This dissertation is a study of the mechanization of cotton spinning in turn-of-the-twentieth-century China. More specifically, it examines efforts made by the Chinese workers to keep imported spinning machines performing at maximum efficiency in their cotton mills. Such efforts ranged from customizing and modifying machines to suit the specific needs of individual cotton mills to repairing broken machines, maintaining aging machines, and sourcing parts locally by copying the originals. It also addresses endeavors made beyond the shop floor such as the cultivation of cotton varieties that better accommodated machine spinning and knowledge production of spinning technology and cotton cultivation in professional journals. The study of industrialization, especially regarding the rise of factory workers as a new social class, was once a popular topic for social historians and feminist scholars in the China field. Previous scholarship investigated the fragmented nature of the Chinese working class in terms of gender, skill, and native places, with detailed accounts of the workers’ daily lives. However, these studies have paid little attention to the actual process of mechanization. Mechanization on the Chinese shop floor was far from smooth, since foreign machines malfunctioned for various reasons at different stages of operation, requiring continuous adjustment, maintenance, and repair. Without an examination of this challenging process, we underestimate the Chinese as passive recipients of machines and technologies, under the assumption that Western machinery was a one-size-fits-all instrument for Chinese industrialization. My dissertation rectifies this neglect by reconstructing the concrete process of mechanization from a technological perspective. It draws upon a variety of technical writings such as machine manufacturers’ manuals, their contracts with client mills, engineering journals, agricultural reports, and factory regulations. It also revisits more conventional sources such as interviews with former factory workers. A critical reading of these sources reveals that Chinese engineers, machinists, and female machine operators strived to solve technological problems specific to their factories, with multiple layers of knowledge obtained through hands-on experience of machines and cotton as well as formal engineering education. All these human efforts to make better use of machines under varying financial, technological, and material conditions of each cotton mill, combined with larger political and social circumstances, determined the course of mechanization in China. The factory system in China was thus a craftwork, locally made on the basis of the global circulation of machines and technologies. By highlighting the process of mechanization, rather than mere importation of machines, this study makes interventions into the discussion of Chinese industrialization and, beyond that, into debates about industrialization and technology transfer more generally. First, in exploring a range of handwork performed by technical experts at different stages of mechanization, it argues for the significance of manual labor in the making of the factory system, thereby complicating the long-held dichotomy between craft and mechanization. Second, by demonstrating how new sets of knowledge were created on the Chinese shop floor in the course of using foreign machines, it challenges the assumption that technology transfer simply emanated from the West to be disseminated to the rest of the world.

With the population growing gradually and economy booming in the world, the need of textile product accordingly increases rapidly, which results in the big generation of textile waste. The disposal of textile waste brings in many adverse effects on environment, such as the landfill occupation. The production of textile product itself also causes much environmental concerning. In order to cope with the increasing textile waste and reduce the pressure of waste management, waste prevention is primary, as well as effective choice. The prevention of waste from textile can return ideal revenue from economic, social and environmental aspects. So many countries have conducted some researches and practices on the prevention of waste from textile. Sweden also has some existed prevention measures. But these prevention measures mainly focus on two stakeholders: consumer and charitable organization.  Associated with the practical situation in Sweden, some existed prevention measures are transferred to the Swedish circumstance and then suggest a new prevention scheme about textile waste in Sweden. The suggested prevention scheme is based on four stakeholders’ (designer, retailer, consumer, charitable organization) point of view.

This project combines industrial tuft with handmade embroidery in order to explore various combinations of textured surfaces, materials and colors. The purpose is to investigate a meeting between craft and design by focusing on the encounter between the compact and the loose, the assembly of materials, as well as variations in levels and heights. The works are mainly based on recycled materials. Three textiles pieces were designed: a First Piece focuses on the meeting between craft and design; the Second Piece relates to different textures and the Third Piece addresses growth. The combination of hand embroidery and tufting create diversity and nuances in expressions, forms and textures. The small-scale of hand-embroidery permits the use of materials difficult or impossible to handle in machines and thus break the monotony of tuft. Through the tufting technique, larger compact pieces are produced that have depth and are sound-absorbent. This project aims to create a bridge between craft and design in the field of textile design.

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The artist, Laura Ann Schroeder, discusses her Master of Fine Arts thesis exhibition, Witness, Revival, Testimony, which was installed at Tipton Gallery in Johnson City, TN from March 2, 2023 through March 31, 2023, with a public reception held on March 24, 2023. The exhibition consisted of a collection of sculptural works and installations that evoke scenes and memories from the artist’s childhood. This body of work deconstructs the traditional family dynamic and the private domestic space through recreations of everyday life. The artworks are primarily made with repurposed consumer textiles and techniques like stitching and quilting that have historically been considered “women’s work.” Through the process of creating this body of work, the artist analyzes how past moments culminate to affect her understanding of gender, spirituality, and personal identity.

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The feasibility of the excess lime process for color removal from textile dye wastes was evaluated. The lime dosages were optimized by using anionic, cationic, and nonionic polyelectrolytes as coagulant aids. The effect of the process on the removal of organic pollutants was determined. The time interval between coagulant additions was analyzed. Color reductions of at least 94 per cent were obtained by the lime and lime-polyelectrolyte processes. The lime dosage of 980 to 1,060 ppm was decreased by at least 30 per cent using 5 ppm polyelectrolyte dosages. The processes reduced the Total Organic Carbon concentration by 73 per cent approximately, the Chemical Oxygen Demand by 50 per cent, and suspended solids by about 85 to 90 per cent. The excess lime process was more efficient in removing organic matter than the lime-polyelectrolyte processes, and also incurred the least chemical coagulant cost. The excess lime process was most effective at 30 minutes flocculation and 30 minutes settling. The lime-polyelectrolyte processes were more effective when the polyelectrolyte was added after about 30 minutes lime flocculation and settled for 5 minutes. The lime-polyelectrolyte processes produced a floe which settled rapidly. The volume of sludge produced was about 8.1 to 12.8 per cent, resulting in a sludge to supernatant ratio range of 1:7 to 1:11. The lime-polyelectrolyte sludge volumes were usually higher than the lime sludge volumes. / Master of Science

Master of Science / Department of Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design / Diana Sindicich / With continuing advancements in the area of electronics, there are more ways in which they are utilized in order to improve the lives of humans. These advancements have to led to the incorporation of electronic components into fabric structures, creating electronic textiles (e-textiles). As it has become possible to place small electrical components within clothing without the performance of the electronics being hampered, research has been conducted in the use of e-textiles in measuring aspects of the human body, such as the heart rate and perspiration rate. In the area of skin temperature, research has been conducted in the past using e-textiles for skin temperature measurement, but past efforts have been unsuccessful in incorporating useable temperature sensors into a fabric substrate. This study compared three types of sensors incorporated into woven and knitted fabrics, using insulated thermocouples, un-insulated thermocouples, and resistance temperature directors (RTDs). Three incorporation methods (weaving, interlacing into knit, and stitching) were used in six fabric samples, with the three sensor types woven and stitched into three woven fabric samples, while the sensors were interlaced into knitted fabric and stitched into the three knitted samples. Fabric hand washing and temperature measurement tests were conducted, and the temperature readings were analyzed statistically for comparison. The analysis conducted showed that the thermocouples that were interlaced or stitched onto the knitted fabric samples were best for temperature measurement due to their accuracy and durability, while the RTDs were unusable as a temperature sensor, as the removal of the electrical connectors during washing eliminated the calibration that was established before washing. This research was supported in part by the Institute for Environmental Research at Kansas State University.

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LD2668 .T4 1966 W137 / Master of Science