At-Home Art: Woven Fabric Tapestry

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Adult supervision and involvement is always advised.

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Art Focus: Weaving

Fine Motor Skills: Weaving, measuring, cutting

Time Duration: 30-45 minutes

Vocabulary: 

  • Weaving

  • Loom

  • Tapestry

Objective: To create a woven tapestry using household materials

Materials:

  • Yarn, string, fabric/t-shirt strips

  • Felt or other stiff fabric

  • Marker

  • Scissors

  • Ruler/tape measure

Instructions:

  1. Using felt or another sturdy fabric, cut out a 9x12 inch rectangle.

  2. Once you have your rectangle, fold it in half meeting shortest edge to shortest edge, and crease the fabric. (Stiffer fabrics crease most easily.)

  3. With the folded edge facing you, grab your ruler and marker to clearly mark every one inch on the folded edge. You should have 8 marks on the fold when this step is complete.

  4. While keeping the fabric folded and the folded edge facing you, line up your scissors to the first mark and start cutting a straight line away from you, up the fabric until you are an inch from the far edge. Just before you get to the last inch, stop cutting. Repeat this step for all marks.

  5. Unfold your fabric. You should now have a piece with slits cut throughout the middle with a one inch border on all sides.

  6. Set that fabric aside. 

  7. Now cut your yarn, t-shirt pieces, string, or extra fabric into strips that measure 11 inches long and no more than an inch wide if using fabric or t-shirt pieces. (Cut enough pieces to fill your 9x12 inch rectangle.) 

  8. Once your strips are cut, you are ready to start weaving. 

  9. Grab your fabric with the slits, and lay it flat positioning it with one of the shortest edges closest to you. 

  10. Now grab one of your strips to begin weaving starting at the top. Guide your first strip down through the first slit in your fabric and up through the next. Repeat this to form an over-under pattern until you reach the end of the row.

  11. Take a different strip and do the opposite right under the first row, guiding the strip up through the first slit in your fabric and down through the next. Repeat this until you reach the end of the row.

  12. Continue alternating the over-under patterns in each row all the way down your fabric. Be sure to keep your rows close to one another so there are no gaps in your final tapestry.

  13. When you run out of weaving space, you’re done and it is time to display your beautiful creation on a wall or tabletop!

Artwork sample by: Jayde Archbold, PMoA intern