Scholars have differences of opinion in terms of Kaaba models. Hence I have only included 2D crafts in this blogpost.
The Ka’bah (Arabic: ٱلْكَعْبَة, lit. ‘The Cube’) is a building at the centre of Islam’s most important mosque, the Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. It is Bayt Allah (House of Allah) and is the qibla (direction of prayer) for Muslims around the world when performing salah. Ka’bah was rebuilt several times throughout history, most famously by Ibrahim and his son Ismail, when he returned to the valley of Makkah.
Kiswa (the cloth covering the Ka’bah) is made of 670 kg of black silk. An estimated 220 kg of gold and silver thread is needed to embroider its Quranic aayaat. it takes the labour of more than 200 artisans who work in a factory for months to produce the silk cover on the Kaaba. The world’s largest sewing machine and 9986 threads per meter are used to weave the Kiswah. It covers 658 sqm. It currently takes 137 workers around 8 months to create the Kiswa. Cost estimates vary, but it is valued at around 22 million SAR (which is around 6 million USD). The Ka’bah cover is replaced annually on the Day of Arafah, the 9th day of the Hajj (month of Dhu al-Hijjah). Over the years, the Kiswah has included many different colours such as white, red, yellow, green, and black. The old Kiswah is cut into pieces and distributed to certain individuals and organizations.
1) Loom weaving
@sukoonweaves weaved a beautiful Ka’bah design.
Materials needed for the craft: Yarn, loom, needle, scissors.
What to do: This is quite advanced with multiple textures so your child can start with something as simple as what @forestvillagekindergarten did. If you want to learn how to weave, THIS Youtube channel is a great start.
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2) Embroidery
@dhaga.art made an intricate Ka’bah art with thread.
Materials needed for the craft: Threads, needle, scissors, embroidery hoop, fabric (any piece of cloth you want to do your embroidery on).
What to do: This is quite advanced for kids so your child can start with learning the art first through THIS Youtube channel.
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3) String art
@nidatastic made a simple yet gorgeous Kiswa yarn art for kids.
Materials needed for the craft: Cardstock (or empty packaging) or cardboard, black and yellow yarns, thick needle (child-friendly), single hole punch, paper tape, pencil, scissors.
What to do: Cut a square shape out of an empty cereal box. Punch holes at the border. Weave your yarn through the holes. See the visual instructions below.
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4) Knitting
@plantingseedswithlove knitted a simple yet elegant Kiswa pattern.
Materials needed for the craft: Knitting needles, yarn, scissors.
What to do: Your child can start learning the art of knitting first through THIS Youtube channel.
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5) French-knot embroidery
@hibstitches made a detailed Tawaf scene through french knots.
Materials needed for the craft: Threads, needle, scissors, embroidery hoop, fabric (any piece of cloth you want to do your embroidery on).
What to do: This may be a bit advanced for kids so your child can start learning the art of french knots first through THIS Youtube video.
6) Couching stitch
@astitchedsoul made a cute little hoop depicting the Kabah with lots of multicoloured couched threads representing the people of all nationalities that visit the blessed holy place every year.
Materials needed for the craft: Black felt sheet, yellow thread, needle, scissors, embroidery hoop, white cloth, multicoloured threads/yarns.
What to do: Stitch the little black felt Kiswa in the centre. The “people” circumambulating it are made of lots of multicoloured threads couched (the technique of stitching a fibre to the surface of the fabric) onto the white background. Your child can learn this technique HERE.
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7) Punch-needling
@craftyykids made several crafts around the Hajj theme, but following are the materials needed for punch needling.
Materials needed for the craft: Black yarn/thread, yellow yarn/thread, punching needle, scissors, embroidery hoop, monk’s cloth (weaver’s fabric).
What to do: Trace the Kiswa design on the cloth. Thread the punch needle with yarn and start punching. Your child can start learning the art first through THIS Youtube playlist.
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8) Diorama binoculars
@ummi.school made cute little binoculars from tissue paper rolls.
Materials needed for the craft: Tissue-paper rolls, scissors/cutter, tape, glue.
What to do: See the visual instructions HERE for the DIY binoculars. Cut a square cardstock and stick it inside one roll with kiswa cut-outs along with a prostrating boy cut-out inside the other roll.
9) Weaving with ribbons
@minaretmountain.books weaved Kiswa (the cover of Ka’bah) with different textures.
Materials needed for the craft: Craft sticks, rubber bands, fabric scraps/ribbons, super glue or hot glue gun.
What to do: Create a square with your craft sticks and glue it into place with super glue or a hot glue gun. Slide rubber bands over both ends of the square. Ensure that the bands are at an equal distance. Present an assortment of black and golden fabric scraps and ribbons that could be woven through the loom. Follow the simple technique of “over then under”.
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10) Weaving with yarn and felt
@mamateachesme also made a beautiful Kiswah weaving project with yarn and felt strips.
Materials needed for the craft: Cardboard, felt strips in black and yellow, black and yellow yarn, scissors, needle and thread.
What to do: See THIS video to learn more about weaving.
11) Window art
@unhurriedchildhood made a beautiful Ka’bah scene as a suncatcher.
Materials needed for the craft: Tissue paper in various colours, black cardstock for the border, scissors, glue, tape.
What to do: Cut different layers of the scene and stick them altogether to form a beautiful suncatcher like this.
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12) Mosaic art
@the_naughty_goldilocks made a simple yet fun craft with mosaic technique and popsicle haajjis.
Materials needed for the craft: cardboard, popsicle sticks, markers/paints, glue, scissors/cutter.
What to do: Take two square cardboard layers and cut through one of the layer to add depth. Stick both cardboards over each other. Let your child stick black paper strips into the part that is cut out. Draw/paint haajjis on the popsicle stick (you can skip the faces) and let them go around reciting talbiyah.
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13) Felt needling
@cocomamagrace made a simple yet fun felt needle project with each color representing the different colors, cultures, and languages of our Muslim Ummah. Even in our differences, we are united under the umbrella of Islam.
Materials needed for the craft: felt sheets, scissors, glue, roving (wool), felting needle, thread, needle.
What to do: Cut out square shape for the Kabah and stick it on the bigger felt sheet as a background. Then needle felt the circles around depicting people, adding highlights and shadows with roving. You can learn felt needling HERE for free.
14) Popsicle stick slider
@lunar_learners made a creative popsicle stick slider.
Materials needed for the craft: Popsicle stick, cardstock, scissors, glue, double-sided tape, markers.
What to do: See the visual instructions below.
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15) Floral art
@petaltogether made a delicate pressed-floral art.
Materials needed for the craft: Paper/cardstock, cutter, glue, pressed flowers/leaves.
What to do: Outline Kabah shape on the page for the ease of sticking pressed flowers or leaves onto it. Cut the parts getting out of the lines to give it a neat look.
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16) Interactive paper art
@minaretmountain.books made a fun craft for kids.
Materials needed for the craft: Paper, markers, scissors, glue/tape.
What to do: See the visual instructions below. She has this craft as a free printable on her website, but you can create one on your own by drawing your own art.
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17) Sliding image card
@lunar_learners made a sliding image card.
Materials needed for the craft: paper/cardstock, glue, tape, scissors/cutter, markers.
What to do: SEE this video for visual instructions. You can print the images of Ka’bah and masjid nabwi or draw them yourself.
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18) Pop-up craft
@minaretmountain.books made a pop-up craft with different textures of paper.
Materials needed for the craft: Black square paper, golden ribbon (or you can even paint gold colour on the paper strip), cardstock, scissors/cutter, papers (different textures like glitter, crinkle etc.), markers, glue, tape.
What to do: She has this craft as a free printable on her website, but you can also create one on your own. Make your background with any materials or textures you would like to create your collage. SEE THIS VIDEO to get clarity on instructions. Print or write the Quranic aayah inside. You can also get creative and draw the actual architecture of Kaaba’s interior.
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19) Kiswa craft
@minaretmountain.books also made a kiswa craft showing how the cover of the Ka’bah has changed over time.
Materials needed for the craft: Paper, markers, scissors, glue/tape.
What to do: See the visual instructions below. She has this craft as a free printable on her website, but you can create one on your own by drawing your own art.
20) Kaleidoscope art
@radiance_of_delight made a Kaleidoscope to teach kids about many different things.
Materials needed for the craft: mirror, paper, markers.
What to do: Draw little people going in a circle on a paper. Place two mirrors vertically above the drawing and make it go round.
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21) Tawaf craft
@plantingseedswithlove made a tawaf painting with crepe-paper little humans.
Materials needed for the craft: Markers (if you are drawing your own 2D Ka’bah), crepe paper, glue, paints.
What to do: Stick the Ka’bah print out in the middle and paints circles around with different skin colours around the world to show diversity. Stick the crumbled crepe paper around to show people from different races doing tawaf.
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22) Glitter shaker
@nidatastic made a DIY glitter shaker with a kiswa pattern.
Materials needed for the craft: Cardboard, glue, tape, scissors/cutter, glitter.
What to do: Follow the visual instructions below by swiping through the slideshow.
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23) Mosaic Ka’bah art
@homeschool.garden made a mosaic art with a lot more details than #12 art so this would be ideal for kids with a little more advanced level of learning.
Materials needed for the craft: Scissors, paper strips, glue, pencil.
What to do: Draw the base art or print out a Kaaba to stick the mosaic tiles/ paper strips on. You can change the scenery to create your own collage with different colours.
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24) Circumambulation craft
@jenny.molendyk made a creative circumambulation craft.
Materials needed for the craft: Cardstock, markers, metal brad (split pin).
What to do: See the visual instructions below.
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25) Salt painting
@dearmuslimchild made a beautiful salt painting depicting tawaf.
Materials needed for the craft: Glue, paper, salt, food colours, pencil.
What to do: See the visual instructions below.
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26) Cardboard maze
@myshelfsg made a cardboard maze.
Materials needed for the craft: cardboard strips, round cardboard for the base, white glue (to glue the strips for the spirals), black and yellow crayons to draw the Kaaba, wooden/playdough balls (you may also colour them in different shades of skin).
What to do: Draw the Kaaba in the middle and glue the cardboard strips around it. Let your children play with this maze in different ways suggested in the caption below.
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27) Nature painting
@dearmuslimchild made a Ka’bah painting with the touch of nature.
Materials needed for the craft: Stones (of different colours to show racial diversity), paper/cardboard, paints, glue.
What to do: Paint the surface and stick stones over it depicting tawaf.
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28) Popsicle sticks
@nidatastic made a simple yet cute Ka’bah craft for kids.
Materials needed for the craft: popsicle sticks, glue, glitter, paints/markers.
What to do: Colour the popsicle sticks black and one as golden. Spread glue on the golden stick and sprinkle glitter over it. Join all the popsicle sticks together.
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29) DIY telescope
@redtenttoys made a Diy telescope.
Materials needed for the craft: empty tissue roll, tape, clingfilm/tracing paper, scissors, decorartion materials (optional).
What to do: Roll up some card to form a telescope (or grab an empty kitchen roll). Secure with tape and decorate. Draw a Ka’aba on to a piece of clingfilm or you could use tracing paper. Secure this to one end of your telescope. You can also shine a light into the end and project your Ka’aba onto the wall!
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30) Bean painting
@plantingseedswithlove made a kiswa with beans along with painting around.
Materials needed for the craft: Yarn, black and yellow beans, paints, pencil, glue, scissors.
What to do: Outline the Kaaba in the middle and lots of roads going towards it, representing people coming to the Kaaba from different directions to perform Hajj/Umrah. Then place the yarn on top of outlined roads. Then colour each section in different colours. Stick beans on top of the Kabah outline.
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If you end up making a craft, you may also consider gifting it to someone special. or you may send flowers Canberra.
If you end up making any craft out of these, please do share it with us and tag us on social media channels (Instagram or Facebook). Tell us in the comments below which one is your favourite craft?
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