Lesson video

Hello, and welcome to what is our first lesson in the Design and Technology Textiles unit of work.

My name is Mr. Wicken, and it's great to see you here today in our lesson.

In today's lesson, we're going to look at actually what are the different types of fibres and their properties within those different categories of fibres.

We're going to look into what the differences are between them, some advantages and disadvantages, and then you're going to make sure that you go and do some independent research into those different areas to really cement your understanding.

Then we're going to go and have a look at why we use those different fibres in different areas.

So, as always, let's go and have a look at today's learning objectives.

Now before we go into detail on today's learning objectives, if you haven't yet done the intro quiz, pause the video here now and go and get that done for me.

Great, now that's done, let's have a look at what we're going to learn about in today's lesson.

So the first area of learning is all about what natural fibres are within textiles, how we define them, and some examples within natural fibres.

Then we're going to look at actually what synthetic fibres are, and what the difference is between natural and synthetic fibres, and also some examples of synthetic fibres as well.

Then we're going to look actually how these different fibres are used within textile products and why they might be used.

And as always, we're going to finish off with the exit quiz to just show all the amazing learning you've done in today's lesson.

Now, to be successful, we also need to make sure we've got the right equipment.

So first, you need to make sure you've got an exercise book or some bits of paper, I don't mind which one, as long as you've got those to hand, that'll be great.

Then you'll need a pen, it doesn't matter what the colour is, as long as it's working, and you're comfortable using it, I'm happy.

And finally, you'll need a computer or a tablet, something that is an internet enabled device for some of the work we're going to do in our lesson later on today.

So with those, if you haven't got those things, pause the video here now and go and get them and then I will carry on in a moment.

Let's have a look at today's key words.

So the first one is fabric.

So let's say that together, I'm going to say and then you're going to repeat it.

So fabric, fabric, fabric.

Great, well done.

So what is fabric? Well, fabric is a word used within textiles that are sold in shops and markets that are used for a variety different items. So you can get fabric and rolls or in sheets, it's up to you.

But that fabric can then be used to actually make a product.

So it's really important that we get to understand actually fabric is something that you can buy and then use to make a textiles product.

We've then got natural fibres.

So that was one of the key learning objectives in today's lesson.

So let's say that again together, natural fibres, natural fibres, natural fibres.

Excellent, really well done.

So a natural fibre is in essence, a strand which comes from a natural source.

So what I mean by that is if we think of wool, wool comes from sheep, and sheep is obviously a natural biological source within nature.

So anything that is a natural fibre comes from a natural source at its beginning points.

And then obviously, it is made into whatever type of fibre it is from that natural source.

Then our other key word is synthetic fibres.

So again, let's say that together, synthetic fibres, synthetic fibres, synthetic fibres.

Great, really well done.

Now, a synthetic fibre is actually different to natural fibres in the respect that those fibres are created by us humans, and they are used to manufacture textiles products, and we make that for the process called polymerization.

So what we do is we take a polymer, and we actually create a fibre from it.

So it doesn't come from a natural source like wool, which is in nature.

Actually, we as humans create a synthetic fibre, which is really amazing that we can do this.

And that's what use all the time in different textiles products.

We're going to look into more detail about these two areas later in today's lesson.

So let's go and have a look at our first learning objective for today.

So our first learning objective in today's lesson is what are natural fibres? So I've spoken about it as a key word already but let's go into a little bit more detail.

So natural fibres are fibres as we spoke about that come from, are gathered from a natural source in nature.

So it can be an animal as I used as an example a moment ago, but it can also be a plant.

Again a plant is something in nature, a biological source.

So that is where we get natural fibres from.

Now what I want you to do is I want you to think actually, can you, before we go any further think of any natural fibres, which are used in clothes.

I've already used an example of wool, you can't have that one, I've given you that one already.

But I want you to pause the video, and I want you to think of some other natural fibres.

So have a pause the video here now and think of any more natural fibres.

Hopefully, you've got some in mind.

Now, actually, I've got a list here of some natural fibres And I want you to see whether you got any of those correct.

And these come from either an animal or a plant.

So cotton is one.

Did you get that one? Well don't if you did.

Wool I already gave you didn't know, so we knew that one as a group, that's fine.

Silk, silk is another natural fibre.

Did you get that? Really well done if you did, silk actually comes from silkworms. So a silkworm will create silk.

Isn't that amazing? Linen is another natural fibre.

Again, same as jute is a natural fibre, as is hemp.

So all of these fibres that you see listed here are natural fibres because they come from either an animal or a plant source originally, and then it's refined into the fibre that you are going to use to make a textile based product.

Now, here's what I want you to do.

I've got that list of natural fibres that some I have spoken about, and some I haven't.

And I've done that on purpose, because I want you to now independently go away and research these different types of natural fibres.

For it, I want you to tell me some of the advantages for each of the fibres, always tell me some of the disadvantages to the fibres.

I then want you to actually tell me what is their original source? Whether originating from an animal or are they originated from a plant? Then I'd like you to give me some uses for these natural fibres, and finally, I'd love to see an image actually of that photo being used to make a textile based product.

So that's what I want you to do, I want you to go away, and research into these different natural fibres entering a different points in the table.

And that way you and I can have a much better understanding of these different natural fibres and why we use them.

And also maybe some of the drawbacks or disadvantages to them.

So you're going to pause the video here now, I'd like to use the worksheet that's available on the website to get that work written down so that you can clearly understand all the different natural fibres that we're speaking about in today's lesson.

Make sure that you've got some good detail in the answers you're giving, and that you're telling me whether they come from an animal or a plant as their original source.

Great to get some uses.

You might know some already but have a look around on the internet to see if you can find some unusual and weird sources for those products.

Pause the video, have a go, good luck, and I'll see you in a while.

Welcome back, and I hope you got on really well with doing the research into the natural fibres.

And now you've got a much clearer idea about where those natural fibres originate from as their source and the advantages and disadvantages and some uses to those fibres.

Hopefully that's given you a much stronger understanding of natural fibres within textiles.

Now, we're going to move on to what are synthetic fibres? And this is a different area of fibres compared to natural fibres.

So a synthetic fibre, in essence is actually made from refined crude oil.

Now I'm going to come on to that in a minute because crude oil is something we need to understand a little bit more about.

But what that does is it makes a type of polymer.

And that polymer is then used to actually create the strand of fibres to be used in a fibre based product that is synthetic.

And those strands are what we use then to create that textile based product.

But here's the question, Where does crude oil actually come from? Pause the video, and I want you to have a think about it.

And then we'll have a discussion about it afterwards.

So where does crude oil actually come from? Tell me, where do you think crude oil comes from? Right, interesting.

So crude oil actually comes from the ground.

And we actually suck the crude oil up from the ground because it's there underneath the Earth's surface in wells, where that crude oil is taken up from underneath the Earth's crust, underneath in the ground, and then what we do is we take it up, we refine it, and then we use that crude oil in lots of different ways from petrol and diesel to jet fuel, to things such as polymers, and polymers are made from crude oil.

Now, there are lots of issues around crude oil to do with the environment.

But we're going to come on to that in a later session.

So don't worry about that for the time being.

I just want us to have an understanding about where crude oil actually comes from, and then how that is made into a polymer.

So a synthetic fibre is created by us, it doesn't come from a natural source, as we spoke about earlier, like a sheep, or a silkworm or cotton flower, or whatever it might be.

Actually, we create it in a laboratory, because we take the crude oil, we refine it, and then we create the polymers that we want to use for it.

However, we have to understand that synthetic fibres act and look in a different way to natural fibres.

And there's nothing wrong with that, because actually, those synthetic fibres then serve a purpose that natural fibres just can't do.

Which is great cause it means that we can create far, far, far better products using a synthetic fibre, as opposed to a natural one.

Now, what we need to do like we did earlier is I'm going to ask you to pause the video in a second.

And I want you to think about actually synthetic fibre.

Can you name any synthetic fibres that are used to make clothes? Pause the video, only to have a think before we carry on.

So hopefully you've had a think about actually, what are some possible synthetic fibres? Let's see if you've got any of them.

So here are some synthetic fibres.

First one is polyester.

Did you get that one? Well done if you did.

The next one is nylon.

That's a different one as well.

I love that word nylon.

It's such a cool word, isn't it? But did you get that one? Well done if you did as well.

Acrylic, now acrylic actually is quite common thing.

Many people use it because they have fake nails that are made from acrylic.

But actually, acrylic can also be used to make clothing.

Did you get that? Again, well done if you did.

The last one is elastane.

Elastane is a really, really highly used product within textiles, and if you've got that fantastic.

But if you didn't, don't worry, there are some synthetic fibres.

And now you know, these are synthetic fibres.

And they are all made from polymers that are made by us humans.

Isn't that amazing? Truly amazing.

Now, here's what I want us to do, like we did with the natural fibres, I want us to do something similar with the synthetic.

There are those four synthetic fibres we've just spoken about.

And like before the natural fibres, I want you to go research online, the advantages to those synthetic fibres, but also the disadvantages to the synthetic fibres as well.

Then I'd like you to tell me some uses, actually, what products are these synthetic fibres actually used in and I want you to list them there in the table.

And as always, like with the natural ones, I'd love some images, I always love to see images cause it just makes it so visual, and so much more interesting to look at.

So if you could put some images in the end, that would be fantastic.

The worksheet is available on the website.

So like with natural ones, please make sure you use it.

So I'd like to pause the video here now, I want you to go and research those different synthetic fibres telling me the advantages and the disadvantages, some possible uses and some lovely images.

And then you have a really strong understanding of natural but they're also synthetic fibres and why we use them and where they're used as well.

So pause the video.

Good luck, I'll see you in a bit.

Welcome back, and I hope you got on really well.

We've researched into the different synthetic fibres that we have available.

And you've got a much clearer understanding of the advantages and disadvantages and the uses of them now.

So let's move on to our last lesson objective for today's lesson.

And that is the use of these different fibres that we now know about.

So we now know that there are different natural and synthetic fibres in the world, and we know what the difference is between them.

We also know that they actually make and build a variety of different textile products, which is great because it gives us a huge amount of options as consumers when buying a textile based product.

When designing and manufacturing something that is for a textile based product, it really is vitally important that as designers as we are, we need to make sure that we are choosing the right type of fibre for the job it's being designed for because if we choose the wrong one, actually, what could happen is that product isn't usable for the person who's buying it.

So here's a question for you, I want you to pause and never think about it.

Why would you not use wool for a raincoat? Pause the video, and come back and have a chat.

So now you've had some time to think about it.

What do you think are the reasons Why we wouldn't use wool for a raincoat? Interesting, very interesting.

So let's think about it.

If wool gets wet, it becomes really heavy, really uncomfortable, and the most important thing is, it's not waterproof is it? Wool as a natural fibre, as we found out in today's lesson is not going to be waterproof.

So it's not going to be a very good material to use for a raincoat.

And so, when designing a raincoat, we wouldn't design to have wool, because it just wouldn't be suitable.

So, with that in mind, let's think there are loads of textile based products.

And I've got a list of them on the screen right now, I'm not going to read them out too, you can pause the video if you want to, to have a look through them.

But I've categorised them into some key areas of clothing, footwear, soft furnishing, upholstery, and household items. But there are many, many more items that are made from textile fibres.

But I haven't got them all listed.

You might know some, and you can use them for what we're going to go into in a minute.

But this gives you an idea of just the huge range of different types of products that are made in the textiles industry.

And it's really important that when any one of those products is manufactured by that designer and manufactured company itself, it's important that when they're doing it, they're selecting the right fibre.

Because if they choose the wrong one, actually the purchase isn't going to function as they've designed it to do.

So here's what I want us to do.

Taking that list on the last slide, and you can go back to that in a moment, I want you to actually go and find loads of different textile based products, researching them, actually where they are using the different fibres or natural or synthetic, then what I'd like you to do is to present what you have found as a nice mood board.

So that mood board should have loads of images of different products from different areas of the textiles industry.

And hopefully, those products will be made from a variety of both natural and synthetic fibres.

And I want you to present it on a page really, really nicely so that I can see clearly that you've got some fantastic examples of products within the textiles industry made using natural and synthetic fibres.

Here's my example.

So you can see on my example, I've got loads of different images, of huge range of different products that are within the textiles industry.

And they are a range of different products that are made from either synthetic or natural fibres, which is great.

And that's exactly what I want you to do as well.

So I've got shoes on there, I've got clothes, I've got teddy bears, I've got soft furnishing, like cushions and throws, but I've also got the sofa and the chair as well, because that again is a fabric and a fibre.

So it's made in the textiles industry but I've also got rope.

Rope that's actually made, obviously from a fibre, and that's what we've got to realise there's loads of things made from fibres.

And I want you in your mood board to have loads of images, showing me all those different fibres.

So you're going to pause the video here now, and I want you to go and find loads of different images and different products that are made using different fibres both natural and synthetic.

Then I'd like you to print it as a mood board, as you've just seen in my example, so that you can get a really good image as to all the different things available.

Don't forget, if you want to you can go back and you can see that list of different products that I've got.

It's not an exhaustive list, there are lots more things out there made from textile based, but it might help you actually where you go and start to look for those images.

So pause the video, good luck, have lots of fun.

Welcome back, and I hope you had lots of fun getting the images for your mood board.

And you've got a huge number of images now on that page of different textile based products that are made from both natural and synthetic fibres.

And hopefully, you've got now really good understanding not only of what those two different fibres are, but just how widely they are used.

There's so many different products, isn't there now? That you've got to see like I have that are made using textiles.

It's a really important area.

That's why we're studying in this unit of work.

And that's actually it for today's lesson.

Thank you so much for being here.

I hope you've had lots of fun, I know I have.

In today's lesson we've looked at what natural fibres are, and then we've gone on to look into what synthetic fibres are, and in both areas we've got some really good examples of different natural and synthetic fibres and the pros and cons to both of them.

Then you've gone and had a look in the last area of today's lesson, into all the different areas that textiles is used to manufacture products in a really well presented mood board.

As always, I would love to see your work, and if you can get your parent or carer to take some photos, and they are happy to share them online, I would absolutely love to see what you have created.

Don't forget, ask them to use the #learnwithoak and then we can see all the wonderful images of your work online.

Thank you again for being here today.

I look forward to seeing you in our next lesson.

Take care.

Bye bye.