Clay Weaving Pot

• CleverPatch™ Air Dry Modelling Clay – Terracotta 1kg Pack – 18636

• Wooden Dowel – Natural – Pack of 25 – 18144

• Natural Ra a – Natural – 25g Pack – 18214

• Natural Ra a – Red – 25g Pack – 18212

• Natural Ra a – Yellow – 25g Pack – 18213

• Natural Ra a – Black – 25g Pack – 18205

• Safety Needles – Pack of 32 – 10837

• Optional: Wooden Natural Beads – Glossy 200g Pack – 10840

• Optional: CleverPatch™ Tacky Glue – 250ml – 16494

• Other materials required: Scissors.

Materials: Watch Aunty Michelle’s ‘Clay Weaving Pot’ video before you start to get familiar with the weaving process!

1. Roll 100g of clay into a ball. Use your thumb to push into the centre of the ball. Pinch the edges to create a pot that is approximately 6cm in diameter with 5mm thick walls.

2. Push the end of a dowel through the wall of the pot near the top edge to make a hole. Continue adding evenly spaced holes around the top of the pot.

3. Place the pot aside to dry completely, for a minimum of 24 hours.

4. Gather 4-5 strands of your choice of coloured ra a. We have chosen to use the natural ra a as the core. Tie a knot in one end to secure them together.

5. Thread one strand from the core through a needle. Place the knot end of the core onto the rim of your pot. Thread the needle through one of the holes in the pot from the inside. Loop the needle over the top of the core and thread back through the same hole. Pull to hold the core strands in place.

6. Weave through each hole on the pot in the same way. Twist the core strands as you weave over and into each hole. Ensure you weave through each hole twice before moving to the next hole. Continue until you have completed one loop around the pot. Remove the needle from the ra a and gather all the strands together.

CleverTip: Keep the ra a slightly loose as you weave to avoid the woven part warping towards the centre as you add each layer.

Why

7. Take one strand of your next choice of coloured ra a. We have used red. Tie one end to the core strands. Thread the other end of the ra a onto a needle, then under the core and the woven ra a of the row below.

8. Make a blanket stitch over the core strands. Thread under the middle of the previous woven strands and the core.

CleverTip: Click here to see how to sew a blanket stitch.

9. Continue stitching, twisting the core in place as you go, until you have completed a loop around the pot. Trim the ra a length leaving a small tail.

10. Repeat steps 7-9 to add on your next two colours. We have used yellow and black. Weave over the tail from the previous row so that it is secure.

11. Once you have completed the last row, gather all the ra a strands together, including the strands you trimmed between each row. Tie all the strands together into a tight knot.

12. Trim the ra a lengths to finish the top of your pot. You may also like to glue beads to the ra a ends. Allow to dry if needed. Your Clay Weaving Pot is now ready to display or gift!