design brief – calico...

Textiles&Design,AlamandaCollege .Year9designbrief–CalicoChallenge

1

DESIGNBRIEF–CalicoChallenge

BACKGROUNDCalico is a woven fabric made from 100% cotton fibres. It isunbleached,undyedandnot fullyprocessedduringproduction. Thisresults in the fabric being light beige colour and quite rough inappearance and texture, and it may contain unseparated cottonhusks.

In fashion design, calico is often used tomakea‘toile’,that is,anearlyversionofagarment that is first made up in cheapfabricsothatthedesignandpatterncanbetested and perfected before the final, expensive fabric is used.Manydressmakers and couture designers will have made up hundreds oftoiles of their designs. For example, wedding dress designers. Thecustomer(bride)willgivethedressmakertheirdesignbrief,thatistheinformation the designer needs to create the dress. For example, dothey want a long or short length skirt, is the dress to have sleeves,straps or be strapless, etc. Such designers will have several differentstylesoftopsandskirtsmadeinavarietyofsizesforbridestotryoninthe initial stages of their wedding dress design and fit process. Thishelps the customer mix and match various designs for the top andbottom of their dress,makemodifications to the toile and develop adesignthatmeetstheirneeds.

Calico hasmore recently been used for fashion design students tocreate finished pieces. Students can change the finish of the fabricand create the final design from calico rather than other forms offabric. Intextilemanufacturing,thefinishingreferstowhenthefinalsteps of production are applied to the fabric such as bleaching,dyeing,printing–all of theprocesses that change the fabric froma

hard,unusableform,intoformsthatarereadytobeusedingarmentproduction.Students can use several techniques toalter their calico. To add colour, forexample, students can choose to dyetheir fabrics using natural or syntheticdyes, to print on their fabric usingmarbling,screenprintingorecoprintingtechniques, or even paint new designsontotheirfabric.Tochangethefeelofthefabric,studentscanbrushthe calico with brushes of different strength. Such brushing cansoften the fibres so the calico drapes better for the flow of thegarment.


2

AninterestinghistoryaboutcalicoDuring theGreat Depression in the 1930s,women used tomake clothes for their children andthemselvesoutofcottonfloursacksbecausemoneywastightandtherewasoftennootherwayof dressing themselves. When flour manufacturersdiscovered thiswasoccurring, they started toprintdesigns

on their sacks to make theclothing more interesting andprettyforthechildrentowear.It isestimatedthataround3.5million women and childrenwere wearing clothing madefromprintedfloursacksduringtheGreatDepression.Pleasenote:inAmerica,thetermCalicoreferstocottonfabricwithsmallall-overfloralprint–whenyouareresearching,ensureyouarefindinginformationaboutfabricthatischeap,simple,woven,cottonandunbleached.

STATEMENTOFINQUIRYStudentswillunderstandthatfabricgoesthroughavarietyofstagestocreateafinished,usableproductthroughininquiryintoinquiry into the environmental impact of textile manufacturing.

YOURDESIGNBRIEFYouare required todesign andproduce anentireoutfit using calico fabric.As a designer, yourprojectneedsto:

• compriseofacompleteoutfit(egtopandshorts/pants/skirt,dress,etc);• includeonly calico fabrics,however zips,buttonsandotherembellishmentsmayalsobe

used;• incorporateat leastonemethodofdyeingorprintingon fabrics toalter the lookof the

calico;• bedesignedappropriatelyfordisplayintheschool;and• appealtoyourownuniquestyle.

PRODUCTIONJOURNALThroughoutyourproject,youshouldkeeprecordofthefollowinginyourproductionjournal:

• makeresearchnotes;• formulateideasforthisproject;• effectiveplanningandmanagementofyourproject;• reflectonyourprocess;and• evaluatethefinisheddesign.

Whattodoforyourpresentation/report:Forthisproject,youwillproduceapresentationstylereport(usingsoftwaresuchasPowerPoint,KeynoteorPrezi).Youwillneedtoincludephotosofyourprogressthroughoutthesemester.Usethe following headings/sections to structure your presentation: Ideation, Investigation, Design,PlanningandManagement,ProductionJournalandEvaluation.


3

TocompleteyourCalicoChallengeIDEATIONForyourpresentation:

• Explainyourdesignbrief(seefirstpage).• Describetheproductthatyouwillbemaking.Whatistheneedforthisproduct?• Explainthereasonswhyyouchosetoproducethisitem.

INVESTIGATIONThe investigation for thisproject isamajorpartof yourassessment.Youwillneed tocarryoutseparateinvestigationsonfabricfinishingandtheenvironmentalimpactontextilessustainability.

Fabricproduction• Definethefollowingterms:fibre,yarn,fabric,woven,knitted,warp,weft,selvedge.

• Howiscottonfabricproduced?Whatarethestepstocreateawovenfabric?Researchthefollowingstepsandcreateaflow-chartillustratingthestepstoproducingfabrics:

i. Cultivatingandharvesting

ii. Preparatoryprocess(yarnpreparation)

iii. Spinning(yarnmanufacturing)

iv. Weavingoffabric

v. Finishing

• Whichpartsoftheprocessesarenotappliedwhenmakingcalico?Howdoyouthinkyoucanapplytheseprocessesyourselftochangethefinishofthecalico?

DesigningwithCalico

• Investigateotherdesigners’calicogarments.Whatsortsofproductshavebeenmadefromcalico?Includeatleastfiveexamplesofcalicoproductsinyourpresentation.

• Howdoyouthinkyoucanchangethefinishingprocessofcalicoforyourownoutfitdesign?

Sustainabilityinthetextiles/fashionindustry

• Describewhatsomeoftheglobalconcernstosustainabilityinthetextilesindustryare.Forexample, the amount of textileswaste sent to landfill, how thiswaste is transported tolandfill,thegreenhousegasesreleasedbythiswastewheninlandfill.Anotherexampleisbyproductsofthefabricmanufacturingprocess,suchastheamountofwaterusedtowashthefabricsanddifferentstages,andthewastebyproductsofbleachinganddyeingfabrics.Whyisthisaproblemfortheenvironment?

• Completeaninvestigationoncotton.

o Howiscottonproduced?Whataretheenvironmentalimpactswiththeproductionofthisfibre?

o Whatarethepropertiesofcotton?

o Whatsortoftextileproductsiscottonusedtomake?


4

o Whatare thecostsof theproductionofcotton?Howdoes itcompare toadifferenttypeof fibre (for example,howdoes cotton compare it to a synthetic fibre, suchaspolyester).

o Cancottonberecycled?Ifso,howisitrecycled?Whataretheenvironmentalimpactswithrecyclingcotton?

DESIGN• Lookatthesewingpatternsavailabletohelpyouwithyourdesigning.

• Brainstormyourideas–sketches,photos,clippings,notesetc.

• Sketchyourideasonpaper,sketchingdifferentangles,makingcomments.

• Chooseyourfinaldesignwithinyourknownconstraintsandobjectives(time,equipment,skilllevel,resources).Producedetailed,annotateddrawingsofyourdesignonA3paper.Inthisfinaldesign,youneedtoincludethefollowinginformation:

o Drawyourdesignfromdifferentviews:front,side,back.Includenotationsonyourdesigns,forexamplecolour,fabric,zips,buttons,specialfeaturesetc.

o Yourbodymeasurements(orthoseofyourmodel).

o Themethodsyouwillusetoalteryourcalico,dyeing,printing,brushingetc.

• Discussyourdesign.Whatwereyourinspirations?

PLANNINGANDMANAGEMENT• Writeoutyourproductionstepsinatableformat.Makesureyouincludeallthedetailsso

otherstudentswouldbeabletofollowingyourproductioniftheyweretomakeacopyofyourdesignedproduct.Youalsoneedtoincludeatimelineforeachstepandkeepontrackeachweek.

• If youmodify your plan for any reason, such as for timemanagement purposes, or youhave changed your mind about your design, make sure you make a note of this in anupdatedversionofyourproductionplan.

• Establishmaterialsandequipmentneededtomakeyourproducts.

• Keepyourjournaluptodateduringtheproductionprocessandbepreparedtoshowyourteacherateachlesson.Writethisupformallyforassessmentatcompletionofyourproject.

PRODUCTIONJOURNAL• Followyourproductionplantocreateyourproduct/s.

• Document eachproduction step as youwork (makenotes and takephotos) and includethese in your journal. Write explanations of what you are doing and interpret yourdrawingswithannotations.

• During production, you need to make appropriateselection and safe use of tools,equipment, fabrics,materials and components to carry out processesappropriate to thefabricsandmaterialstoproduceaqualityproduct.

• Keepanuptodatereflectiononyourprogressandalterplansasappropriate.Progressandchangestoplansshouldbereflecteduponandalteredtoyourprojectasappropriate.


5

EVALUATIONCreateanevaluationcriteriabasedonthefollowingquestionsinorderforyoutoself-assessyourdesignandproduction:

• Inwhatways does your product fulfil the design brief? Inwhatways does it notmeet thebrief?Considerthefollowing:

o Haveyoumadeacompleteoutfit?

o Doesyourproduct/sfityourselforyourmodel?

o Haveyouonlyusedcalicofabric?

o Doesyourproductappealtoyourownuniquestyle?

• Whatdoyouthinkofyouroveralldesign?Whatchangeswouldyoumake?

• Are you happy with the finishing processes you chose for your calico? Would you makeadjustmentsnexttime?

• Is the colour scheme exactly what you expected? How would you change the scheme ifremakingyourproduct?

• Howwereyourtimemanagementskillsduringtheinvestigation,designandcreationofyourproduct?

o Didtheprojecttaketoolongtomake?Howcouldyoureducetheproductiontime?

o Make recommendations for future productions— what might you do differently inyourproductionplan?

• Woulditbeeasytosetupaproductionlineforthemanufactureofyourproduct?

• Are the techniques (eg.cutting,machinesewing,overlocking,handsewingetc.)youused tomake your solution adequate/suitable?Howwould you improve these techniques?Will theproductbedurable?Werethetechniqueswellexecuted?

• Whataretheviewsofotherpeopleregardingyourdesignandfinalproduct?

REFLECTIONIdentifyandreflectuponyourlearningprocessanddevelopmentintextilesanddesign.Pointstobecoveredinyourreflection:

• Whathasyourprogressbeenlikethroughouttheproject?• Whatareyourstrengthsintextiles?Why?Howcanyouextendyourstrengths?• Whathavebeenyourbiggestchallengesandweaknesses?Why?Whatstepscanyoudoto

improvethem?• Howdoyouthinkyourtimemanagementskillsaregoing?What improvementcouldyou

maketothisarea?• Whatareyoumostproudofwithyourachievementsintextiles?Why?

**Pleaseincludeexamplesandphotographicevidenceoryourworkthroughoutyourreflection.

design brief – calico...

Documents