Give a child a broom and they will sweep for a day, teach them how to make a broom and they will sweep for a lifetime! Well, maybe. No matter what happens, making a broom is a simple and rewarding ancient handcraft. Once you make one, you won't want to stop. Although older kids can easily do this on their own, this is a great craft for parents and kids to work on together. And the best part, is once your hand broom is finished, you can immediately put it to use sweeping up the crumbs of daily life! Add this little broom to your child's collection of play kitchen and house toys for open-ended play.
We spoke with craftsperson and artist, Finn Gardner Walsh, who shared the process of making hand brooms using sorghum or broom corn and embroidery thread.
Materials Needed:
- Scissors
- Bundle of broom corn, sorghum or any sturdy grass
- Embroidery thread, waxed cord, or thin yarn
- Embroidery Needle
Step 1: Gather Your Hand Broom Bristles
Gather your fiber for your broom. Finn typically uses broom corn and sorghum purchased online but has used other sturdy grasses. You can also grow heirloom grasses for brooms in your garden if you really get hooked on this craft!
You will need a small handful of the fibers for your handbroom. Try to get the bristles aligned by tapping the bundle on the surface you are working on before starting to sew your broom.
Step 2: Prepare Your Thread and Begin to Sew
Using an embroidery needle, thread your embroidery floss, cord, or yarn. Cut your string to a length of about a foot and a half, you don't need to tie a knot on the end of the string.
Step 3: Begin to Sew Your Broom
Have an adult or older child guide the needle through the center of the broom about 1-2" down from one end of the bundle and leave a couple of inches of tail in this central cavity. Begin wrapping the longer part of the string around the circumferance of the broom tightly to form a band.
Step 4: Sew Your Broom Design
Again, take your needle into the center of the broom and then bring the yarn down about 1/4" and begin sewing in and out of small sections of the bristles to ensure the bristles stay together. This part can be very creative and is where you get a lot of the visual texture and design for your broom. There are a variety of broom sewing patterns that you can find online and you can alternate the colors of your string at this point, too. Have fun and experiment!
Step 5: Tie Off Your String and Secure
Once you have finished sewing and your broom feels colorful and secure, put your needle once again through the center of the broom and create a simple knot by making a loop. Tie this to the first tail from when you started and pull tightly.
Step 6: Cut the Bristles Evenly
Once your broom is secured and your pattern is how you like it, grab your scissors and give the brrom a haircut. Cut the bristles evenly on both ends. Voila, you have made your very own handbroom, just like humans have been doing for thousands of years. Have fun sweeping away and tidying up with you very own handmade broom.
In a world that moves quickly, simple handcrafts like broom making offer a chance to slow down and connect with materials, tradition, and with one another. As children learn to shape and bind each fiber, they build an appreciation for the work of their hands. Long after the crafting is done, their handmade broom lives on in daily play, gently weaving together imagination, responsibility, and care for their space.
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