During the winter season it can feel like there aren't a great deal of natural finds around to be had, especially in built up areas, but one thing that is nearly always a cert is sticks. Drifted in via the water, blown to you by the wind, dropped by birds repairing & building nests & simply under any tree planted area - sticks & twigs! I am always grateful for them. A simple stick means that there is always something to find & discover, something to gather & something to play with.
In this session we are looking to those sticks & twigs to give us beautiful outcomes & help us learn a thing or two about our trees on the way. Collect some sticks out on your walks & leave them to dry off in a warm place overnight. We are then going to be combining them with weaving. Weaving in its basic form is an ancient wonderful craft to learn & it's accessible to all - even little ones with a bit of support can manage this one. Weaving can help develop: fine motor skills; counting skills - for warp wraps & rows for each colour; concentration span; & develop a love of making things by hand. Once those sticks have dried out the preparation can begin. If your children are young you may want to prepare the stick loom ready for them, older ones can attempt this for themselves with guidance as required. (For a smaller introduction to weaving, you can also consider these: Rock Weaving Wraps.) Be aware that masterpieces may take time for little hands & even older hands to complete - this can be an arts & nature craft piece that you can have on the go over the course of a week if you want to do it small chunks of time.
Remember to check out the Woodland Trust link to learn how to ID your stick & twig collections.
Items required:
Winter twig ID sheet (see link) or book if you have one on tree ID. There are many you can find online but this sheet provided by the woodland trust is handy and designed for children & families, scroll down & click on the Twig ID Sheet. https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2020/03/tree-id-kids/
Only print if you needed, otherwise ID them from the screen, once you get home from your walks.
Sticks & twigs - Gather as many different ones as you can find. Collect different lengths/thicknesses /colours/types of stick & twig. TIP: If you want to make a big loom you will need some long strong sticks too for the outer so remember to consider this.
Twine - string or yarn to tie the loom stick structure together with & also to create the warp threads that you will weave into. TIP: try not use anything thicker than your weft yarn for your loom string, it tends not to look as good at the end but balance that with also not using something that is too thin & will snap!
Twines/Yarns of choice - Use up odd left over yarns or choose specific colours/textures. These yarns are also called the weft that you will create your weaving between the sticks with. TIPS: thick yarns fill the loom quicker - this can be better for little ones with shorter attention spans. You CAN also double up yarns to create a thicker yarn to fill the loom quicker - BUT this can be harder for younger ones to manage as the yarn can tangle. Prepare some lengths ready for working with, I'd recommend approx 50cm or less for younger ones. Prepare the lengths ready with taped ends if you don't have a needle as this helps keep focus once you are on a weaving flow.
Scissors
Large eyed weaving/embroidery needle (ensure no pointy sharp ends for with little ones) OR you can do as I show how in the video & simply wrap the weft ends in masking tape or sticky tape, it works just as well for this.
Secateurs - sometimes required to get the sticks/twigs to the lengths you want them to be - or just go with whatever you find!
Optional:
Ruler
Masking tape/sticky tape (if you don't have a weaving/embroidery needle).
Whilst using this resource to inspire learning, know you are helping you and your family's wellbeing by:
1) Get Active - Get out on a walk with your family to collect lots of sticks & twigs to being home to create with.
2) Keep Learning - use this session to learn (or relearn) a crafting technique to create a object of beauty & learning with your family. Many of us just see 'a stick', but by engaging our curiosity and looking a little closer we can learn much about the trees in our local areas simply by the textures and ends of our twigs & sticks.
3) Be Mindful- Engaging our sense of curiosity and choosing to look a little closer can bring about many questions. To begin try this: have a look at all the sticks you collected together, looking closer what colours are they? What textures do they have? Is there anything you can notice about them? Is it easier to notice differences when they are in comparison to other sticks? Now consider the journey that stick/twig may have had in it's life, from a seed in the ground, to a young sapling, to eventually being a branch, a twig and now a stick on the ground that you were able to gather.
4) Practice Kindness- Depending on your family, know that you may need to prepare materials beforehand and give patient help threading needles, or taping yarn ends up if you have younger children, respond with kindness to their needs. Also know that this is a project that may take some time (even days if working in short periods with children) to complete, encouraging seeing something through is admirable and there is certainly a sense of achievement that comes with completing something that has taken time, but remember what is really important here: the fact that you worked together as a family and focused and worked towards something! Be kind with yourselves if you don't manage to complete it!
5) Think Community - If you are making this as a project, perhaps it is something that you can create together with your family & those that you live with as a joint project where each of you can contribute towards its completion. Post your beautiful outcomes and share any tips in the comments below.
Music:https://www.bensound.com