Gorgeous Nature Weaving Activity

My summer garden and flowers are in full bloom, so it seemed like the perfect time to try out this nature weaving! It’s an idea I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time, but my little dude seemed a bit too young for it until right about now.

This is a great activity for getting out and exploring nature with the kiddos! They’ll also get some fine motor skills practice with the weaving. Not to mention you’ll end up with a gorgeous (although admittedly short-lived) piece of art when it’s all said and done!

Follow along to see how we created our nature weaving!

Choose and build your loom.

I really wanted to go rustic with it because I love the look of stick frames. If that’s not your thing or you want something a little quicker, these cardboard weaving looms are also great and super easy to make. They would also be portable, which would make it a great thing to take along on a hike. Then the kids could create a nature weaving with things they find along the way!

For our frame, I chose some medium size branches that were about 1.5 feet long. You can obviously make this any size you’d like depending on what you have available or what you plan to do with it afterwards.

Arrange the sticks in a square and tie them together with some string in each corner. I quickly realized that just tying the sticks wouldn’t be secure enough, so I also nailed each corner together. Otherwise, your square will be wobbly and the strings can loosen as the branches slide around.

Once you have your frame secured, tie rows of string from top to bottom along the entire length of the frame. Feel free to tie them as close together or as far apart as you want.

If your kids are older and can handle a more complex weave, then closer together might be the way to go. If they’re younger and new to weaving, few strings spaced farther apart is probably the better option. (In retrospect, this is probably the route I should have gone for my little dude.)

Once this is finished, you have the loom you’ll need for your nature weaving!

Gather your nature materials.

Head out with the kids and have them gather their materials! We stayed in our own yard and used a lot of things I was already planning on trimming anyway but held off until this activity. If you choose to build the smaller cardboard looms, you could also do this activity while on a hike!

Keep in mind that to effectively weave, you’re looking for some items with longer stems or branches. A few shorter items to add in here or there will also work and create some unique texture to the nature weaving.

We used some zinnias from the garden, peony and day lily stalks, sweet pea vines, some queen anne’s lace flowers, and a few random branches we trimmed off one of our bushes. Always make sure to keep an eye out for poison ivy while you search and gather different items!

Start weaving!

Once you’ve got all your materials, it’s time to start weaving! If your child has never tried this before, introduce the concept of under/over and demonstrate for them. It doesn’t have to be perfect. If your younger kids can even just manage to tuck the plants in here and there enough to stay in place, that would be sufficient.

Once they get going, stand back and see what they create! My little guy had the idea of making a rainbow nature weaving. We did our best to find different colors and textures, but unfortunately we were a bit short on the colors. I still love the way it turned out though!

Here’s what our nature weaving looked like when it was all finished!

I love how unique the results can be depending on the time of year and what plants grow in your area. Now head out and see what your little ones will create!

If you’re looking for more nature craft ideas, check out this nature rainbow palette or these floral nature necklaces!