My name is Emily Goold, I am currently studying a BA in Textile Design Year Two. I take a key interest in the development and sourcing of fibres and their properties which are worked from heavily in the Textile Industry. From the age of 13 at GCSE level I studied Textiles, the textiles I dealt with and studied was ‘old school’ so to speak, we learnt how to produce a garment from a pattern cut out and most importantly we studied material fibres thoroughly.
At great lengths we undertook experiments with materials, we learnt of their properties individually analysing a wide range of woven/non-woven and other varieties of fibres. It was a lengthy and sometimes tedious process which spun throughout my GCSE’s and into my A-levels.
At A-level the main book in which I studied from was Ros Hibbert's book on ‘Textile Innovation’, this book saw me through a lot of revision and managed me a B grade at A-level for Textiles.
Textiles was a coursework heavy subject, exams focused on an array of topics all varying. To know a fibres property is most important when it comes to your product/garment and experimental idea throughout a project. The drape, wash, properties and structure of a garment are all influenced by the fibre and its properties. For example seasons, tweed would not be used for a Summer material, or another example being you wouldn’t chose a cotton based fabric for a protective garment to shade a child of UV rays on the beach, the properties don’t allow the child to be protected.
My interests lie in the properties of a fibre. Textile Innovation was my first chosen ToP to go into so I was glad to get the chance to learn more. I believe you need to understand a materials properties and fibre qualities at a great length to be able to produce and manufacture a product that can all the key qualities, whether it be based on a season or its relationship to design, therefore its being produced to fit the criteria of fashion/interior/other.
The time spent re-capping what was learnt throughout GCSE and A-level but on a greater and more in-depth scale with Ros Hibbert was very much time well spent, my favourite lecture by far was one of the last lectures we had ‘Sustainability issues relating to the materials industry and life-cycles thinking (cradle to cradle)’. On Friday the 9th of November we looked into professional understanding of the Textile Production, there was a key focus on the productive properties.
Personally this lecture for me was insightful, I’ve learn about professional properties before but only really Gortex in great detail. Aerogel, Phosphorescence or through medical means for example. These are all prime examples of new properties I've learnt of through these lectures.
Anti-bacterial protective I thought was interesting, and based on the economy crisis at the moment and people struggling to get by money wise I thought this was a subject which could really be looked into a focused on. In the average household a family based on statistics (2011) can easily spend within a year round about £600 founds on some of the top branded products. Realistically if research and products were invented that lasted longer without germs and ware we could cut that by easily half. Underwear, bedding, and footwear are all everyday things which could be made more durable to wear and tear. With this prices could reduce themselves. A dishcloth as a prime example, how germ free is it? Yes it may be the cheap was to go about it but realistically how well are we protected from harmful germs when using one.
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