Textile Research Centre, Leiden, Netherlands

The collection of the Textile Research Centre, Leiden, contains over 39,000 textiles, garments and accessories such as headgear, footwear, jewellery and walking sticks. It also includes technical items such as hand spinning and weaving equipment. The objects derive from all over world and date from some seven thousand years ago to the present day. The collection was started in 1997 and since then has grown rapidly.

The collection can be searched in a number of different ways, for example, by country, date, technique, as well as by subject category, such as hats, shoes, belts, and so forth.

All of the items in the TRC Collection are now on line, but as with many collections, not every item has (yet) a detailed description and photograph. Every week new information is added to the database by a team of dedicated colleagues.

Go to link below to search the database:

https://trc-leiden.nl/collection/

Screen shot of artifact from collection. 

Emma Lofland, Beeswax Wraps, Student Work

 

Reflection Statement:

This project was created when I noticed a serious single-use plastic problem on my campus. I decided to look into sustainable alternatives to plastics and found beeswax wraps that are reusable, biodegradable, and more environmentally friendly in their creation. To raise awareness of sustainable packaging and encourage its use, this project was turned into a tabling event to sell the beeswax wraps. Creating a promoted, multi-artist event helped to successfully draw in people who were curious about the products and raised awareness of these sustainable alternatives. I donated all proceeds from the sale to St. Johns Riverkeeper.

Overall, the table event was successful. People were curious about the products and were interested in hearing how they impacted sustainable efforts. One thing that could be done differently is choosing a variety of days and times to display the products. The second day was less successful due to the same crowd of students passing through, most of which had already looked at the products. Also more promotion of the event, actual posters being put around campus instead of just a social media post could be a better reminder of the event occurring.

A few images from Emma's process:

 

  42 wax-covered fabric squares

Cora Blades, Upcycled Denim, Student Work

 

Upcycled Denim

                                                              The Process

Step 1: Learn how to thread and use the sewing machine.

Step 2: Detach one leg from the jeans and plan out your design.

Step 3: Cut out all of your shapes and decide on your pattern.

Step 4: Sew each individual shape to the leg 

and when complete sew the seam of the leg back together.

Carrington Boyd, Mending, Student Work

Carrington completed eight mending projects. Each project was documented in the same format. Below are three examples.

Date: March 25, 2022

Clothing item: Jeans

Damage: Ripped seam on the outside right leg

How it happened: Pulled loose thread

Repair: Re-stitched the leg

Materials used: Green sewing thread

Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆

Date: April 11, 2022

Clothing item: Corduroy pants Damage: Missing closure button, extra hole, attempt to resize with superglue How it happened: Tried to resize pants Repair: Measure and resize waist and add buttons Materials used: White sewing thread and snap buttons from vintage sewing kit Difficulty: ★★★★☆

Date: April 20, 2022

Clothing item: Jeans Damage: Hole next to zipper How it happened: Not sure Repair: Darning the hole Materials used: White sewing thread Difficulty: ★★★★★