Do not know how to distract the child from the tablet and phone? Try to keep it fun and colorful Loom Bands. How to weave, what bracelets, necklaces and accessories you can create - you will learn from this article. Needlework will appeal to both bored teenagers and toddlers who are just learning how to use their fingers.
How did the rubber era begin?
Loom Bands is one of the top 30 best-selling toys, a hobby that eclipses computer games. Host Jimmy Kimmel shines from American screens in a suit from Loom Bands. Rubber bracelets are worn by David Beckham and the Duchess of Cambridge.
How to Weave Loom Bands came up with a former seat belt developer Chong Chun Ng. Seeing his daughters making a bracelet from accounting gum, he tried to repeat after them. But too thick fingers are not allowed. This prompted the creation of a "loom". He later made his plastic prototype - this is how the story of Loom Bands expansion began.
What can be done from Loom Bands
The idea was born in 2011. Since then, from Kamchatka to Yucatan, adults and children have been weaving rubber bands on the loom and fingers. YouTube is teeming with hundreds of Loom Bands weaving videos, knitting instructions for rings, bracelets, necklaces and pendants. The most ambitious masters manage to create jump ropes, watchbands, phone cases, toy animals.
Groups on social networks and blogs have been created where teens share their achievements, new techniques, and help newcomers. Some start a small business and offer their handicrafts on eBay. In 2014, a British girl sold a dress from Loom Bands for 170,000 GBR. Which is translated into rubles - 12.8 million.
Ukrainian children make them in support of the soldiers and weave yellow-blue bracelets. Psychologists recommend this hobby to preschool children, arguing that the lesson develops concentration, fine motor skills and speech.
What is needed
The first is a set of rubber bands. You can buy it in the nearest stationery store in the department of children's goods or order on the Internet. Such sets are inexpensive, which makes them even more popular. To create jewelry with complex techniques, a machine, a slingshot or a hook is useful. But you can do without fixtures and weave Loom Bands on your fingers, on pencils or forks.
To master the technique you need Loom Bands rubber bands and diagrams with instructions. Usually they are attached to the kit. Having understood the basics of knitting, you can come up with your own patterns and intricacies, creating designer jewelry. Do not forget to stock up on clips, without which it will not be possible to fix the elastic bands.
How to weave your first bracelet
We offer you step-by-step instructions for Loom Bands without a machine and a slingshot, only using two pencils and a 44-piece Rainbow Loom set.
Twist the eraser around the pencils with the figure eight.
Put on top two more in a straight position.
Take the bottom gum by the tip and place it in the center of the top.
Do the same with the other tip.
Put on one more elastic at the top and repeat steps 3 and 4. Continue to put on one elastic at a time until the bracelet reaches the desired length.
The last step is to remove the loops and secure the ends with a clip or clasp. This is the simplest scheme, called the "fish tail". You can even explain to a 5 year old child how to weave Loom Bands in this technique. To prevent the baby from getting hurt, you can use your fingers instead of pencils. The main thing is to make sure that out of curiosity the gum does not taste ... By the way, the creator of Rainbow loom loves weaving in the fish-tail technique of green and blue most of all.
For more complex techniques, hexafish or dragon scales, fingers will not be enough - you need a machine. Instead of a plastic device, take an ordinary cutlery - a fork.
How to Weave Loom Bands Bracelet on a Fork
You will need a fork, S-clips and elastic bands in two colors. 24 pieces are enough for a child’s hand, 26-28 elastic bands for an adult.
Put the eight on the first one elastic on two teeth from the left edge, then the second on two right teeth.
Put the next gum in the middle, in a straight position, without twisting the figure eight.
Alternately pry the edges of the loop on the second and third teeth and twist them through the top. If it is difficult to do with your fingers, use a crochet hook or a toothpick.
Make sure that the elastic bands do not slip and are always at the base of the fork.
Put one elastic band on the two left and two right teeth. Pull the loops of the lower gum over them.
Continue to weave according to the algorithm: middle, left, right edge, alternating colors. At the very end, fasten the bracelet with a clip so that the masterpiece does not crumble.
Rainbow Loom is an awesome toy. An abundance of flowers and weaving methods develops imagination and creative thinking. The need to follow instructions stimulates learning and focus on one thing. As soon as one pattern is mastered, the baby will immediately want to knit something much more complicated.
By the way, this is a very economical hobby that does not require the cost of buying gadgets. Sets cost around 200 rubles. As a reward for work, children receive bright fakes that can be exchanged with friends. But the main thing is a gift for parents: during the weaving, silence in the house is guaranteed.