Hand weaving

Explore the craft of weaving and its development in medieval times. Learn the basis of weaving and practice weaving using a simple cardboard loom.

Teaching Outcomes:

• To learn how the weaving of woollen cloth from yarn was an important and prosperous British industry in medieval times.
• To learn about the craft of weaving; to make a simple cardboard loom and use it to begin weaving yarn into cloth.

Children will:

• Learn about the process of weaving yarn to make cloth and how this craft became a thriving cottage industry in medieval times.
• Learn the vocabulary of weaving and its history, e.g. weft, warp, loom, merchant, spinster, yarn.
• Weave paper strips on a paper loom to learn the “under/over” technique.
• Make and thread a cardboard loom and use it to begin weaving a rectangle of cloth.
• Practice the craft of drop spindle spin learnt last session to create yarn for weaving.

• Making a cardboard loom and weaving on it
• Paper loom sheet
• Weaving crossword puzzle
• How weaving works
• Weaving puzzle

• Squares of loosely woven cloth, e.g. hessian or similar
• A large number of 1.5 cm strips of different coloured paper
• A group set of drop spindles as used last session with some raw fleece to spin
• Stiff card rectangles
• Small rectangles of stiff card about 9x4 cm to make the shuttles
• A large quantity of different coloured woollen yarn
• Masking tape

How to spin yarn using a drop spindle - YouTube clip