Spring Semester Welcome

Welcome Back!

Hi guys, Happy New Year! As the Spring semester commences, our officers are working towards new meeting and guest speaker ideas! Some upcoming events are a welcome meeting on Thursday, Feb. 11th from 1-2 and a virtual tour of the MET’s textile conservation department on Feb. 25th from 1-2.

SCHOLARSHIPS (deadline is March 31st unless states otherwise)

Foundation

Varley Family Textile Technology Scholarship $7,500 (DEADLINE: FEB. 15th, 2021) Metro Scholarship $3,000 Kanti & Hansa Jasani Family Scholarship available to Indian students, specifically Indian citizens with a student visa or with permanent residency $2,000 Gordon & Marjorie Osborne Scholarship for students pursuing a career or coursework in textile engineering, textile chemistry, textile science or a related discipline $5,000 Fibrous Materials Scholarship $3,000 Darsey Family Scholarship $1,500 Textile Design Scholarship for students studying textiles, apparel, or home fashion design $3,000 Textile Merchandising Scholarship for students of textile merchandising, management, and retail programs $3,000  

Textile Artist – William Storms

William Storms is a textile artist based in New York and is a former FIT student. He is experimental and he is known for his passementerie work. Passementerie is a an ornamental trim that has French origin. His work uses negative space within the inter-looping that creates a maze for the eye. Much of his work is quite tonal, with an occasional pop of color, and full of texture. Whether he is working with conductive material or not, his work looks electric. He also has a background in 3D printing and coding so it is exciting to see someone with such a technical background. *all images were taken from www.william-storms.com*

NEW LOOM IN FIT LAB

The TC2 Digital Weaving Machine We now have a new addition to the FIT basement lab. This is a jacquard loom from Digital Weaving Norway. The TC2 is called the thread controller because each individual heddle is computerized. Our version is 14 inches wide, which was custom made for our lab. This loom uses both human interaction through the shuttle and computerization, which creates an interactive production process.

TC2 loom

 

Lab Technology

TDM lab has an FTIR which stands for Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, also known as FTIR Analysis or FTIR Spectroscopy. This is an analytical technique used to identify organic, polymeric, and, in some cases, inorganic materials. The FTIR analysis method uses infrared light to scan test samples and observe chemical properties. TDM lab also has a DSC which stands for Differential Scanning Calorimeter. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is an effective analytical tool to characterize the physical properties of a polymer. DSC enables determination of melting, crystallization, and mesomorphic transition temperatures, and characterization of glass transition and other effects that show either changes in heat capacity or a latent heat of a polymer.

Design with Emerging Materials – Kombucha Leather

Kombucha leather is a new way for designs to work with alternatives to leather. The process is simple but the application into product is not nailed out. The leather is does not have good pliability and isn’t weather resistant. There is research being done to test out possible methods of making the leather more flexible and wearable. You can change the color of the leather depending on the flavor tea that is used. Color can also be added by adding flowers or turmeric. HOW TO MAKE KOMBUCHA LEATHER 1. BREW 1 LITER OF TEA 2. ADD 120 GRAMS OF SUGAR, STIR UNTIL DISSOLVED 3. MEASURE THE TEMPERATURE (LOOKING FOR 30 DEGREES) 4. ADD KOMBUCHA SCOBY 5. PLACE EVERYTHING INTO A PLACE TO GROW 6. LET IT GROW FOR 20 DAYS OR MORE AT 30 DEGREES OR 1CM THICKNESS 7. LET DRY Kombucha Leather Designs by Suzanne Lee