Craft Basket
Handwoven Paper Placemats
A first weaving project using soft paper strips — perfect for little hands learning over-under patterns.
Ages 3-610 min prep
What you'll need
- One sheet of thick colored paper (the loom base)
- Pastel construction paper strips, about 2 cm wide (the weft)
- Child-safe scissors
- A glue stick
- A pencil and a ruler (adult prep)
How to make it
- 1
Adult prep: fold the base sheet in half. From the folded edge, draw straight pencil lines about 2 cm apart, stopping 2 cm before the open edge.
- 2
Cut along the pencil lines through the fold, then open the paper flat — you'll have a loom with slits.
- 3
Sit with your child and choose 6-8 pastel strips in a color pattern they like.
- 4
Show them how to weave the first strip: over one, under one, over one, all the way across.
- 5
The next strip goes the opposite way: under one, over one, under one. Push it up snug against the first strip.
- 6
Keep alternating strips, celebrating each row. Little hands love the rhythm.
- 7
When the loom is full, dab a bit of glue on the ends of every strip so nothing slides out.
- 8
Trim any long ends and display the placemat under a snack plate for lunch.
Tip
For 3-year-olds, pre-cut wider strips (3 cm) and pre-slit the loom — the joy is in the over-under motion, not the cutting.