Natural Weaving

Things you'll need for this activity

• Scissors
• Sticks
• Grasses
• Long thin leaves
• Bark

What you'll learn in this activity 

Ages Appropriate for ages 5-10

Purpose Creative fun supporting fine motor development and eye hand co-ordination.

Let's play!

1. Place a few pieces of your long grasses onto the table side by side – all facing in the same direction.

2. Take another long grass and using an under and over pattern thread the long grass through the grasses that you have placed on the table.

3. Weaving in this pattern making sure that an ‘under’ is followed by an ‘over’.

4. Push the grasses together to form a tight weave. This will give you more space to add threads.

5. Once your weaving is the size that you want you will need to tie the ends off. Ensure that you have enough grass left at the end t(5cms) and knot the end piece back into the body of the weaving.

6. Once each end is tied off you can use scissors to cut the ends off to neaten the edges.

Talking together

Questions 

Weaving is an ancient Indigenous practice that has been passed on for generations.  What can we discover together about Indigenous weaving - materials, practices and uses?

Extension

You could try using a branch and weaving long grasses or leaves around or onto it, or incorporating different types of natural materials into your pattern—such as long leaves, different types or colours of grass, or pieces of bark.

We'd love to see your creations and home based play! Share with us on Facebook at @yrfamilies #YarraRangesPlay

You can contact the YRC Family & Children’s Services team on 1300 368 333 or by email at earlyyears@yarraranges.vic.gov.au