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Rainbow Loom Upcycling

27 comments



Have any of your kids caught onto the Rainbow Loom craze? My son got a Rainbow Loom from his relatives staying in America. We initially didn't know what it was until he got the package and eagerly read the instructions. It is a basically a weaving loom made of pegs and that comes with a crochet-like hook. You weave small rubber bands onto the loom to make bracelets and necklaces. From what I have seen on Youtube, if you put your mind to it, you can even make key chains and even a bag!  It is addictive, but I am not so keen on the usage of rubber bands. I was also thinking what would happen to this loom once the craze was over. 





I decided to use the Rainbow Loom for my upcycling, and start weaving with it. The outcome was better than the normal weaving technique I've used as it produced a knit / fish-tail look. 

So here's how it's done. 




Update 19/1/2014 - I almost snapped the plastic hook that comes with Rainbow Loom, so I changed to a metal one that's used for crochet.
Step 1
Get your t-shirt yarn (see tutorial), Rainbow Loom and hook ready. Remove 2 rows of the Rainbow Loom. 





Step 3
Decide how many pegs you are going to use.  I used 7 pegs.

Step 4
Tie a loop in the yarn and hook onto one of the pegs. 




Step 5
Weave the yarn in between the pegs. 


When you reach the end then weave in and out back towards the beginning. Repeat this process again - you will have weaved four times across the pegs, and if you look carefully from the front of the loom, each peg should have TWO layers of yarn.  This is important!



Step 6
Once you have done the weaving, take your hook. Starting from the last peg, take the bottom yarn and hook over the top yarn and place back onto the peg.   Repeat this with all pegs.




Step 7
Start weaving again until you have two layers of yarn on each peg.  This time you only need to weave to the end and back to create the two layers of yarn per hook. Repeat Step 6.


The back of the loom should look like this.




I noticed that it got harder to unhook the yarn as it was made from t-shirt material and it was tense in comparison to say, wool. If you're worried about snapping the Rainbow Loom hook, you can use a metal crochet hook instead.

Step 8
Repeat Step 6 and 7 until your weave is of the desired length. Then cut your weaving yarn away from your yarn ball; I left a length of about 7 pegs as I was weaving on 7 pegs.  Unhook the peg and thread the yarn into it, continue doing this until you reach the end.




So now I have a square patch, and I'm planning to get more done to make a big blanket!! If you're not good at knitting, I think this is an alternative method. No Rainbow Loom? Why not just use your fingers or make your own ? :-)




Happy crafting!

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Abdelghafour

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27 comments

  1. I need to get one of those for myself! I've never heard of them before. :-)

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    1. It's only just reached our shores so we were pretty excited when we got it!

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  2. We have a loom, this is a fantastic project idea!

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    1. Thanks, KJ! Heard it's all the rage on your side of the world :-)

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  3. That's amazing! Great idea Agy, using t-shirt yarn instead of rubber bands. I can't wait to see your completed blanket!

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  4. I heard of Rainbow Loom but don't know how it works with the rubber bands! Yours is looking awesome, Agy, can't wait to see the final product! =) Thanks for linking up!

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  5. i'm a teacher in the US and i am so sick of chasing those rubber bands all over the place. the bracelets break so easily and the kids get very distracted as they try to repair them. i much prefer your loom idea over the rubber band bracelets!!!

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    1. Ugh, I totally understand. Just picking up those elastic bands can be a pain!

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  6. I'm going to show what you created to my daughter, it looks fab. She loves her rainbow loom and will be delighted to see it can be used for other creations!

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  7. Thanks so much for sharing with Wednesday's Adorned From Above Link Party.
    Debi and Charly @ Adorned From Above

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  8. What a great idea! Pinning this to try with my kids!

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  9. Great idea for finding another way to use these! Thanks for sharing at the After School Link Up.

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  10. My daughter got one for Christmas but we have yet to open it. I'm afraid her little brothers will try to eat those little rubber bands.

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  11. Can you use a regular loom? I love this idea.

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    1. Vanessa, I think you can, it's just I don't have one and I thought the Rainbow Loom is a great alternative.

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  12. Jan 17,Have any of your kids caught onto the Rainbow Loom craze? My son got a Rainbow Loom from his relatives staying in America. We initially
    My Blog: 2rainbowloom.blogspot.com

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  13. The rainbow loom craze is in decline here. It's great to see them being repurposed.

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  14. I never did like the idea of the rainbow loom with rubber bands. Where I'm at the craze is pretty much over. But this looks much more practical. Kids always prefer to make something useful for adults which is why I think the rubber bands went out of style.

    This is a terrific and even better idea. I hope it catches on.

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  15. This is so cool! My daughter still loves her rainbow loom, but I'm getting tired of all the bands! I'll try introducing her to this process. I bet she'll like it even better.

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  16. So fun, I love the idea of using tshirt yarn to make a blanket!

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  17. I had a similar device as a child. We spent hours making potholders! it is a fond memory!

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  18. What a great upcycle! My daughter received a rainbow loom for her last birthday but it really doesn't get much use...maybe she would like this idea even more. Thanks for sharing!

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  19. Great idea, my children loved loom bands for a while so this would be great thing for them to do as we still have all the pegs and hooks etc.

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  20. What a great idea....would love to get my daughter interested in this!

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  21. I've never seen this before but it looks like something I would like. I used to crochet as a kid, but never tried anything like this

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  22. I have unfortunately like seven plastic blooms that my children new longer touch. I would love to use those for crocheting. Is that possible?

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