With February rolling in, it’s time to start prepping various crafts and activities for my Primary class. I thought I’d branch out a bit from the simple white decorated paper bags that I’ve done with previous students in the past and have my students make this simple handmade Valentine’s Day bag.
I decided to incorporate some weaving into the project so now it will be perfect for the practical life shelf! This is super easy and requires no special materials. I’d venture to guess you have (most, if not all of) these on hand already:
- 9×12″ construction paper (2 sheets needed per bag)
- hole puncher
- yarn (about 3′ per bag)
- scissors
- tape
- colored pencils
- stickers, other decorative items (optional)
Here are basic instructions and photos of the bag I made as a sample for my class.
First, place two sheets of construction paper together. Punch holes approximately 1″ apart from each other along 3 sides. I decided to leave a long side open.
Punch holes about 1″ apart along 3 sides
Next, get your yarn ready. Put one end of the yarn through one of the top holes. along the open side. Tie a knot to secure the yarn.
Tie a knot around the top edge to secure the yarn.
Start weaving the yarn above and then below each hole. If the yarn starts to fray, simply wrap a tiny piece of tape around it to create a “shoelace end” on it.
Start weaving!
An easy way to fix fraying yarn – add a bit of tape.
Continue weaving the yarn all the way around. Once you get to the last hole, weave the yarn one more time around the last hole to secure it. Either tie a knot there, or extend the yarn to make a handle and tie a knot in the hole where you began your weaving.
Secure the yarn around the edge and back through the last hole.
Either tie off the yarn at the last whole or extend it back to the starting point to make a handle.
Decorate away! I only had pencils on hand, but I may have the children add cut-out hearts or stickers to the bags we make at school.
Decorate your bag!
I hope you found the instructions for the this simple homemade Valentine’s Day bag easy to follow. Need a simple idea for making handmade Valentine’s Day cards? Check out a previous post. Wishing you a fun Valentine’s Day with your students!
