WORKSHOP – Textiles & Material Knowledge
On April 1st, 2017 the Fashion Studies Masters’ students participated in a Textile and Material Knowledge Workshop taught by Parsons faculty Brankica Chauvain.
Photo by Sarah Safar.
During this Saturday workshop Chauvain split the workshop into two parts, the first being an educational learning process on fiber differentiation and the second, a hands-on experience which explored dimensions of fibers and then textile manipulation.
The first part of the workshop started with understanding the difference between fibers found in nature and fibers that are chemically made. This included learning from which plants the natural cellulose fibers are extracted, which animals the protein fibers come from, what a manufactured fiber is – where fibers that are found in nature go under chemical modification – and what types of 100% chemical fibers exist.
In the second part of the workshop, Brankica Chauvain safely demonstrated how students can tell the difference between the fibers. The students participated in a “burn test” where each fabric was subject to fire, a hands on learning experience that engaged with each textile and its possible deterioration. The natural fibers mainly turned to dust while the man-made fibers somewhat melted into a hard plastic texture, illustrating exactly what is meant by recyclable or decomposable fabrics or their contraries.
Towards the end, Chauvain taught the class how to use a needle and thread (half the students had never sewn before). This is where the students took a piece of fabric, drew a North American Smocking pattern on the back side, and began a sewing tutorial to experience a new dimension to the fabric that they might not know otherwise.
The workshop will continue on 22 April 2017.
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Written by Sarah Safar, MA Fashion Studies, 2016 – 2018.
Picture by Sarah Safar, MA Fashion Studies, 2016 – 2018.