Textbooks and my fall classes

I picked up my textbooks last week in order to avoid the rush at the start of the semester. Between work and trying to enjoy my last few days of freedom I have not had much opportunity to examine the books closely, but I did give them a cursory glance before sticking them on the textbook shelf of my bookcase.

APRL 101 – Intro to Apparel Design & Development
This class is required for all freshmen starting in the apparel design major. Transfer students do not have to take it, but I thought it would be a good idea to take it anyway. The class serves as an introduction to the college experience and to the world of fashion design. I am already quite familiar with the college experience, but I need to learn more about the fashion industry. I enrolled in the intro class in the hope that it will cover all the information that should have been but was not covered last semester in my fashion industry class.
The three books for the class are Fashion: from Concept to Consumer by Gini Stephens Frings, Fashion: the Industry and Its Careers by Michele Granger, and Inside Fashion Design by Sharon Lee Tate. All three are about the industry, so it looks like this class will be what I need. My goal for this class is that by the end of this semester I should be able to choose a concentration within the apparel design major and have a basic understanding of what my career path within the apparel industry will be.

APRL 185 – Apparel Line Development
I know very little about this class. It is required for two of the three apparel design concentrations, and even if I choose the third one I will still benefit from it. I was expecting a business oriented class about how to market and sell a line, but it seems the focus of this class will be line design. I need to purchase a lot of art supplies, and the two textbooks are about fashion drawing.
In addition to fashion magazines and apparel catalogs I will be using Fashion Sketchbook by Bina Abling and Fashion Illustration for Designers by Kathryn Hagen. My drawing skills need a lot of improvement. Hopefully this class will help, but I expect I will be spending a lot of time on homework and that I will often feel quite frustrated.

APRL 250 – Textile Evaluation
This class picks up where last semester’s textiles class ended. Last semester I learned about different types of fabrics; this semester I will learn how to decide if a fabric is good and which fabrics to use for a specific project. As I pick up textbooks I look for ones with a lot of text highlighted. I keep hoping that students who took the class before will help me by telling me what is important. For this class I found a copy of the textbook that was not highlighted, but had a lot of Post-It notes in it. My highlighting strategy has not paid off, so I decided to try the Post-Its.Sara J Kadolph, who wrote the textbook for last semester’s textiles class also wrote this one, Quality Assurance for Textiles and Apparel. Last semester I often thought that textiles was more a science than design class, but after looking at my new book I realize I have barely scratched the surface of textiles science. This will not be an easy class, but it looks interesting and I think I will enjoy it.

APRL 355 – Cut and Sew Knits
This is my only sewing class this semester, and it is the one I am looking forward to most. I enjoy working with knit fabrics, and I was upset that I did not get to do so in last semester’s apparel construction class. I often feel that design programs focus too much on woven fabrics at the expense of knits. Most of the dresses we see on red carpets are weaves, while most of the apparel in Target and Walmart is knits. Learning to design high fashion garments is fun, but I am more interested in learning to make apparel normal people can afford.

Designing and Patternmaking for Stretch Fabrics by Keith Richardson makes me even more excited about this class. It seems that I will be learning not only how to sew knit fabrics but also how to design knit garments.

SPAN 103 – Elementary Spanish I
I am also taking a Spanish class for which I have a textbook, but this blog is about apparel design so I have not included a picture of it. I would rather take Mandarin or Cantonese, but Stout does not offer any Chinese languages.

Semester review, part 3: textiles

Textiles was my favorite class and also the one I found most difficult. After watching students at Minneapolis Community and Technical College struggle through their textiles class I knew it would not be easy, but I was still surprised at how much I had to learn. I thought the class would consist of memorizing many different types of fabrics. I certainly had to do that, but there was so much more. It is not enough to know what fibers a particular piece of fabric is made of, I need to know everything about those fibers.

Each week there were two lectures and one lab. I found the lectures fascinating, but unfortunately a lot of my classmates did not agree with me. I meticulously took detailed notes while others connected with their friends or tended their farms on Facebook. I studied, did all my homework, and got an A in the class. I suspect the farmers did not do quite so well.

The class covered five broad topics: serviceability concepts, fibers, yarns, structures, and finishes. Serviceability concepts use the properties of a fiber, yarn, fabric, or finish to describe a textile product’s suitability for a particular use. I need to be familiar with these concepts and be able to apply them to specific products in order to choose the correct textile for whatever I am making.

We spent nearly half the semester learning about fibers. I learned the properties of many natural, regenerated, and synthetic fibers. With the aid of a microscope and a book of matches I had to be able to determine if a fiber was natural, regenerated, or synthetic. If it was natural I had to be able to identify it, and if it was regenerated I had to be able to tell if it was cellulosic or protein (azlon). As I studied fibers I often thought that the class belonged in the chemistry department rather than apparel design.

Yarns was the shortest, and I thought easiest, part of the class. Yarns are filament or spun, plain or fancy. Identifying fancy yarns was the hardest part of this section, but it was not too difficult.

Fabrics may be one of three structures: weave, knit, or non-woven. I had the most fun learning about weaves. I can visualize how a loom works, and I had no trouble identifying specific weaves. I found knits quite confusing. I learned enough to identify different knits, but I cannot visualize how a knitting machine turns yarns into fabrics. I suspect that if I spent some time with a knitting machine it would make a lot more sense, but looking at diagrams, pictures, and videos of the machines did not help me. I thought non-wovens were boring, but it might have been that we were nearing the end of the semester and I was very busy with projects for other classes. I was mortified to learn that the doll outfits I thought I made out of felt were really made with needle punched fake felt. I have nothing against the fabric itself, I just do not like things that are not labeled truthfully.

Learning about finishes was interesting, but I thought the lab could have been more exciting. Rather than just looking at fabrics to identify the finish I would have liked to have applied a finish or two myself. Studying coloring techniques inspired me to tie-dye the shirt I made for my apparel construction class. Despite numerous warnings that I would be foolish to try it, I am sorely tempted to try combining muslin and lye to make mercerized cotton.

After learning about fibers, yarns, structures, and finishes I had to apply my knowledge to identify fabric samples and use the serviceability concepts to explain how the fabric should be used. Identifying samples was the hardest part of the class for me. I can look at a piece of fabric and tell you its fiber content, yarn type, structure, and finish, but I have a lot of trouble remembering fabric names.

The content of the class will be very useful for me, but it was the professor who made the class so much fun. My classmates at MCTC often complained about their textiles instructor, and they hated their class. I am glad I waited until I got to Stout to take the class. Textiles can be a painfully dull topic, but Dr. Rhee made it fun and exciting. I am looking forward to taking more of her classes.

A swatch, a bag, and a seam

I spent the first weekend of the semester sewing, studying, and doing homework. I hope I can keep up these good work habits for the next four years.

I mounted the 125 swatches in the kit for my textiles lab. Hopefully they are still in the correct order. If by the end of the semester I can identify all 125 swatches I will consider my tuition money to have been very well spent.
As I was mounting my swatches I was thrilled every time I found one I recognized: muslin, corduroy, denim, and duck. Of those muslin is the one I know the most about, and even for muslin I cannot yet fill out all the lines in the book. As I learn more about textiles I will start making smarter choices at the fabric store.

Last semester I learned how important experience is while trying to sew. Tomorrow my apparel construction class will make tote bags, so yesterday I made one at home.I already had a copy of the pattern we will use, so the bag I made at home is quite similar to the one I will make in class. I had to guess about the exact way to attach the pocket and handles. My methods may not be the ones I will use in class, but any sewing practice is good. I will use a serger for the seam finishes in class. I do not yet have my own serger, so I had to find another way to finish the seams. I used denim, so I decided flat-felled seams would be most appropriate.
I am quite fond of flat-felled seams, but they were by far the most difficult part of the project. I do not know if I will be using them for any of my class projects this semester, but I plan to work on them a lot at home. One year ago I would have laughed at the notion of having a favorite seam. Now I look forward to learning additional types of seams, and I wonder if I will find any of them as pleasing as flat-felled seams.

The swatches are swimwear tricot, brushed tricot, raschel crochet, raschel knit lace, Coolmax® mesh, and pleather. I could tell you what my book has to say about them, but I would not understand it. Ask me again in a few months.

The first week of school

The first week of the semester is over. We are still just getting started, but I think I have seen enough to have a good notion of what the coming few month hold in store for me. My goal for the semester is a 4.0 average, so I will be spending a lot of time studying. Studying and doing homework is a break from my earlier college strategy of doing just the bare minimum to get by, but looking at how earlier attempts at college turned out I think a new strategy is necessary.

I will not be learning about apparel design or the fashion industry in my sociology and packaging classes, but the classes are still interesting. While they are not about apparel/fashion, I expect that some of the lessons learned will prove to be useful in my eventual career.

I will not be using industrial sewing machines for class this semester, but I hope to be able to spend some time on them in open lab to retain my skills. In class I will use an Elna 3210 mechanical lockstitch and a Juki 4-thread serger. Some computerized lockstitch machines are also available. I will spend some time learning how to use them, but I plan to do most of my work on the mechanical machines. So far I have just sewn a few lines on muslin in order to learn the machine, but I think I like it a lot.

I will not be working with any knit fabrics this semester; the serger will be used for seam finishes on woven fabrics. I will spend a lot of time sewing on muslin rectangles, but I also have four projects to make. Next week I start work on the first project, a tote bag. The other three projects are a pair of pants, a skirt, and a shirt. The pants and shirt will be for me; I do not know who the skirt will be for.

This semester’s sewing class is an introductory class as was the class I took last semester, but I will learn a lot more this time. Last semester was mostly about using industrial machines. I learned how to use the machines and how to follow a pattern to make shirts. My class this semester will go into much more detail. Not only will I learn how to make items, I will learn how to modify the patterns in order to fit the items to a specific body.

The textiles class will probably be my most difficult class this semester. There is so much I need to memorize. In textile lab today I looked at canvas swatch under a stereoscopic microscope. I knew it was a woven fabric, but I had no idea how much detail I would find. The threads on the lengthwise grain were made of three pieces of yarn laid parallel to each other, while the crosswise grain thread was made of one larger piece of yarn. I had no idea fabrics were so complicated, and this is a comparatively simple fabric. It was exciting, but also daunting to realize how little I know and how much I have to learn.

My fashion industry class has only met once. We were supposed to meet yesterday, but another class was using our classroom. This should be sorted out by next week. The class seems interesting, but I do not have much to go on yet. I already have an idea for what my final project will be, but I will keep that to myself until I start working on it.

Notebooks, folders, textbooks, and a computer

My classes begin Monday. This is my last weekend with nothing to do. I could spend it in a productive manner by sewing something, but I probably won’t. I plan to take advantage of these last few days free from obligations by sitting on my sofa watching movies and eating cheesy poofs.

Yesterday I picked up supplies for the semester: notebooks, folders, textbooks, and a new computer. Students at my school do not need to purchase their textbooks; the school has a textbook rental program. A $5.22 fee is added to the cost of each credit to cover the cost of books. Students pick up the books required for their classes at the start of the semester, and return them after the semester is over. Books a student wishes to keep can be purchased at reduced prices. I far prefer renting books to purchasing them. In the past I would spend a few hundred dollars each semester on books. The only thing I needed to buy this semester was the fabric swatch kit for my textiles class.

In addition to the textbook rental fee, a laptop rental fee is also added to tuition. Students get a new computer every two years. I already had a computer, so I am not sure what I will do with my new one. The fee is not optional, so now I have two computers. My music, photos, and other documents are on my old computer. The new computer has some good graphics programs that I will probably need in future semesters, but for now I plan to continue using my old one.

Click here for more information about UW-Stout’s textbook rental system or here for information about laptop rental.

Following is a list of the textbooks I received and my thoughts about them. I have not yet read the books, so these are not reviews, just my initial impressions.

APRL 145 – Interior Decorating/Design Textiles

- Kadolph, Sara J. Textiles. Upper Saddle Rivers, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. 2007.

This looks like a good book. I need to memorize a lot for this class, and this book will make it easier. There are a lot of pictures and table. A list of key terms can be found at the end of every chapter along with some discussion questions. Furthermore every chapter ends with a suggested reading list that includes page numbers which will make any additional research I have to do a lot easier.

- Textile Fabric Consultants, Inc. Basic Swatch Kit. Smyrna, TN: 2008.

It is a swatch kit. I have never had a swatch kit before so I have nothing to compare it to. The swatches are bound together with a rubber band, and a warning label on the package warns me to not remove the rubber band lest I get the swatches out of their proper order. Without such a dire warning I probably would have removed it. The plastic bag already tore, but I was planning to make a snazzy new bag anyway. Sixty dollars seems a lot to pay for some scraps of fabric, but it is the only book I had to buy so I can’t complain.


APRL 166 – Apparel Construction

- Brackelsberg, Phyllis and Marshall, Ruth. Unit Method of Clothing Construction. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc. 1999.

This book is intended to be used as a textbook. I think it will be a very useful tool, and I may purchase it at the end of the semester.

- Reader’s Digest. New Complete Guide to Sewing. Montreal: The Reader’s Digest Association. 2002.

I already owned a copy of this book. It was my textbook last semester at MCTC, and I was not surprised to learn I would be using it again. The book is intended for home sewers, but it is still quite useful as a textbook.


APRL 274 – Fashion Industry

- Johnson, Maurice J. and Moore, Evelyn C. Apparel Product Development. Upper Saddle Rivers, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 2001.

I was hoping to see The Teen Vogue Handbook on the required list for this class, but I suppose Apparel Product Development is more appropriate for use as a textbook. The first edition of this book was titled So You Want to Work in the Fashion Business: A Practical Look at Apparel Product Development and Global Manufacturing. This book seems to provide a detailed and impartial view of the fashion industry. Hopefully by the end of this class I will have a better idea of what exactly it is I wish to do in the industry.


PKG 100 – Packaging and Society

- Hine, Thomas. The Total Package. Toronto: Little, Brown & Company. 1995.

I do not know what this class will be about, so I started reading the book. The book seems to be about the way manufactures package their products for sale. The book is interesting, but I find it difficult to read. I feel it is poorly written, and I am not sure it is an appropriate textbook. The author states facts and refers to studies, but never cites the source of the information.


SOC110 - Introductory Sociology

- Ferris, Kerry and Stein, Jill. The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2008.

The title says it all, this is an introductory sociology textbook. I am not too excited about sociology, but the book is filled with big colorful interesting pictures, so maybe the text will be interesting too.

- Goodwin, Jeff and Jasper, James M., ed. The Contexts Reader. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2008.

This book is a collection of articles from Contexts, a magazine from the American Sociological Association intended to introduce sociological research and perspectives to non specialists. I think sociology articles written for non sociologists will be easier to read than ones written for sociologists.