Furniture gives rise to fashion

Tag: Furniture Fabric For one fashion-design project at Kent State University, though, it was the other way around.As one of their final assignments, seniors at the university's Shannon Rodgers and Jerry Silverman School of Fashion Design and Merchandising created couture clothing using fabrics from HGTV star Candice Olson's furniture collection. Olson designs the sofas, chairs and other pieces for Ohio's Norwalk Furniture, which supplied 213 yards of fabric for the project.This is fabric meant to hold up to bouncing kids and dog slobber, not the garment-weight materials that fashion designers typically work with. Yet the 24 students managed to turn sturdy damasks and chunky matelasses into elegant gowns — some fitted and sleek, some billowy and dramatic.The project, reminiscent of Scarlett O'Hara's drapery-fabric fashion in Gone With the Wind, was the brainchild of Norwalk Furniture and its Beachwood public relations firm, Lief & Karson Communications. They approached both Olson and the fashion school with the idea.Olson embraced it. For years, she said, she's pondered the fashion possibilities of theupholstery fabrics she works with.''Many times I've said, 'This would make such a fabulous jacket or pair of pants,' '' she said by phone from High Point, N.C., where she was promoting her collection last month. Here was an opportunity to see those fantasies realized.''They were like, no. They were not pleased,'' associate professor Sherry Schofield-Tomschin recalled with a smile. Upholstery fabric is stiff, they argued. It doesn't drape well. How in the world were they supposed to work with it?It didn't help that the students had to fit the assignment around their work on their all-important senior line, she said. Nor did it help that the project coincided with the emotional and physical burnout that's common as graduation approaches.Schofield-Tomschin admitted even she was skeptical when she first heard the idea. After she thought about it awhile, though, she realized the assignment would challenge the students.After all, when they're employed in the fashion industry, they're going to find themselves dealing with parameters beyond their control, both Olson and Schofield-Tomschin pointed out. Making it work is a lesson with real-life applications.Besides, Schofield-Tomschin noted, some of a designer's best work comes when things don't go easily or turn out the way they were planned.About 25 fabrics were chosen for the project, including many with a sheen or shimmer — an Olson trademark — as well as the oversize damasks the interior designer favors.

Nanocoated boards to reduce friction on jacquard harnesses

Tag: jacquard textile AGM Jactex has announced that it plans to introduce nanocoated comber boards which can be attached to jacquard machines harnesses and will ultimately lead to reduced friction on harnesses.In an exclusive interview with fibre2fashion Mr Mark Feer, CEO of the company said “the boards are made from a vulcanized regenerated cellulosic material which makes it more effective as it absorbs a little of the coatings. The harness cords will last longer on account of reducing the abrasion particularly at high speeds.”Mr Feer added “90% of the company’s business was generated from jacquard weaving sector, with rest of the contribution coming from accessories for the general weaving industries.”The company is looking in to coatings being researched at universities across Switzerland that will help reduce friction on the harness, more particularly those set at an angle down from the jacquard textile machines to the loom.AGM Jactex was founded in 1997 from the sale of the textile division of AG Muller. The company has customers in more than 80 countries across the globe.

New diaper system a greener alternative

Tag: Lining Cloth Parents riddled with environmental guilt over the seeming indestructibility of disposable diapers and the energy used to wash Lining Cloth diapers now have an alternative.Gdiapers are flushable, compostable diapers that are super-absorbent without being super-nasty landfill lingerers.The gdiaper starter kit is a three-part system: a reusable, washable outer pant, a reusable, washable, snap-in liner and an absorbent inner pad that can be flushed down the toilet or composted.Some work on the part of the flusher is required. The flushable pad needs to be torn open to prevent the contents - farmed tree fluff pulp and super- absorbing sodium polyacrylate - from plugging your toilet. Those innards need to be stirred in the toilet bowl to be sure they break down, but a plastic "swishstick" is included in the starter kit just for that purpose.The company says wet, flushable pads can also be composted, though any solid waste should be flushed. They'll take between 50 and 150 days to biodegrade in a home composter, according to the company's website. In a landfill, where air circulation is poor, the results will be less successful.While it does take some extra effort and cost, using the flushable diapers has advantages beyond helping the environment, says Sarah Thepsouvanh, co-owner of Princess and the Pea, which sells gdiapers. "One great advantage is that you're getting rid of the wet, smelly diapers right away," she says.Some parents use them as an occasional alternative to Lining Cloth diapers, for longer outings or for travelling, when it's not practical to tote around a bunch of soiled diapers, she adds.Gdiapers are available at several local stores, including Princess and the Pea, Planet Organic and Organic Roots. The starter kit, with two Lining Cloth pants, four snap-in liners and 10 flushable refills sells for between $32 and $43, depending on the store. Refill packages with either 32 or 40 flushables (depending on the size) cost between $20 and $26.For more information about gdiapers and to view a video of how they work, go to www.gdiapers.com