Intro To Fiber Arts: Week 2 Pom Poms and Finger Weaving

For the second week of our Intro to Fiber Arts Class, we learned how to make pom poms and finger knit using yarn. 

Making pom poms is simple and fun! Our class used a business card-sized piece of cardboard to wrap our yarn around. I challenged the students to go home and use a different-sized piece of cardboard to see what happens (hint, it will change the size!). You can also (carefully) wrap yarn around your fingers or use a purchased pom pom maker from the store; all will work. 

We watched this video lesson to learn how to make our pom poms:

Both classes got to work, and all agreed that the best part is giving your new pom pom friend a “haircut.” We used the containers to contain all those scrap pieces flying around. Some students made furry friends out of their pom poms by adding googly eyes; others added them to their weavings.

Next, we tried our hand at finger knitting. Finger knitting is a tricky skill to master and takes a little patience and practice. I hope that those students who were struggling a bit will come back and watch our video tutorial and try again! You can learn to finger knit with one, two, or (gasp) four fingers. 

I had a few students in my 3rd-5th grade class who were prolific four-finger finger knitters and enjoyed sharing their skills with us. If you love finger knitting, I can’t recommend this book of projects enough.  There are some great ideas of what to do with your miles and miles of knitting :) 

Students then had a choice of more pom pom making, finger knitting, or finishing their weaving.  A lot of students chose to finish up their weavings and they turned out amazing.  A few weavings snuck out the door before I could photograph them, but here are a few so you can admire their hard work!

From a 3rd-5th Graders, inspired by a waterfall:

From K-2nd Graders

Looking forward to our final week where we will learn about hand sewing and embroidery techniques.