Science and Technology K–6 · Years 1–2
From animal and plant to cloth: wool and cotton
Living World, plants and animals used for food and fibre (NSW 2017); Design and Technologies, Food and fibre production (ACARA v9)
The idea
Fibres for clothing come from living things: wool from sheep and cotton from a plant, and both can be turned into cloth by hand.
Safety card
Hazards
- Warm water; raw wool can carry Q fever bacteria, which spread through infected wool and by breathing in the bacteria in dust (NSW Health), as well as lanolin, dirt and dung; carders have wire teeth
Controls
- Water about 40 degrees Celsius, checked with a thermometer by the adult; raw wool kept sealed in its clear bag so it is not handled and makes no dust, and only washed (scoured) wool is handled, carded and felted; carders used slowly; hands washed
Note
Warm water: the adult warms the water and checks it with a thermometer before learners use it. The NSW Department of Education science safety and compliance page points to CSIS 1.7 for risk assessment; record the activity on Primary School RiskAssess (riskassess.com.au).
What you need
- Raw (greasy) wool, 50 g, sealed in a clear zip-lock bag by the adult, and washed (scoured) wool roving, 50 g
- A cotton boll (or cotton wool as a stand-in with a photo of the boll), and a piece of woven cotton fabric
- A hand lens; two hand carders or dog brushes
- For felting: a bowl of warm soapy water at about 40 degrees Celsius (checked by the adult with a thermometer), a towel, a piece of bubble wrap
How to do it
- Feel the raw wool through its sealed bag and look at its grease and crimp; the bag stays closed. Look at a strand of washed wool with the hand lens; look at a cotton strand the same way.
- Brush a handful of washed wool between the two carders until the fibres lie the same way.
- Lay three thin layers of carded wool crosswise on the bubble wrap, sprinkle with warm soapy water and rub gently with flat hands, turning it over from time to time, until the fibres no longer lift away when pinched (the pinch test).
- Rinse, squeeze and let the square dry. Pull a corner gently: does it hold together.
- Pull the woven cotton fabric apart at a frayed edge and find the single threads.
What you should see
Raw wool is greasy and crimped, and both show through the clear bag. The tiny scales on wool fibres and the flat, twisted ribbon shape of cotton fibres are too small for a hand lens and need a microscope. Rubbing warm, soapy wool locks the fibres into a felt square that holds together when pulled gently; cotton fibres rubbed the same way do not felt, which is why cotton is spun into thread and then woven or knitted into cloth. The learner knows it worked when the dry felt square holds together when a corner is pulled gently.
What changes
This activity lists no variables to change, measure and keep the same.
Common misconceptions
Each of these ideas is wrong, and the activity is a chance to test it.
- Cloth is made in a factory from nothing.
- Wool grows on a plant.
Curriculum references
The NSW syllabus outcomes and Australian Curriculum v9 codes this activity supports. They are references, not a verified or complete curriculum alignment.
- Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2017), NESA. Current syllabus; NESA's timeline is 2026 plan and prepare, 2027 start teaching the 2024 syllabus. Code read from the official syllabus document on 2026-09-22.ST1-5LW-TST1-2DP-T
- Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2024), NESA. Implementation from 2027, so this code describes the future syllabus. Code read from the outcomes page on 2026-09-22.ST1-DDT-01
- Australian Curriculum v9AC9TDE2K03AC9S1I03AC9S1I06
Sources
The pages the author read to write this activity.