Crafts with My Hands
Primary 2 · Creative Arts
Crafts with My Hands
Lesson 2 of 3
12 min
Let's begin
Mutesi is sitting with her grandmother. Grandmother is making an agaseke basket, and her fingers move fast.
Mutesi looks closely. One strip goes over. The next one goes under. Over, under, over, under.
That is all it is. Two simple words, said again and again, until a flat basket appears. Today you will do the same with paper.
Lay two strips on top of each other in a cross. Shake the paper. They slide apart at once. Nothing is holding them.
Now push one strip under the other, then over the next one. Shake it. It holds!
Each strip is pressing on its neighbour, and its neighbour presses back. That squeeze is what holds a mat, a basket and a chair seat together. No glue, no nails. Just over and under.
The base strips are the ones that stay still. Here is how to make them from one sheet.
Why stop before the edge? Because that uncut part is the border. It holds all your strips together, like a fence. If you cut right through, your paper falls into loose pieces and there is nothing to weave into.
Mutesi cut 5 lines. She opened the paper and counted the strips between them: 6 strips. Five cuts always give you six strips, because the cuts sit between the strips, not on them.
Now cut some loose strips from another sheet, about two fingers wide. These are your travelling strips. They are the ones that move.
Mutesi's base has 6 strips. She takes a travelling strip and starts at the top.
Row 1: over, under, over, under, over, under. She pushes it all the way up to the border.
Now row 2. This is where most people get it wrong. Do not start the same way again!
Row 2 starts the opposite way: under, over, under, over, under, over.
Why? Think about it. In row 1 the strip went over base strip number 1. If row 2 goes over base strip number 1 as well, then nothing is holding base strip number 1 down. It is loose on both rows, and it will slip out.
But if row 2 goes under it, that base strip is now trapped: over on top, under below. It cannot escape.
Look at what appears when you alternate. Little squares, like a chessboard. That is the sign that you are weaving correctly. If you see long straight stripes instead, every row started the same way, and your mat will fall apart.
Row 3 starts like row 1: over, under, over... Rows 1, 3 and 5 are the same. Rows 2, 4 and 6 are the opposite.
After each row, push it up gently so it sits tight against the row above. No gaps.
Do not pull hard, or the paper tears. Weaving is a gentle job.
When the base is full, put a little glue on the end of every travelling strip and press it down onto the border. Now nothing can come undone.
No paper? Use what grows around you. Split banana leaves into strips. Use dry grass, or papyrus from the marsh. Real Rwandan mats and baskets are woven from exactly these things, and the pattern is the same one you just learned.
Tip
Every new row starts the opposite way. Row 1 began with over? Then row 2 must begin with under. Look at the strip above yours and do the opposite of what it did. Little squares mean you got it right.
Your base has 4 strips. You start your row by going over. Say the whole row out loud.
Answer: Over, under, over, under.
Row 1 was: under, over, under, over. How must row 2 start?
Answer: With over. Every row starts the opposite way to the one above it.
Ishimwe cuts 7 lines in his folded paper. How many base strips does he have when he opens it?
Answer: 8 strips. The cuts sit between the strips, so there is always one more strip than cuts.
Keza's rows all start with over. Her mat has long stripes, and the strips keep sliding out. What went wrong?
Answer: She started every row the same way. Rows 2, 4 and 6 must start with under, so that each base strip gets trapped over and under.
Your base has 5 strips and you weave a row starting with over. How many base strips does that row go over?
Answer: 3. The row goes over, under, over, under, over. Count the overs: strips 1, 3 and 5. That is 3.
What you learned today
Quick check
Make the base. Put the steps in order.
Tap the cards in the right order.
