Creating With Card Weaving: A Simple, Non-Loom Technique

Card or tablet weaving is a very ancient and widespread off-loom (no loom is required) weaving method of weaving narrow bands of fabric using flat cards with holes punched in them. Some archaeologists speculate that card weaving dates back to approximately 4,000 B.C. because certain patterns which lend themselves to card weaving appear often in ancient Egyptian carvings. However, this does not seem to be sufficient evidence to support knowledge of the technique. The oldest cards found in Egypt are a set of twenty-five 4-holed wooden ones believed to have come from the Coptic Period (400-600 A. D.). What is known is that card weaving has been known from Japan, China through Asia to North African and north through Europe as far as Iceland.