Year 8 Textiles Natural Fibres Fabric Construction Natural fibres come from plants and animals, cotton comes from plants and wool comes from Sheep. These are Renewable resources. They are also biodegradable and recyclable, which makes natural fibres fairly sustainable. Woven fabrics are made by interlacing (crossing alternately over and under) two sets of yarns. They stretch slightly. Knitted fabrics are made by interlocking one or more yarns together using loops. The loops trap air, so they insulate. The stretch more than woven fabrics. Synthetic Fibres Synthetic fibres come from polymers. These molecules come mainly from oil and coal. These are non-renewable resources, therefore synthetic fibres are not very sustainable. Non-woven fabrics are layers of fibres (not yarns) held together by bonding or felting. They don’t fray, and can be cut in any direction- which means there’s little waste when laying out patterns. However, they don’t stretch and aren’t very strong. Joining Techniques = OR Hand sewing can be used for smaller tasks that need more precision. Staple fibres Filament fibres Yarns Sewing machines can be used for bigger projects. It’s quicker and they produce neat, even stitches for a high-quality finish. Most sewing machines have two threads that interlocks to make the stitches. Stock forms Width Fabrics come on rolls of standard widths. E.g. 90cm, 115cm, 150cm. So you only have to specify on the required length. Overlockers are used to finish edges and to stop them from fraying. They do this by enclosing the edge or edges in a thread casing. The overlocker works by several top threads and also had a blade to trim the fabric edge before it is enclosed. Length

Rotary Screen Printing- Technical textiles Technical textiles are enhanced fabrics. They’re designed purely to be functional, rather than look good. Chemical treatments can also be applied to materials to enhance their functions: Flame retardance- used to make fabrics less likely to catch fire. Rot proofing- Mildew is a fungus that can grown on fabrics made from natural fibres if they’re kept in damp conditions. This stops the material from rotting. Stain protection- used to make fabrics stain resistant. Water resistant finishes- are used to stop droplets of water passing through. Does not make the material completely waterproof. Finishing techniques Batch Dyeing- Fabrics are produced without dye. Instead, they are dyed to order in large batches according to the colours required. Batch dyeing is used for fabrics that have to change in colour frequently because of fashion. Tie Dyeing- The process of tie-dye typically consists of folding, twisting, pleating, or crumpling fabric or a garment and binding with string or rubber bands, followed by application of dye(s). Batik- A technique of hand-dyeing fabrics by using wax as a dye repellent to cover parts of a design, dyeing the uncovered fabric with a colour or colours, dissolving the wax in boiling water. Screen printing- Screen printing is a printing technique whereby a mesh is used to transfer ink onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. Block printing-  This technique involves carving the desired pattern onto a large block, covering that design in ink or dye, and stamping it onto the fabric.  Rotary Screen Printing- Rotary screen printing uses CAD and roller squeegees. One roller is used for each colour. This is a very fast process used in the continuous printing of furnishing and clothing fabrics. Applique- Appliqué means sewing a small piece of fabric onto a bigger piece of fabric.