GCSE DRAMA PERFORMANCE

After a very long rehearsal process last week I did my final drama exam. I was extremely pleased with myself and I don't think I've ever put so much into one performance. By the end I was emotional drained and needed my bed more than ever.

We were given a stimulus of 'War' and after a lot of changes and arguments we came up with a very emotional, strong drama piece. We decided to do the war with cancer. The piece was about a mother with two children fighting for her life with cancer. Her husband and the children's father had 'left them' a few years before and towards the end it was revealed that he died due to a mental illness making him commit suicide. This resulted in a death with me losing my fight to cancer. It was a hard hitting piece reducing most of the audience to tears.

In our piece we tied in many different dramatic techniques we had learnt over the years of doing drama in lessons. We all had a monologue each to put across our feelings to the audience. Mine was the first monologue and it was after being told I had terminal cancer. I started the rehearsal process of my monologue by researching poems written by cancer patients. I thought this might give me an idea of the feeling people with terminal cancer go through as I will never really understand what actually goes through your mind when being told. After doing this I wrote down a small piece of the main things I wanted to get in. This gave me guide lines and from there I improvised saying what came naturally. After doing this I had a fixed monologue in my head and I gave it my everything on the night.

After researching the poems I found a poem written by a little girl in America with terminal cancer. This gave us the idea for the end scene. The poem fitted our piece perfectly and gave us a chance to do some physical theatre in our piece. I said the poem at the end with the other doing a choreographed piece with me. We used the music Halloween Theme Tune to go with it giving it a creepy kind of edge. We did it as if I was a music box and life was still carrying on around me as I was beginning to slow down. It represented the cancer winding up inside me and when it was finished winding I stopped and fell. When I stopped and flopped over this symbolised the death of me. We did this because we didn't want me death to be obvious and dramatic. We thought outside the box and did something less obvious to make the audience think. This was very effective and finished the performance off with something different.

THE POEM WE USED..

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask How are you?
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done!
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say,"Hi"
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

 When you run so fast to get somewhere 

You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.

     
In GCSE Drama it's all about using your strengths and showing them off. Becca played my daughter in the piece and we are both strong singers.We decided to play on this and use a song in our piece. We used the song 'Breakeven' by Coldplay. The lyrics reflected our piece really well and it added a lot of emotion to the piece. The lyrics we used were..

I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing
Just praying to a God that I don't believe in
'Cause I got time while she got freedom
'Cause when a heart breaks no it don't break even

Her best days will be some of my worst
She finally met a man that's gonna put her first
While I'm wide awake she's no trouble sleeping
'Cause when a heart breaks no it don't breakeven... even... no

What am I supposed to do when the best part of me was always you,
And what am I supposed to say when I'm all choked up and you're ok
I'm falling to pieces, yeah,
I'm falling to pieces

They say bad things happen for a reason
But no wise words gonna stop the bleeding
'Cause she's moved on while I'm still grieving
And when a heart breaks no it don't breakeven even... no

What am I gonna to do when the best part of me was always you,
And what am I supposed to say when I'm all choked up and you're ok
I'm falling to pieces, yeah,
I'm falling to pieces, yeah,
I'm falling to pieces
One still in love while the other one's leaving
I'm falling to pieces
('Cause when a heart breaks no it don't breakeven)

FINAL PERFORMANCE

Over all our end of year performance was a massive success, an enjoyable memorable event and an emotion day for all of us. Us BTEC Performing Arts girls made sure we had the time of our lives knowing this was going to be the last performance we ever did together as a group. The 2 years we have spent together will be 2 years I won't forget. We've laughed together, cried together, stressed out to the max together and most of all enjoyed every moment together.



All the BTEC PA girls on stage at the end

Over the 2 years we've put together pieces and learnt new techniques which all came together to form our end of year performance. We repeated and improved our favourite pieces and created new ones bearing in mind what we had learnt over the two years.

We held a technical rehearsal on Tuesday evening to pull the whole show together using the technical equipment and staging. We started off by setting the staging blocks and deciding how we were going to piece them. We had to think about all the dances and which ones we needed the blocks for. We needed to make sure it gave enough room for the dancers to dance in our We Will Rock You pieces. We also thought about the singers and where they were going to stand for their solos. We added to higher blocks to the stage to add levels and also giving us a way of getting onto the stage. We the staging was set the caretaker came and helped us position the light. This meant we could have the lighting we needed for each piece in the right place. This then meant Chris who was in charge of lighting could see what lights he needed to use for each piece. For solos mainly the spotlight was used and for our group pieces we used the coloured lights to reflect the mood of the piece. We also sorted all the microphones deciding who needed which one for which piece and whereabouts they needed to be on the stage. We decided that for the drama pieces they weren't going to use the head mics due to the fact you couldn't see their facial expressions.

When we had all the technical side sorted we started running the acts in order, this gave us a chance to look at everything deciding what we needed to improve and if we needed to change anything. The only thing that needed improvement was our WWRY performances. We were all singing with out mics so the volume needed to be loud enough for people to hear at the back. We then had to practise this in our last few lessons to make sure it was loud enough for our actual performance. At the end of the rehearsal we all came together and agreed our rehearsal was very successful. We then had our lessons in the week to practise and make it perfect.

The day of our show arrived and we were all panicking through our day wanting our school day to be over. We sang through all our songs in our btec performing arts lesson and looking forward to the night ahead. At the end of our school day we rushed into the hall and started to set up. This included setting up the staging, microphones and seating area. We chose the colour theme of purple and silver and set up the room according to these colours. We set up the table and covered them in a purple table cloth. We then purchased silver and purple helium balloons, purple flowers and confetti to decorate the tables. We were really pleased with the layout and how the hall looked. Our aim was to make it look professional and we achieved this. Comments were made when the audience arrived about how we'd transferred the school hall into a professional theatre space.

Getting the Hall ready for performances

Our first performance was our two pieces from Annie. Annie was our original idea for the theme of our show and this is where we got the theme of dreams and aspirations from. Our first piece we performed was Maybe which is a meaningful song about orphans 'dreaming' about their parents. This gave us the idea of basing our show on our own hopes and dreams for the future. In our rehearsal process we found this difficult to hit the right notes but we eventually got there and gave a strong vocal performance. The only thing that I would of   improved was to set some movements to give the performance a bit more life. Although for the opening piece I thought it looked affective as we did it. Our costumes look good and very effective on stage; they fit the part of our characters perfectly. It was a strong opening to the show; it gave us the opportunity to show everyone the singing talents that we have. This led on to our next piece which was also an Annie song; 'Hard Knock Life'. This gave us a chance to show our skills we have learnt in musical theatre. This performance was a mixture of singing, dancing and acting. If this piece was not acted properly it wouldn't of given the performance any justice. Getting across our characters to the audience is crucial so we had to put our self in an orphan’s position and think what they would have been feeling while singing this song. Happy? Sad? Angry? From the lyrics and the storyline of Annie we know the orphans are fed up and want someone to love them and care for them. We had to put this emotion across to the audience through our dancing and singing as well. Our dance was simple but very effective; it represented us as orphans perfectly. I think these two performances were the strongest group pieces we had. We all really got into character and we also enjoyed doing it putting everything into it.

                                                     On stage for our Annie performances 

I sang a solo of Out Here On My Own from Fame that has have sung in a previous singing exam and got very good marks. This is a song I feel confident singing and each time I sing it I seem to improve. I feel I gave a strong performance and I was given many compliments after the performance. If I wanted to go that one step further and improved my performance even more I could have done some character research and acted out the song. This is something I will think about when doing my next performance in the future.

                                                    Singing my solo 'Out Here On My Own'

I feel that are two weakest performances were our We Will Rock You (WWRY) songs. We had to do these two pieces as part of our costume construction to wear the costumes we had made. Obviously our costumes weren’t up to ‘West End Standards’ but considering they had been made in school they met a very high standard. They met the criteria and looked great on the stage for the piece we were doing. This performance was the one we were least confident with but we went on stage and gave it our best. There was a few technique problems but we overcame these. For example I and Katie had a duet at the beginning of Don’t Stop Me Now but the music started as we were still walking on the stage. We covered this up by coming in on a different line but doing it with confidence. We then had a problem with the curtains and be able to get onto the stage. This cut off the beginning of the dance number but we all managed to come in and save ourselves. To improve our performance we needed to up the volume of our singing. We found this difficult because the song is very low and it’s difficult to project your voice when at such a low note. We also had to dance at the same time with lots of energy. This made us out of breathe making it even more difficult to project our voices.

                Performing in our costumes we made in Costume Construction to 'Don't Stop Me Now'

Our performance of Somebody to Love was a good performance but I feel there was room for a lot of improvement. The dance was simple but effective and we didn’t want to take away from Chloe’s singing. The dancing could of been a lot slicker but it was still a strong performance. This is also a piece we had fun doing and performing. This is what is important, as long as we enjoyed ourselves.

            Performing in our costumes we made in Costume Construction to 'Somebody To Leave'

AND ALL THAT JAZZ.... This HAS to be the best dance I have ever done in my life! I loved every minute of doing it. This means the rehearsal process and performing it. We did have a slight problem with the music skipping towards the end of the dance making us a little bit late but we picked this up and carried on. The performance was strong, slick and full of life. We really took on the characters well and it suited the style perfectly. (This was a repeat of the dance, see earlier blog for more evaluation)

                                                            Performing 'All That Jazz'

My favourite performance I gave was my performance of Popular with Katie. We are both very interested in Musical Theatre and both know the song well. We thought it would be the perfect piece to do and add our own twist to it. It is normally performed as a solo with someone sitting on stage to act with. We decided to change it to a duet and make the person normally sitting on the stage the audience. This gave us a chance to involve the audience and interact with them. We divided the lines equally and decided how to perform it as a duet. It’s quite a humorous song so we decided to be a double act with Katie being the geeky one messing about and not taking life too seriously and me being the serious one loving herself and always wanting to be in the spot light. Our performance went down a treat and the audience loved it. Katie and I work really well together and we always enjoy ourselves and have a laugh together. I would love to work with Katie again in the future and I’m sure we’ll have great fun doing our A Levels together. If we did the performance again I would have loved to have actually gone into the audience but this would have been difficult with the technical equipment we have in school.

                                               With Katie on stage performing 'Popular'                                            

Our ending performance was a very emotional performance as it was an end of an era. We’ve worked so hard together for the last two years and I will miss all the girls as a group. It was a lovely performance of us singing Someone Like You with Jack Dent playing the guitar. With all the upset a few of us did come in at the wrong place and sing the wrong words but we just carried on enjoying our last performance all together.

             

                              Performing for the last time together singing 'Someone Like You' 

Jazz Evaluation

Overall I really enjoyed the Jazz section of BTEC Performing Arts. It is a style that I have never really taken much part in and I enjoyed exploring further. One of my favourite musicals is Chicago so I really enjoyed doing the style that is key in this musical.

We first started by exploring the different types of the style 'jazz'. It is a very diverse genre. We look at lyrical jazz, street jazz and rock n roll jazz. These are all individual styles but have an element of jazz in them. We did this by splitting into groups and each choreographing a dance to the set style we were given. My group was given lyrical jazz and we all enjoyed choreographing this dance. We are all strong at lyrical but we had to use the jazz style in this as well. This meant remembering to be slick and using loads of sharp movements such as with your hands and head.

Our end product turned out really well showing the clear difference between lyrical jazz, just jazz and just lyrical. We still used elegant movements but then went through the whole dance adding hand and head movements to fit the criteria. Our end product showed a strong lyrical jazz piece of choreography.

We then went on to teach each of our group the choreography we had made up. By doing this it gave us a better understanding of how jazz can be interpreted in many different ways.  It clearly showed the differences in the styles but how they all have an element of jazz in them.  We all enjoyed this because it gave us a chance to explore styles that we have never done before.  I particularly enjoyed doing rock n roll as this is a style I have never done before.  I didn't find this style particularly easy but when I got into it I found it easier and it became more of a routine than just steps. 

My favourite part of the jazz assignment was doing our Chicago dance.  We created this piece to perform in our school's annual Cabaret show.  This dance was extremely Fosse inspired and ticked all the boxes of being a pure jazz piece.  The choreography was made up of sharp, slick movements.  While rehearsing the piece we didn't realise how slick out movements needed to be until we watched ourselves back. This showed us that every little movement had to be perfect and in place.  If one slight hand movement wasn't in time or in place it affected the whole dance. 

In our final rehearsal we went through every tiny little thing we could to make it spot on.  We recorded ourselves and watched ourselves back, then went over each part to perfect the parts that needed improving.  We had a group discussion to go through all the things we needed to do for the evening performance.

Overall we gave a fantastic performance with lots of positive feedback from the audience.  The Fosse style was obvious as Mr Lewis mentioned this when talking to Mrs Norris after the performance.  The performance started on a difficult note because there was a slight mix up with the music meaning that we were left on stage with the wrong music playing.  We all stayed in character waiting for our right music to come on. 

I made a slight mistake at the beginning of the performance but I was able to cover this up and carry on to give a good performance.  Apart from this mistake I feel I gave a good, slick performance showing off everything I have learnt about jazz in Btec Performing Arts.

Watching back the performance I feel we all gave a strong performance in real Fosse style.  I think some of the most simple moves we did were some of the most effective, such as sharp hand flicks in the air.  I am really looking forward to repeating the performance in our end of year show where we will have improved it further.

Rock Challenge 2012

Well, where do I start with Rock Challenge?! I know for a fact that it means so much to many people and without it we would probably explode with stress due to our GCSE exams. Some people are probably thinking 'doesn't it add on more stress?', no. Rock Challenge is a massive break from everything else going on around you and it something where you can just let yourself go. It is a lot of hard work; don't get me wrong but we are so passionate about what we do we enjoy it more than anything.

We start Rock Challenge in September and go through a tough audition process. This might sound harsh but as a premier team
we need dancers who are extremely confident and we know we can rely on. Rehearses are crucial and everyone needs to be there so nothing is missed. In our audition you can chose what style you want to do, contemporary, street, tap or drama. You can try out more than one but it's best to do what you feel most confident with.  We try and give everyone the best chance possible and support them through it. The day the cast list goes up everyone is always so excited and it's so good to see the ones who got in so happy and excited. Especially the year 7s whose first year it is.





I don't think I could add up how many hours we rehearse to come up with the perfect piece. It is all student lead the dance captains, choreographers and the student leaders control the process with help and guidance from the teachers. We wouldn't be able to do it without the teachers and all the support we have.

We get a lot of press releases to promote us as a school and let everyone know about our resent successes. We recently won the title of The Global People Choice Award. This is a MASSIVE achievement and we did not expect it at all. We were ridiculously proud of this amazing achievement. Awards like this make you so proud to be part of the Rock Challenge team. All the hard work really does pay off in the end.

 THE BIG DAY
The day of Rock Challenge is one of the best days in the school year. I couldn't sleep the night before because I was so excited. I turn into a little kid when I get excited. We leave so early but all turn up to school half asleep and half buzzing for the day ahead. It's an extremely long day but the adrenaline gets you through it.

This year at Stevenage we were showcasing our performance that we are going to take to Portsmouth for the Premier League Final. I love going back to Stevenage and supporting all the other schools that are in the same position we were a few years ago. The day is great and everyone is so supportive to each other. It's get to see all the other schools performing and looking at all the variety of themes.





Showcasing is also a good chance to have a look at your performance on a stage. This has given us a chance to look closely at our performance and know what we need to do at Portsmouth when we compete  .

Getting ready for the performance is always stressful. Hair and Make-Up is a big part as you have to look the part and it a an award you can win. My make-up took 4 hours to do but it was worth it because on stage it looked stunning. After the performance we realised that some of the make-up needed to be changed but it will all be sorted for Portsmouth. This is the first year our hair and make-up team was all student lead. It was really successful and we were recognised for it.

 
I can safely say that Kings Langley got on that stage and OWNED IT! We gave a performance to be proud of and everyone was overally proud. The judges comments were amazing but also have given us a lot to think about for Portsmouth. We swept the board of awards and went home with every single one we could get. For us that was a massive achievement.

Looking back at the video we have written a list of improvements for Portsmouth but we are going to keep them quite and you'll have to wait until Portsmouth to see our finished performance!

A Level Drama Performance

During this week I have been observing and evaluating the A Level groups drama piece. This involved watching two run throughs and the actual exam. I'd enjoyed doing this because I am really passionate about drama and it is something I will be doing over the next two years. It was good to get an idea of the type of things I will be doing.

The first run through I saw was a bit shakey but I understood the story line very easily. They made it clear and the whole thing made complete sense at the end. I know some people were a bit confused but I think I have an advantage as I do GCSE drama. This means I know how to use different techniques and how different things can represent other things. I am also very into drama and enjoy watching things where it's not obvious and you have to think about it and work things out for to yourself to understand. I think this instantly makes the performance a lot more interesting and more enjoyable to watch. The story was about a painter and his conscience playing around in his mind. The trick was you could see his consciences being played by Georgia Stillman and Zoe Fletcher. We could see them but the doctor who was being played by Emily couldn't. It's a very confusing piece to put into words but it made sense when being acted out. At the end it became clear that the artist was in a mental hospital and the two girls were all in his mind.

The acting was amazing and it was hard to fault any of the actors. John's performance got stronger every time I saw it. He had a very hard character to play and some of the language he used was extremely strong. I admire him for being able to stay in character and use that language in front of his mum! I understood his character and not once did he come out of character. His change into a little boy was very clear and wasn't over acted too much. The only thing I would say he could improve on was maybe to try not to stutter some of his lines. This could of been down to nerves but some lines were a bit shakey. Although this did not throw him  and not once did he step out of his character.

The girls playing this conscience did this very well. By their slight over acting you could tell they were fantasy characters. Their connection with each other was very strong and it was almost like they were one. The thing that made they characters perfect was what they did with their eyes. They had this evil look and stare that really did send shivers down your spine. The eye contact they used with each other was really effective as well. The relationship with John was very strong and you really believed they were part of him. If I was to give them something to improve on I would suggest they over acted even more to really show they are this mind and fantasy characters. It would have been interesting to have had a good and evil conscience and to have seen it done like that. This may have made it too stereo typical though.

Personally I think Emily had a very difficult job as she had to remain a completely normal person with all this madness going to around her. If she over acted her role the fantasy side wouldn't have come across as well. Her physical theatre part with John was done very well and it was the most powerful hard hitting part of the performance. When she showed people around the gallery at the beginning I think she needed to show more confidence and she seemed a bit unsure of the lines. Other than that I thought she did a brillant job.

The set was very well thought about and all the painting they had chosen were quite eerie so this made the atmosphere tense. I really liked the use of the cctv footage at the beginning and end. I think this made the piece make more sense and it was different making it more interesting. The drama studio is not the best place to perform but they made good use of the space they had. The change of lighting was really effective and made it a clear switch between fantasy and reality. The eerie music also added a lot to the performance.

All in all the performance made me feel very uncomfortable and the eerie atmosphere freaked me out a little bit. Watching this has given me a better understanding of A Level Drama and I look forward to the next two years when I will be doing this sort of stuff. It was a excellent performance, I wish them all the best and hope they get the grades they want and deserve.

Evaluation of my own performance

I have decided to look back on a performance I gave last year; evaluate it and to pick out points I know I have improved on over the year. I felt I gave a strong performance but my end notes really needed improvement. I carried them on and stopped them suddenly almost causing me to swallow the note. I think this may be due to nerves but it's something I will have to train my voice not to do. This didn't sound brilliant and made the performance weaker. Looking back has made me realise this and now I am aware I am very careful when ending my notes. I started the song very shakey as I was nervous and it took me a while to find my feet. This is something I need to improve on, I need to be able to start and attack it with buckets of confidence. This will make my voice stronger and sound better.

I felt I acted the song well but there was room for more desperation as Mrs Johnstone (the character I was playing) has just lost both her sons. This might have been due to my age as I haven't got children myself so it was hard to put myself in her shoes. I would maybe plan out more movement if I ever did another performance of this song.

If doing it again I would definitely stage it better and have more people on stage with me to create more of a scene and to get the mood of the scene across better. This would make it more of a musical theatre performance and add more emotion.

The end note of the song I need to improve on a lot. This means making it stronger and more in tune. I feel I would do it better now because my voice has become a lot stronger due to the fact that I have started singing a lot more in the last year.

All in all I felt I gave a good performance but with a lot of room for improvement. Hopefully in the future I will be able to repeat the performance and develop it more creating a better outcome.

Fabrics For Costume Construction

DENIM


The material Denim has been something used in America since the later stages of the 18th century. The word denim originated from the word Serge, which was actually made in the French town of Nimes. Putting the name together created ''Serge de Nimes'' which when shortened became Denim. 

Denim was first used to create the iconic Jeans in 1853 by Levi Strauss, which is where the Levi Jean comes from, and the name Jean also came from the location in which it was made. The French word for Italy is Genoa which when translated becomes Genes.

The Denim Jeans were highly durable and that is the reason why in 1873 the American coal miners wore them as their unofficial uniform. The jeans stood up to the harsh environments which they worked in and survived the tasks in which they undertook. Because of this, the Jeans became an iconic symbol for the working class.
The durability of Jeans once again showed when in the late 1930's the American Cattle Ranchers (Cowboys) took on this look, and the film industry boosted the Denim jeans even more by having the top stars wear them in their motion pictures. The public, wanting to look just like their heroes, went out and bought Jeans and sales soon started to soar.

In the 1960's & 70's, the jeans were reinvented and no longer were they associated to the working class. The casual look started off the ''care free generation'' and accessorizing jeans with patches and embroideries followed.
This carefree image that came with the jeans led to them being banned from schools as they were classed as a stand against them.
The 1980's was the definitive turning point for Denim, and fashion designers worldwide started creating many different ideals involving the material. This led to the sales of denim rocketing.
Now in the 90's onwards, denim is considered a youthful clothing item linked to fashion and beauty, a far cry from the working class association it once had. 

WOOL

Wool mainly comes from the fleece of a sheep but it can also come from other animals. Wool fibres are naturally crimped which makes them very stretchy and strong. Wool can be used for clothes but its also very strong and can be used for carpets. Its very warm and very hard wearing.

Warmth
The fibres have natural crimps in them and each has tiny scales on them. They work together and trap air which helps to keep in warmth. If the wool is knitted, the knitting pattern making more pockets for the air to be trapped in which makes it warmer.

Resilience
Once again the crimps in the fibres make wool very resilient. You can fold it up very tightly but when you shake it out the creases fall out.

Absorbency
Wool is very very absorbent. This is quite useful when its being used for a garment or clothing. So even when its wet wool will still keep you quite warm. The problem with this is when you wash it, it absorbs a lot of water and you have to be careful how you dry it or it will stretch or go out of shape.

Washing
you have to be very carefully when you wash because if you wash it on a high temperature it can turn into felt. You have to wash it at a even temperature to stop it shrinking. It’s important to use a soft washing powder to it doesn’t damage the fibres, so it’s often better to hand wash pure wool items.

Heat
Wool is affected by strong heat. You need to be very careful when ironing it and keep it on a low heat.

Strength
Wool isn’t as strong as synthetic fabrics. It can be damaged if washed in the wrong way. It can also be damaged by moths. Wool does resist acids.

Dyeing
Wool is very absorbent so takes on dye very well.

Flammability
Wool doesn’t burn easily.

Cost
Wool is more expensive to produce than synthetic fibres and cotton. It’s cheaper to grow a crop than keep animals. Factory production of fabrics is more relievable. Outside factors like the weather don’t have a impact. 

ACRYLIC

Acrylic is a manmade fibre which is made to be like wool in its warmth and how it feels. It’s stronger and easier to wash than wool. It can be blended with other fibres. It’s cheaper to produce than wool and it easier to keep.

Warmth
Like wool it can be knitted or woven which created pockets which keep in warmth. It can be produced in different weights or thicknesses to produce different types of clothing. The thicker the clothing the warmer it will be.

Absorbency
Acrylic has a low absorbency so washing and dries easily and quickly. It can be woven into a fabric that breathes easy so it lets moister leave the body.

Resilience
Acrylics are soft and light weight. They resist creases, they are stretchy fibres so they fit well.

Washing
They wash and dry quickly and at low temperatures making them a really popular fabric. They dry well without losing their shape. Not really suitable for tumble drying at high temperatures.

Heat
It needs to be ironed at low temperatures however when it produced it can be set into pleats or folds at high temperatures so its suitable for dresses and blouses.

Strength
Acrylic is stronger than wool but not as strong as nylon or polyester. Its resists acids, alkalis and bleaches so can be washed with any washing powder. Its resists sun light so it’s very good for curtains and other furnishings. I doesn’t get attacked by mould or moths, it can sometimes go bobbly. 

Flammability
It burns and melts very easily.

Dyeing
Acrylic is resisted to dye.

Cost
It doesn’t cost much to produce.

SILK

Silk is seen as a special fabric that’s often worn by wealthy people or royalty. Silk is made by the caterpillar of the silk moth. They eat mulberry leafs, the caterpillar then spins its self a cocoon by producing a long thread and winding it around its self  hundreds of times. Each cocoon produces a mile of silk thread. This method has been used in China for 4000 years, Japan and China produce most of the worlds silk. Silk reflects light beautifully. When silk is spun together it gives a very strong fabric but the threads are still very fine. It used to be made to make parachutes.

Warmth
Its soft and feels warm. It doesn’t conduct heat very well so it keeps the body warm but because its fine it can also keep you cool in summer.

Resilience
Because its natural its very resilient.

Absorbency
As a natural fibre its very adsorbent but it dries easily.

Washing
Silk needs to be washed very carefully. It needs to be washed in very cool water with very mild soap powder. It better for it to be hand washed and you should ring it out or twist it. It does need ironing but it should be ironed damp and at a low temperature.

Heat
Silk is affected by high temperatures so should kept cool at all times including washing and ironing.

Strength
Its light weight and fine but it’s very strong. However its easily damaged by acid, alkali and bleach. Even sweat can damage it.

Flammability
Silk does burn but very slowly.

Dyeing
Silk takes dye very well, if you print a pattern it comes out both sides. 

Cost
Silk is the most expensive fabric there is, it’s expensive to produce and unwinding the silk from the cocoon is a highly skilled job. 

NYLON

Nylon is a man-made fibre. It’s made with by products from making patrol so there’s always plenty of products available. Nylon is a modern fabric, it was invented in 1935. It’s very light and sooth and has lots of uses. Its washes easily and dries quickly. It’s a very popular fabric with companies because it’s cheap and easy to manufacture. Nylon is often blended with other fibres to improve its properties.

Warmth
Nylon is a good conductor of heat but it’s not naturally warm. It can be made warm by making it a bit bulkier to trap air.

Resilience
Nylon is very resilient and creases fall out easily. It goes back into shape easily and it doesn’t much ironing. It’s quite a stretchy fabric.

Absorbency
Nylons not very absorbent so it dries quickly after it’s been washed. It’s not a very good fabric to wear close to the skin because you get quite sweaty but it can be improved to let in more air.

Washing
Nylon doesn’t stain very easily so it washes well at low temperatures and dries quickly.

Heat
Nylon melts quite easily so should be ironed at very low temperatures. Manufactures can use heat to make permanent creases or pleats.

Strength
Nylon is very strong even though it’s very light. It can be harmed by bleach and acid but it’s not affected by mould like natural fabrics.

Flammability
Nylon doesn’t burn but it melts so Nylon should never be anywhere near a naked flame.

Dyeing
Nylon takes dye well. Colours are normally added during manufacture.

Cost
Nylon is a cheap and cost affective fabric to make.      

        

POLYESTER

Polyester was invented in the 1950’s and we originally called Terylene. It’s a manmade fabric but it’s better than nylon. The name changed to polyester because it is a polymer.

Warmth
Polyester is not very warm to wear unless its blended with other fibres such as wool. Polyester can be used for a filling for quilts and pillows because it traps air and is very light and warm.

Resilience
Polyester is very resilient and doesn’t need much ironing. It doesn’t stretch much so clothes keep their shape well. It holds heat very well so is often mixed with other fibres to make it more comfortable to wear. Polyester blended with other fibres make clothes that are warm, look good and easy to look after.

Absorbency
Polyester resists water. It doesn’t stain very easily and washes and dries quickly and easily. Polyester is used for sails because it resists moisture and doesn’t need lots of drying after sailing.

Washing
Polyester washes very easily at low temperatures and dries quickly and doesn’t need much ironing.

Heat
Polyester melts at high temperatures so should be ironed at a low heat. Permanent creases or pleats can be put in using heat during manufacture. 

Strength
Polyester is very strong. It’s so strong that it’s used for seats belts in cars. It’s not harmed by alkalis, bleaches, acids or moulds. It makes good curtains because it’s not affected by sun light.

Flammability
Polyester doesn’t burn easily but it will melt at high temperature. If it’s mixed with cotton it’s very flammable.  

Dyeing
Polyester does not take on dye very well so dye has to be added at the manufacturing stage.  

Cost
It’s an easily manmade fibre so it’s cheap to produce.      

LINEN

The word linen comes from the word 'linium'.  It is one of the world's oldest fabrics, linen is manufactured from the fibres of the flax plant, which is a natural resource.

Warmth
Linen is a good conductor of heat. It’s good for summer clothes because it can keep you cool but it’s also very good for bed covers because it keeps you warm.

Resilience
Linen is a strong fabric but it creases very easily. I can be chemically changed to resist creases. Linen is not stretchy. It can be affected by mould.

Absorbency
Linen absorbs water very well which means it’s often used for tea towels. It takes a long time to dry.

Washing
Linen can be washed at any temperature but will take a long to dry. It needs ironing when it’s damp to avoid creases.

Heat
Linen takes heat very well and needs to be ironed at a high temperature. It resists sunlight so it’s a good fabric to wear in summer.

Strength
Linen is very strong and hard wearing. It resists sunlight well but it can be damaged by mould.

Flammability
Because it’s made from a plant fibre it burns easily and is very flammable.

Dyeing
Linen takes dye very easily as it’s a natural fibre.

Cost
Linen is an expensive fabric because it’s made out of natural resources which take time and money to grow. 

Fibres
Research shows all fabrics are fibres. They can either be short or long. Short are called staple fibres and long are called filament fibres. Fibres are weak on their own but when they are twisted together  into yarns they can be very strong. There are three different groups of fibres:

Natural Fibres
Natural fibres can either be plant or animal based. Wool and silk are the main animal based but you can also have angora, alpaca, cashmere, camel hair, wild silk, mohair and vicuna. The plant based fibres are linen, cotton, hemp, jute and ramie.

Synthetic Fibres
There are two types of synthetic fibres, manmade from oil-based by-products, e.g elastomeric, acrylic, aramid, modacrylic, polyamide, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and Micro-fibres which are fine synthetic fibres, e.g polyester and nylon. The name for micro-fibre trade is Tactel.

Regenerated Fibres
Regenerated fibres are made from a combination of chemicals and cellulose waste e.g lyocell, viscose, cupro, acetate, tencel, modal.

Yarns
Yarns are made by twisting fibres into long lengths and are wound onto cones or spools. They is two methods you can use for putting fibres together, spinning or twisting. The different types of yarns are spun yarns, filament yarns, multi-filament yarn, monofilament yarn, assembled yarn, folded yarns, plied yarns, complex yarns and fancy yarns.