Blog Post #3- All About looks

All About Looks

            Last week we went on a field trip to All About Looks, a unique fabric store that sells one of a kind fabrics and trims. The store is the only upscale fabric store in Lubbock. As I walked into the shop I loved every minute of it. All kinds of neat fabrics were all over the place. Some were on pieces of furniture for show for the clients entering the store. The owner and her two daughters were all there to talk to us about how they run things in their shop and little need to know knowledge about certain types of fabric and upholstery. The first thing we did was all gathered around a large square table and the owner talked about each type of fabric. She had samples that were passed around and she also had fabrics I had never seen before like recycling a tire and turning it into a fabric. She enlightened me and the class, about certain types of fabric need to be paid very special attention when purchasing as to what it is going to be used for. I loved her telling the class little stories and mishaps that the shop has gone through with a client and with certain fabrics that All About Looks learned from. Certain fabrics just don’t work well to be upholstered onto a chair.

            The company buys there product from many different mills around the world which enables them to be able to sell there fabrics for a discounted price to the clients. All About Looks offers to clients, designers, decorators, and contractors the following services: on site (at all about looks) upholstery, a research department that covers anything on their services list, drapery hardware options, designer collaboration, custom bedding and drapes, wall paper furniture, drapery and hardware installation, full workroom services, variety of window shades options, slip covers ( any style, creative and tailored), motorization certification from Somfy, area rug resources, and furniture resources ( custom or factory size available). As you can see, this fabric store can do it all for a designer.

            The second part of the field trip after we gathered around the table and talked about the store and different types of fabric, window treatments, and hardware, we were fortunately given a tour of the store. We got to go back in the work room where there was an employee that had a huge work table that she could sew and measure fabrics on and all sorts of other services listed below are taken care of at this table. In the very back of the building was the upholstery section. There was a man back there re covering a couch at the time and it was really interesting to hear him talk about some of the things he had pulled out of an old couch when reupholstering it. He said he has pulled out leaves and all kinds of crazy stuff. We all laughed about it but, one thing they did tell us that I found very important was that it is better to reupholster an old piece of furniture rather than buy a new one because unfortunately, these days the furniture is just not the same quality. Although it may cost more initially to reupholster a couch or chair rather then just buy one, it is important to check the quality of the chair your buying. The owner told us a story about a client who had recently called and bought a really nice New couch and she had it for one year and the piece is already falling apart. My class all made comments that, oh maybe she didn’t buy a quality couch that of course would be expensive but we were all quickly corrected by the owner when she said that this particular piece of furniture was 5,000 dollars. To be falling apart in a year of owning something of that price is discouraging to me because now I don’t want to buy new furniture. The field trip to All About Looks was a great experience. I can see myself just going in there to look at stuff and new fabrics and to keep up with the latest trips. It was an awesome experience that I will never forget. 

Blog Post #2 FBRI Field Trip

Fabric Testing

            A few days ago my Materials class attended a field trip at the Texas Tech Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute in Lubbock, Texas. On the tour the class witnessed and learned many machines that performed very important jobs to the testing and research of cotton.  There was one machine in particular that seemed very interesting to learn about named, The Martindale Abrasion Tester. This machine determines the abrasion resistance of textile fabrics.  The FBRI is very important by serving the manufacturers, cotton farmers, and students in conducting research on the fiber quality.

            This was an educating experience for one to attend. On the first part of the field trip the class was given a tour of various rooms with multiple different machines that each performed a very important job. It was a step by step process, from cleaning the cotton to combing the fibers in preparation to be made in to rolls of yarn. It is amazing to see the extensive process that goes on behind the scenes of the cotton industry.  The machine called the Martindale Abrasion Tester (ASTM D 4966) determines the wear ability of textile fabrics.  All fabric types can be tested on the Martindale although difficulties can arise with fabrics with a pile depth greater than 0.08 inches.

            Abrasion resistance is measured by exposing the fabric piece to a rubbing motion in the form of a geometric object that is in a straight line. This straight line will become a slowly widening eclipse shape. After the eclipse shape is formed, another straight line forms in the opposite direction and will trace the same figure again under the conditions of pressure and abrasive action. Plain weave, crossbred, or worsted wool fabric is used  for the abrasion along with a felt fabric. In this process, the two fabrics are used on the abrasion table.  The fabrics must be cut to a 140mm diameter. The felt is first placed on top and central to each abrading table and the abrasive cloth is put over the felt the same way. It is very important that the fabrics is flat with no creases in the fabric. Pressing weight is then placed on top of the abrasive cloth. After that, the clamp ring is placed over the weight and locks into place.  This machine is programmable and allows a number of rubs required to be entered and the machine is programmed to stop immediately when the process and completion of the programmed rubs.  For safety reasons the machine can be stopped manually at any time.

            It is amazing that this is just one of the many machines that I learned about on the field trip. The complexity of fiber and fabric testing is something I knew nothing about until after the FBRI tour. Walking into the FBRI was an experience in itself considering you walk into a completely climate controlled environment with fibers just floating in the air. You could feel the fibers on your skin after the tour was over which several of the other classmates had similar experiences and found it quite humorous. This field trip helped me understand the breakdown of fibers and how they are made into fabric. This was a valuable learning experience that allowed me to better understand the breakdown and process of fibers visually instead of reading about them out of a textbook or some other resource. 

Blog Post #1 - Fibers

Linen: A Historically Expensive Fabric

            Linen is one of the most established cellulosic fibers.  Linen is a natural fiber and is a cousin to cotton, wool, and silk. Natural fibers are biodegradable and acknowledged as feasible and environmentally safe choice, as long as no product that could potentially harm the environment is included in the manufacturing process.

            Linen, made from flax, hemp, jute, and ramie are taken out of the plant’s stem.  This procedure is known as retting, the scraps and unusable parts of the plant are rotted away and the stiff parallel fibers are extracted. Linen feels crisp, hard, and cool but the lack of resilience makes linen brittle. This can be an issue with upholstery because it is wrinkle prone and accessible to upholstery abrasion.  Linen is great for wall covering because the setbacks of linen will not be a problem.

            Linen dyes wonderfully in a dye bath.  On the other hand, when the fabric is printed the dye saturation is not easy to accomplish because of the density of this particular fiber.  Linen prints are typically designed to look “worn” or “washed” from the beginning. Linen yarns, are manufactured through several processes that can drastically change the appearances and characteristics. Naturally linen is a color called “gray “, which is a tan color. If the linen is partially bleached “boiled” linen it is a lighter pearly color. If the linen is “bleached” the color is a very crisp and clean white.   Linen can be labeled as several different types. Line- linen, has very long staple fibers that are combed and mercerized which creates an elaborate and durable yarn. Tow- linen is a yarn made up of a very short staple, this particular type is favorable to wall coverings but is often considered to look fuzzy and have low abrasion resistance.  Linens can also be wet spun which creates a smooth character while dry spun creates a soft yarn.

            Linen is used in many different categories from apparel, to interior design, and even the hardworking category of textile fibers. Being one of the most prevalent cellulosic fibers creates easy access to the fiber but the process itself is labor intensive due to the many categories of this natural fiber. Linen is a classic fabric that has been used globally for thousands of years. It is environmentally friendly which is often a selling point for customers in this time era. This fabric is luxurious and historically was used on wealthy people in society but now, linen can be used for an array of different categories which gives anyone open access to using this great fiber.