FABRIC

FUNDAMENTALS

Lesson 1 /
Introduction to ‘Fabric
and Materials’
Tutor: Tjaša Tauses Karba
Hello!

Tjaša / [tyasha]

Contact:

t.tauses.tutor@istitutomarangoni.org

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 • RoundRack
Sustainability coordinator

Source : Preen by Thornton Bregazzi

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Rules and commitments

- Be on time! There is a 10min window for

delays, after that you will be marked absent

- Check your emails

- Sometimes you will be required to bring

certain tools with you to the class for
practical workshops - make sure you have
the tools with you

- Email me if you have any questions

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 UNIT 1 BRIEF

In FABIC FUNDAMENTALS you will:

- learn about different kinds of fabrics

used in fashion,

- you will gather fabric samples and

- create fabric book that will be a useful

source of information for your future
projects.

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FABRIC FUNDAMENTALS

Lesson 1: Introduction to ‘Fabric and Materials’

Lesson 2 : Weaves and other constructions

Lesson 3 : Knitwear

Lesson 4: Natural Animal Fibres

Lesson 5: Natural Plant Fibres

Lesson 6: Manufactured Fibres: synthetics

Lesson 7: Fibres for the 21st century

Lesson 8: Accessories and Trims

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LEARNING OUTCOMES

Where are you

from and what is Where are you
Where are you your from do you have
from and what Where are Where are you a lot of fabric
favourite colour?
are you you from from and what shops around
expecting to and what is is your favourite your home?
learn your garment in your
In this class? favourite closet?
fabric?

You will be able to

Where are you
from and is Recognise speci c fabrics Where are you
there any fabric
famous and de ne their unique from and why
did you choose
in your city/
country?
characteristics. London
as your city for
studying?

Where are you

from and what
Where are you is your favourite
from and what Fashion era? Where are you
is your from and who is
favourite your fashion icon?
print/ pattern?

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 Why do you think it’s important for the fashion
designers and fashion design students to gain
knowledge about textiles?

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 Have a look around you

We are surrounded by textiles

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 - Man-made and natural fabrics - have
changed, de ned, advanced and
shaped the world we live in today.

- From prehistory to the Egyptian

civilisation, throughout the silken
dragon robes of Imperial China - all the
way to the Indian calicoes that
powered Industrial revolution.

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 - Textiles made it possible for humans to
live in and travel through multiple
regions that might otherwise be too
cold and too dangerous.

- They were also responsible for cultural

exchanges of ideas, crafts and
people as so many clothes and fabrics
have traveled through trade networks
such as Silk Roads.

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 The invention of clothing and textiles,
ranks, along with the development of
agriculture, cooking and ceramics, as
one of the keystone events in the
development of human culture.

Textiles provide us with :

- Warmth
- Protection
- Status
- Personal decoration
- Outlet for creative talent

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 - The earliest form of fabric most likely
came in the form of animal skins
draped across the body

- First textiles were used for bedding

and tents

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 - First humans converted animal
skins and plants into basic covering
so that they could protect themselves
from cold, heat, and rain, especially
as humans migrated to new climates.

- Because of their very composition,

which is formed from either protein or
plant sources, prehistoric textiles
are extremely rare.

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 So how did the rst humans
invented textiles?

All textiles begin with the twist.

A twist of the bre spun into a

yarn.

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 What exactly is bre?

FIBRE is building block of textiles.

Fibres are tiny, hairlike strands that are combined to create yarn and
later fabric.

We know two different kinds of bres :

STAPLE FIBRES (shorter) and FILAMENT (longer)

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 What exactly is yarn?

YARN is groupings of bres that form a

continuous strand.

Basic yarn types are:

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 STAPLE

Staple yarn can be SINGLE, PLY OR

CORD YARN

PLY YARN

CORD YARN
CORD YARN

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 - First fabrics were very simple - using only
two sets of threads, woven together at
right angles.

- WEAVING is a process of interlacing sets

of threads together to form a continuous
web

- Weaving probably rst started as a way to

make baskets and nets. Later the yarns
used became thinner and ner and gaps
smaller so that is was developed into the
cloth.

12.000 years old textile fragment

found in Peru.

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 - FLAX was one of the rst bers used for
textiles and linen was specially popular in
ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.

- Fabric making was deeply interwoven into

Egyptians life and culture.

- Many people would be involved in farming

ax, spinning the bers and making the
cloths

- They would wear linen in every age of

Oldest fragment of textile ever found -
Neolithic fragment of linen from Egypt
from circa 5000 BC
their life - at birth, throughout the life
wearing linen clothes and even in afterlife
they would be wrapped in layers and
layers of linen when they would be
mummi ed.

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 - Almost all the earliest fabrics were made
using ax until the use of wool became
more common

- It is interesting for today's historians that

the use of wool became much later -
even though wool is very easily turned
into thread and sheep were one of the
rst domesticated animals.

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 - Also, wool has the advantage to be
easily FELTED - and turned into the
fabric without time-consuming weaving.

- Wool was used a lot in Ancient Greece

and fabrics were usually rectangular,
then draped and pinned together

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 - A bit later people would started cultivating
rst corps - they started growing COTTON.

- Cotton was rst cultivated in Indus Valley

which is today’s Pakistan and northwest
India, around 3000 BC.

- Cotton was described as "a wool

exceeding in beauty and goodness that
of sheep. “ And when Alexander the Great
invaded India, his troops started wearing
cotton clothes because they were more
comfortable than their previous ones made
from wool.

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 - Around the same time - 2700 BC, the Silk
production started in China.

- Silk was exclusively China’s good until

the Silk Road opened at some point
during the second half of the 1st
millennium Before Christ.

- Silk roads were central to the economic,

cultural, political, and religious interactions
between East and West from the 2nd
century BCE to the 18th century.

- There is a myth that the rst silk yarn was

discovered by Empress Leizu as a silk
worm's cocoon fell into her teacup.

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 - In Medieval times the most of the very
rich patterned textiles would be
exported from Byzantine

- There were as well certain Turkish

tribes that were skilled in the
manufacturing of carpets, rugs, felted
cloths and even rst painted fabrics.

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 - Later that knowledge was brought to
Sicily as the Arabs would conquest it in
827.

- The knowledge spread further when the

French conquer of Sicily in 1266 and
many skilled weavers escaped to Italy
and settled in a town named Lucca -
which would then became famous for
rich silk fabrics.

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 - In England, the silk fabrics started to
be woven in the 14th century mainly
in London and Norwich.

- Spital elds market was the rst

centre known for great use of fancy,
rich, delicate and woven fabrics.

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 - Before the 1760s - which was the start of
the Industrial Revolution, textile
production was a cottage industry using
mainly ax and wool.

- A typical weaving family would own one

handloom, which would be operated by
the man with help of a boy while the wife,
and daughters would be spinning the yarn
Spinning wheel for that loom.

Loom for hand waving

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 - Everything changed with the Industrial
Revolution of the 19th century.

- There would be many technological

improvements in the textile industry
such as water-powered mills and
spinning mills.

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 - Textile industry - as it was a
crucial part of the economy was
one of the biggest drivers of
new innovations.

- Mechanical improvements
meant that by the 1820s, all
cotton and wool were spun only
in mills and in the 19th century,
fabric production in Western
Europe and North America
shifted to centralized factories.

Water-powered machinery

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 NATURAL FIBRES

PLANT BASED
ANIMAL BASED
• Flax
• Cotton
• Silk
• Hemp • Wool
• Jute • Cashmere
• Bamboo • Mohair
• Ramie
• Pineapple
• Banana

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 - During the last decades of 19h century
British scientists developed several methods
for extracting cellulose from wood pulp.

- First MANUFACTURED ber - RAYON which

is now as well named VISCOSE was
invented by turning the wood into pulp,
extracting the cellulose.

- Rayon or sometimes called arti cial silk was

made involving several chemical processes
and it resulted in soft and drape fabric.

- The use of rayon became especially popular

during the First World War in America as
the war disrupted a supply of silk and cotton
from India and Asia.

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 - The invention of the rst manufactured ber
was followed by the invention of the rst
synthetic bers in 1930- NYLON

- Nylon was invented by the company Du Pont

and this was the rst SYNTHETIC ber made
from fossil fuels - so oil.

- DuPont rst focused on making women’s

stockings which were before made from
expensive silk.

- They were very successful with making the

propaganda for synthetic bers as they
would even partner up with French design
houses like Givenchy in 1953 and in Chanel
and Dior in 1955, sending their designs made
from the synthetic fabrics down the runways.

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 MAN-MADE FIBRES

REGENERATED FIBERS SYNTHETIC FIBERS

• Nylon
• Rayon / viscose
• Polyester
• Acetate
• Polyamide
• Lyocell
• PVC
• Modal
• Acrylic

• Polyurethane

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 - Over the following decades the rise of
Manufactured bers advanced with the
new technologies being developed and
they have now become the most popular
bre group.

- Today synthetic represents over 70% of

the global ber market and are now often
used in blends as well-meaning that they
are mixed with natural bers.

- Layers of synthetic have helped us

discover the hidden places on earth like
the sea and antarctic and they even make
the Neil Armstrong land on the moon
possible.

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 What do you think is the future of
bres and textiles?

You have 5 min to write down your

thoughts

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 Wearable technologies -
Levi’s smart jacket project
called Jacquard by Google

Sustainable solutions -
Econyl bres from recycled
shing nets

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 NATURAL FIBRES MAN-MADE FIBRES

PLANT BASED ANIMAL BASED REGENERATED

SYNTHETIC
• Flax • Silk • Rayon / viscose
• Nylon
• Cotton • Wool • Acetate
• Polyester
• Hemp • Cashmere • Lyocell
• Polyamide
• Jute • Mohair • Modal
• PVC
• Bamboo
• Acrylic
• Ramie
• Polyurethane
• Pineapple
• Banana

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FABRIC BOOK
Deadline : 06.01.2023
WHY FABRIC BOOK ?

- Fabric book will be your

personal textile library

- Source of information
about the materials that you
will work with in the future

- A personal creative textile

dictionary
LIST OF FABRICS TO SOURCE :
COTTON:

• Calico • Muslin

• Corduroy • Organdie

• Denim • Oxford

• Flannel • Poplin

• Gingham • Seersucker

• Lawn • Terry cloth

• Muslin
SILK

• Chiffon
• Crepe de Chine
• Duchesse Satin
• Georgette
• Habutai
• Organza
• Shot silk
• Tussah
WOOL

• Boucle
• Dog’s tooth / Hound’s tooth
• Felt ( machine made)
• Felt ( hand made)
• Tartan
• Tweed
• Worsted
• Woolen
LINEN AND OTHER
NATURAL FIBRES

• Linen
• Bamboo
• Hemp
• Soy ( or another alternative
milk/banana/ pineapple)
WEAVES AND KNITS

• Brocade
• Cloque
• Damask
• Waffle
• Jersey
• Sateen
• Velvet
 SWATCHES :

• Make sure that you start gathering the fabric from the very rst week and try to
visit as many fabric shops as possible.

• London has many great inspirational fabric shops that you can explore.

• If there is any speci c fabric that you can’t nd in the store - try online fabric
sourcing.

• Make sure that the swatches that you will be including in the book are:

- Big enough - approx. 10cm x 10cm for the book

- Cut nicely around the edges ( ideally with shearing scissors )

- Correct quality

• When placing the fabric samples into your book make sure that the swatch is
ironed and taped onto the page with double-sided tape.

• When digitalising the fabrics try to scan the swatches rather than taking a
picture as that will give you the cleanest results

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 WHERE TO SOURCE FABRICS? (shops in London only)

- Source directly from shops: talk to the assistants and ask for
information

- MISAN at Berwick street and Goldhawk street

- GOLDHAWK STREET in west London is full of little fabric shops

- JOEL & SONS is a bit more expensive shop but amazing for inspiration
and understanding of luxury fabrics

- WOOL CREST is a wholesale shop in East London with well-priced fabrics

- MACCULOCH & WALLIS a shop with a lot of trims and fabrics near
Berwick Street

- NEW TRIMMINGS is a trim shop

- LONDON TRIMMINGS is a trim shop

- WILLIAM GEE is a fabric and trim shop

- DALSTON MILL is a fabric and trim shop

- HANDWEAVERS is a shop in North London with a big selection of yarns

- MARKETS like Shepherd’s Bush Market and Ridley Road Market have
interesting stalls along with some shops, like Dalston Mill
 ONLINE FABRIC STORES

- WHALEY’S BRADFORD :
https://www.whaleys-bradford.ltd.uk

- MISAN : https://www.misanstore.co.uk/fabric

- CLOTH HOUSE : https://www.clothhouse.com

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 BOOK:
• The book should be A4 size
• Create book physically and scan the pages for
submission
• Create template of the book digitally (Keynote,
InDesign) and print it out, design it and scan it for
submission
• You will submit ONE PDF. digitally
• All information in the book should be typed - NO
HANDWRITING

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 PAGE TEMPLATE :

• Create a Page template that you will use

throughout the book.

• The template can be personalised but keep

the outlook of the pages clean, natural, and
professional :

• Use the natural colour of pages and

backgrounds

• Use a font that it's easy to read

• Use one or two pages per fabric so that you

don’t place too many things on the page

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 • DESIGN SOME KIND OF PAGE
TEMPLATE THAT YOU WILL CARRY
OVER THE WHOLE BOOK

• YOU CAN USE ONE OR TWO PAGES

PER FABRIC

• TECHNICAL DETAILS should be typed

into the template

• Name of the fabric

• Name of bre
• Applications
POPLIN
• Characteristics
Name of fibre : Cotton
Applications : Shirts, dresses, skirts • Weave structures ( where appropriate)
Characteristics : Crispy and light
Weave structures : Plain • Weight
Weight : 120g/m2
Cost of fabric: £8 • Cost of fabric ( per meter )
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 PRIMARY research =
anything that is your work
( you took the picture, you
• TWO EXAMPLES of visual research for each fabric swatch drew an illustration, you
draped, you collaged etc.)

SECONDARY research =
anything that someone else
produced and you found it on
internet or in the books,
magazines, runways etc.
(someone else took the picture,
drew an illustration, designed a
garment you draped etc.)
• CONECT 5 VISUAL RESEARCH PHOTOS sourced at
RESEARCH FUNDAMENTALS and connect them with 5 fabric swatches

Visual research photo

gathered at Research
fundamentals
For every fabric swatch you source you need to show :

• Technical details
Name of the fabric, name of the bre, applications, characteristics,
weave structure (where appropriate), weight, cost (per meter)

• TWO examples of visual research :

a) Images from PRIMARY research which is what you see, in the street,
in shops, on fellow students, sel es etc.

b) PRIMARY research images of your work. For example a toile you might
be working on that is made of that fabric, draping on the stand.
Sketches of how you might use particular fabric in other class - for
example in Drawing fundamentals

c) Fabric manipulation that uses a particular fabric

d) SECONDARY visual research: catwalk, use of that fabric at

contemporary designer or vintage clothing, instagram etc.

• Choose 5 fabric swatches that you will connect with and of the other
Classes (Drawing, Art History, Fashion Research)
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 EVEN THOUGH THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THE BOOK ARE
STRUCTURED IN THE TEMPLATE, CREATIVITY IS ENCOURAGED.

If you wish to add extra notes of more pictures, drawings etc. you are
welcomed as long as the overall result is professional.
Fabric book examples
Fabric book examples
Fabric book examples
Fabric book examples
Fabric book examples
BY WEEK 5 - YOU WILL NEED TO :

Sourced larger pieces ( at least 25cm width ) of the following for your DRAWING
FUNDAMENTALS class:

WEEK 6 - White and coloured cotton

WEEK 7 - Woollen coatings in grey and colour ( not black or white!)

From your list choose : Dog’s tooth/Hound’s tooth, felt (machine made or
hand wash), worsted, tweed

WEEK 8 - Pinstripe fabric / From your list: Worsted wool

- Bengal Stripe / From your list : An Oxford or a Poplin
WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU NEXT WEEK :

- 5x WHITE A4 PAGES
- 5x A4 COLOURED PAGES
- RULER
- SCISSORS
- TAPE
- PENCIL