Paper craft

Patterned Woven Paper Mat

Confident (level 4 of 5)
40 min
11 steps
Ages 7–12 (a guide, not a rule)

Uses scissors
Uses glue
Adult help suggested

Start Making Print with template

Plain weaving goes over one and under one. This mat uses a twill: over two, under two, starting one place later on every row, so bold diagonal stripes appear, the way they do in denim. Print the mat on one color and the strips on another, fold and cut the slits, then weave row by row.

Before you start

You need

Colored paper printed with the mat template, 216 x 279 mm (8.5 x 11 in (Letter) or A4). A dark color works best. The mat is 180 x 200 mm (about 7 x 7 7/8 in).
Paper of a second color printed with the strip template, 216 x 279 mm (8.5 x 11 in (Letter) or A4). Makes eight strips, each 20 x 180 mm (about 3/4 x 7 in).
Blunt-tip scissors
Glue stick
Ruler (to check the scale bar)

Decorating (optional): Use two strip colors (alternate rows) for a plaid look, or draw dots on the strips before weaving.

No colored paper printed with the mat template? No printer? Draw the slit lines with a ruler: 8 lines, 20 mm (3/4 in) apart, stopping 20 mm from the top and bottom. Strips cut from magazine pages make a colorful mat.

For the grown-up: Help hold the folded mat while the slits are cut, and remind children to stop each cut at the end of the printed line.

Use blunt-tip scissors and cut away from your fingers.

How to place the paper before the first step — **Your paper:** Print the mat template and the strip template at 100% (Actual size) on two colors of paper. Check the 5 cm bar. Lay the mat sheet printed side up.

Valley fold: blue dashes. Fold toward you, like a valley.
Mountain fold: pink dash-dot. Fold away from you, like a mountain.
Crease: a thin gray line where you folded before.
Cut: a thick solid line with scissors.
Glue: a yellow area marked "glue".

Step by step

Each step shows what to do (left) and how it should look after (right).

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Result

Step 1 of 11 Cut Cut out the mat along its solid outer line.
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Step 2 of 11 Cut Cut the strip sheet apart along its lines to make eight strips. (The second sheet: the strips, printed on paper of another color.)
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Step 3 of 11 Mountain fold Back to the mat: fold it in half along the middle line, with the printed lines on the outside. (Back to the mat sheet.)
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Step 4 of 11 Cut Cut along each line from the folded edge, through both layers. Stop at the end of the line, so the border stays whole.
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Step 5 of 11 Unfold Unfold the mat. It now has eight long slits with a solid border all around.
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Step 6 of 11 Weave Weave strip 1 near the top: over two, under two, over two, under one. Slide it up against the border.
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Step 7 of 11 Weave Weave strip 2 the same way but shifted one place: over one, under two, over two, under two.
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Step 8 of 11 Weave Keep shifting one place each row. Strip 3: under two, over two, under two, over one. Strip 4: under one, over two, under two, over two.
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Step 9 of 11 Weave Weave strips 5 to 8 just like strips 1 to 4. Push each row up snugly. Diagonal stripes appear!
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Step 10 of 11 Glue Glue down the end of every strip on the left and right borders, and trim any strip that sticks out.
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Result

Step 11 of 11 Check Press the mat flat under a book for a few minutes. Turn it over: the back shows the stripes the other way!

A blue paper mat woven with yellow strips that make diagonal stripes, framed by a blue border.

You made it!

Yours may look a little different. That is part of making things by hand.

Print the steps

Template

Print the template at 100% (Actual size), not "Fit to page". Then measure the check bar with a ruler: it must be 5 cm (2 in) long.

Mat with slit lines · 184 × 204 mm. Mat 180 x 200 mm with eight slits 20 mm apart. Print at 100% on dark colored paper (lines only, to save ink).
Eight weaving strips · 184 × 164 mm. Each strip is 20 x 180 mm. Print at 100% on paper of a second color.

Print the template

If something goes wrong

The stripes do not line up diagonally.

Check the start of each row: every new strip starts one place later than the strip above it. Slide a strip out and weave it again.

A cut went through the border.

Put a small piece of tape across the back of the border to mend it.

Gaps show between the rows.

Push each strip up against the one above before you weave the next, and glue the ends only at the very end.

Helpful hints

Say the pattern out loud as you weave: "over, over, under, under".
Weave each strip from the left so the shift is easy to see.

An original PlayOwl project.