01/19/2012 - Pop Tab Bowl

I was curious to see if I could make a little change or jewelry bowl by weaving pop tabs together. This took me much longer than I thought it would and didn't quite turn out how I pictured it in my mind. I guess this could also be used as a doll hat instead.


Recycled Material: aluminum pop tabs
Other Material: ribbon
Tools: scissors, small safety pin, long nosed pliers


How I did it: I began by weaving the bottom row of tabs together then added another row by using the ribbon to weave the bottom of the second row of tabs to the tops of the first row (I will create a detailed instruction page with photos on how to weave pop tabs at a later date). I then pulled the ends of the ribbon to form a circle with the woven tabs and tied the ribbon off. I thought about stopping there and just making a flower brooch, but I would have just wondered...what could have been, so I kept going. For the third row, I used the pliers to bend the tabs in half between the top and the bottom then used the ribbon to attach it to the second row. I added three more rows, tying off the ribbon as I completed each row.

What I would do differently: I think my vision would have come to life if I used wire so that I could have shaped the bowl better. The ribbon is too soft to hold the shape very well. I may try soldering tabs into a bowl and see what happens. I also thought about turning this into a tulip somehow since that is what it looks like to me.