These handy small bands are available in thousands of colors and patterns, and they’re incredibly easy to twist into eye-catching jewelry and other basic creative items. We’ll show you how to turn loom bands into bracelets using a variety of techniques, as well as provide some inspiration for other projects you might try once you’ve mastered the basics.
While loom bands are still popular among children and teens, they’re also a relaxing project for adults, and younger crafters will love converting them into gifts to send to friends who are unable to see them owing to the school closures this winter. So sit back and relax as we take you through a step-by-step tutorial on how to produce loom bands for beginners.
When was Rainbow Loom released?
Cheong Choon Ng, a Malaysian-born former seatbelt technology developer from Michigan, came up with the Rainbow Loom in 2011 after observing his daughters weaving elastic bands over their fingers to produce bracelets. Ng tried it, but his fingers were too huge, so he made a “loom” out of pins and a wooden slab, a technique used in the apparel industry since at least the 15th century. The more elaborate patterns that this provided impressed his daughters.
What kinds of things can you construct with a rainbow loom?
How to Make the Most of Your Rainbow Loom
- Single. This is one of the simplest designs for getting your Rainbow Loom started.
- Fishtail with two bands. Try this one after you’ve mastered the Fishtail design.
What are Loombands, exactly?
IF YOU ARE NOT A CHILD OR THE PARENT OF A CHILD, THE TERM “LOOM BAND” IS LIKELY UNKNOWN TO YOU.
Loom bands, on the other hand, are a playground phenomena. So much so that several schools have implemented loom band bans, prohibiting pupils from wearing or bringing them to school.
So, what are loom bands?
Little elastic bands called loom bands can be weaved into bracelets, necklaces, and charms. They were created in 2011 by Cheong Choon Ng, who came up with the concept after seeing his two kids making bracelets out of elastic bands.
He attempted to participate, but his fingers were too large. He next set about making a plastic loom that could be used to weave jewelry. After his daughters approved of the newfangled device, he began to manufacture the loom and made a beginner’s kit. And thus began a mania.
When did loom bands become popular?
Slap Wraps, thin fabric-covered metal pieces that bent into a bracelet when slapped on the wrist, were popular in the late 1980s, according to the New York Times, who described them as “essentially a Venetian blind with attitude.”
Who created the Loombands?
Rainbow loom bands have surpassed the originator of the craze, Malaysian-born Cheong Choon Ng, 45,’s wildest expectations.
Ng was making rubber-band bracelets with his daughters Teresa, 16, and Michelle, 13, four years ago when he noticed his fingers were too big to control the bands.
As a result, the automobile crash-test engineer set out to create a tool to assist him in his work. He created a miniature loom out of pins stuck in a piece of wood so that he could join in the fun as well.
Why are they referred to as Loom bands?
Cheong Choon Ng, a Malaysian immigrant of Chinese heritage who traveled to the United States in 1991 to pursue a doctorate degree in mechanical engineering at Wichita State University, founded Rainbow Loom. In 2010, he worked for Nissan Motor Company as a crash-test engineer. After observing his young daughters produce rubber-band bracelets, he came up with the idea for a toy loom for rubber-band crafting. He attempted but failed to demonstrate them how to connect the rubber bands, so he affixed a scrap board with many rows of pegs on which the bands could be connected more easily.
His daughter proposed that he sell the bracelets when they became popular among the neighborhood kids. He worked on the loom kit for six months and created 28 different variations. Twistz Bandz was his prototype, which consisted of a wooden board, pegs, and dental hooks. In June 2011, he invested $10,000 and located a business in China to manufacture the parts, which he and his wife assembled at their home. After realizing that an elastic hair band on the market was called Twist Band, Ng decided to rebrand his product, and his brother and niece came up with the moniker Rainbow Loom.
Customers were unable to understand how to use the loom, therefore attempts to sell it online and in toy stores were futile. Ng created a website and made instructional videos with his niece and daughters. Ng received his first retail orders from franchises of Learning Express Toys, a specialty crafts company, in the summer of 2012, and sales began to take up. Michaels, an arts and crafts retailer, began testing the product in 32 stores in June 2013, and by August, the chain had Rainbow Loom in all of its 1,100 sites across the United States. Rainbow Loom is also available at Mastermind Toys and specialty stores in Canada. Rainbow Loom was sold at a retail price of $15 to $17 in 600 stores as of August 2013. The kits are made in China, and Ng oversees delivery from a warehouse of 7,500 square feet (700 m2) near his home.
The Wonder Loom, a revised version of the Rainbow Loom built in the United States, was released in 2013 by Ng in collaboration with The Beadery and Toner Plastics. Walmart sells the Wonder Loom. In April 2014, Ng released the Monster Tail, a travel-sized version of the Rainbow Loom that allows you to make simple bracelets with only eight pegs grouped in a rectangle.
The Alpha Loom is a travel-sized loom that can be used to manufacture vibrantly colored name bracelets with new bands that are twice as thick as conventional bands but half the size. It includes seven pegs on each side and a special hook with seven hooks on it, allowing users to hook over seven bands at once rather than just one. It also includes a user manual with pixelated grids that users may photocopy, cut out, measure around their wrists, and construct their own patterns using pictures and letters to spell words.
The Hair Loom Studio, which was also released in May 2015, is used to create designs on the Rainbow Loom, Finger Loom, or Monster Tail, which can then be transferred to the user’s hair by pushing the design onto a long strand of hair via a “guide tube.” Silicone bands are used for this, and they can be removed without pulling on the hair. The Hair Loom Studio comes in two sizes: a large “double” and a small “single” loom.