About a decade ago an attempt to build a viable wild silk industry, prompted by the discovery of the naturally available wild silk cocoons in the North West Province of South Africa, was made and a degumming plant was established in the Ganyesa village. The challenges faced in that establishment soon brought the developments to a standstill and cited among the problems was the lack of designer input in the production stages, which resulted in poor quality products. Focusing on the design problem the intention of this research is to explore a more effective design and production method for the wild silk fabrics. Through assessing the previously produced fabrics in order to identify their limitations, and by experimenting with innovative fabric production processes, a suitable aesthetic quality can be added to the final products. Starting with the investigation of current trends and choosing a design theme as a guide for the production process, fabric samples intended for use in upholstery of home furniture are developed. With the objective of successfully achieving a balance between aesthetic appeal and suitability for the intended end use, the fabrics are subjected to performance assessments based on internationally recognised standards. From the findings of this research it is therefore envisaged that, from the design aspect, proper redevelopment of the South African wild silk industry could encourage further involvement from textile designers. This would bring more improvement to the fabrics produced and encourage their use in different applications.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:22103 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Somi, Bongiwe Promrose |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Arts |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MTech |
| Format | xv, 104 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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