Thursday, 6 January 2022

Textile Sustainability Project

Assignment:

Participate in a Textile Sustainability Event. Each student will have a task in the event. The Mending Project, led by upper level textile students, will be present at the event. 


Collections:


Student Tasks:

  • Poster Design, Print and Distribute - 1
  • Design Signage for Tables - 1
  • Collect shoes at table - 1
  • Collect clothing for recycle at table - 1
  • Collect blankets for baby, child, adult at table - 1
  • Collect old towels/blankets for pet shelters at table - 1
  • Collect for Dress for Success at table - 1
  • Document event - 1
  • Pick up donations from offices on campus - 3
  • Deliver blankets and pet shelter items - 1


Additional Info/Resources:

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/guides/how-to-get-rid-of-old-clothes/

https://greaterorlando.dressforsuccess.org/get-involved/donate/

https://www.giz.de/en/downloads/giz2021-en-promoting-sustainability-textile-industry.pdf




Bio Plastics Guidelines

What are bioplastics?

Bioplastics are made wholly or in part from renewable biomass sources such as sugarcane and corn, or from microbe such as yeast. ... Bioplastics made from renewable resources can be naturally recycled by biological processes, thus limiting the use of fossil fuels and protecting the environment.


Assignment:

Explore the process for making bioplastics. So that we can employ sustainable practices, work sessions will be scheduled during class time. This will allow us, as a group, to utilize and not waste materials.

Guidelines:
  • Each student required to have at least six (6) pieces of bio plastic that  demonstrate time and effort with experimenting. 
  • Each sample should be no smaller than 2" square. 

Materials: 
Are provided in the studio. 

Post the following information on your blog:
  • At least one (1) in-process image. 
  • Professional images of final solution. Can be individual images or you can arrange solutions in small groups. 



Bioplastics are biodegradable materials that come from renewable sources and can be used to reduce the problem of plastic waste that is suffocating the planet and contaminating the environment. Does it make any sense to continue using packaging that can take centuries to disappear to pack products that only last days or months?

Plastic is the third most commonly used petroleum derivative in the world; each year 200 million tons of plastic are consumed on the planet. It comes from a non-renewable source (petroleum), it is contaminating and non-biodegradable (it can take more than 1000 years to decompose).

More to see and read from Active Sustainability. Link below:

https://www.activesustainability.com/environment/what-are-bioplastics/?_adin=02021864894



Dye Experiments Assignment Guidelines




Introduction

Natural dyes are extracted from particular roots, wood, bark, leaves, flowers, nuts, insects, shellfish and mineral compounds. 

Colors derived from food sources are fugitive, meaning the color will fade over time. Certain food sources provide stronger and longer lasting color; turmeric, red onion skins, black tea, avocado pits/skins and frozen mixed berries are the best bets with, in my opinion, turmeric and black tea holding the most color over a longer period of time. Since we are not making wearables (items that will be laundered) and each student working at home in their kitchen, these food sources are suitable for the online course. 


Assignment:

Explore the various processes of natural dye. So that we can employ sustainable dyeing practices, dye sessions will be scheduled during class time. This will allow us, as a group, to utilize and exhaust several dye pots. We will work together to set up dye baths and clean up. Natural dyes are provided for the students.

Also provided, a yard of 100% cotton PFD (prepared for dye) fabric for each student. 

Shibori will be introduced so students can explore various methods of creating pattern/marks on the fabric. The verb "shibori" means to "wring, squeeze, press" in Japanese. 


Student Work:
    Go to right column and search "Dye Experiments Student Work" or click on link below. If you do not see right column, scroll to bottom and click on "web version" so you have access to the right column index. 



    Guidelines:
    • Each student required to have at least 12 pieces of fabric that demonstrate dye color and Shibori techniques. 
    • Each piece demonstrates time and effort. At least six (6) pieces should contain at least two colors. 
    • Fabric pieces should be similar in size. Each student given a yard of PFD (prepared for dye) fabric to divide into 12 pieces. 
    • Fabric put in the dye baths must be prepared for dyeing. Do not bring fabric/clothes from home and place in dye baths. This fabric will contaminate the dye bath. 

    When is this assignment due?
    • Due date announced in class and posted on course calendar. 
    • Each student required to have at least 12 pieces of dyed fabric that demonstrate time and effort regarding Shibori techniques and color layers. 
    • -5 points for not submitting work on due date. -5 points for each class late thereafter. 

    How do I prepare the work to turn in on the due date? 
    • Stack all samples, with left side aligned.
    • Write your name on piece of paper, place on top of the stack, aligned left. 
    • Binder clip the fabric and paper with your name on left side. 
    • Ironing the fabric is optional. 

    Materials:
    • Students Required To Purchase:
      • Fabric Scissors
        • Must be fabric scissors, not regular scissors. Fabric scissors needed to cut fabric. Regular scissors do not cut fabric. 
      • Thread Cutters. Small tipped fabric scissors and/or seam ripper. can also work. 
        • Needed to pull out Shibori stitches. 
      • Sewing Needle with a large eye. 
      • Optional. 
        • 100% super strong nylon upholstery thread. Needed for Shibori stitching. I have this thread available in the studio for students to share while working in the studio. If you purchase your own, you do not have to share and can take home for homework. 
      • Optional. 
        • A pair of rubber gloves that reach beyond your wrist. 
        • Please write your name with a Sharpie on the gloves. You can purchase at grocery store. 
      • Optional
        • An apron for the days we use natural dyes. Or wear old clothes. 
      • Purchase information for items listed above on the class blog. Search right index column for Materials List or link here. https://textilesatflaglercollege.blogspot.com/2024/02/materials-list-for-textiles-and-natural.html

    Schedule:

    Day 1
    Students receive PFD fabric and experiment with Shibori stitches in class. Continue to work on stitches for homework. Must have at least six (6) pieces of fabric that attempted Shibori stitching. The other six (6) pieces can utilize Shibori folding techniques. 

    Step 2
    Continue Shibori stitching. Complete Shibori stitching and folding on all 12 pieces of fabric. 

    Step 3
    Beginning of class, students work together to set up dye baths. Dye fabric that has been Shibori stitched and folded. 

    Step 4
    Continue to exhaust dye baths. Last day we will dye as a class. Dye baths will be available for students to use on their own for about a week. 



    Shibori:


    Source unknown. Please email lmongiovi@flagler.edu with source. 

     


    Student Work. Timaree McKenny. 






    Jeni Baker


    Additional Information:
    • The dyes we use in class are purchased from Botanical Colors. The website offers a wealth of information regarding dyeing. I suggest you check out the site if you are interested in expanding your natural dye knowledge. 

    • Many natural dyers post on Instagram. Check out the natural dye posts to glean info and ideas. Important, foods such as cabbage and black beans are not natural dyes. 

    • Facebook has a group for natural dyers. Always helpful information and ideas in the group. 

    Saturday, 13 November 2021

    Zoe Leonard, Artist








    Zoe Leonard’s Strange Fruit (1992–97) consists of some three hundred fruit skins – bananas, oranges, grapefruits, and lemons – consumed, then stitched back together by the artist with brightly coloured thread and wire. The work was made in the 1990s, during the global AIDS crisis that devastated communities in New York, where Leonard was living and working.

    By sewing up wasted peels instead of discarding them, the artist created objects that resemble little bodies FIG. 2. At a time in which her dying friends were treated as disposable by most of the public, the government and the medical community, the task may have offered a defiant respite. Leonard described sewing as a sort of meditation, a private act of mourning.

    Above images and text from Burlington Contemporary:

    and Seven Ponds
     

    Katrina Perdue, Mender



    More to see on artist's website:

     

    Nina Katchadourian, Artist




    Do-it-Yourself Spiderweb Repair Kit
    Plastic box with foam and thread, tweezers, scissors and glue, 1998


    The Mended Spiderweb series

    The Mended Spiderweb series came about during a six-week period in June and July in 1998 which I spent on Pörtö. In the forest and around the house where I was living, I searched for broken spiderwebs which I repaired using red sewing thread. All of the patches were made by inserting segments one at a time directly into the web. Sometimes the thread was starched, which made it stiffer and easier to work with. The short threads were held in place by the stickiness of the spider web itself; longer threads were reinforced by dipping the tips into white glue. I fixed the holes in the web until it was fully repaired, or until it could no longer bear the weight of the thread. In the process, I often caused further damage when the tweezers got tangled in the web or when my hands brushed up against it by accident.

    The morning after the first patch job, I discovered a pile of red threads lying on the ground below the web. At first I assumed the wind had blown them out; on closer inspection it became clear that the spider had repaired the web to perfect condition using its own methods, throwing the threads out in the process. My repairs were always rejected by the spider and discarded, usually during the course of the night, even in webs which looked abandoned. The larger, more complicated patches where the threads were held together with glue often retained their form after being thrown out, although in a somewhat "wilted" condition without the rest of the web to suspend and stretch them. Each "Rejected Patch" is shown next to the photograph showing the web with the patch as it looked on site.

    Artist's website:

    http://www.ninakatchadourian.com/uninvitedcollaborations/spiderwebs.php
     

    Celia Pym, Artist


    Elizabeth’s Cardigan, cardigan and wool darning, 50 x 65 cm, 2002-2016


    Teaching Jumper, original grey jumper with one moth hole in middle of the chest, wool and acrylic yarn, 
    65 x 54cm, 2020

    Mended Mushroom Bag, paper bag, wool and cotton, 12 x 24 x 5cm, 2021




    Vivien Leigh’s jacket, made by Women’s Home Industries, original garments and white wool mending, 
    60 x 105 x 3cm, 2020


    More to see on artist's website:

     

    Mark Newport, Artist





    More to see on artist's website:

     

    LDC



    Cotton and Sustainability

    From sourcing certified cotton to promoting agricultural best practice within and beyond our value chain, we work proactively toward increasingly sustainable operations and supply chains, both as LDC and in collaboration with partner organizations such as the Better Cotton Initiative.

    LDC has also begun using  a ‘diagnostic’ system that applies DNA to determine the purity and quality of some of its cotton.

    Developed by Applied DNA Sciences, the technology uses tiny genetic markers that are sprayed on the cotton at the gin just before packaging. The DNA markers bind to the plant’s fibers and act as a microscopic barcode that can be tracked throughout the supply chain.

    The labels PimaCott and Homegrown, which are used to brand the cotton that is traced through DNA, are useful for manufacturers, traders and retailers. And if consumers see these labels on a product, they have an absolute guarantee that the cotton used in its manufacture was responsibly sourced and produced.


    Source link for more info. 

    https://www.ldc.com/product/textiles-fibers/



     

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