A new craze is looming ...
THEY ’ RE the kids’ must- have of the summer – loom bands.
So popular are the toys that they’ve even got the royal seal of approval.
Prince William was revealed as the latest fan last week after being spotted with a loom band bracelet on his wrist during an engagement in Coventry.
And the Duke of Cambridge revealed he’s now got a collection at home of 200 of the bands presented by wellwishers.
His wife Kate was also spotted wearing one.
With a whole host of celebrity devotees, l oom bands are proving a booming business this summer.
The £ 1- a- bag bands are Amazon’s eighth biggest- selling toy of all time, after classics such as the Rubik’s Cube, Monopoly and Scrabble.
With kids mad about them, we decided to see just how good they were by setting youngsters at Summer in the City playscheme in Glasgow the Great Su n d a y Po st Lo o m Band Challenge.
We asked them to make their most colourful creation from the rubber bands, whether it be a bracelet, belt, anklet, necklace, headband, ring or charm.
“The longest time I’ve ever spent making loom bands is three hours,” says six- year- old Gabriella Girasoli.
“Mine is about six hours,” Eilidh Baddon, 10, chips in. “It’s so much fun, you can make anything you want – and it’s far more creative than watching TV or playing on your tablet.”
Within minutes the kids have a series of bands wrapped round their fingers, in dozens of different designs.
There’s the fishtail, single triple, double single and inverted hexafish.
“I teach myself by watching YouTube videos,” Milo Harris, 8, smiles. “I have about 7,000 bands at home so I’ve made a lot of bracelets and charms.”
To d a y, h e’s m a k i n g an Incredible Hulk charm. With no video to watch, he’s winging it, but half- an- hour later, I notice a green and black head beginning to form.
“I teach my dad,” Georgia Rose, 7, says.
It’s only been half-an-hour and she’s already on to her third bracelet. She’s one of the fastest loomers at the playscheme and just last week made 17 in succession for the Scotland women’s Commonwealth hockey team who came to visit.
I’m surprised that it’s so popular across all ages and with boys as well as girls, but Sean Graham, 7, says it’s “a good hobby they can all do together.”
Summer in the City coach Anna Smrckova, 22, is also hooked.
She adds, “Before I came here at the start of the holidays, I’d never heard of loom bands but they’re definitely the craze of the summer.”
By the end of the challenge, there’s a range of bracelets in a whole host of designs.
I’m super impressed with Sean’s triple single and Eilidh’s challenging kaleidoscope.
But it’s too close to call – it looks like all the children are b-looming great winners.