NCERT Solutions for Class 5th Maths Chapter 7 Making paper mats and writing the rule for each row — Weaving Mats
Book page 92–93 Updated on2026-09-19
Q1.
Let us make paper mats. You will need — A coloured paper (30 cm long and 20 cm wide) and eight paper strips of two different colours (3 cm wide and longer than 20 cm). (a) Take a coloured paper 30 cm long and 20 cm wide. (b) Fold the coloured paper in half along the longer side. (c) Draw vertical lines at equal distances from the closed end and cut slits leaving a gap of 3 cm at the top. (d) Carefully unfold the paper. There will be no cuts in the paper at the top and the bottom. (e) Now cut 8 paper strips of 3 cm width in 2 colours and of length slightly longer than 20 cm. (f) Take one colour strip and weave it across the slits going 1 under and 1 over, and again 1 under and 1 over. Repeat it for the first row. (g) Take one more strip of another colour and weave it across the slits going 1 over and 1 under, and again 1 over and 1 under. Repeat it for the second row. (h) Weave all the strips in the same alternating pattern. Neatly fold any extra strip ends behind the mat. Your mat is ready!Steps (b), (c), (f) and (h) of making the paper mat.
Answer
Follow the eight steps and you get a chequered mat — it looks like a chessboard, with the two colours swapping places in every row.
Here is the same activity written as short steps you can do at your desk.
Take the base paper. 30 cm long, 20 cm wide.
Fold it in half along the longer side. Now it is 15 cm by 20 cm and one side is a closed fold.
Draw lines and cut. From the folded (closed) edge, draw straight lines the same distance apart. Cut along them but stop 3 cm before the open edge. Do not cut all the way.
Open the paper. You now have a row of long slits in the middle, with 3 cm of uncut paper at the top and at the bottom. These uncut bands hold the mat together.
Cut 8 strips, 3 cm wide, a little longer than 20 cm — 4 of one colour and 4 of the other.
Weave the first row. Take a strip. Push it under the first paper band, over the next, under, over … all the way across. Slide it up to the top.
Weave the second row with the other colour, but start the opposite way: over, under, over, under …
Keep alternating. Row 3 is like Row 1, Row 4 is like Row 2, and so on. Fold the extra ends behind and press the mat flat.
Row 1 — 1 under, 1 over, 1 under, 1 over, … (repeat) Row 2 — 1 over, 1 under, 1 over, 1 under, … (repeat) Row 3 — same as Row 1 Row 4 — same as Row 2
The cream squares are the base paper showing through; the coloured squares are the strips lying on top.
Why it happens: In Row 1 the strip hides band 1, shows band 2, hides band 3 … In Row 2 it does exactly the opposite. So no coloured square ever sits directly below another of the same kind, and the mat looks like a chessboard.
Tip: Push each new strip right up against the one before it. If you leave a gap, the pattern still works but the mat looks loose. Fold the ends behind and put a little gum on them.
Q2.
Can you figure out how to make this mat? Let us try to understand how this mat is woven by looking at the pattern in the first two rows. Row 1 — 2 over, 1 under, 2 over, 1 under, … Row 2 — 2 under, 1 over, 2 under, 1 over, … You can use strips of the same colour or 2 different colours, one for each row.The mat shown in the book, page 93.
Answer
Yes. Weave Row 1 as 2 over, 1 under again and again, and Row 2 as 2 under, 1 over again and again. Then Row 3 is like Row 1, Row 4 is like Row 2, and so on.
How to read the words while you weave:
“2 over” means: pass the strip over the first band and over the second band.
“1 under” means: now push it under the next band.
Repeat — over, over, under, over, over, under … till the end of the row.
Row 2 is the reverse. Under, under, over, under, under, over …
Row 1 — O O U O O U O O U … Row 2 — U U O U U O U U O … (O = strip goes over, U = strip goes under)
Each row hides two bands, then shows one. The next row does exactly the opposite.
Why it happens: The rule has three steps in it (over, over, under), so the picture repeats after every 3 bands. Row 2 turns each “over” into an “under”, so the long coloured blocks of Row 1 sit above the gaps of Row 2. That is what makes the brick-like look of the mat.
Two colours or one? Both work. With one colour you see the pattern only from the light and shade. With two colours the blocks jump out. Use one colour for the odd rows and the other for the even rows.
Q3.
Try to weave a pattern, using the rules given below. Row 1 — 2 over, 1 under, 2 over, 1 under, … (repeat). Row 2 — 1 under (do not repeat), 3 over, 3 under, 3 over, 3 under, … (repeat). Row 3 — 2 under, 1 over, 2 under, … (repeat). Row 4 — 1 over (do not repeat), 3 under, 3 over … (repeat). Continue weaving in this order.
Answer
Here is the pattern written out band by band, for a mat with 12 bands. Weave your strips exactly like this.
Band number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Row 1
O
O
U
O
O
U
O
O
U
O
O
U
Row 2
U
O
O
O
U
U
U
O
O
O
U
U
Row 3
U
U
O
U
U
O
U
U
O
U
U
O
Row 4
O
U
U
U
O
O
O
U
U
U
O
O
(O = the strip passes over that band · U = the strip passes under it.)
Read each rule like this:
Row 1: over, over, under — then start the same three again.
Row 2: the very first band is under, and that first step is not repeated. After it, go 3 over, 3 under, 3 over, 3 under …
Row 3: under, under, over — then start again.
Row 4: the very first band is over, not repeated. After it, 3 under, 3 over, 3 under …
Row 5 is the same as Row 1, Row 6 the same as Row 2, and so on. The whole design repeats after every 4 rows.
Four rows, four different rules. Together they make one repeating band of the design.
Tip while weaving: Say the rule aloud — “over, over, under” — as your fingers move. If you lose your place, count back to the last group of three and start again from there.
Q4.
Can you work out the steps for any of these designs and weave the pattern? Write the steps of the pattern in your notebook for each row until it starts repeating.The two woven designs given in the book, page 93.
Answer
Yes. Here is the method, and then a worked example for the first of the two mats shown (the purple and pale-blue one).
Method — how to read any woven design
Look at the top row only. Put your finger on the left end.
Move along the row. Each time the crossing strip is on top write O (over); each time the upright band is on top write U (under).
Write the row as words: for example O O O U becomes “3 over, 1 under”.
Do the same for the next row, and the next.
Stop when a row is exactly the same as an earlier row. Everything between them is the repeating block.
Sample answer — the purple mat
Row 1 — 3 over, 1 under, … (repeat) Row 2 — same, but shifted one band to the right Row 3 — shifted one more band Row 4 — shifted one more band Row 5 — same as Row 1, so the design repeats after 4 rows
Purple = the crossing strip on top. Sliding the rule one band each row turns a straight pattern into a slanting one.
Why the design slants: Each row does the same thing as the row above it, but one band later. So the long purple blocks step sideways, one place at a time, and your eye joins them into a diagonal stripe.
Try this yourself: Take the second mat and write its rows the same way. Then invent your own — for example “2 over, 2 under” shifted by two bands each row — and weave it. Any rule you can write down, you can weave.