Do not know how to distract the child from the tablet andphone? Try to borrow it with fun and colorful Loom Bands. How to weave, what bracelets, necklaces and accessories you can create - you will learn from this article. Needlework will appeal to bored teenagers, as well as to kids who only learn to own fingers.

How the "rubber" era began

Loom Bands - one of the 30 best sellingtoys, a hobby, eclipsed computer games. Leading Jimmy Kimmel shines with American screens in a suit from Loom Bands. Rubber bracelets are worn by David Beckham and the Duchess of Cambridge.

How to weave Loom Bands invented a former developer of seat beltsChong Chun Ng. Seeing how his daughters are making bracelets out of the accounting gum, he tried to repeat them. But my fingers were too thick. This led to the creation of a "loom". Later he made his plastic prototype - so began the story of Loom Bands expansion.

What can I do from Loom Bands

The idea originated in 2011.Since then, from Kamchatka to Yucatan, adults and children, on the machine and fingers weave from rubber bands. YouTube abounds with hundreds of videos on the weaving technique of Loom Bands, instructions for knitting rings, bracelets, necklaces and pendants. The most ambitious masters manage to create skipping ropes, watch straps, phone cases, toy animals.

Groups are created in social networks and blogs, whereteenagers share their achievements, new techniques, help beginners. Some open up a small business and offer their needlework on eBay. In 2014, a British girl sold a dress from Loom Bands for 170,000 GBR. That translated into rubles - 12.8 million.

Ukrainian children make them in support of soldiers andweave yellow and blue bracelets. Psychologists recommend this hobby to pre-school children, claiming that the activity develops concentration, fine motor skills and speech.

What will you need?

The first is a set of rubber bands.You can buy it at the nearest office station in the department of children's goods or order online. Such sets are inexpensive, which makes them even more popular. To create jewelry with complex techniques, a machine, slingshot or hook is useful. But you can do without tools and weave Loom Bands on your fingers, on pencils or forks.

To master the technique, you need the Loom Bands andschemes with instructions. Usually they are attached to the kit. Having understood the basics of knitting, you can invent your patterns and intricacies, creating author's decorations. Do not forget to stock up on the clips, without which you will not be able to fix the rubber bands.

How to weave your first bracelet

We offer you a step-by-step instruction of Loom Bands without a machine and slingshot, only using two pencils and a set of Rainbow Loom of 44 pieces.

Twist the eight of the rubber band around the pencils.

Put two more on top in a straight position.

Take the tip of the lower elastic band and place it in the center of the upper.

Do the same with the other tip.

Put another rubber band on top and repeat step 3 and 4. Continue to put on one rubber band until the bracelet is the right length.

The last step is to remove the hinges and fix the endsclip or buckle. This is the simplest scheme, called the "fish tail". You can even explain to a 5-year-old child how to weave Loom Bands in this technique. That the kid is not injured, instead of pencils it is possible to use fingers. The main thing is to follow that out of curiosity gum is not tasted ... By the way, the creator of Rainbow loom most of all likes weaving in the technique of "fish tail" of green and blue.

For more complex techniques, "hexafish" or "dragon scales", fingers will not be enough - you need a machine. Instead of a plastic device, take an ordinary cutlery - a fork.

How to weave a Loom Bands bracelet on a fork

You will need a plug, S-clips and rubber bands of two colors. The baby's hand is enough for 24 pieces, for an adult 26-28 erasers.

Put on the figure eight first one elastic band for two teeth from the left edge, then the second to two right teeth.

Put the next elastic band in the middle, in the straight position, without twisting the figure-eight.

Alternately poddite the edges of the loop on the second and third teeth and twist them through the top. If it's difficult to do with your fingers, use a crochet hook or toothpick.

Make sure that the rubber bands do not slip and are always at the base of the plug.

Put on one rubber band on two left and two right teeth. Pull the loops of the lower band over them.

Continue to weave according to the algorithm: the middle, the left, the right edge, alternating colors. At the very end, fix the bracelet with a clip so that the masterpiece does not crumble.

Rainbow Loom is a terrific toy.The abundance of colors and ways of weaving develops fantasy and creative thinking. The need to follow instructions stimulates learning and the ability to focus on one thing. As soon as one scheme is mastered, the kid will immediately want to knit something much more complicated.

By the way, this is a very economical hobby, notrequiring costs to buy gadgets. The sets cost around 200 rubles. In reward for work children get bright fakes, which can be changed with friends. But the main thing is a gift for the parents: for the time of weaving, the silence in the house is guaranteed.