Fringe on a Mini Carpet

Fringe on a Mini Carpet craft

Say aloha to Polynesian culture with a tapa rug modeled after Hawaiian bark fabric. Tap into your natural quest for crafts rich with global traditions.

  • 1.

    What’s tapa cloth? Traditional Hawaiian bark cloth was made from the paper mulberry plant. The inner bark was fermented in water until soft, then beaten and stretched into fine cloth. The cloth was dyed in red, brown, yellow, and black vegetable colors. Geometric designs were embedded with handmade tools. Here’s one way to recreate the colorful, watermarked patterns of traditional tapa cloth on construction paper.

  • 2.

    Cut and color your rug. With Crayola® Scissors cut construction paper into a rug. Choose a geometric pattern with which to decorate your rug. We made a row of zigzag designs followed by circles and then squares. Bright Crayola Gel Markers show up well even on dark paper and look the most like bark carvings.

  • 3.

    Add fringe. Glue raffia or yarn to the ends of your rug with Crayola School Glue. Air-dry your rug. Show someone your rug and ask what kinds of rugs they remember from their childhoods. Can you believe there are so many different kinds?