What is a Rainbow Loom and what can I make with it? Learn this and more with my Rainbow Loom Essentials Guide.
One of the crafty toys that came into our house after Christmas was a Rainbow Loom. These have been all the rage in the U.S. for a while now but are just showing up in Australian shops like Spotlight and Lincraft. Little Miss received a kit with the loom, hooking tool and a bunch of elastic bands and is loving it so I thought I’d explain some basics.
What is a Rainbow Loom?
A rainbow loom is a plastic loom for creating thing with small latex-free rubber bands. The bands are looped around the loom spikes – there are three rows of spikes on ours – in various patterns then hooked around each other to create a woven bands. There are tiny clear c-clips and s-clips that then turn the bands into bracelets. Little Miss got a kit like the one above which came with the loom, a special hooking tool, lots of tiny rubber band and some c-clips. I have seen these locally in Spotlight, but I notice there are a number of similar products that work the same way. Lincraft has a kit called a Rainbow Bands, and I noticed on Amazon they referred to “rubber loom” and “zupa loom” as well. There is a Rainbow Loom official site which suggests that some of the copies are not up to safety standards for children, so please be aware of that.
The kit came with an instruction booklet showing how to make some basic bracelets but we soon discovered lots of tutorials online, many with videos showing how to make more complicated bracelets. I have started a Pinterest board here with links.
I also found on Amazon that you can buy charms to hang on your bracelets. These look to be tiny shapes that hook on with an s-clip so that brings even more possibilities.
We have put all our rubber bands in a plastic divided box. It has made it easier to find the colours that she wants to use and it will keep them all in one place.
What can you make with a Rainbow Loom?
The main thing being made with a rainbow loom is bracelets. Girls love to be able to wear and share things they make. These are perfect as friendship bracelets. The kit came with 9 basic colours of bands, but I see you can buy lots of other colours, including glow in the dark bands, striped and polka dot bands and glitter bands.
I have also seen tutorials online for flowers, small animals and Christmas decorations so there is plenty of scope for imagination.
Tips and Tricks
Here are some tips from my Little Miss:
- Bracelets don’t always work the first time but keep trying.
- When you start, try easier bracelets rather than harder ones.
- When you’re putting the bands on the loom, make sure you put them on in the right order (the order that they show in the video or instructions), or something will go wrong when you are hooking them.
- Don’t get frustrated at the end when you pull the bracelet off the loom – just take it slowly and carefully – it can be tricky!
- When you are hooking, you can use your fingers to help keep the bands from coming off and to help pull them over the spikes, even though in the videos they don’t.
- Store the colours separately so that it is easier to get at them when you are making a bracelet.
Find more Rainbow Looms and accessories on Amazon – Affiliate links
I’ve seen a lot of these on Instagram since Christmas and they look like fun, I know my daughters would love them. I have heard a few complaints about the little bands ending up all over the house so I like the idea of keeping them in a container and separating the colours. Look forward to seeing more of your daughters creations.
xo
Thanks Lorelei. I figured the sooner we had a specified storage spot, the better – although I must admit she is a pretty tidy crafter!
LOVE rainbow looms! They were all the rage this past American Summer while i was working in a summer camp and im so excited to see them hitting Aussie shores!! 🙂
These look like so much fun to make. The divider box is a sensible idea. (I’m a big fan of sensible.)
Me too! And I love that my daughter has inherited a little bit of my “sensible” too 😉
What an awesome project! That would be great to keep in a kit for rainy days or bad weather indoor days.
OM!!! Thank you thank you thank you! We live in the US, but I have the first little girl in my family my granddaughter, Grace, so things like this are coming up. She received one for Christmas and we were having so much trouble with it. She’s 7. Needless to say your links, helps and tips are going to make it much better. Also, just knowing someone else is/was getting as frustrated as we were. 🙂 Thank you again. I can’t wait for her to come back to Nana’s to work on it again. I love your blog!
Katina Dorsey
Reading this was informative, but really intended for beginners. The tips listed weren’t very helpful because they are the most basic things to know about Rainbow Loom. If you actually keep at Rainbow Loom, you will move on past this point. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve been looming for over 2 years and I love it. I remember one of the first bracelets I made was the Single Rhombus, which seemed to me to be extremely difficult, but now I can make it no problem! Keep at it!
Absolutely, Abigail. This article was intended for beginners. I’d love to see some of your more advanced creations!