This past school holiday, I had the joy of spending quality time with my grandchildren, weaving paper placemats to adorn our Easter table. We made them to tie in with the Easter baskets we made a few days before.
Materials Used:
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White card stock
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Recycled poster paper
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Ruler and pencil
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Scissors or paper cutter
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Masking tape
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Wood glue
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Plastic tray (as a working surface)
Crafting Process:
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Preparing the Base:
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We began by cutting 15 strips of white card stock, each measuring 2 cm wide and 32 cm long.
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These strips were laid vertically on a plastic tray, side by side, leaving a 2–3 mm gap between each.
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To keep them in place, we secured the top edges with a strip of masking tape.
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Creating the Weft:
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Next, we cut 14 strips from the recycled poster paper, each approximately 2 cm wide and 40 cm long.
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These strips were woven horizontally through the vertical card strips, alternating the over-and-under pattern with each row.
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We gently pushed each strip upward to ensure a snug weave.
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Finishing Touches:
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After completing the weaving, we trimmed the excess poster paper to align with the edges of the card stock.
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A dab of wood glue was applied to the ends of each strip to secure them firmly.
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Reflections and Future Plans:
The resulting woven paper placemats are going to add a charming, handmade touch to our Easter celebration. More importantly, the experience of crafting them together will be very meaningful to my grandchildren, as they hopefully feel a healthy pride in what they made.
I’m inspired to create more of these placemats in the future, perhaps experimenting with monochromatic themes or utilizing some spare wallpaper I have on hand.
