This page has the step by step instructions for how to weave a small, basic bag. This can be done using a variety of types of strip made from any flexible material like folded paper, newspaper, or even thin plastic. You will also need some bobby-pins to keep the strips together and the pattern tight. This is a very hard thing to learn especially from a how to page. Do your best and just keep trying. You will get it.
For a small bag start with eight strips with each about a meter long. For a larger bag you can go up by increments of four and increase the length of the strips by about half a meter per four added strips. The strips are about two centimeters in width.
Start by crossing two of the strips to make an X.
Add a strip on either side where each strip goes over then under or vise versa. For example the top left strip goes over the first strip it passed then under the next one. It should look like a checker board.
Add another strip to the pattern by lifting up the strip you need to go under, just lift every other strip. Continue to do this for all added strips it makes it most easier to add strips.
Add a fourth strip and then tighten the pattern by moving all the strips as close to each other as possible.
Rotate the pattern and add two more strips.
Tighten the pattern, it should be a four by four square that looks like a small checker board.
At this point make sure that the pattern is in the center of all the strips. There should be equal length strips coming off of all four sides of the pattern.
Add a bobby-pin to each corner, this will help the pattern stay as tight as possible.
Look at your bag and find a strip in one of the corners that has another strip going over it. A strip you can pick up and have it only come up till the pattern.
Fold that strip over and then the one next to it over it to create a V in that corner.
It should look like this.
Now bend back the first strip and fold down the next strip.
It should look like this.
Pull that last strip in that corner over. Then make sure all the four strips are facing towards the patter. You will need to fold your first strip back over.
Repeat with opposite corner and then add bobby-pins.
It should look like an X again.
Place your thumbs inside the X so that they are in the two corners that your folded.
Pull with your hands until you can not anymore.
Fold it in half.
It should look like this. Spend some time making sure all the strips are facing the correct direction. It may be a bit of a dangled mess.
Pick a side and then a half to start with. There should be three strips up and one that can be pulled across.
Have every other strip up for the three, see if you start up or down by looking at the row below. Pull the strip across.
Do the opposite combination for the next row and reach around the bag to find the strip to pull across.
Repeat once more. At this point you should be at the same height as the tallest weave that you got when folding the bag. If needed at bobby-pins about the top weave to keep everything tight.
It should look like this.
Repeat same process with other side. All the top weaves should be at the same height.
It should look like this.
Move to the corner of the bag and flatten it a bit to make the weaving easier.
Weave up using the same process until you are at the same height.
It should look like this. Add as many bobby-pins as you think you need it helps a lot.
Keep working your way around the bag weaving until you have a uniform height and about 20cm left on each strip to tie off the bag.
Weave up one side of the bag into a point like shown.
Here is the start of the tie off for the bag. You should always have two strips up and two strips down.
Pull a strip across from around the bag.
The last strip that was up that is closest to the end of the strip that was pulled across needs to be folded back along the same line of the pulled across strip.
The pulled across strip is folded back on itself.
Seal it by reversing the up and down strips and adding another one so you have two up and two down.
It should look like this. Repeat this process until you no longer have enough strips to have two up, two down, and one across.
At this point you will have two up, one down, and one across.
Do the same process as before. Tuck in the finished strips into the rest of the weave.
You will now have one up, one down, and one to pull across.
Do the same process as before. Tuck in the finished strips into the rest of the weave.
You will have two strips left. Cross them.
Fold both strips over and tuck them into the weave.
It should look like this.
Tug a bit on all the strips to even the top and then cut and tuck in all the extra strips into the weave.
Take out all of your bobby-pins and enjoy your new bag! Here is the finished small bag on the right and a larger bag on the left.
