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Weaving and knitting is a wonderful activity you can teach kids! This cardboard paper tube knitting craft is the perfect start project to get anyone excited about knitting.
When my kids were young we LOVED doing simple yarn activities like cardboard circle weaving, or finger knitting. This genius cardboard paper tube knitting is another fun and creative activity that I’ve enjoyed doing with my kids. One of our favorite craft activities are recycled projects using things around the house like toilet paper tubes. What we love best about this activity is that it’s simple, inexpensive, and calming.
This paper tube weaving activity is also great for practicing hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. You can use an endless variety of yarn color and come up with super cute and creative ways to display and use your yarn creations at the end. Keep reading for the how-to and some tips and tricks.
What kind of yarn can you use for paper tube knitting?
You can pretty much use any yarn unless it’s extra thick or woolly. This would be hard to get around the popsicle sticks. You also don’t want to choose thin string like embroidery floss or less your weave will look floppy with lots of holes.
It’s best to choose a yarn your kids can comfortably handle that threads easily around the popsicle sticks.
Paper Tube Knitting – Materials:
- Toilet paper tubes
- Yarn
- Popsicle sticks
- Tape
- Scissors
How do you weave or knit using paper tubes?
Make sure to watch the video in this post to watch the weaving steps as that part is the hardest to comprehend at first. Watching it visually is the best way to learn.
Tape 5 popsicle sticks around the paper tube, equi-distant from each other.
Take the string from your ball of yarn and loop it around one of the sticks. Go around and loop over the other sticks and repeat so they have two loops each. Take one loop per stick and fold it over the same stick. Repeat for the other sticks. Then you will repeat, wrapping yarn around each stick again and then looping over each stick.
As you keep going your yarn “snake” will slither down the tube and create this neat little yarn “necklace.” This kind of knitting or weaving is very similar to finger knitting where you fold yarn in loops over your finger, but instead you are doing it with popsticle sticks!
You can keep going pretty much until your ball of yarn is complete but if you want to stop you’ll cut off around 6-8 inches from the ball of yarn. Remove the loops from the sticks and then thread the 6-8 inch string around the loops to tie and tighten it off. You can then trim the dangling string.
What can you make with your yarn snake?
You can add googly eyes and really turn them into realistic snakes! Or use the yarn rope for dangling like this octopus! Make yarn bracelets or necklaces. Or knit accessories and scarves for dolls or stuffed animals.
We hope you try this easy beginner weaving or knitting activity with your kids. It’s fantastic for fine motor skills and the possibilities to create cute yarn designs are endless!
Genius Cardboard Paper Tube Knitting Craft
Materials
- Toilet paper tubes
- Yarn
- Popsicle sticks
- Tape
- Scissors
Instructions
Watch the video in this post.
Tape 5 popsicle sticks around the paper tube, equi-distant from each other.
Take the string from your ball of yarn and loop it around one of the sticks. Go around and loop over the other sticks and repeat so they have two loops each. Take one loop per stick and fold it over the same stick. Repeat for the other sticks. Then you will repeat, wrapping yarn around each stick again and then looping over each stick.
As you keep going your yarn "snake" will slither down the tube and create this neat little yarn "necklace." This kind of knitting or weaving is very similar to finger knitting where you fold yarn in loops over your finger, but instead you are doing it with popsticle sticks!
You can keep going pretty much until your ball of yarn is complete but if you want to stop you'll cut off around 6-8 inches from the ball of yarn. Remove the loops from the sticks and then thread the 6-8 inch string around the loops to tie and tighten it off. You can then trim the dangling string.
Agnes Hsu is a mom of three and has been inspiring parents and kids to get creative with easy activities and family friendly recipes for over 10 years. She shares her love for creative play and kids food to her 2MM+ followers online. Agnes' commitment to playful learning and kindness has not only raised funds for charity but also earned features in prestigious nationwide publications.