Loom Bracelet on a Fork {Tutorial}

So these Rainbow Looms showed up a number of months ago, and they seem to be all the rage.  At school, on the bus, all the kids are either making them or wearing them.

 

Our boys had been wanting a loom for a while, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend $20 on a loom for each kid.  But they were determined boys - they collected any elastic they found on the bus, and also took apart the bracelets their friends made them, in hopes that someday they'd have a loom to make bracelets with.

 

My 8-year old eventually learned that you can make them on your fingers, and he started making them for his brothers.  So when I was at a store and saw a pack of 300 elastics for $1.50, I thought I'd get them for him.  He said that his fingers got sore sometimes, so we thought we'd try it on a fork.  It worked perfectly, and was so easy to do.  Our 6-year old picked it up right away, and even our 4.5 year old was able to do it.  It's great for fine-motor skills, and keeps them really focused and busy.

 

All you need is the elastics and the little plastic s-shaped clips that come with them.  As  I said, they're pretty cheap - check craft stores or Dollar stores too. 

 

1.  Start with one elastic in a figure 8 shape.

 

 

2. Put the left loop over the far left prong of the fork.  Put the right loop over the far right prong of the fork.  Leave the middle two prongs empty.

 

3. (Ignore the colour of the loops - I took this picture later on.) Put your second elastic over the left and the right prongs of the fork with no figure 8.

 

4. Starting on the left side, gently lift the lower elastic up over the new elastic and let it go.

 

5. Do the same on the right - lift the lower elastic gently over the second elastic and let it go.   Give your bracelet a gentle tug, and slide it a little lower on the fork.

 

6. Keep repeating as many times as you'd like. Give it a gentle tug each time.

 

7.  When you are done, take the s-shaped clip and slip it through your first elastic and your very last one.  And you are done!

 

This one was made by my 4.5-year old!  I really didn't think he'd be old enough to do it, but he's very focused.

And if you're a 3 year old who really wants to participate, it helps to sit on the table in the middle of the elastics, and your bracelet might look something like this!