Wooden Door Mat

Length of Project:
Project theme:
Suitable for grades:
Tools & Materials
Material List
  • 2”x2” cut into 20” lengths (15 or so)
  • Two 85” lengths of rope (thin is good – your holes will be 3/8” and you don’t want the knots between wood bits to be too big)
  • Exterior paint or stain
  • Sandpaper
Tool list
  • Circular saw or handsaw
  • Drill press with 3/8” bit
  • Masking tape
  • Paint brush
  • Pencil
Procedure
  1. Collect your wood bits; you should have 15 or so. Mark each piece with a pencil where you want to drill, on the sides 1-½" in from the ends. Drill the holes with a drill press and a 3/8” bit. Clean up the hole edges and the ends of your pieces with some sandpaper if needed.
  2. Apply your chosen finish and allow to dry.
  3. Tie a knot in the end of one of your rope lengths. Wrap the other end of the rope tightly with masking tape to make a sort of “needle” to help thread it through the holes. Thread one of your wood pieces onto the rope, and carefully tie a granny knot as close to the wood as you can, so that the wood is sandwiched between two knots. Continue adding your wood pieces and tying a knot after every piece.
  4. Repeat step 3 on the other end of each piece of wood.
  5. Cut the long ends of your rope short, and find a good place to show off your work!
Extension Challenges
  1. Get creative using paint – you could paint a design with all the wood bits clamped together before separating them with the knots, etc.
  2. Use alternate lengths or widths of wood pieces to customize the mat for a specific door.
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