Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's design and technology lesson.

My name's Mrs. Fletcher, and I'm here to help and guide you through this lesson today.

Today's lesson is called Fabric Functional Properties, and it's part of the Textile Pattern Pieces: Hats and Caps unit.

In this lesson, we'll be looking at the different properties that fabrics have and how designers must think about this when they're choosing fabrics for their products.

So let's have a look at what we'll be learning about today.

The outcome of today's lesson is I can investigate the properties of materials that would suit the purpose of my design.

So we'll be looking specifically at the properties of different types of fabric and thinking about how they would suit different styles of hats, because that's something, as a designer, you would need to consider when you're choosing a fabric for a product.

There are some keywords and phrases that we're going to see in today's lesson, so let's have a look at those together before we get started.

So, first of all, we've got the word properties.

Can you repeat that after me? Properties.

Well done.

And properties are words that are used to describe what a material is like.

So we'll be be using that quite a lot in today's lesson.

Then we've got the word insulating.

Can you repeat that? Insulating.

Well done.

And insulating is a type of material that stops heat from escaping.

And then we've got the word waterproof.

Can you repeat that? Waterproof.

Well done.

Waterproof means no water can get through at all.

Then we've got the phrase water-resistant.

Can you repeat that? Water-resistant.

And that means it doesn't soak up water very easily, so it can withstand some water being on it without letting it through.

And then finally we've got the words sustainability.

Can you repeat that? Sustainability.

Well done.

And that means using what we need whilst protecting the environment so there is enough left to use for the future.

So it's something we need to consider when we think about the materials we use to make a product.

The lesson today is going to be split into two parts.

First of all, we're going to be looking at investigating fabrics and looking at those different properties that they have, and then we'll move on to choosing a sustainable fabric that we can use in our own fabric product design.

So let's get started by investigating fabrics.

Different types of fabrics have different properties, and that means they have different unique features about them.

For example, a fabric could be classed as lightweight, or strong, or warm, and those are the properties of that fabric.

Designers sometimes choose fabrics based on the functional properties that they have.

That means that they're focusing on how the fabric will perform, what it will do.

So they're thinking about questions like, is it strong? Can it keep water out? Will it be warm? So that's how it will perform their functional properties.

Waterproof fabrics are types of fabrics that stop water from getting through.

Water-resistant fabrics slow water down, but they don't stop it completely.

So you might be able to nip out in a quick shower, but you won't be able to stay out too long without getting wet.

Some products are suitable for use in and around water.

And the fabric that's chosen for them is suitable for that, but it might not be waterproof.

And it might have been chosen for another reason.

It might have been chosen because it was flexible or because it was strong.

So sometimes the fabrics are chosen for different reasons.

Insulating fabrics, so that's one of our keywords, is a type of fabric that keeps warm air inside, keeps it inside the clothing, stops it from escaping.

So the warm air is near your body and it stops the cold air from getting to your body as well because the warm air is not allowed to escape.

Insulating fabrics are often chosen for clothing and accessories that are designed for outdoor use, so when you're going to be in the cold and you want to keep that warm inside.

The functional properties of a fabric are especially important for products that have a very specific function themselves, a very specific job.

Can you think of any examples of fabric products that have very specific jobs to do? You can pause the video and have a chat about that if you want to.

Andeep has thought of an idea.

He's thought of workwear or protective clothing.

So this type of clothing has a very specific job to do, to protect people.

Laura has thought about tents.

So tents have a very specific job, to keep the weather out when you are camping.

So the fabrics chosen for those products are chosen for the job that they need to do.

So workwear and protective clothing needs to be strong and hard-wearing in order to protect the worker and to stand up to repeated use because it'll be used lots and lots of times.

So they need to be very strong.

So that's the property that's considered when they're choosing a fabric for that job.

The fabric used for workwear and protective clothing might also need to have other properties.

So it may need to be water-resistant, it might need to be insulating if the worker is working outside so it can be used in all weathers.

So sometimes more than one property is needed from a fabric.

The tent that Laura suggested needs to be made from a fabric that's strong and waterproof because its main job is to protect the camper from the weather.

So if it doesn't have those properties, it wouldn't be suitable for that job.

It also needs to be thin and lightweight because it has to be easy to fold up and carry around because that is how it's used.

So all of these things have to be considered and thought about when a fabric is chosen for the product.

Fabrics used in wet weather need to be waterproof or at least water-resistant so that they can keep the water out.

Fabrics used for outdoor and winter clothing need to be insulating to keep the warmth in and the cold out.

And fabrics used for workwear need to be strong so they won't snag or tear easily.

So different products, different jobs, different fabrics.

A quick check then before we move on.

What do we mean by a fabric's properties? Do we mean a, just the way it looks? Do we mean b, how insulating it is? Do we mean c, all its specific features? Or do we mean d, how resistant to water it is? Pause the video and have a think.

Welcome back.

What did you think? Well done if you said c.

A fabric's properties are all its specific features.

So it might include information about how insulating it is or how resistant to water it is, but it includes all of its features at the same time.

Well done if you got that right.

The way a fabric is made or the way it's used can change the way it performs. So if you think about how fabric is made, fabrics can be made from woven threads.

And woven threads are threads that cross over and under each other, a bit like you see on a basket.

So you can see the example of the basket there.

And if we had a very close up look at how threads look on a fabric, you can see that same pattern of weaving in and out.

And that's how a lot of fabrics are made.

Tightly woven threads, so that means they're very closely woven together, can make a fabric much stronger and stiffer, less flexible, so less bendable.

Loosely woven threads, on the other hand, so if they're very loosely woven together, with lots of gaps between them, can make a fabric more flexible, so more bendable, more easier to move and bend around, and it can make it a little bit more stretchier as well.

So just by the way it's made, by the way those threads are woven together, can change the way it performs. Some man-made fabrics, synthetic fabrics, are tightly woven and they have stretchy fibres woven into them as well to make them stretch more easily.

So there's different ways of producing fabric to change or control the properties that they have.

Tightly woven threads can sometimes make a fabric more water-resistant as well because it's harder for the water to soak through those tightly woven threads.

Sometimes fabrics are coated with another substance or another material to make them waterproof so that no water can get through at all.

So if you think of the example of rainwear, raincoats, rain hats, those types of fabrics are coated in a type of plastic called PVC, and that makes them waterproof.

So it'll have a fabric part to it, but it will be coated with a plastic coating as well.

Fabrics can be tested to see how they will perform.

So we can see how they'll perform before they're used to make a product.

You can test, for example, if a fabric is waterproof by dripping a few drops of water onto it.

If the water soaks in, it's not waterproof because it allowed that water to get through.

But if it sits on top and doesn't soak in, then we know that that fabric is waterproof.

If it was to sit there for a while and soak in a little bit, then we might think of it as a water-resistant fabric.

There is an experiment we can do to test a fabric's insulating properties.

So let me run through the steps of how we would do that.

So you'd need to collect together some different types of fabrics.

It's good idea to just use some scraps of fabric for this experiment.

So here you can see I've chosen a leather fabric, a synthetic or man-made fabric, and a cotton fabric.

So I'm testing the three different types of of fabric here.

I would use each piece of fabric to wrap up or cover up an ice cube.

And I would leave it for 30 minutes and then check to have a look if the ice cube has started to melt.

Now, if the ice cube is melting, then that means the fabric is not insulating because it's allowing that heat to get through the fabric, which means if it was used for clothing, the heat would be able to escape from it.

So the ice cube would be melting to show that.

If the ice cube did not melt, then the fabric is insulating, so it's stopping that heat from the outside getting through to melt the ice cube.

If nothing has changed after that 30 minutes on any of the ice cubes, then we could leave it for another 30 minutes and then check again just to see if anything has happened.

It can depend on the weather and the temperature in the room where you are working as well.

So that's how we would do an experiment to check the insulating properties.

A quick check then before we move on.

If a fabric is insulating, what do we actually mean? What will it do? Will it stretch easily? Will it stop heat from escaping? Will it look colourful? Or will it keep water out? Pause the video and have a think.

Welcome back.

What did you think? Well done if you said it stops heat escaping.

So the type of fabric that's insulating keeps heat in, stops cold getting through.

Well done if you got that right.

So that brings us to the first task in this lesson.

You are going to investigate some different fabrics to work out what properties they have.

So in pairs or in small groups, you're going to investigate first of all the water-resistant properties of some different fabrics.

And to do that, you're going to choose three different fabrics to test.

For example, you could have a leather, a wool, a cotton, a polyester, so specific types of fabric.

And you're going to use a pipette, the squeezy device, to drop four drops of water onto each piece of fabric.

And you're going to observe what happens to that water.

If it soaks in straight away, then it's not waterproof.

If it sits on top, doesn't go anywhere, then the fabric is waterproof.

If you find it somewhere in between, where it sits on top for a little bit but starts to soak in, then that might be water-resistant.

So it stopped it for a while, but eventually it gets through.

And you're going to record what you find for each of the fabrics you test.

Pause the video while you complete that task and come back when you're done.

Welcome back.

So that was how we test the water-resistant properties of a fabric.

For Task 2, you're going to be testing or investigating the insulating properties of different fabrics.

So again, in your small group or pair, you're going to use the same three fabrics that you used in Task 1, but this time you're going to complete the ice cube test on there to test the insulating properties of those three fabrics.

So you're going to wrap an ice cube in each of those three fabrics, and wait 30 minutes, and record what you find out.

Pause the video while you complete that task and come back when you're done.

Welcome back.

So which of those fabrics had insulating properties, where the ice cube didn't melt? And was it the same or was it different from those fabrics you discovered had waterproof properties? So you're going to record your results and combine your results with another group or even the whole class so we can get a bigger picture of which types of fabrics have which properties.

So we need to record the fabrics that were insulating, the fabrics that were not insulating, the fabrics that were waterproof, and the fabrics that were not waterproof.

And have a look at the results together.

Do you notice anything unusual? Pause the video while you complete that task and come back when you're done.

Welcome back.

How did you get on? Did you have a good look at those results? Well, Jacob and Sofia have been combining their results from their investigations with some other groups as well.

So you can see here they've made a list of insulating fabrics.

They found wool, leather, cotton, and PVC-coated fabrics were all insulating.

They found that cotton, silk, wool, and polyester were not insulating.

They found leather, PVC-coated fabric, cotton, and polyester were waterproof.

And they found that wool, silk, cotton, and polyester were not waterproof.

So they noticed that some of the same fabrics could have different properties depending on how they were made.

So you can see that they noticed that wool could be insulating and not insulating at the same time.

So it might depend, like we looked at earlier, on how tightly woven the fabric was, if it was treated with something, or coated with something as well.

So you may have noticed some similar results, where fabrics could be more than one property, and that could be down to how they were made.

Well done for completing that task.

Let's move on to the next part of the lesson.

So this second part of the lesson, we're going to be choosing sustainable fabrics for our own fabric products.

So let's have a look at what that means.

As well as looking at the properties of the fabrics that they will use, designers need to think about sustainability.

So that word, that keyword today, what does it mean? Sustainability means we only use what we need.

We protect the environment while we are producing the fabric, or using the fabric, or when we're finished using the fabric.

And we make sure that there is enough material for the future so that we can carry on using it as well.

Sustainable fabrics should be made from either a natural material that's been grown in a sustainable way, such as organic or chemical-free farming, or from a recycled synthetic material, such as fabrics from discarded plastic.

Things like fishing nets, drinks bottles, carrier bags that are made from plastics can be recycled and turned into a type of fabric.

Or they can be made from recycled textiles and clothing that have already been made.

The sustainability of a fabric can come from how it's made as well.

So the manufacturing or making process should make sure that it limits the use of water, so we don't want to use up water resources making a fabric.

It should reuse water where possible, so from other sources or water that's already used.

It should avoid using harmful chemicals to bleach or dye the fabrics.

It should also respect nature and its habitat.

So this could be thinking about where the raw materials for the fabrics are grown or it could be thinking about how the transportation or the making of the product itself affects the environment, nature, around it.

It should also make sure that it treats the workers from the growing or manufacturing of the fabric through to the making of the textile product itself are treated fairly, paid fairly, and looked after, working in a safe environment.

A quick check then before we move on.

Which of these is part of being sustainable? Is it a, using all the planet's resources? Is it b, using chemicals and man-made materials? Or is it b, looking after the environment? Pause the video and have a think.

Welcome back.

What did you think? Well done if you said it's looking after the environment.

That is part of being sustainable is making sure we don't do any damage to the environment when we are making or using our products.

It's also important to think about what will happen to textiles and fabrics when they are no longer needed.

So when you finish wearing your clothes, maybe you've outgrown them or you buy a new set of covers for your bed, what happens to those old textile products? Sustainable fabrics should be reused, recycled, and kept out of landfills.

So we need to make sure they're not just discarded into landfill, where they will take a long time to break down and damage the environment.

Millions and millions of tonnes of unwanted clothing and textiles ends up in landfill each year.

So that means it's not been reused, it's not been recycled.

It's been left to rot in a landfill.

And it can take a very long time for these products to rot away, to disappear.

And it can also damage the environment whilst it's doing that as well.

As we become more aware of the impact that our fashion and textile choices has on the environment, new ways of making sustainable fabrics are being developed.

So scientists have been developing fabrics made from all different kinds of natural resources and waste products, such as bamboo, wood pulp from factories making paper and things like that, wood products, pineapple leaves.

Even bamboo stalks have all been turned into different types of fabric.

Bamboo is becoming a very popular choice for making fabrics because it's very quick growing and sustainable, so it's quick to be replaced and it doesn't damage the environment too much when it's being grown either.

A quick check then.

Which is the most sustainable choice of clothing product here? Is it a, a clothing product made from polyester? Is it b, a clothing product made from an organic cotton? Or is it c, a clothing product made and dyed using chemicals? Pause the video and have a think.

Welcome back.

What did you think? Well done if you said a fabric product made from organic cotton.

So that's the most sustainable way of making out of those three choices because it's using organic farming, which doesn't use chemicals and pesticides, which can damage the environment, and it's using a natural product as well, which is cotton.

Polyester, which was answer a, is a man-made fabric, so it's made using chemicals.

And products that are dyed also involve using chemicals as well usually, so that can be damaging to the environment.

Well done if you got that right.

Time for the final task in this lesson then.

So you're going to discuss why it is important to produce and use sustainable fabrics.

I want you to think of three reasons why designers should make these sustainable choices.

What is better about sustainable products? Pause the video while you have a think, and discuss that with your group or your partner, and come back when you're done.

So now we know why it's important to produce and use sustainable fabrics, what could we use them for? Well, I would like you to think about making a made-to-measure hat of your own.

So this is a hat specifically made for someone, a user, for a specific reason.

I want you to think about what type of fabric you could use for that hat.

And that might depend on the style of hat you're making.

Then I want you to think about the properties that that fabric will need to have.

And again, that might depend on how the hat's going to be used.

So it's going to be used outside, might need to be waterproof or insulating.

If it's going to be used in the sun, it might need to be lightweight or reflect the sun.

And then I want you to think about a sustainable choice you could make for that fabric.

So if you've chosen a cotton fabric, you could make it more sustainable by choosing an organic cotton.

If you're choosing a man-made fabric, then is there an alternative natural fabric that you could use instead? Record your fabric choice so you can remember which type of fabric you would choose to use.

And pause the video while you consider all these things and come back when you're done.

Welcome back.

How did you get on? Well, Jacob and Sofia have been discussing using sustainable fabrics.

The top three reasons that they think it's a good idea to be using sustainable fabrics is that it protects the environment, it reduces landfill, and it uses less harmful chemicals.

So really good reasons there for using sustainable fabrics.

Jacob's also been considering the made-to-measure hat that he's going to make for Sofia.

He knows that he needs a strong, flexible fabric for his design, but it doesn't need to be waterproof or insulating.

So he's looked back at those fabrics and the tests that we did to find a suitable one that he could use.

And he's chosen to use a cotton fabric.

And to make it more sustainable, he's decided to use an organic cotton fabric.

So well done, Jacob.

And well done if you managed to complete that task as well.

We are at the end of the lesson now.

We've learned a lot today about fabric choices and, in particular, making sustainable fabric choices when we're thinking about making a fabric product.

We've learned that fabrics can have different insulating properties.

We've learned that fabrics have different levels of water resistance, so they can be not waterproof at all, they can be water-resistant, or they can be fully waterproof.

We've also learned that fabrics can have different levels of strength depending on how they're made.

So those tightly woven fabrics can be much stronger than those loosely woven fabrics.

We've also learned that designers need to consider the sustainability of fabrics when they're making their fabric choices.

We need to make sure that we're protecting the environment now and in the future when we make those design decisions.

Fabrics are often chosen by designers for their properties so that they are the right choice for those products.

And more and more products are being chosen for their sustainability, as well as their individual properties as well.

Thank you for joining me for this lesson.

I hope to see you again in the future.

Goodbye for now.