weaving does.