gcse.textiles

• Staple and continuous filament yarns


  • Staple fibres
  • Filament fibres
• Staple fibres


  Short fibres
• All natural fibres are staple fibres, except silk
• Filament fibres


  Long continuous lengths
• Filament fibres are manufactured or synthetic fibres
• Silk is a continuous filament fibre
• Yarns


  Spinning (twisting) staple or filament fibres together
• Filament yarns


  • Smooth, not good insulators
• Staple yarns


  • Hairy, good at trapping air, good insulators
• Number of twists in a yarn


  Affects its strength - tighter/more twists leads to a stronger yarn
• Yarns


  • Made from staple fibres
  • Made from filament fibres
  • Combinations of staple and filament fibres
• Fancy or novelty yarns


  Add interesting textures to fabrics
• Textured and novelty yarns

  • Bouclé
  • Slub
  • Chenille
• Bouclé


  Fancy yarn and resultant fabric, from the French word for curly
• Slub yarn


  Varying thickness along its length, created during spinning, adds texture
• Chenille yarn


  Soft and fluffy with fibres sticking out from a central core
• Fabrics made from chenille are very soft and warm to wear
• Blended fibres


  Fibres blended together during spinning to combine the best properties of both fibres
• Mixed fibres


  Fabrics where yarns of different types are used in the fabric construction
• Popular blends and mixes

  • Polyester and cotton
  • Silk and viscose
  • Wool and acrylic
  • Hemp and cotton
• Reasons for blends and mixes

  • Reducing the cost of the fabric
  • Improving aesthetics (colour, texture, tone)
  • Improving functionality (better handle or draping qualities, wider range of uses)
  • Making fabrics easier to care for
• Airbus


  Primarily known for aircraft, also works on helicopters, military equipment and space travel
• Airbus' largest aircraft


  • A380 carrying up to 800 passengers
  • Built using lightweight composite materials to overcome weight issues
  • Wing design based on the shape and structure of eagles' wings - wing tips installed to prevent too large wingspan for most airports
  • Example of biomimicry - nature solving design problems
• CAD technology used in aircraft development

  3D printing of parts in different materials, including titanium because of its excellent strength to weight ratio
• James Dyson


  Known for innovative products using new technology and engineering principles to improve existing products
• James Dyson's earliest product

  • Ball barrow, spread the load allowing it to move over soft ground easily
• James Dyson's vacuum cleaner


  • Revolutionised by introducing cyclonic technology to collect dust instead of a bag
  • DC01 vacuum cleaner went through 5127 iterations with rigorous testing over 10 years before gaining market approval and eventual success
• Apple

  Innovation and design are important factors in the company's success
• Apple's design philosophy


  • Sleek designs, consistent colours, shapes and materials that are easily recognisable
  • Aesthetics plays an important role
• Jonathon Ive


  • Designer responsible for the styling of the first iPod and iMac
• Apple's innovations

  • Pioneered the use of graphical user interfaces (GUIs)
  • First to use icons to represent files/folders and a cursor controlled by a mouse which is still in use today
• Apple are often criticised for developing products with planned obsolescence in mind and software updates that do not work on older devices
• Purposes of applying finishes to textile fabrics

  • Enhance aesthetic qualities
  • Prolong the fabric life
  • Improve the functionality of the fabric
• Finishes


  Applied mechanically or chemically
• Finishes that prolong fabric life


  • Flame retardancy
  • Moth proofing
  • Stain resistance
• Flame retardancy


  A chemical finish that prevents fabrics from burning or burning too quickly. The chemical Proban® is used in this process.
• Moth proofing


  A chemical process that repels moths and their larvae and stops them feeding off and destroying wool fibres
• Stain resistance refers to comments under aesthetic qualities
• Finishes that improve functionality

  • Crease resistance
  • Water proofing
  • Shower proofing
  • Shrink resistance
  • Anti-static
• Crease resistance


  A chemical finish where resin is applied to stop fabrics from creasing, making it easier to care for them i.e., limited or no ironing