More Geek Loom Bands

An Evil Minion my daughter and I made for Gramp’s birthday. Image: Cathe Post

Loom band projects are still all the rage. With the Rainbow Loom just being named Toy of the Year (for both Specialty Toy of the Year and Girl Toy of the Year) at the 2014 Toy Fair, it’s no wonder that kids (and adults) love doing projects, and teachers and occupational therapists have yet another tool in their arsenal. Geeks have found a niche in the loom band craft, too. Jenn previously shared some of her favorite geeky loom patterns. I have a few more to add to your list to check out.

My attempt at a Spiderman charm. He doesn't have a face or webs, and too many of the bands broke in the neck area to keep him, but it wasn't a bad attempt. Image: Cathe Post — My attempt at a Spider-Man charm. He doesn’t have a face or webs, and too many of the bands broke in the neck area to keep him, but it wasn’t a bad attempt. Image: Cathe Post

Spider-Man (and the Avengers): The site PG’s Loomacy is one of my favorites for these characters. There is even a PDF pattern available for making your own Spider-Man. From this pattern, you can also fill in the correct color schemes for the other members of the mighty Avengers team.

Minecraft is still extremely popular (and is yet another award winner for Toy of the Year). What better way to make pixellated jewelry than with bands? You can make a chainmail-type Steve face or Creeper face cuff, or make your own charms in the same style as the Avengers I mentioned earlier.

Rainbow and chainmail make a wonderful combination. Image: Cathe Post

Chainmail bracelets without the pixel-art are pretty nifty by themselves. Following one these patterns gives you all of the chainmail pattern without the weight of using metal. We just did one that was narrow, but you can do them much wider if desired. This pattern I found is by SoCraftastic.

One last design we have made quite a few of for birthday presents is the minions. These are very easy to make either evil or normal based on the color of band used. (Helpful hint: If you can’t find googly eyes with a slit in the back, hot glue works well to hold on the band.

A Good Minion my daughter and I made for a friend’s birthday. Image: Cathe Post

One last one I want to try and haven’t had time for are the horse patterns. I figure it would be really easy to change the colors to match any of the My Little Pony cast.

On a less geeky note: There are patterns for every season. There are patterns for St. Patrick’s Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Valentine’s Day—the possibilities are endless. If you want to take a look at some of the patterns and ideas I have been stockpiling for my daughter and myself, take a look at my Pinterest board.

In our house, we have had a similar experience as Jenn when it comes to the little colorful rubber bands. They seem to be distant relatives of Tribbles. When they aren’t lost in the carpet or part of a geeky work-of-art, our supply tends to run a little low. I have found a couple of things as this hobby has taken over our house: First, since coupons can’t be used to buy the name-brand bands most of the time, I have found a company through Amazon that sells a good quality band for a really good price. My test for a good quality band includes being able to stretch over five pegs in length, and being able to “cap” (the term used when twisting and folding a band so that it is two bands thick instead of one—but only using one band) a band over three pegs without the band breaking.

The other thing is that the real Rainbow Loom is truly the way to go. My daughter received Crazy Looms for Christmas which are just okay and only work for some projects. We found the Rainbow Loom is far superior and well worth the extra few dollars. The pegs were easier to dig in to get the bottom loops up, the bands didn’t fall off the pegs as easily since they are more straight up and down than slanted, and the ability to move the pegged strips into different configurations gives it a bigger array of uses than the standard solid-piece knock-offs.

What have been some of your favorite loom projects? Have you made larger projects like purses or phone cases? Do share!

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