Textiles and Design — Year 5 Lesson Plan
National Curriculum: Art and Design KS2 — To improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including using textiles; to know about great artists, craft makers and designers and the historical and cultural development of their art forms.
Overview
Pupils explore textiles as an art form with a rich global history. They study weaving techniques on card looms, learn basic embroidery stitches and investigate textile traditions from West Africa, India and the Bauhaus. Pupils design and produce a textile panel that combines at least two techniques, developing an understanding of how the functional and aesthetic aspects of textiles have been valued across cultures throughout history.
Textiles and Design learning objectives
- To understand the craft of weaving and produce a woven piece on a card loom
- To learn and apply at least two embroidery stitches with increasing accuracy
- To know about textile traditions from at least two different cultures
- To design and make a resolved textile panel combining at least two techniques
Key Vocabulary
Suggested Lesson Structure
Show pupils examples of West African kente cloth, Indian block-printed textiles, Japanese shibori and Bauhaus weaving. Discuss: what techniques have been used? What do the patterns mean in their cultural context? Introduce the card loom — pass one around the class — and show the over-under rhythm of weaving with a thick yarn.
Demonstrate setting up a card loom: cut notches, thread the warp and tie off. Show the over-under weaving action with a weft thread on a bodkin needle. Demonstrate two variations: plain weave and a simple colour-change stripe. Then demonstrate three embroidery stitches on a fabric swatch: running stitch, cross stitch and chain stitch.
Pupils set up their card looms and begin weaving. Teacher circulates helping with the over-under rhythm and managing thread tension. After 10 minutes, pupils take a break from weaving to practise the three stitches on a fabric sampler, labelling each stitch name. This builds towards the combined panel they will make in subsequent sessions.
Pupils develop their weaving by introducing a second colour and trying a simple design: a stripe, chevron or colour block. They annotate their sketchbook with a diagram of the over-under structure and a note about which cultural tradition has most influenced their colour and pattern choices.
Pupils hold up weavings and discuss: what does the weft colour sequence you have chosen remind you of? Is it inspired by any of the cultural traditions we looked at? Plan the next stage: which stitch technique will they combine with their weaving in the final panel?
Common Misconceptions
- Pupils often pull weft threads too tight, causing the edges of the weaving to curve inwards — teach them to form a small arc in the weft thread before pushing it down, which provides enough slack for even tension
- Some pupils confuse the direction of warp and weft — use a visual reminder: warp goes up the wall like a wardrobe, weft goes across like a shelf
Prior Knowledge
Pupils should already be able to:
- Basic knowledge of textile arts from EYFS threading and weaving activities
- Pattern design from the Year 5 Printing and Pattern unit
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