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    Step by Step Guide How to Make Loom Bands with Fingers and Hook Tool

    GeorgeBy
    How do you make your BFF feel special on their birthday? Or show them your love on Friendship day? With these handy little homemade bracelets called loom bands of course! Though called “loom” bands but really made without one, they are unique gifts created by hand. They show your dedication and passion towards the person concerned, all the while having some fun. You can totally give them out without any occasion too! Even make some for yourself if you wish.

    Wait… you don’t know how to make one? There’s nothing to worry about. This step by step guide for beginners to creating those perfect handicrafts has you completely covered. You’d be creating magic with your fingers in no time.

    What is a Rainbow Loom Bands

    Rainbow loom is basically a plastic pegboard which is used for weaving colorful plastic bands and making decorative things like charms, bracelets out of it. This plastic rainbow loom was discovered by Cheong Choon Ng in 2010 in Novi, Michigan.

    A rainbow loom band looks like a pegboard with push – pin type pegs on which colorful rubber bands are looped and pulled using a crochet hook. This whole setup is called rainbow loom kit and this kit includes C – shaped clips, colorful rubber bands, rainbow loom pegboard.

    You can purchase a rainbow loom kit from craft stores like Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, Walmart and Amazon. Latex free rainbow loom bands are also available at these online and land – based craft stores.

    What is a Fishtail Loom Bands

    Fishtail loom bands are just like any other loom band made using a looming board or pegboard. Using latex free rubber bands and a little practice, you can create a decorative loom band in a fishtail pattern.

    This fishtail patterned loom band can work as a nice bracelet string on your wrist. But if you do not have a loom band, then please don’t get disappointed because a fishtail loom bands can also be made with fingers. If you are a beginner at making loom bands, then you can try to make fishtail bracelet strings or inverted fishtail loom bands on fingers and then making fishtail loom bands on a pegboard would be quite easy for you.

    What would you need to make Loom Bands?

    There are many ways to make loom bands, including various designs/methods, and the requirements for each differ. We’ll keep it basic for now so that you can progress into the advanced ones later.

    For now, you’d need around 30 to 40 bands and a plastic C clip for one loom band. You can make these things just with fingers but if you’d like some help, you can do it with hook tool readily available in a loom band kit.

    Different ways to make loom bands step by step

    There are numerous ways in which you can make loom bands. We have described below how loom bands can be made using different techniques. Have a look!

    How to make Rainbow loom Bands?

    1. First of all, you need to set up your rainbow loom band just the way it is instructed in the user’s guide that comes with the loom.
    2. U – Shaped pegs should be facing upwards while the arrows should be facing the other side of your body.
    3. Take the first band and place it in a diagonal position with the middle peg.
    4. Now pick up the second band and place it diagonally with the second middle peg. Repeat this process by changing the diagonal direction at every step so that it looks like a zig – zag pattern on the looming board.
    5. Now flip the looming board with the pegs in a downward direction and arrows facing your body. Now is the time to weave these bands.
    6. To start weaving, take a hook and pick up the second band using the hook and place it on the first middle peg in a way that it bends in half and is placed on the second peg in the next row.
    7. Repeat this process until the entire rainbow loom looks like a series of connected circles.
    8. Now take a C – shaped or S – shaped clip from your loom kit and hook it up on the last rubber band. Carefully remove the rubber bands from the looming board and stretch the rainbow loom bracelet and connect both ends to wear it.

    How to make a Rainbow loom Starburst?

    1. First step is making the perimeter bands i.e. we need to first make a band with the arrows pointing upwards. Now from the first middle peg to the first peg on the left side, loop a band.
    2. Connect a band from the first peg in the left row with the second peg and then loop a band from the second to the third peg.
    3. This has to be continued till the last peg in the row. Now from this last peg, loop a band diagonally to the last middle peg.
    4. Loop bands for the right hand side row as well. Push all the perimeter bands down and start with the first Starburst band.
    5. Take 6 loom bands in a different color from the perimeter bands.
    6. Place each of the six bands on the middle peg and their other side has to be placed in a diagonal position on the six pegs in six different directions, hence making an asterisk shape.
    7. Push the bands down and start making the second Starburst. Place the rubber band from the 4th peg in the middle row to the 4th peg in the right row. Now again, place 5 bands in a clockwise motion, putting each of them in the middle peg and their ends in the 5 surrounding directions.
    8. Complete the row with colorful Starbursts by following the above steps this and push the bands down every time.
    9. Now take a band of the same color as the perimeter band and double it up while placing it on the last middle peg. Repeat this step till you place doubled up bands at the center of each of the Starbursts.
    10. Start the weaving process. Turn around the loom in a way that the arrows are facing you. Using the hook, take the bottom most loop of the 1st Starburst that you are facing. Pull this loop up from the first middle peg and loop it around the center peg.
    11. From the center of each Starburst, you have to take the first half of every band and move in a counter – clockwise direction looping it around the peg it starts on. You should end up making a flower shaped pattern of all the Starbursts.
    12. After the Starbursts are weaved, now you need to weave the perimeter bands, starting with the band that’s wrapped around the bottom right and bottom center pegs. Pick the end of the bottom center peg, pull it down and place it over the bottom left peg in a way that both the ends of that band are around that peg.
    13. Repeat the same process with the bottom right band and pegs on the left side. Hook the last peg on the left side band on the middle last peg. Do the same process with the right hand side.
    14. Now starting from this middle last peg, pull all the rubber bands in the middle pegs using a hook. While doing this, you also need to get a new band holding it in your fingers and gently pulling it up through all the bands. Then, wrap the new band around the hook by sliding the hook through the new band’s loop.
    15. Hold the hook firmly in your hand with the loop around it and pull the entire Starburst bracelet off the looming board.
    16. Now you need to add an extension to the band by adding new bands. This can be done by looping the band from the first peg to the second peg, so on and so forth.
    17. Take the loop which is first from the end of the bracelet without the hook and add it to the chain on the loom. Now, chain these bands with the bracelet and attach a C or S – shaped clip to the last band on the loom and take the bracelet off the loom. Connect the two ends using the clip and it is ready to wear.

    How to do inverted Fishtail loom bands on fingers?

    1. Take a rubber band and create an ‘8’with one loop in each of the two fingers.
    2. Repeat this step with two different colored rubber bands.
    3. Now, put the second band down to the bottom and then over your fingers so that it touches the third band as well.
    4. Place one more band onto your fingers in a circular position only.
    5. Repeat the 3rd step again and place another band onto your fingers in a circular form and again repeat the 3rd step.
    6. Continue repeating the said step until you get the desired length of the inverted fishtail string.
    7. Now, collect all the bands onto one finger and then shift them to another finger.
    8. Attach a C or S – shaped clip to one end of the band and then connect the other end of the band. Your inverted fishtail bracelet is ready.

    How to make loom bands with fingers?

    1. Gather your materials and place them within reach.
    2. Take a Band and then twist it into a figure 8 before folding it in on itself, forming a circle.
      Slide this inside the C clip.
    3. Now you’d have a hole formed by Band 1 halfway through which you slide Band 2 and hold the ends of Band 2 together. Halfway through the open spaces in Band 2, pinch and slide another Band.
    4. Band 3 should now look like Band 2 did earlier. Continue this chain until you feel comfortable with the length. Slide the open ends of the final Band through the C clip and viola, you are done!

    Making Loom Bands with Hook Tool

    A hook, alongside a Loom Band kit, can help you make these much faster. Simply use the instructions provided along the set. In short, you just have to use the provided pegs and hook to weave the bands together in a similar design as the previous method. This’d strain your fingers less and may be really helpful for kids who want to take part in this activity. After all, everyone deserves to have fun!