CELEBRATING NATIONAL DIVERSITY DAY

Weaving is a practice used by many cultures and artists all over the world! During our event Fall Family Art Day on Oct 1, NUMU presented a weaving activity, inviting participants to create a weaving inspired by diversity and what it means to you. Below are some instructions for you to get creative at home.

We encourage you to dive a little deeper and choose colors of yarn for your weaving that represents your own diversity such as your personality, your family’s heritage, your life story, a flag, or how diversity makes you feel. Our Artist in Residence Alexander Hernandez is a great example of how textiles can be used in a meaningful way to communicate ideas of identity, as seen in his work for the exhibition RETAZOS.

MATERIALS

Yarn
*Pro tip, check out your local thrift store for some budget friendly yarn!
Thick piece of paper or cardboard to create your loom
Scissors
Small stick

WEAVING INSTRUCTIONS

Cut an even number of notches on each end of a piece of paper to begin creating your loom. If you want to be extra precise you can measure with a ruler and draw your marks with pencil first, and then cut along those lines.
Take a long piece of yarn and wrap it through your notches so that one end forms loops, and the other has the two ends of your string.
Choose some yarn that you would like to weave with. Pay attention to the color, thickness, and pattern you’d like to create, and think about how all of the pieces will come together in your weaving.
Weave your small stick through the loom at the top to help guide your weaving and keep your loom steady. You should weave it over one string, under the next, and so on.
Tie your first piece of yarn in a knot to the top of your loom, on the end with the loops.
Begin weaving your yarn through the strings on your loom: over, under, over, under etc.
When you reach the end, gently pull your yarn all the way through, and don’t pull too tight, making sure your paper or cardboard stays flat.
To create your next row, weave back through making sure to do the opposite of your last row: under, over, under, over etc.
Continue until you’d like to swap colors. When you’re ready to swap, simply tie your new piece of yarn to the end of your last piece and continue weaving.
When you get to the end of your weaving, trim, tie off or tuck in any loose threads.
Take your weaving off the loom and hang the loops on the stick. Pick a string to tie on the stick so you can hang your weaving.
Take a photo and share your weaving with us @newmuseumlosgatos #numulg #newmuseumlosgatos!

We hope to see you at our next Family Art Day! Happy creating!

Video Tutorials

There are many wonderful resources online if you’re interested in diving deeper into the world of weaving! We’ve curated some for you to explore below.