The continuing evolution of the textiles industry provides a wide spread of applications from high-performance technical textiles to the more traditional clothing market. More recent developments in this industry require designers to combine traditional textile science and new technologies leading to exciting applications in smart textiles, sportswear, aerospace and other potential areas. (

• Raw materials for textiles

• Properties of natural fibres

• Properties of synthetic fibres

• Conversion of fibres to yarns

• Conversion of yarns into fabrics: weaving, knitting, lacemaking, and felting

• Recovery and disposal of textiles

• Properties of wool, cotton and silk

• Properties of nylon, polyester and Lycra®

• Consider absorbency, strength, elasticity and the effect of temperature

• Design contexts in which different types of textiles are used

There are many ethical considerations attached to the production of natural fibres. The strongest natural silk known to man is harvested from silk spiders and notoriously difficult to obtain, and labour intensive. In an effort to produce higher yields, scientists have altered the genome of goats so that they produce the same silk proteins in their milk.