Project Trivet = FAIL

Now that spring is upon us and the snow has melted, Sydney and I decided to take this opportunity to do a craft from the book Organic Crafts: 75 Earth-Friendly Art Activities.  Specifically, making our own trivet.

According to the project guide in the book, our trivet will, in the end, be the width of ten "small twigs," woven together with fabric strips and stacked two high.

I'm guessing the person who designed this craft has never actually seen a "small twig" before, because after weaving together the first layer and using small branches instead of small twigs, you get this:

I placed a ruler next to it so you can see it is just a hair past four and a half inches wide.  And I don't know about you, but none of my pots are four inches wide and nine inches long.  Well, I suppose I could put a bread pan on it.  However, it's extraordinarily unattractive, and if I try to move it, the twigs fall out. 

I'm scrapping this one for now.  If anyone has done this project successfully, I'd love to see pictures of your completed trivet.