Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Yarn Cup Revisited





I received a question about the yarn cup weaving project I posted about some time ago. The instructions are a bit unclear so I thought I would give a more detailed tutorial on the project. I enlisted the help of my older girl, she looks jazzed!



Supplies:

Variety of yarn pieces

Plastic Cup

Scissors

Sharpie

Template








You can create a template by tracing the top of your plastic cup. You need an odd number of strips to weave the yarn through. My template was for a 16 oz cup. You can use a variety of cup sizes just create a template where there are an odd number of equally spaced strips. The more strips you have the tighter the weave, but if you have a younger child then you may want fewer strips.




mark on the cup with a sharpie where each line should be cut.




Cut straight lines down the side of cup to the bottom. This is how you create the strips you will use to weave.



Once all the strips are cut you can choose your yarn. I like to begin with smooth yarns because they are easier to work with. Save the bumpy, frizzy, speciality yarns for when you have the hang of it. Always start with the yarn tail on the inside of the cup.






Now that you have your start you can weave the yarn in and out of the strips of plastic.








the first length of yarn can be frustrating. The first couple of rows may look like the one above. Take a break after every row or two to tighten the rows by pushing the yarn down.



When you run out of the first yarn piece end with the tail tucked inside the cup. Start the new piece of yarn where the last piece should have come out.




Keep on weaving. Now that you have some experience add the fun yarn if you like. You may think it works up really fast but really you will need to tighten it up often. Keep pushing the yarn down in order to have a nice tight weave.
My girl finished her cup in under 2 hours.


when you are done simply clean up the inside of the cup by trimming all the tails with scissors. With the wide variety of speciality yarns the options are endless.





Tips:

the plastic may splinter causing these little thorns that will catch on the yarn. Pull or cut them off.

The beginning can be frustrating. It just takes a bit to get accustomed. I did this project with our Girl Scout Troop and all 11 girls finished a cup and then another. Just a bit hairy to begin with.

I got the cup started and then remembered my daughter is left handed and started it out weaving right. If you have a lefty just weave in the left direction.

5 comments:

Christie said...

I tried to post a minute ago. I hope this isn't a duplicate.
I just wanted to thank you for doing this tutorial. I loved the project and you made it so much easier to understand. I thought it worked this way but not being sure...well I should have just went for it. I am so thankful however that you showed it so Thanks again!

Laura said...

No problem, I am happy you brought my attention to the fact it was unclear. I am sure others had questions. Please let me know what you think after you give it a try.

Christie said...

For sure, I will.
Take care.

Allyson Hill said...

Thanks for another great project idea! I didn't have a plastic cup so we're using an small plastic planter. It's fun! I did the first 1 inch so he wouldn't get discouraged. Happy Weekend!

Unknown said...

You made such a nice thing with the use of this plastic glass.