Skip to main content

Activities / Coconut Craft / Coconut Leaf Watch

Coconut Leaf Watch

Coconut Leaf Wristwatch: A Woven Toy Watch for Children

Level
Beginner
Duration
15 - 30 mins
Budget
Free – ₹90
Age
6+
State
Kerala

Materials

  • Fresh green coconut palm leaflets
  • Washable marker or any pen to draw the clock face
  • Scissors
  • Damp cloth and a bowl of water

Steps

  1. Pick three fresh green leaflets
    From a fresh coconut frond, pick 3 long leaflets, each about 50 to 60 cm, that are green, flexible and not torn. Wipe them with a damp cloth. If they feel stiff, dip them in water for 5 minutes. Dry, brown leaflets snap when you fold them. Children should do this with an adult, because the leaf edges can cut and scissors are sharp.
    Tip: A leaflet is the single long green blade on each side of the frond stalk.
  2. Pull out the midrib to make flat strips
    Hold a leaflet at its thick end. With your thumbnail, split it along the thin midrib line in the middle and pull the midrib off down the length. You now have two flat strips, each about 1 cm wide, so 3 leaflets give 6 strips. Common mistake: tearing across the leaf, which ruins the strip. Pull slowly in one direction.
  3. Cut 6 short strips for the dial
    Take 3 of your 6 strips and cut two pieces, 8 cm long each, from the thick end of each one. Keep the other 3 strips whole for the band. The six short strips will be woven into a small square, which is the watch face. Check that each short strip is the same width, about 1 cm.
  4. Weave the little square dial, over and under
    Lay 3 short strips side by side, touching, pointing up and down. Take a fourth strip and weave it across, over the first, under the second, over the third. Weave the fifth strip across, starting under the first. Then weave the sixth like the fourth. You now have a woven square about 3 cm wide, like a tiny checkerboard.
    Tip: Hold the first three strips down on a table with a finger while you weave.
  5. Tighten the dial and fold the ends back
    Gently pull each strip until the square feels tight and flat. Fold every loose end back over the edge of the square and tuck it under the next strip, trimming any end longer than 1 cm. The dial should hold together without glue. Common mistake: pulling too hard, which tears the strip. Pull until snug, not until it stretches.
  6. Braid the strap from three long strips
    Take the 3 longest strips left, each about 25 cm long. Hold their ends together with a knot or pinch them at the top, then braid them like a plait: right over centre, left over centre, repeating until you have a braid about 18 cm long. Tie off the end with a tiny knot. If you do not know how to braid, watch the first video, which shows the simple weave.
  7. Thread the strap through the dial and close it
    Slide the braid under the back strips of the dial, so the dial sits in the middle of the strap. Wrap the strap around a child's wrist and tie the ends in a small knot or tuck one end under the other to lock it. Cut off extra length with scissors. Adjust until it is snug but not tight. Take the watch off before it dries so it keeps its shape.
    Tip: Make the strap a little longer than you think and trim later.
  8. Draw the clock face and hands
    With a washable marker, draw 12, 3, 6 and 9 as little dots or numbers on the dial. Draw two hands from the centre, one short and one long, showing any time you like. Let the child set the time to 9 o'clock for fun. Wash hands afterwards. The leaf watch lasts a day or two and is fully biodegradable, so compost it when it dries out.

Sustainability

High - made from a single fresh leaflet; fully biodegradable

Safety

Leaf edges can cut; supervise children when using scissors; use washable markers only