Textiles, Apparel, and Design
Textiles, Apparel, and Design tests fiber knowledge, fabric construction, pattern layout, fitting, and design principles. Strong answers connect a fabric's structure to its performance and care.
Fibers and fabrics
- Natural fibers include cotton, linen, wool, and silk. Manufactured fibers include regenerated cellulosics such as rayon and truly synthetic fibers such as polyester, nylon, acrylic, and spandex.
- Staple fibers are short and twisted into yarn; filament fibers are long and continuous. Wool's scales contribute to felting; silk's filament nature contributes to smoothness and luster.
- Woven fabrics interlace warp (lengthwise) and weft (crosswise) yarns and have a selvage. Knits interlock loops and stretch more, especially crosswise. Nonwovens are bonded rather than woven or knitted.
Pattern and design
Grainline marks the lengthwise direction. Pattern pieces are placed with the grainline parallel to the selvage unless the design intentionally uses bias. Bias runs at 45 degrees to the grain and has the most stretch. Ease is the difference between body and garment measurements. The elements of design are line, shape, space, texture, color, and value; principles include balance, rhythm, proportion, emphasis, and unity.
Worked example
A student places a skirt front pattern piece slightly off the lengthwise grain. The finished skirt twists at the side seams and hangs unevenly. Reasoning: off-grain cutting allows fabric to stretch diagonally, so the garment no longer hangs on the intended grain. The correction is to realign the grainline arrow parallel to the selvage and recut.
Traps
Rayon is manufactured but cellulosic, not synthetic. Silk is a natural filament. Knits generally stretch more than wovens. Bias is not the same as crosswise grain. Care labels describe recommended care but do not guarantee fiber content.
Care and performance
Match fiber properties to use: cotton absorbs, polyester resists wrinkling, wool insulates, and spandex adds stretch.