All About Looks

            Our Interior design fabrics and materials class recently visited a quaint local store located in the downtown district of Lubbock, Texas, called All About Looks. The store was owned and operated by the “gals” of family living in the area. The mother, and two daughters, all lacking certified design background, have managed to set up and successfully run a charming store crammed full of fun colorful fabrics but also specializing in custom design and upholstery.

            Our class gathered early that morning, some sipping on steaming coffee, as we stood and began to discuss the world of fabrics, fabrics that are beyond the printing or even weaving stage. We started by discussing current trends and common fabrics that are circulating through the design environment and into homes and businesses today. Natural fabrics, fabrics made from recycled materials or natural resources such as bamboo and hemp are being incorporated in new and innovative ways in the design community.

            In addition, while there we reviewed the types of fabrics, there purposes, natural versus synthetic, feel, texture, and a variety of other individual features that made up the fabrics that All About Looks had in stock. However it wasn’t the fabric that I felt made this “field trip” so exciting it was what they had done with the fabric, more in the terms of upholstery. The store front was overloaded with antique chairs, benches, and ottomans tha had be recreated into new and splendid eye-catching furniture. I remember specifically a very unique chair that had an almost “catholic rosary” essence and design. With deep purple fabric, pink highlights, gathered cloth around the chair legs, complete with bedazzled furniture pins glittering in the midst of all the color. It was one of a kind and definitely a collector’s item that could only be found in this particular shop.

            Another thing, or should I say person , that really stood out to me and made the store special was there personal upholstery master, Bobby. This man had spent the majority of his life working with fabric, cutting and sewing it to make new things or to make old thing new again. By looking around the workroom you could tell that with his years of expertise that he was beyond skilled. He could not only change the fabric of a piece but change the size of it, the thickness, and the “plumpness”. The owner of the store made a point saying he was one of the few left in his craft and the best at what he does. She then went on to say that furniture is now mass produced and therefore poor quality, that one’s best bet is to take an antique and use the gift of a person like Bobby to transform it into something that fits you and your current need.

Those words of advice are what really stuck with me after visiting All About Looks. Interior design is  not all about replacing the old and completely starting from scratch in a room, but rather incorporating the clients past with the new and upcoming future, and the fads, trends, and color schemes that come with it. 

Fabric Testing

Earlier this week m y interiors fabric and materials class visited the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Facility associated with Texas Tech University. During our trip there we were thoroughly educated on the making of fabric, starting as raw cotton picked from the field all the way up until it is a woven fabric.  On our second visit there we walked through the research portion of the facility. There we learned about the purpose and process of several machines that test and record the fibers and their reactions in different stages, again ranging from the basic cotton, to yarn, to the complete retail fabric. This takes looks to take a look specifically at the machines and tests used to judge the strength and quality of the finished product.

The first machine shown to us is known as the Martindale Abrasion Tester. The individual machine focuses specifically on a textile fabrics resistance to wear or tear. A piece of the fabric being tested is attached to a circular appendage of the machine. This arm is then moved in a sort of elliptical motion against a tightly affixed of wool and or felt. The machine then continues its geometric movement while keeping track of the about of rubs. After the programmed about of rubs are completed the fabric is checked for breakage, discoloration, and loss of mass. This information is then recorded for research purposes.

The second machine that a sample fabric is run through is the Quickwash. This machine is as simple as it sounds, it is used to gage the changes of a fabric when accelerated by the common washing and drying process.  The piece of fabric marked with precise and measured black dots recorded. The swatch is then washed and dried in a smaller version of the standard household machines and then the markings are reevaluated. The fabric is then scanned and saved for future records.

The Random Tumbling Piling Tester is also used when testing their fabrics strength. This particular test is focusing on a textile resistance to the formation of pills. Pills are generalized as the little beads of clumps of fibers that form on the surface of a fabric due to rubbing and use. The machine uses four cylinders lined with mild material; the swatch tumbles around in the chamber for approximately thirty minutes. The fabric is then rated following a scale ranging from no pills to very severe pilling.

Another test or method is the Tearing Strength Elemendorf Method. The basic reason for this test is the to judge the strength of the cloth when asked to handle a sudden about of pressure, or a heavy load, more specifically when that fabric is surrounding an incision, such as a buttonhole. In its simplest form the machine measures the average tearing force of a pre-cut textile sample from the energy loss of a dropping pendulum. These numbers are then of course written down and reviewed.

One of the final trials that the fabric goes through is known as the Breakage Force and Elongation of Textile Fabrics.  This machine does exactly what the title infers; it tests the force of breakage and then the stretching of the cloth. It can be done using either a grab sample of a cut sample. Sometimes the machine can also be used to judge the bursting strength of a fabric. All of this information is then added to the file and stored for research, along with all the other gathered data.

All of these machines combined together allow the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Facility associated with Texas Tech University to fully understand the production, details, and dimensions of the fabric they produced. After having seen all of these systems in process, I now have a heightened sense and understanding of the clothes I wear every day.

Synthetic Fibers

IN MY INTERIORS CLASS FOCUSED ON FABRICS & MATERIALS I'VE LEARNED...

There are two types of fabric, natural and man-made, also known as synthetic.  Synthetic fibers are produced in concrete factory through a process using petrochemicals. The variation of petrochemicals allows for an even wider range of fabrics to be created; such as polyester, nylon, and acrylic, along with others less popular.

Synthetic fibers are designed to have very unique qualities that separate them from natural fabrics. Man-made fibers tend to be hydrophobic, meaning they repel water. They are thermoplastic so they soften or melt when heated. Synthetic fabric are non-allergenic, and also do not harbor other allergens like mildew and moths. A negative feature of synthetic clothes is there tendency to collect static electricity. They also are not biodegradable, although some specific fabrics can be recycled. All of these qualities combined make up the various cloths that we use in everyday products.

The most common synthetic fabric is polyester. It comes in a variety of forms and uses. Polyester is resistant to light, fading, and wrinkling. It is dimensionally stable and easy to clean.  From an interior designer’s perspective, polyester is used mainly for upholstery; more specifically for drapery, hospital partitions, wall coverings, and panel fabric. 

Another type of man-made fabric is nylon. Nylon is high volume, low cost, and great for heavily trafficked areas. Nylon has a few more negative aspects in comparison to polyester. It is the most vulnerable to pulling and sags in the humidity. It is also not flame-retardant; however it can be treated to pass most interior fire codes. Nylon is commonly mixed with wool and used in a large majority of indoor carpets.

In addition to polyester and nylon, acrylic is a fabric made through petrochemicals. Most acrylic fabrics are soft, bulky, and warm. Unfortunately though, acrylic is unpopular for use on furniture because of its low abrasion resistance and its inability to be made flame- retardant. However, a slightly altered version of acrylic known as modacrylic has been made as a flame-retardant substitute.

           This is just a short list of the most common and most important synthetic man-made fabrics used by interior designers. While they may not hold all the benefits of natural fabrics or be as environmentally sensitive they do serve a purpose; polyester, nylon, acrylic, even olefin and spandex, all of them have a worthwhile use currently in our society.