Textiles

What do you know so far?...

I don’t know anything

I know quite alot

You don’t know much… In the fashion world, new

designs are presented in the form of hand-drawn sketches before they’re actually cut and sewn. The point is not to draw a realistic-looking figure, but a blank canvas of sorts on which to display illustrations of dresses, skirts, blouses, accessories and the rest of your creations. Adding colour and details like ruffles, seams and buttons helps to bring your ideas to life.

Lets move past the basics…You know what your doing but your not quite ready to be a fashion designer view the next page to get a step by step tutorial on how to draw a model.

How to draw and design clothes …

Yarn production

fibres are the basis for all textiles. You need to know the difference between natural and synthetic fibres, how each fibre is used, and which fibres can be

combined together.Types of fibre

Textile materials are made in three stages:1. spinning: fibres are spun into yarns

2. weaving or knitting: yarns become fabrics3. finishing: fabrics are finished to make them more useful

There are two types of textile fibres:• natural• synthetic

Natural fibresNatural fibres come from plants, animals and minerals. They usually have short

fibres, called staple fibres. The exception to this rule is silk, a natural fibre whose continuous filaments are up to one kilometre in length!

Sources of natural fibres• Cotton from the cotton plant.• Linen from the flax plant.• Wool from sheep.• Silk from silkworms.

Synthetic fibresSynthetic fibres are man-made, usually from chemical sources. They are

continuous filament fibres, which means the fibres are long and do not always have to be spun into yarn.

Sources of synthetic fibres• Viscose comes from pine trees or petrochemicals.• Acrylic, nylon and polyester come from oil and coal.

Seams

Step 1Make note of the of the difference between the “right” and “wrong” side of the fabric you are using. The nature of a French seam's construction requires that you be aware of the difference during construction so that they are properly oriented in each step.

Step 2With the right sides facing out, pin material together, pinning entire length of edge where the French seam will be.

Step 3Stitch a 1/4" seam allowance along the entire length of the edge pinned in Step 2. Remove pins after the seam allowance has been sewn. Note: contrasting thread shown in photo used for clarity only.

Step 4Cut seam allowance (sewn in Step 3) to within 1/8" of stitches. Although you may use pinking shears, they are not required. The cut edges will be protected (and hidden) by the completed French seam.

Step 5Unfold with the right sides up. Press entire length of trimmed seam allowance, pressing both edges flat and to one common side. DO NOT press seam open! Be sure to use a setting on your iron that will not damage the fabric.

Step 6Fold material along newly created seam with wrong sides out.

Step 7Press entire length of seam flat at fold on wrong side. Be sure to use a setting on your iron that will not damage the fabric.

Step 8With wrong sides out, pin folded material together, pinning entire length of pressed seam created in Step 7.

Step 9Stitch a 3/8" seam allowance along the entire length of the edge pinned in Step 8. Remove pins after the seam allowance has been sewn. Note: contrasting thread shown in photo used for clarity only

Step 10Unfold with the wrong sides up. Press entire length of seam flat to one side. Be sure to use a setting on your iron that will not damage the fabric.

Step 11Give yourself a pat on the back. Note that the right side of the seam is neat and flat. On the wrong side, the cut (or pinked) edges of the seam created in step 4 are now concealed. You're done!

10 steps to draw a model…Step 1: Body dimensionsMark the size of the fashion figure. If you are going to draw it on the whole sheet, leave just a little bit of space from both the top and bottom end.Pull a vertical body Centerline and find its middle.

Step 2: Legs/torsoTo set the length needed for the legs and the torso divide the upper half of body Centerline in 3 even parts. Mark the middle of the 3rd part. This is where the pelvis of your fashion figure should be.Higher than the pelvis stands the torso, below – the legs.

Step 3: Head sizeTo find how big the head of the model should be divide the upper space from the pelvis in 3 equal parts.The top segment is where the head and the neck are going to be. Separate it in 3 again

Step 4: Draw the headDraw the head in the first 2/3 of the top section.Continue and draw the neck in the last 1/3.

Step 5: Draw the torsoDraw the figure’s torso.Make sure you do not erase the little circles on the hips, you are going to need them in the next step

Step 6: Hips moveThis is the most essential step in drawing this fashion pose.You need to move the whole hips area to the left.Also make sure that the left circle stands higher than its original position and the right circle stands lower than before.If you were to connect the two circles with a line it would be no longer horizontal, but rather diagonal.

Step 7: The front legOne head from the ground mark a spot close to the body Centerline. Join this spot with the higher hip circle. This way you will hint the direction of the front leg.In the middle of the leg’s guideline draw a circle for the knee.

Step 8: Draw the legThe spot that you marked in the previous step is approximately where you should place the ankle. Note that the foot is not tilted, but straight, parallel to the body Centerline.Draw a circle for the knee of the back leg right next to the other.Use a short horizontal line to indicate the level of the toes of the back leg. This line should be about the ankles of the front leg.

Step 9: The back legConnect the lower hip circle to the back leg knee.Draw the foot. Its size is almost the same size as front leg’s. Note that it is partially hidden behind the front leg. The more-the better.Use an arched line to join the knee with the foot.

Step 10: Back leg fleshFinish the outline of the back leg following the guidelines you just made. Notice that there is space between the tights.Remember that the elbows are always at level of the waist.

Screen printingIn screen printing a pattern is printed onto fabric through a stencil held in place by a screen. Each screen prints one part of the design in one colour. After printing the dyestuff must be fixed using steam or dry heat.Manual flat-bed screen printingManual flat-bed screen printing is a slow process, done by hand. It is used by designer-makers for complicated fabric designs or for small runs.

1.Mesh is stapled to a frame to make a screen.

2.Masking tape is stuck to the underside of the screen.

3.A stencil is made from paper.

4.The stencil is placed under the screen but on top of the paper.

5.Ink is poured at one end of screen.

6.A squeegee is used to press down and draw ink across screen.

7.The screen is carefully lifted.

8.The print is checked before the process is repeated.

Industrial flat-bed screen printingIndustrial flat-bed printing automates this process, with the fabric moved through the machine on a conveyor belt and the print repeating rapidly.

Nanomaterials and integrated electronicsNanomaterialsNanomaterials are those broadly defined as having tiny components with at least one measurement below 100 nm. Sometimes nanomaterials are used as thin films or surface coatings, as on computer chips or as nanowires, nanotubes, or as blobs of tiny nanocrystalline particles.In the clothing sector special functional textiles are under development, for example self-cleaning textile surfaces or protective insulating clothing. Antimicrobial silver nanoparticles are already used in socks, shoe insoles and a few clothing textiles. By using nanostructured polymer coatings on textile surfaces, textiles and other products may be enhanced to include new properties like these listed below.Two key factors cause the properties of nanomaterials to be special: their quantum effects and their structure. Their tiny structure means they have a greater relative surface area than other materials and this can alter or improve properties such as strength and electrical characteristics or reactivity. Their quantum effect can affect the electrical, magnetic or optical performance.

Extra facts…

•If we changed the way the UK supplies, uses and disposes of clothing, we could reduce the carbon, water and waste footprints of clothing consumption by 10-20% each. This could cut around £3billion per year from the cost of the resources we use to make and clean clothes.•Around £140 million worth (350,000 tonnes) of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year•More than 30% of our unwanted clothing currently goes to landfill•In the UK, we send 700,000 tonnes of clothing to be re-used or recycled each year - enough to fill 459 Olympic-size swimming pools•57% of people say they recycle their textiles•41% of people say they’re not aware of recycling facilities for textiles•More than 60% of householders in the UK say they have unwanted clothes and textiles stored in their homes•In 2010, we threw out an estimated £238m-worth of textiles for waste collection and sent to landfill – but all of this could have been re-used, recycled or sent for energy recovery•Around 370,000 tonnes of carpet is disposed of in landfill every year•We ‘consume’ 169,000 tonnes of mattresses a year but only 25,000 tonnes is recovered•In 2010 we could have recovered 84,500 tonnes of steel from discarded mattresses for recycling or energy recovery

Fabrics usually need to be washed, bleached and dyed before they are made into textile products. Garments are assembled using various joining techniques including sewing, fusing and heat-sealing. Finishing improves the appearance, handle and performance of fabrics, while pressing is used to shape and stabilise fabrics. DyeingBefore dyeing and printing the fabric is prepared by washing, bleaching and mercerising, in which the yarn is treated to improve strength, lustre and receptivity to dye. Fabrics can be dyed by hand or by machine.Hand dyeingHand dyeing fabricIn hand dyeing, fabrics are immersed in hot or cold dyes in a dye bath. The dye bath is agitated so the dye reaches all areas. When the desired colour is achieved the fabric is removed and rinsed to remove excess dye. Then it is fixed with a mordant or a fixing agent such as salt. The strength of a dye colour is determined by the:•amount of time in the dye bath•absorbency of fibres•original fabric colour•concentration of the dye colour in the dye bath•effective use of a mordant or fixative

To make a dress

Number of pins needed

material Time taken

buttons

amount 50 10m 3 days 10

How to make a dress

Please print off next slide

What % of householders in the UK say they have unwanted clothes and textiles stored in their homes?

60% 70%

90%

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next

wrong

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Natural fibres come from plants, animals and minerals. Where do natural fibres come from?

Plants, animals and minerals

Plants, soils and minerals

Plants, animals andink

correct

correct

wrong

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Sources of natural fibres

• Cotton • Linen • Wool

• Silk • Cotton• wool

• Cotton • Linen

• Synthetic fibres

correct

correct