Celebrate Colonial History and Make a Loom!

When kids bust a pair of jeans or outgrow an old shirt, it's usually followed by the familiar cry “I need a new one!” However, a little history lesson can teach your child that it wasn't always so easy.

During the colonial era, pieces of clothing that had been ripped or damaged were never thrown out. Everything back then was sewn my hand, which meant that a lot of effort went into each article of clothing. To make a pair of woolen pants, for example, a family would have had to shear a sheep, spin thread from the sheered wool, weave cloth with the thread, and then cut and sew the cloth into garments, and there weren't even any sewing machines then...a far cry from today’s drive to the department store!

If you’re like most modern folks, you’re not planning to raise your own sheep or set up a spinning wheel in your living room. But with just a few ordinary supplies, you and your child can make a simple weaving loom to explore some colonial history and celebrate our nation. This is a great project for a summer afternoon, especially if it’s around the Fourth of July and you’ve got some extra yarn in red, white, and blue!

You Will Need:

• 2 straight sticks, each about 14” long and at least 1” thick, or 2 pieces of 1x2” cut wood, each 14” long
• 2 pieces of ¼” rope, each about 30” (clothesline rope works great)
• 11 pieces of string, each about 26” long
• Extra thick yarn or strips of fabric in red, white, and blue
• Optional: Power Drill with 3/16” or 1/4” drill bit

What to Do: