Task A2 | R

​ esearch plan 
🔎 What? 
 
❗Why? 
 
Construct a research plan, which states and prioritizes the  You want to identify valuable sources of information to 
primary and secondary research needed to develop a solution  provide input for your project (now and later) and you want to 
to the problem.  make sure you balance your research efforts over the different 
areas of research that are needed.  

⚙ How? 
 
Adjust and extend the provided partial research plan in order to: 
● Identify​ primary and secondary sources that you could consult in order to be a knowledgeable designer in this project, 
ready to design and create. Use the following prompts: 
○ You can make observations, do measurements and experiments. 
○ You can interview (experienced) experts or other stakeholders in your project. 
○ You can survey your target audience. 
○ You can consult secondary sources. 
● Describe​ what you want to learn from each of these sources in detail. 
● Prioritize​ the importance of each part of your research (you may not have time to do it all!). 
● Research​ and find out the answers! P ​ resent​ all research notes from your research in the table below. This section can 
contain pieces of text directly copy-pasted from sources, results of surveys, photographs, transcripts of interviews etc. 

Research Plan + Research 

Research questions  What  Where could I find  Prioritization 
is the answer?  an answer?   * = Good to 
What type of  know   
source is it?  ** = Useful   
Primary or  *** = Directly 
useful   
Secondary? 
**** = Vital  
 

PROPERTIES:  ● Cotton is prized for its comfort, easy-care,  Online   *** 

[***] What properties (or  and affordability and is ideal for clothing,
characteristics) of a fabric 
determine what you can do with  ●
it?  Products
   
bedding, towels, and furnishings. ​(Cotton  Cotton Fibers and 
Fibers)  its Properties 
Characteristics of Cotton Fibers and  (secondary) 
   
○ Comfortable to wear   
○ Natural, cellulosic fiber  Fabric 
○ Absorbs water and “breathes”  Characteristics for 
○ Slow to dry  Garment 
○ Resists static electricity build-up  Manufacturing 
○ Wrinkles easily  (secondary) 
○ Can withstand heat, detergents, 
and bleach 
○ About 20% stronger when wet 
than dry 
○ Will shrink unless treated 
○ Can be damaged by mildew 
○ Can be damaged by prolonged 
exposure to sunlight ​(Fabric 
Characteristics) 

DEFINITIONS​:  1. A fabric is a cloth made by (Fabric)  ** 

(Primary) 
● What is a ​fabric​?   textile fibers being weaved into
"Fabric." ​Lexico​,
● What are ​textiles​?  a pattern. Lexico.com,
● What are ​garments​?  2. A textile is a “type of cloth or www.lexico.com/en/de
woven fabric.”-According to finition/fabric.
 Lexico.com Accessed 19
Feb. 2020.
3. “An item of clothing”-According
(Textile) 
to Lexico.com (Primary) 
"Textile." ​Lexico​,
Lexico.com,
www.lexico.com/en/de
finition/textile.
Accessed 19
Feb. 2020.  
(Garment) 
(Primary) 
"Garment." ​Lexico​,
Lexico.com,
www.lexico.com/en/de
finition/garment.
Accessed 21
Feb. 2020. 

MANUFACTURING  1) (1)The raw cotton is brought to a mixing  (Cotton textiles)  *** 

and blowing plant (also known as a cotton  (primary) 
● How are cotton textiles 
gin), in the plant the raw cotton is cleaned  "From Raw Cotton to
made?   Cotton Fabrics."
from substances such as leaves, seeds, or 
● What are the basic  sand sticking to the cotton. The cotton is 
Toyota Industries
joining and assembly  Corporation​, Toyota
then processed into a flat sheet called a 
Industries,
methods​ to attach  “lap”  www.toyota-industries.
pieces of fabric    com/products/textile/pr
(2)The “lap” then goes to a carding station.  ocess/. Accessed
together? 
The carding station removes all of the short  22 Feb. 2020.
fibres in the “lap” and makes all of the long  (Fabric assembly) 
fibres parallel to each other. The “lap” now  (primary) 
becomes a “carded sliver”.  "Sewing Machine
  Anatomy: How a Stitch
(3)The “carded sliver” then goes to a sliver  is Made." ​YouTube​,
lap former. The sliver lap former takes  Google, 11 Mar. 2015,
18-24 “carded slivers” and are drafted into  www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=2681yeSrsM0.
a loose web. The web is rolled up into a 
Accessed 23 Feb.
lap. The “carded sliver” now becomes a  2020.
“sliver lap”  (secondary)
  Kiron, Mazharul Islam.
(4)The “sliver lap” then goes into a  "Alternative Methods
combing machine. The combing machine is  of Fabric Joining."
very similar to the carding station. It  Textile Learner,​
removes short fibres and dust that made it  textilelearner.blogspot.
through the carding station. They do this to  com/2015/07/alternativ
make sure the cotton is top-quality. The  e-methods-of-fabric-joi
“sliver lap” now becomes a “combed  ning.html. Accessed
sliver”.  23 Feb. 2020.
   
(5) The “combed sliver” then goes to a   
drawing machine. 6-8 slivers are gathered 
then elongated to 6-8 times their normal 
size. They do this to remove “uneven 
thickness” from the sliver and to straighten 
the sliver. The “combed sliver” then 
becomes a “drawn sliver”. 
 
(6)The “drawn sliver” then goes to a roving 
machine. The roving machine elongates the 
“drawn sliver”. The roving machine then 
twists the elongated “drawn slivers” to 
make green yarn. The “drawn sliver” then 
becomes “green yarn”. 
 
(7)The “green yarn” then goes to a 
spinning machine. This is the last of the 
spinning processes that happens to the 
“green yarn”. The spinning machine 
lengthens the “green yarn” even more to 
make the yarn the ‘desired thickness’. The 
“green yarn” then gets put on a bobbin. 
The “green yarn” now becomes a “cop”. 
 
 (8)The “cop” goes to a winding machine. In 
the winding machine, the yarn gets wound 
onto a “cheese”. 
 
(9)Now the yarn starts the weaving 
process. The “cheese” goes to a warping 
machine. The warping machine winds the 
amount of yarn needed onto warping 
beams under ‘constant tension’. 
 
(10)The yarn on the warping beams then 
goes to a sizing machine. In the sizing 
machine, the yarn gets ‘sized and dried’. 
 
(11)The yarn on warping beams then goes 
to a ‘Drawing-in’ machine. This machine 
prepares the warping beams for the loom. 
 
(12)The warping beams are placed on a 
loom and the textile is woven. 
 
2) Fabric can be assembled in many ways. 
One way is to stitch or sew fabric together 
using a sewing machine. Using a series of 
complex movement, the sewing machine 
gets a thread to weave in and out of the 
two fabrics, keeping both pieces of fabric 
securely attached to each other. Another 
way is to “fuse” the two fabrics together. 
How this works is resin is coated onto one 
of the pieces of fabric, then the other piece 
of fabric is placed on top. It is then put in a 
fusing machine where heat and pressure 
are applied. The heat and pressure melt the 
resin which causes it to stick to the fabric 
and form a secure bond. An alternative 
way would be to use adhesives to stick the 
two pieces of fabric together. Fabric glue is 
usually used to stick the two pieces of 
fabric together. 

TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS  1) (1)First sketch an image of the garment  What is a pattern  ** 
FOR MAKING  you want to make. Divide the garment into  (Wikipedia) 
small pieces.   
● How do you draw a 
  (sewing pattern) 
sewing​ ​pattern​? What  (2)Each of the small pieces is a pattern  (secondary) 
are the key features of  piece. Draw each of the patterns on  Staff, WikiHow. "How
a good garment  multiple pieces of paper according to your  to Make Your Own
measurements.  Sewing Patterns."
pattern?  WikiHow,​ 12 Dec.
 
● What​ materials and  2019,
(3)Draw horizontal lines where the chest, 
tools​ do I have  www.wikihow.com/Ma
hip, and waistline will be. 
ke-Your-Own-Sewing-
available for making my    Patterns. Accessed 23
product? (see Appendix  (4) Draw a line connecting the chest, waist,  Feb. 2020.  
A below)  and hip measurements. Place a dot on each 
of the horizontal lines ‘​that's 1/4 as long as 
the distance of your measurement’ - 
according to WikiHow. The dot should be 
‘¼ as long as the distance of your 
measurements away from the edge of the 
(chest/waist/hip) line. 
 
(5)Then draw the neckline and shoulder. 
Using a curved ruler draw the neckline 
from the top of the shoulder line to the 
‘centre front line’. 
 
(6)Draw a seam allowance, space where 
the seams will go. The allowance should be 
around 1.3cm 
 
(7)(optional)If you want to have sleeves on 
 your garment then draw a sleeve pattern. 
 
(8)Cut out all of the pattern pieces and 
label them. 
 
(9)The sewing pattern is complete 
 
2) List of materials/tools 
 
● Thread (polyester and cotton and waxed) 
● Eyelets  
● Studs 
● Rivets 
● Snap fasteners 
● Velcro (sew-on and stick on) 
● Fabric glue 
● Contact adhesive (Elmer’s multi-purpose 
spray adhesive) 
● Sewing machine (Brother JA1450NT) 
● Needles 
● Seam ripper 
● Fabric shears 
● Rotary cutter 
● Hole punch 
● Rivet/eyelet setter and die 
● Fabric from used garments 

CLIENT INFORMATION  Visual Thinking    * 

● Who could I design for?    
● What group (​target 
audience​) does this 
person represent?  
● What material 
properties or aesthetic 
factors need to be 
taken into account for 
this client? (What kind 
of colours and style do 
they like?) 

A2 Assessment 
Level  Descriptor  Typical features of student work 

0  The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors below. 

1-2  The student ​states​ s​ ome​ research needed to  ❏ A limited amount of sources and information is stated which 
develop a solution to the problem, ​with  makes it difficult to find the answers to the research 
some guidance​.  questions. Some sections were incomplete. Be sure to review 
your work for completeness. 
❏ There is only one type of source used in your research. Both 
primary and secondary sources are needed. 
❏ You did not prioritize your research in your planning. 
Prioritization is important for organising your research. 

3-4  The student ​states​ the research needed to  ❏ Some sources and information are stated which makes it 
develop a solution to the problem, ​with  challenging to find the answers to the research questions. If 
some guidance.  you identify more sources, you will have a broader 
understanding of the research questions. 
❏ There is only one type of source used in your research. Both 
 primary and secondary sources are needed. 
❏ You did not prioritize your research in your planning. 
Prioritization is important for organising your research. 

5-6  The student ​constructs​ a research plan,  ❏ A number of sources and information are stated. You 
which s​ tates​ and p
​ rioritizes​ the primary and  demonstrated that you can find the answers to the research 
secondary research needed to develop a  questions. Even more appropriate sources would strengthen 
solution to the problem, ​with some  your understanding. 
guidance​.  ❏ There are a few types of sources used in your research. 
Having a good variety of sources allows you to get 
information from different viewpoints. 
❏ You prioritized your research in your planning. 

7-8  The student constructs a research plan,  ❏ An effective number of sources and information are stated. 
which s​ tates​ and p
​ rioritizes​ the primary and  You demonstrated that you can find the answers to the 
secondary research needed to develop a  research questions from a number of relevant sources. 
solution to the problem i​ ndependently​.  ❏ There is an excellent variety of types of sources used in your 
research. Primary and secondary sources provide a broad 
understanding as you move forward. 
❏ You prioritized your research in your planning. This will help 
keep you organised in preparing for the next step of the 
criterion. 

   
Appendix A: Tools and Materials (primary source) 
For this project, you will be provided with the materials and tools listed below. The list is not exhaustive but gives a good idea of 
what is reasonably available. It is up to you to figure out how to use and process them. You will have to make sure you understand 
the properties of the materials and tools you choose in order to make smart design choices for your product. 
 

Fabric and materials you need to provide yourself 

● Anything you can reclaim from garments otherwise thrown away. This will not be provided. You need to bring it in from 
home. 
● Straps, buckles, buttons etc that you can reclaim from garments otherwise thrown away. 
● Do not buy fabric! 
 

Tools and materials provided by the school 

● Thread (polyester and cotton and waxed) 
● Eyelets  
● Studs 
● Rivets 
● Snap fasteners 
● Velcro (sew-on and stick on) 
● Anything you request that is approved by the teacher. 
● Fabric glue 
● Contact adhesive (Elmer’s multi-purpose spray adhesive) 
● Sewing machine (Brother JA1450NT) 
● Needles 
● Seam ripper 
● Fabric shears 
● Rotary cutter 
● Hole punch 
● Rivet/eyelet setter and die