Weave a Two-Tone Mug Mat on a Cardboard Loom
A cardboard loom turns leftover cotton yarn into a striped mat for a winter mug. The warp is the set of threads held under tension on the loom; the weft is the yarn you pass across them. Use similar thicknesses for the two weft colors so the stripes pack down evenly.
What you need for one mat
- A sturdy 15 by 20 cm rectangle of corrugated cardboard
- About 4 m of smooth cotton yarn for the warp and about 8 m of medium-weight cotton yarn for the weft, divided between two colors
- Ruler, pencil, scissors, tape, blunt tapestry needle and a dinner fork
Set up the warp
On each 15 cm edge, center a row of 21 marks spaced 5 mm apart. Cut a slit about 5 mm deep at each mark. Tape the warp end to the back, bring it through the first slit and straight down the front into the matching bottom slit. Loop around the cardboard tooth into the next slit and cross the front again. Continue in a zigzag, then tape the last end to the back. The threads should be straight but not tight enough to bow the cardboard.
Work stripes without pinching the edges
Start about 4 cm above the bottom edge, leaving a 10 cm tail. Pass the needle over one warp and under the next. On the return, reverse which threads you cross over. Lay each pass in a shallow arc before pressing it down with the fork. Change colors after about 3 cm of weaving: leave a tail, start the next color at the same edge and continue until the woven section measures about 10 cm.
Finish and correct uneven edges
Release the turns from the slits, cut the loops open and knot adjacent warp ends in pairs, taking the last three as a group. Weave the weft tails back through several passes on the underside. Trim the fringe evenly. If the mat narrows in the middle, undo the tight rows and leave more slack before packing each pass. Use it under mugs, not as a trivet for cookware.
