Lecture Polyester

Polyester

The worlds most extensively used synthetic fibre, polyester offers a wide range of founction and performance factors.

Heat setting allows pleats and shapes to be formed and permanently set.

Recycling is possible from polyester water bottles.

Fabrics can be laser cut and welded.

Microfibres are superfine and sophisticated.

                                                                  Laser cutted dress

Fabrics woven or knitted from polyester thread or yarn are used extensively in apparel and home furnishings, from shirts and pants to jackets and hats, bed sheets, blankets, upholstered furniture and computer mouse mats. Industrial polyester fibers, yarns and ropes are used in tyre reinforcements, fabrics for conveyor belts, safety belts, coated fabrics and plastic reinforcements with high-energy absorption. Polyester fiber is used as cushioning and insulating material in pillows, comforters and upholstery padding.

 

                                                                  Polyester yarn

Lecture Cellulosics

Man-made cellulosics

Produced from natural cellulosic sources of wood pulp, cotton, linen and bamboo.

Textiles are fluid and soft to handle, with strong wet strength, absorbency and breathability.

Tencel is a branded cellulose fibre produced in a closed loop system with improved environmental performance.

Lyocell is used in woven and knitted forms and as a non-woven for medical applications and hospital textiles.

Cellulosic man-made fibers hold a formidable position of being the first fibers to be manufactured synthetically by humans.
Cellulosic man-made fibers are gradually being looked upon as ideal substitutes for cotton, resulting from decline in cotton production world over, shrinking manufacturer margins and sharp rise in cotton prices.

According to the preview of 'The Fiber Year 2012' report to bepublished by Lenzing Group and The Fiber Year Consulting in May, the latest estimation about the 2011 world fiber usage amoints to more than 51 million tons of manmade fibers and 30 million tones of nature fibers.
Lenzing Group notes that manmade cellulose fibers combine the absorbency of all cellulose fibers and technical advantages of industrial manmade fibers.

Lecture Wool

Wool

Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals. The original high performance fibre, wool has inbuilt thermal qualities, is waterproof, has UV resistance, fire protection and elastcity properties.

Sportswear is a mix of metric wool with polyester for active sports clothing.

100% machine, washable wool is now avaialable.

Wool is a regeneratable resource, can be produced organically and recycled.

Wool has several qualities that distinguish it from hair or fur: it is crimped, it is elastic, and it grows in staples. In the U.S. the term wool is usually restricted to describing the fibrous protein derived from the specialized skin cells called follicles in sheep, although in the U.K. it may be used of any long curling fiber such as wood wool, wire wool.

The quality of wool is determined by its fiber diameter, crimp, yield, color, and staple strength. Fiber diameter is the single most important wool characteristic determining quality and price.

Global wool production is approximately 1.3 million tonnes per year. Organic wool is becoming more and more popular. It is becoming easier to find in clothing and other products, but these products often carry a higher price. Wool is environmentally preferable as a material for carpets.

Lecture Flax

Flax

Flax is grown for its use as an edible oil, as a nutritional supplement, and as an ingredient in many wood finishing products. Flax is also grown as an ornamental plant in gardens. Flax fibers are used to make linen. The Latin species name usitatissimum means most useful, pointing to the several traditional uses of the plant and their importance for human life.

This very ancient raw material is known as linen, and offers a wide variety of end uses and products.
In addition to clothing textiles, linen is used in automotive, construction, domestic and interior textile areas.
Enzyme use has improved environmental aspects of production.
Combinations with stretch fibres, silk, viscose and characteristics, plus reducing creasing problems.

Linen
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather.

Linen fabric feels cool to the touch. It is smooth, making the finished fabric lint-free, and gets softer the more it is washed. However, constant creasing in the same place in sharp folds will tend to break the linen threads. This wear can show up in collars, hems, and any area that is iron creased during laundering. Linen has poor elasticity and does not spring back readily, explaining why it wrinkles so easily.

Types of cotton

There are four commercially-grown species of cotton:

 -Gossypium hirsutum – upland cotton, native to Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and southern Florida, (90% of world production)

 -Gossypium barbadense – known as extra-long staple cotton, native to tropical South America (8% of world production)

-Gossypium arboreum – tree cotton, native to India and Pakistan (less than 2%)
 Tree cotton is a shrub attaining heights of one to two metres. Its branches are covered with pubescence and are purple in colour. Stipules are present at the leaf base and they are linear to lanceolate in shape and sometimes falcate.

-Gossypium herbaceum – Levant cotton, native to southern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula (less than 2%)

Lecture Cotton

Textile Innovation

Lecture 1
 – What is a Textile? Main commercial fibre types, yarn and fabric, manufacturing systems. (Material Sources/Textile Innovation)

In this course, we were introduced the basic information about textiles, including the main types of yarn and fabrics, how people use them in many field and the manufacturing systems.

Cotton
Sustanable production
Cotton provides about 45% of the world's fibre consumption, and is the worlds largest non food crop.
Conventional agriculture accounts for 25% of global insecticide use.
Organic cotton is becomming more widely available.
Naturally coloured cotton is a commercial product.
Cotton can be recycled and composted.

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. Under natural condition, the cotton balls will tend to increase the dispersion of the seeds.
The fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile.
Cotton is the most widely used natural fiber cloth in clothing today.


The first chapter looks at new developments in Commercial Fibre Sources, such as cotton, wool and cellulosic fibres. It explores how the major textile fibres are developing, what they will be able to offer for future design and performance, and how man-made materials can be engineered to meet new consumer demands and environmental criteria. 

Stage 2 Territories of Practice

TEXTILES INNOVATION (Materials in Design)
Territories of Practice 2012

This option examines the global chain of textile production and its relationship to
design. It will enable you to identify the sequence and variety of technical
processes necessary to produce materials from fibre to finish. Both traditional
and innovative fibres will be discussed, along with their functions and properties
for areas including fashion, medical, agricultural, construction, sports and
interiors.

SESSIONS:
Lecture 1 – What is a Textile? Main commercial fibre types, yarn and fabric
manufacturing systems. (Material Sources/Textile Innovation)
Lecture 2 – Innovative fibre types, new materials & technology affecting design
and production variations. (eg Rapid Prototyping, Growing Materials etc.)
Lecture 3 – Characteristics of finishes and the creation of functionality in fabrics.
(Innovation in Finishing)
Lecture 4 - Sustainability issues relating to the materials industries and life-cycle
thinking. (Cradle to Cradle)

HAND-IN INFORMATION
The hand in date is TO BE CONFIRMED, but will most likely be in mid to late January
2013.
There are 4 main elements to your project assessment as follows:
1. Your research blog - a collection of work relating to all your self-initiated
research including information from books, journals, session notes and web
based sources... don't forget to reference everything as well as including
information from the lectures and your own notes and observations - the
information should be well organised and presented and act as a 'living
document' which can be added to over time, rather than a fixed chronological
resource.
2. Blog Presentation - Presentations (10 minutes each) in one session
3. Self Evaluation Form
4. Unit Feedback Form