WEAVING A WORLD: Simple Loom
Weaving
These centers, inspired by weavings from diverse cultures, engages students in
the weaving sequence, from building a simple loom to a completed hand woven
fabric. Artistic intentionality and craftsmanship are evident in their choice of
textures, pattern, colors, and various weaving techniques.





Building a Loom
First People: Nature’s Gift
Common Threads: Weaving a World
Kente Cloth: An African story
Contemporary Circles
WEAVING A WORLD
From the age of bronze
To the age of space,
From Ankara to Zanzibar,
In every time, in every place,
Whenever thinking people are,
The weaver’s craft is found.
For weaving is A common joy,
A people’s art
All peoples did and do –
In ancient times and new.
The loom connects us all
In a community
Of cloth.
Aneesa Lee and the Weaver’s Gift
by Nikki Grimes
BULIDING A LOOM
Creating the LOOM
1. Draw a pencil line ½” from the top and bottom edge
2. Make marks by measuring no less than 1/4 “ across top
and bottom of mat board from the same side.
3. Cut notches at each measure mark down to the pencil
line
Warping the LOOM
4. Warp the loom using warping cotton in either way -- all
the way around (fringe method) or by going in and around
the notches (non-fringe).
FIRST PEOPLE: Natures Designs and Colors
Materials:
Books:
Duncan, L. (1996). The magic of spider woman. NY: Scholastic.
Dunn, H. (1973). Indians of Nevada. Nevada Department of Education.
Grossman, V. & Long, S. Ten little Indians. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
Miles. M. (1971). Annie and the Old One. Boston: Little, Brown.
LOOK AND WONDER
LOOK at the artifacts and art references about Native American Weavings.
Examine closely the various patterns and colors.
WONDER about the similarities and differences in the patterns. Could they mean
something special to each people?
GATHER AND EXPLORE
GATHER ideas about the various patterns by looking at the pattern cards. Select the
resources and materials you will need to recreate a Native American design.
EXPLORE by making your Loom first.
POSE – Consider your color choices and chose 3-5 colors. Will they represent nature?
Will they be symbolic, related to something in your life?
COMPOSE AND CRAFT
COMPOSE your design, by thinking about your pattern. What will repeat? Will you
include other shapes?
CRAFT – Be thoughtful about your craftsmanship in creating your Native American
weaving. Take care to not pull the weft threads too tight! Keep the weaving parallel on
your loom.
PRODUCE AND REFLECT
SHARE - remove the weaving from the loom and tie off warp and tuck in the tails.
Include the loom and the weaving in your Weaving Book.
REFLECT upon your inspiration for your weaving. Write a sentence or two about your
artistic decision making.
NATIVE AMERICAN DESIGNS AND COLORS
http://nevadaculture.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1102&Itemid=27
Note: although the following essay was written in the past tense, contemporary Native
Americans are still using these techniques and natural materials.
DESIGNS AND COLORS
Native Americans decorated most of their crafts to make them more beautiful. They added color
and designs with paint, beads, quill embroidery, and by carving and weaving. Sometimes a design
or color was a symbol, that is, it stood for an idea or told a story. For example, among the Crow,
the color black was a symbol for victory; arrow symbols might mean a hunt or a battle.
Each group had its own set of meanings for colors and designs to use on ceremonial crafts. These
symbols could be drawn on a leather pouch or a drumskin to retell a myth or relate an important
event. Sometimes the maker of a ghost shirt or some other ceremonial object had a dream that
revealed what design to use.
The decorative art on many everyday objects had no special meaning. Sometimes a geometric
design might be called "butterfly" because the triangle shapes together on a basket looked like a
butterfly. Usually, the only way to find out if a design was supposed to be a symbol with meaning
was to ask the maker. Designs that showed people, birds, and animals were usually created by
men. Women worked more with geometric shapes.
Color was important to add meaning to a design, too. Most Native Americans named four points
of the earth, the four directions of the compass--north, south, east, and west--and assigned a
color to each one. Among the Cherokee, north was blue, south was white, east was red, and west
was black. Colors could also mean life or death, wax or peace, female or male, night or day. For
example, the Navaho thought black represented men and blue, women. The Hopi thought that
the color blue was the most sacred and used it to honor their gods. Here are some of the other
meanings attached to colors:
Color
Meaning for Native Americans
Black
night, underworld, male, cold, disease, death
Blue
sky, water, female, clouds, lightning, moon, thunder, sadness
Green plant life, earth, summer, rain
Red
wounds, sunset, thunder, blood, earth, war, day
White winter, death, snow
Yellow sunshine, day, dawn
NATURAL DYES
Native Americans used plant materials to make beautiful, soft colors to dye wool, cotton, and
other fibers. They made almost every color, though shades of yellow were the easiest to produce.
Listed below are some of the plants Native Americans used for coloring. Experiment making
natural dyes with these or other plants in your environment. As a general rule, if the plant part is
hard, like bark or sticks, pound or grind it to loosen the fibers; if it's soft, like flower petals or
berries, use it as is.
Wash the plant material first. Then put it, ground up or whole, in a large enameled pot and fill the
pot with water. (Metal pots may change the color, though sometimes that produces an interesting
result.) Boil until the color is a little darker than you'd like. Strain the dye material out and add a
little salt and baking soda to the colored water, or dyebath. For a more permanent dye, add a
teaspoon of alum, available from a hardware or crafts store.
To dye wool or heavy cloth, soak it in warm water before putting it in the dyebath. Let it boil in
the dyebath for about an hour and then let it cool in the pot. To dye raffia, thread, or thin cloth,
soak them in the dyebath for several hours.
Rinse all dyed materials several times in cold water. Then hang them up to dry--away from direct
sunlight or heat, which may cause bleaching.
Color
Plant Material
Blacks
wild grapes, hickory bark, alder bark, dogwood bark, mountain mahogany bark
Blues
larkspur petals, alfalfa flowers, sunflower seeds
Browns walnut shells, birch bark
Greens
moss, algae, lily-of-the-valley leaves, juniper berries
Purples blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, rotten maple wood
Reds
sumac berries, dogwood bark, beets, cranberries
Yellows onion skins, goldenrod stems and flowers, sunflower petals, dock roots, marigold petals,
sagebrush
Source: Dunn, Helen. Indians of Nevada. Published by the Nevada Department of Education, 1973.
COMMON THREADS
Materials:
Books:
Crandell. R. (2002). Hands of the maya: Villagers at work and play. New York: Henry Holt
and Company.
Grimes. N. (1999). Aneesa Lee and the weaver’s gift. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books.
Sola, M. (1997). Angela weaves a dream: The story of a young maya artist. New York:
Hyperion books for children.
LOOK AND WONDER
LOOK – Visit the Textile Museum on-line and go to the Exhibition Collection. View the
exhibit Common Threads
http://www.textilemuseum.org/commonthreads/commonthreads.htm
WONDER – What is common about weavings across the world ? How might they be
different? What does the environment have to do with weaving?
GATHER AND EXPLORE
GATHER – ideas about the two weavings from Guatamala and Bhutan
EXPLORE their creative expression and traditions by filling in the Compare and
Contrast Chart about the two Weavings
POSE – Which one of these weavings would I like to recreate?
COMPOSE AND CRAFT
COMPOSE – Begin your weaving by creating Box loom or use a matboard loom and
draw a design to slip underneath the warp.
Select the colors and consider the design of your weaving
CRAFT your skills as complete your weaving either on a box loom or with a drawn
design.
PRODUCE AND REFLECT
SHARE your weaving in its final form in Weaving book.
Take a picture of the box loom before you remove the weaving and add that too?
Include your drawn design if you made one.
REFLECT upon what you learned about the two cultures as you worked. Write a short
paragraph about the tradition you chose.
KENTE CLOTH
Materials:
Books:
Carle, E. The Very Busy Spider.
Chocolate, D. (). Kente colors. New York: Walker and Company.
Feelings, T. (1972). Moja means one: Swahili counting book. New York: Dial Press
Mills, L. (1991). The rag coat. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group,
Inc.
Haley, G. E. (1970). A story, a story. Troll Associates.
LOOK AND WONDER
LOOK at Kente weavings and read the Book Kente Colors. Look at the
smooth texture to these weavings and the brilliant colors.
WONDER about how they did these weavings in strips. Look at the
book on the master weaver of Ghana.
GATHER AND EXPLORE
GATHER a set of colors that could represent things about you and
what you believe. Create a key for your colors.
EXPLORE by creating a loom for your Kente weaving.
POSE a possible pattern to follow for your design. Look back at the Kente Cloth for
ideas!
COMPOSE AND CRAFT
COMPOSE your weaving by being mindful about the color
patterns and order of those colors. What is it saying about you
and what you feel is important?
CRAFT – The skills need for weaving a kente are important.
Take your time to develop your consistent over and under
technique. Keep your weaving parallel!
PRODUCE AND REFLECT
SHARE the beautiful Kente weaving in your Weaving Book. Write a description of
what the colors mean to you. Add your color chart.
REFLECT upon what you learned about Kente cloth including the weaving process
and product?
CONTEMPORARY WEAVING
Materials: Circle, warping cotton, your scissors, tape.
LOOK AND WONDER
LOOK at the Contemporary Weaving concertina book with works by Ted Hallman
and PASELA children at the Banana Factory. Read the Introduction.
WONDER about the type of materials and looms that Ted Hallman used in his
weavings that he found.
What could you use to create a weaving loom or material to weave with from your
environment?
GATHER AND EXPLORE
GATHER materials to make a CIRCLE LOOM.
EXPLORE - You will be leaving your weaving on the loom
so decide if you want a vertical weaving or a circular
weaving. Cut the notches and warp your loom.
POSE – What artistic problem have you already solved?
What new ones will you need to make now?
COMPOSE AND CRAFT
COMPOSE – Begin to plan for your weaving by selecting colors, textures, and fibers
and objects you might want to add to your weaving.
CRAFT – Begin your weaving being mindful of the overall design. Consider the
craftsmanship and the use of aesthetic operations in your weaving.
PRODUCE AND REFLECT
REFLECT – Review the Contemporary Weaving concertina
and reread what Ted Hallman says about his work in his
artist statement.
SHARE - Write an Artist’s Statement to explain your artistic
choices. Were you successful?
Writing an Artist’s Statement
CELEBRATIONS AND DOCUMENTATION