If you’ve been around for a minute or two you know that I LOVE cozies for my cans, last year I even shared some knitting patterns for mug rugs! I’m not a fan of my drink sweating all over a table but I also like the idea of my warm drink not leaving any heat rings on vulnerable surfaces.
I thought it’d be really fun to take a dollar store picture frame and use it for a makeshift loom to weave a little mug rug. I’m pleasantly pleased with the result and I plan on making placemats in the future in a similar fashion!
These frames were 5″x7″ picture frames that I purchased from the dollar store. You can always take a look around your house and borrow a frame from a picture you already have, or go to the thrift store and find a really large framed picture for little cost! One warning I will give though is that it’s possible the duct tape will remove any kind of special finish on a frame. After I removed the duct tape on this frame I noticed a little bit of paint had chipped away. I only purchased these frames with the intention of using them for weaving, so this was a non issue for me!
Supplies Needed: Yarn, Scissors, duct tape, plastic fork – optional tapestry needle to make weaving under and over easier. I just used my fingers but a tapestry needle would have made it way easier!
You can really choose as many colors of yarn as you want but I went with just three colors that all coordinated. I cut the lengths to be longer than the frame so I would have plenty of slack to attach to the tape. Then I lined up my strings and adhered them to the back of the duct tape.
Now initially I went for 15 strands. Which is what you see in that picture where I placed the strands on the tape. They’re super spaced out and everything. After I wove a few rows I realized this was going to be too small for the purpose of a mug rug so I took it off the frame and added more strands. I even left the ones that were already attached to the tape there and filled in the gaps with the additional strands. I increased so I had 25 strands. You want an odd number. It was still a little skinny in the end for a more oversized mug, but if you use a traditional 6 or 8oz mug this would be a great size! As you can also see I taped both ends down to the picture frame and made sure it was taut.
Do you see how far apart the strands are in picture on the left? The one on the right is sooo much better!
To weave you want to go over one strand and under the next. For the following row, go under the ones you went over and over the ones you went under. It’s that simple! I did 8 rows of the light blue, then 9 rows of the green and 8 rows again of the light blue. Also while you’re weaving, a way to tighten up your rows that you’ve weaved is to take a plastic fork and with the prongs, you gently push the rows closer together!
Once I was done weaving I took the tape off the frame and the yarn. I carefully tied knots around my first and last rows so they didn’t come undone* and voila! A little woven mug rug!
*Basically you’ll take a strand that started out as the underneath and a strand that was the on top and tie them together that they are enclosing the first (or last) row. Otherwise your weaving will just fall apart.
The larger the frame and the more strands of yarn you use, the larger the woven object will become! These frames were 5″x7″ picture frames that I purchased from the dollar store. You can always take a look around your house and borrow a frame from a picture you already have, or go to the thrift store and find a really large framed picture for little cost!
Probably should have chosen a fun coffee cocktail for this one but instead I came up with Peach Rosé Spritzer Sangria!
Peach Rosé Spritzer Sangria!
Ingredients
- 12 oz Rosé
- 2 oz Peach Vodka
- 1 cup Sprite
- 1 Peach chopped
Directions
- Mix all the liquid ingredients and add the chopped up peach
- Chill and Enjoy!
I hope y’all enjoyed today’s adult summer camp craft! I loved being able to play with yarn and make something that wasn’t knitted or crocheted! This is a great project for those who don’t know how to do that but want to get into fiber crafts. Obvs kids can enjoy making these things as well and I think they’d make thoughtful gifts for birthdays and holidays!
If you loved this post please consider, “buying me a coffee” it helps keep the website as ad-free as possible, which I’m sure you enjoyed as you scrolled not having to click an x on something every few seconds!
Share your creations with me on socials! It always brightens my day when y’all do! Check in tomorrow for our last delicious cocktail and fun project for this year’s Adult Summer Camp Crafts!
XOXO
-Robin
