You probably don’t think too much about the cotton clothing you own, but all of it started out as the very same plant that was grown and used in the ancient world thousands of years ago. The cotton fabric that we have today is mostly made by machines with super thin cotton thread being woven quickly into very smooth fabric. Weaving by hand requires a lot of skill and practice, and the end result may look very different than the modern woven fabrics you’re used to seeing. Now you can try weaving on a circle loom, and develop a whole new appreciation for this art form! While you are weaving, enjoy stories about Anansi, the trickster spider, who has been a folk figure in Africa through oral tradition for hundreds of years.