How To Weave A Paper Vine Tray - Part 1: Bottom | Tray Weaving Tutorial

Start your first large tray project with this calming and beginner-friendly tutorial. In this video, I guide you through weaving the bottom of a 9-inch paper vine tray with handles using soft, flexible rods.

What You’ll Create:
Craft the woven bottom of a round tray with sturdy structure and elegant pairing technique. This foundation will support the walls and integrated handles in Part 2, giving you a unique, handcrafted accent piece for your home. Part 2:    • How To Weave A Paper Vine Tray - Part 2: W...  

Skills You’ll Learn:
✨ Building a cross base with 6 stakes
✨ Splicing paper vine rods for clean joins
✨ Pairing technique (also called plain rope weave)
✨ Controlling stake spacing for uniform weaving
✨ Inserting and securing new stakes
✨ Weaving a round bottom
✨ How to store in-progress weaving

What You’ll Need:
~180 moistened paper vine rods
Cutters
Polymer glue
Knitting needle
Clothespins
Elastic band
Ruler
Sewing pin
Glass tray or solid form with ~8.5” base diameter

Essential Preparation Video:
How to Moisten Paper Rods:    • How to Properly Moisten Paper Rods | Essen...  • How to Splice - Paper Rods:    • How to splice weavers  

Perfect Kit for This Project:
Start with our Beginner’s Weaving Kit with Tools https://weevyn.com/collections/weavin... – it includes 150 paper vine rods plus all the tools you’ll need (doesn’t include the solid form).
To reach 180 rods for this tray, add the Paper Vine Refill Kit (50 rods) https://weevyn.com/products/paper-vin....
180 rods is enough to weave a 9-inch tray. If you have a solid form of a different size, you may need a different number of rods.

Why Use a Solid Form?
Weaving around a stable form like a glass tray ensures consistent shape, size, and symmetry—especially helpful for beginners working on structured projects like trays and baskets.

Coming Up:
In Part 2, you’ll learn how to build the tray walls and form the curved handles. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss it!

Ready for More Projects?
Explore our full collection of beginner-friendly tutorials, weaving kits, and refills here: https://weevyn.com/pages/learn-to-weave

Tutorial Timeline:

00:00 Intro
00:19 Preparation for weaving. Tools and materials
01:38 Start weaving
05:36 Start row 1
07:52 Start row 2
10:33 Start row 3
12:02 Start row 4
12:38 Start row 5
13:12 Add new stakes and start row 6
18:11 Start row 7
19:40 Start row 8
21:37 Insert new stakes
22:50 Start row 9
23:30 Weaving rows 10–12
23:46 Separate stakes and weaving row 13
25:18 Start row 14
26:22 Weaving rows 15–22 yourself
27:20 Check the bottom of weaving
29:49 Finished bottom

You’ve just completed a major step in creating a beautiful handmade tray! Please cover it completely with a large plastic bag so it covers all the weaving surface and protruding rods. They need to stay moist for when I continue. I place heavy books on top to minimize air contact and prevent drying. If you have a large plastic bag, place the entire project inside. This will help you insure that you can continue with weaving the border later on.

Whether you’re new to weaving or just exploring a new material, we hope this tutorial inspires confidence and creativity.

💬 Share your progress or ask questions in the comments—we love hearing from you.
👍 Like if you found this helpful and don’t forget to subscribe for Part 2!

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