Turn craft sticks and yarn into pretty woven baskets with this fun popsicle stick craft. This simple technique is a great way to introduce kids to weaving and starts with a paper cup as the base. Just glue an odd number of craft sticks around the outside and weave yarn between them, changing up the colors as you go. Large craft sticks and snack cups make great baskets, while small craft sticks and paper cups make the perfect pencil cup!
Use a pair of scissors to cut the top section off of a 3.5" wide paper snack cup, leaving about two inches left on the base of the cup.
Add large craft sticks around the base of the cup with a dab of hot glue (on low setting), leaving just a small space between them. You'll need to add an odd number for the weaving to work. I used 15 large craft sticks (6 in. x 3/4 in.) around the base of the snack cup. No need to have them perfectly spaced.
To begin weaving, tie a knot of yarn around one of the craft sticks and trim any excess yarn. Push the loop down to the top of the cup line. This is where the weaving will begin. To weave the yarn between the craft sticks, alternate in front and behind each craft stick as you work around the cup. Continue this process to create rows of yarn. You can push down the rows as you go to make them even and close together.
To add another color of yarn, trim the previous color and tie the end to a new color of yarn with a double knot. Trim any excess yarn and hide the knot on the backside of one of the craft sticks. Continue weaving with the new color.
Once you have reached the top of the cup, trim the yarn and secure to the back of a craft stick with a dab of hot glue. You can turn your woven baskets into planters by filling them with faux frosted greenery, floral greenery or eucalyptus, You can also add fresh flowers by placing a drinking glass filled with water inside the basket. To make a smaller woven basket to use as a pencil cup, start with a 9 oz. white paper cup and add 17 small wooden craft sticks (4 1/2 in. x 3/8 in.).