Make a Colorful Bracelet with Soda Straw Weaving

My daughter loves making and wearing colorful jewelry.

This year one of the camp crafts at Girl Scouts involved straw weaving to make bracelets.  It was a huge hit with all the girls.

Soap carving and making bracelets with drinking straw weaving are both fun camp crafts.  They also make good tween crafts for summer or a rainy day.

Straw Weaving Bracelets

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Materials Needed:

• 3-5 plastic drinking straws (We used 3, but you can make a wider bracelet using 5.)
• Yarn
• Tape (to hold straws in place while weaving)
• Small piece of cardboard
• Scissors

Tie the three pieces of yarn together at one end.  Then thread each piece of yarn through a plastic straw.  (If you are using bendable straws, it helps to cut the bending tip off first so your yarn doesn’t get stuck in the bend.)

Only the ends of this yarn will be seen in your final project.  The soda straws will act as your loom.

Choose what color yarn you wish to weave with.

Wrap 5-8 feet (1.5 – 2.5 m) of your yarn around a small piece of cardboard.  The cardboard will act like your shuttle as you weave.

Tie the loose end of your weaving yarn to your other 3 pieces of yarn that have been threaded through the straws. 

Secure the knotted yarn to the table with a piece of tape.  This will hold your loom in place as you weave.

Now it’s time to begin weaving bracelets!   (Love weaving crafts? Check out these other weaving activities.)

How to Straw Weave

Use the cardboard shuttle to weave your yarn over the first straw, under the second, and then over the third.  You will continue weaving back and forth.

Use your fingers to push the yarn against the top of the loom, keeping the rows tight together.

Once your project is long enough, carefully slide the soda straws down, and off the yarn, one at a time.  You will need to hold your weaving in place so it doesn’t unravel.

Tie your loose ends of yarn together to secure it.

Cut off extra yarn, leaving it long enough to tie the two ends together to form your bracelet. 

Find your duct tape water bottle holder, take a drink, and show off your bracelet!

We used our straw weaving to make yarn bracelets.  You could also make a belt or headband following the same directions.  Just make your weaving a little longer.  

Weaving bracelets makes a fun summer camp activity.  It would also be a great kids craft for a rainy day.

You may also like:

• How to Make a Duct Tape Sit-Upon
• Build a Craft Stick Catapult
• Get the Kids Up and Moving with Math Races
• Go on a Candy Cane Hunt! 

And be sure to check out my newest book, Awesome Engineering Activities for Kids, with over 50 exciting activities to keep kids busy and learning, all while having fun.

Originally published on July 15, 2016.