This is an archived event from Culture Days 2020.
Images
Erland Lee Museum Home Kid's Craft
Digital
Craft Kids Museum Visual artsDate and time
Location
Erland Lee Museum Home
Stoney Creek, ON
Directions: Located along Ridge Road in Stoney Creek, between the New Mountain and Dewitt mountain accesses.
Access
Free.
Offered in English.
Offers closed captioning or subtitles and offers audio description.
This activity is experienced virtually & remotely
About
Join Volunteer Barb as she teaches us to weave mug rugs!
A great craft for all ages, this technique can also be used to make bookmarks or even larger pieces like table runners!
Instructions: How to Weave a Mug Rug
Preparing the loom:
-You will need: 6 inch square piece of corrugated cardboard, xacto-knife, ruler, heavy string, scissors, yarn, yarn needle
-Draw a 4 ¼ inch square in the center of the cardboard.
-Mark off ¼ inches along the top and bottom edges of the square
-Cut through these to the edge of the cardboard and also through the 2 outer edges of the square which will give you 17 tabs or notches.
Weaving terms:
-Warp: means wrap the loom vertically!
-Weft: is weaving over and under the warp horizontally!
How to “Warp” the loom:
-Thread a piece of the twine through the 1st notch leaving a 4 inch tail hanging at the back
-Bring the twine down to the notch below and thread it through, bringing it to the top along the back of the loom and thread it through the next notch.
-Work your way across the entire loom leaving a 4 inch tail at the back.
Weaving:
-Cut a 2 yard length of yarn and thread through the yarn needle.
-Leaving a 3 inch tail, begin weaving over and under the warp threads from the upper right side across to the left.
-Reverse the process and weave back to the right edge (if your last weave was under, you will go over).
-Use a fork to tighten the rows.
-Be careful not to pull the yarn too tightly when weaving since this will distort the side edges!
-Continue weaving in this manner until you have about 3 inches of yarn left at an edge.
-Cut another length of yarn and continue to weave; it takes 6 or more lengths of yarn to complete this project depending on the thickness of the yarn.
-Be careful not to split the warp threads so that your finished coaster will be reversible!
Releasing the mug rug/coaster:
-Cut the warp threads on the back of the loom in the middle but leave them attached!
-Unhook 2 of the warp threads at a time from one side and tie them in a square or double knot.
-Continue across the loom.
-These knotted strands can be unraveled to create a fringe or left as is and cut to desired length
Sewing in loose ends:
-Now that your coaster is secure, you can weave in all the loose ends of the yarn!
-Thread loose yarn through the needle and carefully insert it at the edge and work it up or down about 4 -5 rows to secure then trim away.
Pat yourself on the back!
Welcome to the world of weaving!
Organizer
Erland Lee Museum Home
The Erland Lee Museum Home is a National Historic Site of Canada and home of the world's first Women's Institutes branch. Built in 1808 as a simple log cabin, the building was renovated over the years and owned by the Lee family until 1972.
In 1972, the Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario (FWIO) purchased the Lee family home. FWIO wanted to preserve the vintage home as a memorial to the birthplace of the Women's Institutes (WI), and feature the vanished, middle-class, rural Victorian lifestyle. It opened as the Erland Lee Museum the same year, with the exterior and the 1873 additions restored to their 1897 beauty.
The Erland Lee Museum Home strives to serve its community through family-friendly events & programs and through educational and entertaining workshops through the year. We are regularly open January through December for guided tours of the home and self-guided tours of the 1873 Carriage House and grounds.