Elevating Scraps

This piece began with a large donation of fabric samples from a local furniture store to the designer’s university. Therefore, the purpose of this design was to create an up-cycled garment from pre-consumer textile waste utilizing a historic inspiration process as a statement about sustainability. The worn look of the samples, some even featured silver grommets and holes for hanging, brought to mind historic garments. The second source of inspiration came from the tonlet walking armor of Henry VIII. The designer cut all the samples into 2†strips and created a simple tent-shaped pattern for the vest using draping. Small amounts of leather remained after the vest was constructed. Thus, the designer decided to create laser cut leather flowers to adorn the hemline. A dress was created using flat pattern to go under the vest. The dress was constructed from an antique linen sheet

Motivations for participation in knitting among young women

2011 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.The purpose of this research was to understand the complex motivations of young women who choose to participate in knitting. The number of young women who knit has increased dramatically in the past ten years. However, there has been little research focused on understanding the culture of these young, female knitters and no research has concentrated its attention on the material culture of these women and the artifacts they produce. Fifteen young, female knitters (ages 18-30) who resided in Northern Colorado were identified to participate in the study. Data were collected from in-depth interviews, a material culture analysis of artifact(s) made by the participants, and a demographic data survey. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and artifacts made by the participants were photographed for later analysis. Validity was established through the use of multiple information sources and a secondary coder. Data gathered from the interviews were analyzed using constant comparative method. The knitted artifacts were analyzed using material culture and content analysis methods. Finally, the survey data were examined using frequencies and descriptive statistics. Thirteen subthemes emerged during the coding process of the interview data: creativity, multi-tasking, financial, alterations, information sources, social aspects, negative reactions, mistakes, expense, positive reactions, products, confidence, and relaxation. These themes were grouped into three main categories: incentives, barriers, and positive outcomes. The Taxonomy of Participation in Knitting was developed to graphically arrange the themes and subthemes. The data were then compared to an existing theory, Uses and Gratifications (UG), to determine if the categories of motivations described by Katz et al. (1974) were appropriate to describe the incentives for young women to participate in knitting. The categories of UG were very suitable and a second model, The Model of Motivations for Knitting among Young Women, was created to showcase the motivations that participants had for engaging in knitting

Decremental Analysis of Plus-size Women: Bodice Drafting and Grading Implications

Fitting issues continue to be a complaint among plus-size consumers of ready-to-wear apparel. The purpose of the study was to: determine the efficacy of a bodice pattern drafting method and grading rules. Plus-size women were recruited for a longitudinal body scanning study. The participants came back for a follow-up scan after 10 pounds of weight-loss. Front and back bodices were drafted for each scan. Eight women had usable scan pairs. A major issue with the drafting system was the standardized location and size of the bust dart. No participants lost weight symmetrically, thus, a simplified grading system is not appropriate. The preliminary results of this study indicate that the assumed standard ease and dart placements suggested in the drafting system was not suitable for drafting plus-size bodices Results produced implications in: pattern drafting, grading, and body scanning. New assumptions which address body shape need to be formulated for plus-sizes