Report Copyright Infringement View in OSM UK

Description

Try making some gauze out of cotton and find out about its history.

This activity has been liked 0 times. Do you want to like this activity?

Resources

RulersScissorsPens or pencilsA4 cardPlain white cotton fabric or white felt (approx. 30cm by 30cm)Surgical gauze, such as gauge bandage or gauze dressing

Instructions

Setting up this activity  

Cut out several card strips that are approximately 2-3 cm wide and 30cm in length. These can be used as a template to give out to everyone. 

Run the activityGather everyone together and ask if anyone knows what gauze is.  Explain that gauze is a fabric that has a variety of different uses. Usually, gauze is made from natural fibres such as cotton, linen and silk. It can be woven or non-woven. Ask if anyone knows what the gauze is used for. Tell everyone that gauze can be used for lots of different things, though it was originally used for clothing. Cotton gauze now often used in medicine to help cover wounds or stop bleeding, as it’s very absorbent. It’s often used for theatre backgrounds. It’s also still used in clothing and often mixed with silk to make lightweight skirts and dresses. Pass around some of the gauze for everyone to feel and look at. Ask everyone to look at the design of the gauze. Can they see any patterns?Tell everyone that woven gauze is a loose, open weave fabric, usually from cotton fibres. Non-woven gauze is made from fibres that are pressed together to resemble a weave, rather than woven. Is the gauze you’re looking at woven or non-woven? Does it have a pattern?Ask if anyone can guess where the name gauze might come from. Although there is some debate, the English word of ‘Gauze’ is thought to come from the name of the Palestinian city of Gaza, which was a centre for weaving, especially with silk. As early as the 13th Century, intricately woven silk fabric made in Gaza was exported to Europe and the rest of the world.Tell everyone they’re going to try to weave their own gauze.Give everyone a 2cm x 30cm card template, a 30cm x 30cm piece of white fabric or felt, a pair of scissors and a pencil.First, everyone should use the card template to draw strips on the white fabric. They should fit around 14-15 strips onto the fabric.Once the strips have been drawn, carefully use the scissors to cut them out.Lay out 7 of the strips on the table or floor in front of you, then put the rest in a pile to one side.Take one strip from pile and start weaving. To do this, start at one side and thread it over one strip and under the next strip continuously until you reach the other end.Keep going with another strip but make sure it’s threaded in the opposite way to the last strip. For example, if you started the last strip with it going over, then start this strip by going under.Try to keep the weave as tight as possible. As you add new strips, weave them as close to the previous one as possible. Once they’re in place, you can gently push the woven strips closer together.Continue weaving until you use up all your strips. Once you’re finished, you can perhaps secure the strips to each other with glue or glue dots.

Tags

(none)

Badge Links

• Creative - Craft
• International - Learn
• World - Activity