Integrated Lessons: Math for Shining Cloth

1. Wayan is weaving a small songket sample. Her warp contains 21 meters of silk thread. For her weft she uses 8 meters of gold thread and 17 meters of silk thread. How much thread does she use in her weft? How much total silk thread? How much thread altogether?

2. Sandy is at a shell shop to get ornaments for the headdress she is making. Cowrie shells cost $0.75 each. Abalone shell rounds cost $2.00 a dozen. Starfish are $1.00 each. She wants eight cowrie shells, two dozen abalone rounds, and four starfish. She pays for her purchase with a $20.00 bill. How much change does she get?

3. Pierre is making a vodoun flag. He is covering one section completely with blue sequins. The sequins are arranged in straight rows and columns. The illustration shows the shape of the section and how many row or columns run along each edge. How many beads are on this section of the flag? Each sequin is 1/4 inch across. How wide is the top of the section. How long is the left side?

4. Hakuben decorates her toran with 3,600 beads. One third of the beads are red, costing 2 cents each. One quarter are green, costing 3 cents each. One sixth are blue, costing 1 cent each. The rest are brown, costing one-half (0.5) cent each. How much do her beads cost altogether.