Design Technology – sewing reusable bags
In DT, Year 5 have used their textile skills to create their own, unique reusable bags. In class, the children have discussed the environmental impact of single-use plastic bags and solutions for this. They found that part of the solution to this problem, is reusable bags. After looking at various designs and purposes of real-life bags, and studying the inventor Richard Kelty, Year 5 got to work designing their own products.
Before starting, Year 5 had the opportunity to practise the different types of stitches that they would use on their bags. This included running stitch, back stitch and whip stitch.
Once designs were established, the children then began to piece together their fabrics. Using felt and other materials, they cut out shapes for their designs and began to sew them on to their main pieces.
Next, they attached the fabrics together, using back stitch along the bottom. This was the stitch that the children discovered to be the strongest. They used whip stitch up the sides. Finally, a drawstring tie was added to the top. This was done by looping ribbon through the tops of their bags and securing with stitches.
As you can see, the final products have come out brilliantly and all children have produced high quality, beautifully designed reusable bags.
