Friday, September 27, 2013

I Am A Boss

I'm not normally one to crow over my own achievements (what with being a self-effacing Asian-American and all...oh but wait, I put my life up on teh interwebs, so maybe not), but this is too awesome not to share. Besides, where else would I find people who would be equally excited about being an official fiber geek, if not in the sewing blogosphere?

To use a Barney Stinson-ism: WHAT UP.  I have no shame in being the Hermione Granger of my textiles class. Allow me a moment to bask in the glory of having the high score on our first midterm. Gosh, I love being a student again and getting praised for reaching concrete, quantifiable milestones. I have to admit to being slightly peeved at myself for missing those two points, though, because then I would've had a perfect score...what can I say, I'm a classic overachiever.

[Also, for those of you who wanted to know what textbook we're using, it's up there at the top: Textiles by Sara J. Kadolph, and my prof prefers the 10th edition since the information is arranged better, and the charts aren't white text on a red background (who thought that would be a good idea?!??!). ]

Oh wait, you're here to learn more about fibers with the help of cats, and not to see some smug celebration of meaningless academic achievement that has no bearing on the truly important things in life, like world peace and neutering/spaying your pets? Well, never let it be said that I wasn't an acquiescent blogger; I present qualities of man-made fabrics, as helpfully illustrated by more cats:

Lyocell, rayon, and bamboo are pretty much the exceptions to every statement about synthetics, since they are regenerated cellulosics. This means that they start out as actual cellulose (from spruce, hemlock, or bamboo pulp), and by the time they are extruded and dried, they once again have the structure of the cellulose polymer, so they still breathe like cotton and linen. However, the chemicals used to dissolve the cellulose to make the liquid solution result in a weaker fiber than natural cellulosics. 

Classic synthetic polymers like polyester and nylon lack the bulky functional groups of natural polymers, meaning that the fibers are very smooth and can pack together tightly, and it also leaves no options for hydrogen bonding with water. The former quality means that you can get very tightly woven cloth that is water-resistant and shiny, and the latter quality means that it has poor absorbency and is harder to dye. You know how oil and water don't mix? We call oils hydrophobic molecules, and guess what -- hydrophobic molecules love each other, which is why when you get an oil stain on a poly or nylon garment, you can pretty much assume it will never wash out. Similarly, if you wash a cotton garment with an oil stain with a non-stained poly garment, the oil may wash out of the cotton and then glom onto the poly.

Also, I never used to pre-wash/pre-shrink my synthetic yardage since I knew it was supposed to be dimensionally stable, but our prof pointed out that even though the fiber itself resists shrinkage, the way it is woven into fabric may still be dimensionally unstable, so it's best to pre-wash even the synthetic fabrics. 

Anyway, I promise I've done some real sewing, too, and not just studying and doodling in my notes. Stay tuned for one of my favorite (non-geeky) sheet dresses yet!

This is Walnut sitting on the dishwasher, staying tuned for those shrimp tails that he can see being peeled.
Look at all that gloriously non-synthetic fluff! Sometimes he doesn't even look real. 

20 comments:

  1. I've been loving these class notes. I finally figured out that you aren't really doing the cat parts in class...right? Right?! I should go back and check, but I'll just ask: what is LRB?

    And did you put cats on your test? Is that why you got extra credit? ;-)

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    1. LRB = Lyocell, Rayon, and Bamboo. Since they're regenerated cellulose fibers (meaning they are the same polymer as cotton and linen), they still breathe, absorb water, wrinkle, and shrink.

      If only we were doing cats in class! But alas, it's just me adding them to my notes as memory aids.

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  2. Of COURSE you're the boss. DUH.

    Seriously, though, isn't acing a test the best feeling? I miss that so much... And I love your notes!

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    1. I think it's a very small portion of the population that enjoys test-taking, but I'll confess to being one of those kids who got excited to show off what they learned on test days. Yup, I'm a nerd!

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  3. Yay, more notes with cat-doodles! So fun!

    Congratulations on the high test score! I don't miss the test-taking days of school but a good grade IS rather satisfying. =)

    ~ Brooke

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    1. Sometimes it's just nice to have a concrete number tell you how you're doing ;)

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  4. woot! nice job! and i'm so much in love with your notes. so cute!

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    1. I'm glad people are still enjoying them...I'm not sure how you'll all feel at the end of the semester, though!

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  5. Whoo hoo well done! Is that 103 out of 100? I always found that it's easiest to do well in the subjects that I have a genuine interest in, so it's no surprise you're knocking those tests out of the park!

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    1. It is indeed out of 100! And yes, it's definitely easier when the subject is so intensely interesting and relevant!

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  6. Ohhhh...I love your notes so much! You should do an elvish cat..teehee...I love learning vicariously through you!

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    1. Hmmm, I'll have to think of how to make an elvish cat!

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  7. You're amazing! For the test score, yes, but even more for those notes. You must be a great teacher!

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    1. I would like to be a great teacher! Here's to hoping I'm at least a pretty good teacher.

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  8. Congrats!!!!...you are entitled to be very proud!!!!! I love your class notes too, and I'm learning from you. I'm glad you explained the oil and water not mixing when it comes to stains on a poly/nylon garment. I recently washed a garment that wasn't stained when I washed it, but was after and I didn't know why. It makes sense...I sprayed the stained article...the stain washed out and glommed onto the poly.

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    1. Isn't it so nice to know why these things happen? I've been trying to tell everyone I know about the wrinkles in their clothing :)

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  9. Like.
    A.
    Boss.
    Epic work lady- and thank you for the cat based notes- I'm going to print these and add to my fabric and fibres course notes. Cheers!

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    1. I'm honored to be included in your notes collection!

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