Topic: Textiles — “Day of the Dead Mask”

Year Group: Year 7

Focus:

1. Core manufacturing skills
2. Core designing skills
3. Synthetic and natural fabrics theory

What we will be learning

• Students will design and make a mask inspired by the Latin American Day of The Dead festival.
• Students will research the festival and create a mood board and decide on a colour scheme and design for their mask
• Then they will learn core manufacturing skills such as a range of hand stitching techniques such as applique and embroidery, setting up the sewing machine, different machining techniques, cutting out and interfacing
• The theory element of this project covers natural and synthetic fabrics and also looks at the different equipment that is used in the textiles room.

Why is this important? Where does it link to future and past learning

• All of the skills used in this project are core skills that underpin all design and manufacturing work carried out at all levels of this subject. The core manufacturing skills in this module such as controlling a piece of fabric as it is being machined are also transferable to the other 2 areas of Design and Technology, i.e. Product Design and Textiles, and that is why developing core manufacturing skills is the main focus for this module
• Being able to trace patterns and cut fabric accurately are core skills. Also, choosing and applying a range of different hand and machine stitches such as the running, cross and lazy daisy stitches to achieve a creative and impactful final design is very important to all future work.
• The theory work is core theory that helps students to understand the working properties of their materials which will help for selection of materials in future projects when students have more freedom over their designs, specifically in year 8 when completing the e-textiles bucket hat project. The theory is also key for any students carrying on the subject into KS4.

How will this topic be assessed? Formative and summative

• Formative assessment and feedback happens each lesson through teacher questioning and advice on work in progress and completed. Students also have broad targets in their sketchbook that act as a scaffold for them to reflect on their work and generate their own personalised action plan for improvement in their learning. These targets are linked to “DIRT” activities aimed at building independence and metacognitive skills within the students
• Summative assessment happens in three stages. Students manufacturing skills will be assessed through comparative judgement and rank order of projects which accounts for 40% of the overall mark.
• Students design skills will be assessed through comparative judgement and rank order of sketchbooks which accounts for 35% of overall mark
• Students theory knowledge will assessed through a theory “quest” which covers 25% of the overall mark

What makes a strong piece of work in this topic, and what can I do to stretch myself in this topic?

• Be as creative as possible with your designs and don’t be afraid to take risks. Use internet research for inspiration.
• Practice the more difficult hand stitching techniques such as the French knot and lazy daisy stitches and try to incorporate these into your designs. There are many YouTube pages that are excellent in helping you further develop these manufacturing skills. Click here
• Attend any extra sessions that the teacher may put on for you
• Attend any extra sessions that the teacher may put on for you

Some of the hand stitches that students learn                                    Day of the Dead Theme                        Some of the theory students learn about             The equipment students use and learn about