This is an easy project that doesn’t require many tools. With a hand saw and a hand-held drill you can even prep the wood pieces for young students to string them onto the rope and make this mat. Use wooden beads or metal nuts as spacers for students who may have trouble with tying knots.
Submitted by Jessie Della Vedova
Submitted by Jessie Della Vedova
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
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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.
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Apply your chosen finish and allow to dry.
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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.
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Repeat step 3 on the other end of each piece of wood.
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Cut the long ends of your rope short, and find a good place to show off your work!
Extension Challenges
- Get creative using paint – you could paint a design with all the wood bits clamped together before separating them with the knots, etc.
- Use alternate lengths or widths of wood pieces to customize the mat for a specific door.