LGCSE Fashion & Textiles (0191) common mistakes
LGCSE Fashion & Textiles (0191) · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Labelling a fabric as 'natural' or 'synthetic' without stating the fibre name and its source, e.g. writing 'synthetic' instead of 'polyester, a regenerated/petroleum-derived synthetic fibre'.
Candidates memorise the two-category split but not the fibre-to-source mapping, so they stop at the category because it feels like the answer the question wants.
What to do instead
Build a one-page fibre table with columns: fibre name, source (seed/animal/cellulose/petroleum), filament or staple, and one identifying test (burn smell, ash, solubility). Practise answering 'name the fibre and state its origin' as two separate marks.
Describing properties as absolutes - 'cotton is strong', 'silk is warm' - with no condition (wet/dry, woven/knitted, fibre/fabric) attached.
Revision notes are often copied as single adjectives from summary tables, so candidates never see that a property flips with moisture, construction or blend.
What to do instead
Rewrite every property statement as a conditional sentence: 'Cotton is stronger wet than dry, which is why it suits towelling but why viscose blends need care.' Learn three properties that reverse under a stated condition.
Presenting a mood board or design sheet with no annotation, so the client cannot see why an image, colour or fabric swatch was chosen.
Candidates treat the board as decoration and assume the visual alone communicates intent, usually because they have never seen a marked exemplar with annotations.
What to do instead
Add a short note beside every image and swatch linking it to the brief ('coarse weave echoes the fisherman's rope motif; palette sampled from harbour rust'). Practise the one-line 'because' rule until it is automatic.
Jumping from the brief straight to a final design, skipping the specification and the evaluated alternatives that the design process marks reward.
Time pressure and the habit of drawing a favourite garment first; candidates think the final sketch is the deliverable rather than the end of a documented sequence.
What to do instead
Use a fixed four-page sequence - brief and specification, three annotated alternatives, testing/feedback, final design with justification - and rehearse it on a timed past-paper-style task so the order becomes habitual.
Drafting a pattern block and omitting seam allowance, grain line or the notches, then wondering why the toile will not match at the seams.
Candidates confuse the net block (no allowance) with the cutting pattern (allowance included) and treat grain line and notches as optional decoration.
What to do instead
Before cutting, run a checklist on every piece: grain line arrow, seam allowance value written on the piece, notches at every seam junction, fold line marked, piece name and cut quantity. Do one full toile from your own pattern to see the consequences.
Explaining garment assembly as a list of operations ('sew the sleeve, sew the side seam') with no seam type, stitch class or order rationale.
Candidates describe what they did in the workshop from memory rather than the technical vocabulary, and have not learned that order is chosen to keep curved seams accessible.
What to do instead
Write assembly plans as a numbered table with three columns: operation, seam/stitch type (e.g. French seam, 301 lockstitch), and reason for the position in the sequence. Compare a set-in sleeve and a flat-assembled sleeve to see why order changes.
Naming a decorative technique without saying how the effect is produced or which fabric it suits - for example writing 'batik' with no mention of wax resist, or 'appliqué' with no stitch method.
Technique names are learned as vocabulary items from a list, so the process, the resist or the suitable base cloth is never attached to the word.
What to do instead
For each technique keep a card with: process in three steps, the material that resists or accepts the effect, a suitable fabric, and one drawback. Answer technique questions in that four-part shape.
Drawing a fashion figure with exaggerated proportions and then placing garment details (darts, pockets, plackets) with no relation to body landmarks or seam lines.
Candidates copy stylised croquis without learning the underlying body grid, so detail placement is guesswork and technical drawings become unusable for construction.
What to do instead
Learn a simple landmark grid (bust, waist, hip, shoulder, elbow, wrist) and place every design line against it. Keep fashion illustration and flat technical drawing separate: flats must be to scale, symmetrical and show stitching and topstitching.
Writing that a garment is 'sustainable' because it is cotton or because a brand says so, without naming a specific practice such as organic certification, closed-loop recycling, or extended garment life.
Sustainability is absorbed as a slogan from marketing rather than as a set of verifiable practices, and candidates have not learned to separate fibre choice from production and disposal impacts.
What to do instead
Practise the 'claim plus evidence plus limitation' sentence: 'Organic cotton reduces pesticide use, but water use and land competition remain.' Learn two certifications and one criticism of each so no claim goes untested.
Ignoring safe practice detail in equipment answers - omitting the guard, the correct needle/thread match, or the reason for unplugging before changing a needle or cleaning a machine.
Safety is treated as common sense that does not need stating, and candidates have not linked specific hazards (needle breakage, eye injury, electrical risk) to specific controls.
What to do instead
Learn a hazard-control pair for each machine and tool: hazard, who is at risk, control, and what to do if it fails. State the needle size and thread type for a given fabric, and always name the isolation step before maintenance.