Weaving loops are strips of somewhat stretchable fabric that look like thick rubber bands. They are used in a variety of simple weaving crafts and are used mainly to make weaving easy. While kids often use weaving loops for simple crafts like potholder — so much so that the product is often referred to as potholder loops — many other weavers use these loops for less common craft projects.
Weaving loops are readily available for sale in craft stores and online. They may be sold either as part of a kit that includes a loom to use the loops with, or separately for those who use them for non-loom weaving. They are available in a range of fabrics, including nylon, cotton and jersey, and are fairly inexpensive.
While popular with children, weaving loops also have a fan base among adult crafters, some of whom have taken their use well beyond the humble potholder to create purses, belts, jewelry and other items. Basic square potholders created on a simple loom can be sewn together to make rugs, table runners, placemats, etc. As with the loops’ use, color combinations are seemingly limited only by the crafter’s imagination.
Looms also aren’t a requirement for using weaving loops. A skill known as finger weaving dates to Elizabethan times and, while they're traditionally used with thread or yarn to create jewelry or hair decorations, they can also be modified to use weaving loops.
Those who want to get crafty with weaving loops can even start by making their own loops. It can be as easy as cutting the legs of a pair of girls’ tights into bands, which makes color choices practically endless.
Another method of making your own weaving loops also serves as a way to recycle old T-shirts. Start by cutting the T-shirt into rectangles. Fold the rectangles in half and cut from the folded edge — not along the folded edge but parallel to the longer side of the rectangle — up the center toward the outer edge of the fabric, stopping short of slicing the piece in half.
