Yarns may be woven, knitted, or pressed together to make a fabric. The method used affects the strength, appearance, feel, and care requirements of the fabric. Woven fabrics are made by interlocking the yarns at right angles. Examples of weaves are: plain weaves, twill weaves, satin weaves, and the one below; a pile weave. (Westfall, M.G., 2008, p. 51).
1. Woven:
Corduroy is called a pile weave because it is created by adding extra yarns to a plain or twill weave. Corduroy has a "nap" and must be kept in mind when cutting the fabric. Other pile weaves are: terry cloth, velvet, and velveteen. Corduroy makes for excellent warmth in clothing because of its smooth properties. This pile will rub off however, and therefore does not make it the best choice for places where fabric is going to worn in the same spot, e.g. a seat cover will get crushed over time with extended use.
2. Knits:
The second most common type of fabric are knits. A typical t-shirt is a knit fabric spun from cotton or combinations of polyester and cotton or other fibres. This picture is a pique-knit and it will stretch in every direction that it is pulled, unlike a weave which will usually only pull on the bias. Knits add ease for wearing and warmth which makes them perfect for bedding, cozy blankets, sweaters, jackets, hats, scarves, mitts, etc. Knits do stretch a fair amount and therefore are not suitable for furniture coverings and drapes.
3. Felted:
Felting is defined as a consolidation of certain fibrous materials by the application of heat, moisture, and mechanical action, causing the interlocking, or matting, of fibres possessing felting properties. Such fibres include wool, fur, and certain hair fibres that mat together under appropriate conditions because of their peculiar structure and high degree of crimp (waviness). (Encyclopedia Britanica, 2014). Wool can produce felting even when mixed with other fibres. Unlike bonded fabrics, felts do not require an adhesive substance for their production.
Felt has been used in hat making for a very long time as well as in slippers and in some padding in furniture. For my next project, I would like to try felting at home a felted scenery or even try putting together slippers.
4. Pressed or rolled (synthetics)
Bonded leather, shown in the swatches above, is a leather that takes pieces of leather and presses or rolls them together (composite) to fabric that is bonded or glued to a fabric backing. This leather is cheap, it will chip off the backing, break, and sometimes cracks over time making it less durable. This leather is used in almost every application as real leather. It will not "breathe" like real leather (which is composed of full pieces of animal hide verses smaller pieces put together) but looks and resembles leather. It will not last as long as real leather as it is thinner and shinier due to the many finishes that are added to give it shine.
1. Liddell, Louise and Samuels, C. (2008, p 297). Clothes and Your Appearance. The Goodheart-Wilcox Company Ltd.
2. Encyclopedia Britanica, 2014 internet source.
Activity for Grade 7: Collect samples of fabrics that have been woven or knitted by different methods. Identify the methods used.
Examine several fabric samples. Display various samples of felt, nonwoven fabrics, bonded fabrics, and quilted fabrics. Also display pictures of their end uses. Make a bulletin board displaying such.
References:
Photos:
1. http://image.made-in-china.com/4f0j00gBVThDPWYlov/Bonded-Leather-for-Shoes-JA-35676-.jpg
2. http://pimg.tradeindia.com/00441859/b/2/Pique-Knit-Fabric.jpg
3. http://www.outbackfibers.com/profusion/examples/felbi1.jpg
4. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Bonded_leather.jpg
Encyclopedia Britanica, 2014. retrieved from internet
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/204062/felting
Westfall, M. G., 2008. Successful Sewing. (pp. 50-51). The Goodheart- Willcox Company, Inc.
I like how you incorporated your test for bleach into your pattern. Nicely done. Felting is fun, I never thought I could do it, but I did.
ReplyDeleteI think it will be fun to have students look at structures up close; they have been wearing and touching these structures their entire lives yet few stop to have a look at what is around them. I described structures to a colleague when we were sitting together on an airplane; she has become 'addicted' to analysing her clothing and points out the structure of what she is wearing whenever I see her. I have created a monster!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog Patricia. You can tell you worked hard.
ReplyDeleteIt is so true that we, as a society, have removed ourselves from so much of the world around us, not taking the time to acknowledge, understand, or appreciate, so many of the things around us. I often think, I wonder if I would have survived living in the past, when everything was made from scratch, and how I would have appreciated the ease of opening a closet and having it full, yet today, I look in and cant seem to find anything to wear.
ReplyDeleteAn insightful comment, Jyl. I have the same experience. I had hoped to clear out the closet this summer....that will have to wait until the next bit of time off alas.
ReplyDeleteNice clear examples. I like the idea of getting students to collect fabric structures samples and then make the bulletin board display of them for all to see.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI agree with Elaine. It creates a nice aesthetic in the room and remains on the wall as a tactile learning/reference tool all year. It reminds me of all the grains on the wall in the foods lab at Acadia. Sigh. Miss you guys :)
ReplyDelete