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Lesson 4 of 4
  • Year 1

Print a sea pattern on cloth – stories in indigo

I can print on cloth using wax or paper shapes to tell a story.

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View unit
Lesson 4 of 4
New
New
  • Year 1

Print a sea pattern on cloth – stories in indigo

I can print on cloth using wax or paper shapes to tell a story.

Download all

These resources were made for remote use during the pandemic, not classroom teaching.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Adire cloth uses shapes made with stencils and patterns to communicate stories, identity and heritage.
  2. Resist techniques like wax or stencils block areas from absorbing colour.
  3. Storytelling through fabric links personal expression to wider cultural traditions.

Keywords

  • Pattern - something that repeats again and again

  • Adire cloth - a kind of patterned fabric made with natural dyes in Nigeria

  • Wax resist - a way to make patterns on fabric by using wax to stop some parts soaking up the dye

  • Stencil - shapes with cut-out parts used to repeat the same design on cloth or paper

Common misconception

You need special or expensive things to make fabric patterns.

Remind pupils that you can use natural objects, paper and wax to make patterns on fabric. You can use simple, safe materials to tell powerful stories through cloth.


To help you plan your year 1 art and design lesson on: Print a sea pattern on cloth – stories in indigo, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

To manage and support the dyeing element of this activity, teachers could complete this task in small groups.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Wax, cloth, newspaper, fabric dye, visual examples of Adire cloth

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
What did Kandinsky paint?

cars and houses
only real things like animals
Correct answer: feelings with colours and shapes

Q2.
What did Aubrey Williams love and use in his art?

Correct answer: nature and plants
cars and buildings
robots and spaceships

Q3.
What inspired some of Aubrey Williams’s paintings?

Correct answer: music
books
food

Q4.
What do you do first, next and last to paint with music and wax?

1 - Get your crayons and paint.
2 - Draw with crayon while you listen to music.
3 - Paint how the music feels.

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
What shows a shape again and again?

line
colour
dot
Correct answer: pattern

Q2.
What is the special blue cloth called?

Correct answer: adire
t-shirt
blanket
paper

Q3.
Match the word to what it does.

Correct Answer:wax,stops the dye

stops the dye

Correct Answer:stencil,helps make shapes

helps make shapes

Correct Answer:dye,colours the cloth

colours the cloth

Q4.
Put these steps in the right order to make a resist pattern using paper shapes.

1 - Draw your stencils.
2 - Cut them out.
3 - Add extra patterns to decorate.