Research Journal of Textile and Apparel

A Study of Techniques, Processes and Procedures Enabling Creation of Seamless Fashion

Towards Innovative Ends
Frankie M.C. Ng
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To cite this document:
Frankie M.C. Ng , (1999),"A Study of Techniques, Processes and Procedures Enabling Creation of Seamless
Fashion Towards Innovative Ends", Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, Vol. 3 Iss 2 pp. 41 - 52
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 A Study of Techniques, Processes and Procedures Enabling Creation of
Seamless Fashion Towards Innovative Ends

Frankie M.C. Ng
School of Fashion & Textiles, Royal College ofArt, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU

ABSTRACT

"Clothes from heaven are without seam (Tian Yi Wu Feng)", the Chinese idiom says. A
study has been carried out to investigate the past and present techniques, processes and
procedures that enable creation of seamless fashion towards innovative ends. This paper puts
the study into context, summarises these techniques and processes as well as their procedures
in creating seamless objects and/or clothing items. and further appraises the favourability of
these techniques towards the ends of seamless fashion creation.

Keywords: seamless fashion, seamless clothing, tian yi wu feng.

1. INTRODUCTION
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The convention of fashion design and production involves cutting and seaming fabrics and
materials. This convention, which has a long history, has in certain ways limited the way fashion
can be created. Attempts have been made to create clothing items without seams produced by
various techniques and processes (e.g., Bezemek, 1975; Norgate, 1976; Johnson, 1978;
Krowatschek, 1981; Zimmermann, 1986; Goadby, 1989; Vickrey, 1990; Picaza-Azouriz,
1993; Spencer, 1995; Fregeolle, 1996; Janda and Williams, 1996; Silvain, 1996; Wilisch,
1996). Yet, endeavours in developing them have mostly been for scientific and industrial
applications, such as surgical gloves and protective clothing, seldom has the idea been
conceived for artistic purposes, and in particular, in the context of fashion. It is envisaged that
the success of identifying, expanding and inventing techniques and processes with new
materials to eliminate seaming in fashion is of both original artistic merit and commercial value,
and will enhance future research in this area.

2. TECHNIQUES AND PROCESSES ENABLING SEAMLESS FASHION

CREATION

The search for techniques and procedures enabling seamless fashion creation began very much
by divination and presentiment. Interviews with experts and dialogues with people with similar
interests or in areas of possible relations proved to be insightful. While literature that is directly
related to seamless clothing remains scarce and scattered, the study has successfully identified
various techniques that are regarded as possible towards seamless fashion creation. Figure I
shows the framework of which the various techniques are enlisted under generic headings
with asterisks for appendages of extended and related scope of studies.

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41
 Figure I. Generic headings of techniques possible of seamless fashion creation with
appendages of expanded scope of studies.

Headings Examples of Appendages

I * braiding * / * composites *1 Japanese braiding, history of braiding, art of braiding, etc.

1* basket* * / * cane* *1 antique basketry, history of basketry, art of basketry, canework, etc.
1* crochet* * I history of crochet, art of crochets, crocheting, crochet techniques, etc.
1* felt* *1 history of felted fabrics, art of felting, felting, felting techniques, etc.
1* knit* *1 3-D knitting, history of knitting, art of knitting, knitting technology, etc.
1* knot* * / * rope* * / * macrame *1 knotting, ropework, knots and ties, etc.
I * lace * / * embroider* * I bobbin lace, Bohemian lace, history of lace, lacework, lace craft, embroidery, etc.
1* mould* *1 dip coating, rotational moulding, etc.
1* nonwoven* * / * spunlac* * / nonwovens, nonwoven products, spunlacing, spunlaced products, spunbond, etc.
* spunbond* *1
1* paper* * / * origami *1 history of papennaking, papennaking, etc.
1* plastic* * / * rubber * * / * latex *1 plastics, plastic technology, rubber technology, latex technology, etc.
1* PYA *1 PYA as an intermediate medium, multi-media textiles with PYA, etc.
1* wrap* *1 Shrink wrapping Mylar, shrink wrapping PYC, etc.
1* spray* *1 fibre spraying, liquid spraying, etc.
1* thermoset* * / * heatset* *1 Thermosetting with bi-component fibres, thermosetting with mixed fibres, etc.
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1* weav* * / * tapestry *1 3-D weaving, double weaving, figure weaving, card weaving, etc.
1* material * * 1 fonnation of materials, materials science, etc.
* Appendages

It was realised that the stages of development of techniques possible of creating seamless
fashion vary. On the one hand, there are techniques that are well developed and are already
used in manufacturing such as knitting technology for hosiery (e.g., Bezemek, 1975; Negri,
1977; Johnson, 1978; Lasch et aI., 1980; Goadby, 1980; Koncem, 1980; Bentley, 1981;
Zawacki, 1981; Polsky, 1983; Dostal, 1984; Ceriani, 1990; Anon, 1994; Spencer, 1995;
Fregeolle, 1996; Janda and Williams, 1996; Widdowson, 1996) and rubber technology for
clinical gloves (e.g., Miller, Vandenberg and Statt, 1977; Berend, 1981; Regent Medical,
1998). On the other hand, there are conventional crafts and skills that have tremendous
potential but are relatively undeveloped in this regard, such as basketry (e.g., Wright, 1970;
Harvey, 1975; Thompson, 1977; Daugherty, 1986; Ma1archer, 1992) and origami (e.g.,
Kenneway, 1972; Tofts, 1990; Williams, 1993; Shannon, 1994; Beech, 1995). Some
techniques involve sophisticated, and often costly, machinery and procedures, such as two-
dimensional braiding (e.g., Pastore and Ko, 1990; Wulfuorst et aI., 1993) and spunlace
technology (e.g., Albrecht, 1971; Ng and Kho, 1998) whereas others can be handily employed
with a limited budget, such as crochet (e.g., Home, 1970) and macrame (e.g., Hillestad,
1977).

3. STEPWISE PROCEDURES OF SEAMLESS FASHION CREATION

3.1 The Four Phases

In general, the procedure of various techniques and processes to arrive at a seamless clothing
item consists of four phases. Figure 2 shows these four phases.

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42
 Figure 2. The four phases of seamless fashion creation.

Basic (e.g., powder,

fibre, liquid, etc.)

Single tubular

3.2 The Stepwise Procedures o/the Techniques and Processes

The stepwise procedures of the various techniques and processes in arriving at a seamless
clothing item are shown in Figure 3. It was found that procedures of the techniques that
enable seamless fashion creation fell into two major groups: from basic directly to multi-
tubular and from basic to singular tubular, then to multi-tubular.

Figure 3. The stepwise procedures of seamless fashion creation by various techniques and
processes.
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3-D Braiding

;----------------------------------l------------------------------------,
Basketry : Start :
' --------------------------------- ------------------------------------~
[ _Finish
______ _ J i

Crocheting

Felting
l -------------------------------------,i
i Start
----------------------------------~-------------------------------------:
Lfl~l~~ L j

Knitting (e.g., tubular knitting)

Lacework (e.g., bobbin lace)

Macrame
I -------------------------------------!
i Start
----------------------------------t-------------------------------------{
L_fl~l~~ L J
[ ------------------------------------,
Nonwovens (i.e., spunlacing) i Start
----------------------------------+--------------------------------------1
!
!L Finish li !
J

Nonwovens (i.e., bi-component

l '------------------------------------1
: Start I
----------------------------------f-------------------------------------f
fibres with heat-setting process) L_fi~i~~ L J
[ :------------------------------------:
Origami (i.e., paper folding) ---------------------------------->------------------------------------~
: Start :
L_fi~i~~ L j

Plasticised PVC (with rotational

[ ------------------------------------,
i Start !
----------------------------------}------------------------------------~
Moulding or dip coating) Lfl~l~~ L J
[ !------------------------------------:
Latex (with dipping or painting) ---------------------------------->------------------------------------~
U~i~i~~
: Start
L J
:

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43
 .-----------------------------------1------------------------------------,
Weaving (e.g., double weaving, i Finish Start i
Pull-warp techniques, etc.) r---------------------------------- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~J

-------------------------------------
Dip Coating
l i Start
----------------------------------+------------------------------------~
LJ:i~i~_~ L j
i

PYA as Intermediate Medium:

,. ----------------------------------!
i Start
I
~----------------------------------+------------------------------------

Formation of 2D PY A L LE~!!~~~ j

PY A as Intermediate Medium:
l ------------------------------------,i
! Start
----------------------------------~-------------------------------------{
Formation of 3D PYA U:i~i~~ L j
[ :------------------------------------,
PY A as Intermediate Medium:
----------------------------------<------------------------------------~
i Start on 2D or 3D i
Multi-media textiles applications U:i~i~~ Lp.~}x~i~2:!_~~~~~~! J
[ -------------------------------------,
Rotational Moulding i Start
----------------------------------t------------------------------------~
i
L!:i~i~~ L j
i---------------------------------T-st~-;t---------------------------i
Shrink Wrapping 1 : I

L_!:i~i~~ L J
[ ------------------------------------,
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Spraying i Start i
----------------------------------~------------------------------------..:
i Finish
L i .l i .J

Thermosetting
l I ------------------------------------:

: Start :
----------------------------------t------------------------------------~
L_!:i_~i~~ L j

3.2 From basic directly to multi-tubular

This process is among the most direct methods in arriving at a seamless item, bypassing the
phases of flat sheet and single tubular. Seamless fashion creation via the techniques of dip
coating with elastomers and polymers, felting, macrame, origami, plasticised polyvinyl
chloride (PVC) with rotational moulding or dip coating, two-dimensional polyvinyl alcohol
(PVA) as an intermediate medium, spraying, and thermosetting of bi-component fibres or
mixed fibres were all formed from materials in basic stage directly to the final seamless
multi-tubular one.

3.3 From basic to singular tubular to multi-tubular

Although started from the basic stage too, seamless fashion creation via the techniques of two
dimensional braiding, basketry, crocheting, lacework, knitting and weaving involved an
additional stage of single tubular before arriving at the final seamless multi-tubular stage,
bypassing only the flat sheet stage.

3.4 Fromflat sheet to multi-tubular

Unlike the previous two major approaches, creation of seamless fashion via the technique of
shrink wrapping started with materials in flat sheet form, shrunk wrapped onto a garment
mould to arrive at the final seamless multi-tubular form, with the application of heat and time
control.

3.5 Others
Worth particular mentioning is the technique of employing polyvinyl alcohol as an
intermediate medium. This technique consisted of two steps. The first step was the production
of polyvinyl alcohol material as an intermediate medium on which textile works applied. It

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44
 involved either a fonnation of polyvinyl alcohol from its liquid stage (the basic stage) to thin
flat sheets (the flat sheet stage) or from liquid PVA directly to a seamless PVA gannent (the
multi-tubular stage). Followed was the application of textile work on the PVA gannent. The
final textile work on a water-soluble PVA gannent was then soaked in water, the PVA
dissolved, leaving the multi-media textile works as an entity of seamless gannent (see
appendix I, figure 14). The two processes could not do without each other - polyvinyl alcohol
in its flat sheet or multi-tubular fonn only served as an intennediate medium whereas the final
seamless gannent could not be made possible without this intennediate medium on which the
final multi-textile works applied.

4. APPRAISAL OF THE TECHNIQUES AND PROCESSES TOWARDS

SEAMLESS FASHION CREATION

4.1 Appraisal
The appraisal of the overall practicality of seamless fashion creation took into consideration
eight factors. They are: 1) equipment availability and accessibility, 2) materials expenses, 3)
industrial support, 4) existing knowledge base and expertise, 5) commercial viability, 6)
artistic innovation, 7) technological advancement, and 8) originality probability. The order of
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the factors was arranged according to the actual sequence in employing the techniques.
Originality probability is regarded as the most critical factor of the research work.

4.2 Results
Figure 4 shows the appraisal results of the techniques. The results serve as a guideline to
appreciate and discriminate the various techniques for further studies of seamless fashion
creation. The symbols '+' and '-' stand for 'favourability' and 'unfavourability' respectively.

Table 4. Appraisal results of techniques enabling seamless fashion creation.

EA ME IS KB CV AI TA OP
Two-dimensional Braiding + + + +
Basketry + + + + +
Crochet + + + + +
Dip Coating + + + + + + + +
Hand Felting + + + + +
Knitting + + +
Lacework + + + + +
Macrame + + +
Nonwovens + + + + + +
Latex + + + + + +
Origami + + + + + +
PV A as an Intennediate Medium + + + + + + + +
PVC + + + + +
Rotational Moulding + + +
Shrink Wrapping + + + + + + + +
Spraying + + + + +
Thennosetting + + + + + + + +
Weaving + + + +
NB: EA = Equipment Availability and Accessibility, ME = Materials Expenses, IS = Industrial Support, KB = Existing Knowledge Base
and Expertise, CV = Commercial Viability, AI = Artistic Innovation, TA = Technological Advancement, and OP = Originality Probability.
'+' = Favourability, '-' = Unfavourability.

It is interesting to note that those techniques that were having more 'favourabilities' were
often having 'unfavourability' in the factor of originality probability. It can be explained that
the favourable conditions of such techniques had already attracted considerable interests,

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45
 prior research and industrial development. Thus it would be relatively more difficult to
achieve groundbreaking results in these areas in the short future.

5. RESULTS

5.1 Introduction
With originality as the top priority for this study, techniques that are having unfavourable
originality probability are excluded for further comments in this paper. Two-dimensional
braiding, basketry, dip coating, origami, plasticised polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with rotational
moulding or dip coating, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as an intermediate medium, rotational
moulding, shrink wrapping, spraying, thermosetting were considered as the preferred
techniques towards seamless fashion creation. It should be noted that some techniques could
have been existed and employed by the industry for some time, yet, it did not necessarily
suggest their lack of potential of future development. For example, a possible marriage of an
old technique with new materials could give rise to original and exciting results, and vice
versa.

5.2 Two-dimensional braiding

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Although was favourable in originality probability, the technique of two-dimensional braiding

required sophisticated and costly machinery which made it difficult to solicit industrial
sponsorship for further experimentation. In addition, two-dimensional braiding machine was
highly discriminative in the materials it receives - mostly carbon and glass fibres.

5.3 Basketry
Although the tradition of basketry tended to be craft-oriented (e.g., vases, furniture, etc.), the
potential of adopting and modifying this craft towards industrial technology seemed great.
The favourability of basketry for seamless fashion creation lied on its ability to weave tubular
forms - a garment top being conceived as three tubes joining together; one for the bodice and
two for the sleeves - as well as its possibility to allow for a variety of patterns, textures and
embellishments. Other advantages were that the technique did not require costly materials and
equipment and could be practised in a humble studio environment.

5.4 Dip Coating

Although the technique of dip coating has been existed for some time, particularly evidenced
in manufacturing gloves and condoms, there have not been literature directly referred to its
employment for producing clothing in the similar manner as it has been for gloves. The
advantages of dip coating were its ability to accommodate a wide range of materials,
including various polymers and elastomers (Sadowski, 1979; Nakashima, Edamatu and Jushi,
1982; Strahl, 1995), its possibility of mixing other substances with the materials fdr
embellishment, its relatively simple production method and uncostly materials, and its
possible adaptation for industrial production. Major challenge would be to improve and refine
the physical properties of the materials such as handle, comfort and breathability for enhanced
wearability and durability.

5.5 Origami
Origami shared all advantages of basketry. An area of possible debate for seamless items
created by this technique would be if additional fastenings were allowed, by the notion that
fastenings such as buckles, lacing, snaps, zippers, etc. could be regarded as alternative forms
of 'seaming' by which two or more pieces of material were joined together. Exploring this

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46
 technique to create secure seamless enveloping forms with no additional fastenings would be
a major challenge.

5.6 Plasticised Polyvinyl Chloride with Rotational Moulding

Plasticised polyvinyl chloride as the material for seamless fashion creation is regarded as
favourable for its flexibility and seamlessness. However, the technique of rotational moulding
would have the similar practical problems as that of two-dimensional braiding. For example,
a rotational moulding machine big enough to take on a garment mould will be massive and
expensive and the mould of garment size would be costly too. Moreover, rotational moulding
machine was hard to come by today and most of them no longer rotated, but rocked.

5.7 Polyvinyl Alcohol and Multi-media Textiles

One of the known applications of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is its industrial application for lace
production. Its applications could be extended to creative uses in printmaking and
conservation. Coupled with multi-media textiles, the technique shared all the advantages of
basketry and origami. It is envisaged to be possible to apply surface works on PVA, first on
flat sheet, then on continuos tubular form, finally on a garment configuration towards
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seamless fashion creation.

5.8 Shrink Wrapping

Experiments suggested a possibility to produce shrink warp tubular forms by first wrapping
flat sheet materials on a tube and then heated up to 300°C for one minute. Given the same
procedure and treatments, it was hypothesised that seamless clothing can be realised by
wrapping the same materials round a garment mould (i.e., multi-tubular configuration). Areas
to be addressed would be the choice of materials and the monitoring of temperature and
timing for the best results.

5.9 Spraying
Spraying fibres onto a garment mould to produce seamless clothing was reported
(Krowatschek, 1981). This technique was regarded as having great potential. The major
problems envisaged were the blockage of spinneret and the density of the materials to be
sprayed, for either too viscous or too dilute were the materials would have caused problems to
the spinneret and in their ability to be sprayed.

5.10 Thermosetting
Thermosetting or heat-setting referred to the setting of materials to a desirable forms with the
application of heat. This technique allows a wider range of materials and a relatively simple
procedure. Areas to be addressed would be the flexibility of the set materials and the setting
of the materials to the prescribed configurations during the thermosetting process, of which
the latter would normally require the aid of moulding.

6. RANKING OF THE FAVOURABILITY OF THE PREFERRED

TECHNIQUES

6.1 Introduction
An evaluation was carried out to rank the ten techniques that are having favourability in the
originality probability in the previous appraisal.

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 6.2 Ranking and Weighting of the Eight Factors
The nine factors that are most critical to the success of seamless fashion creation were ranked
among themselves for their relative importance towards the success of seamless fashion
creation. One weighting from I to 8 was assigned to each factor, with 8 being the most
important and I being the least. Table 5 shows the result of the ranking.

Table 5. Result of the ranking of the eight factors most critical to the success of seamless
fashion creation.

Ranking in Order of Importance Weighting Factors

X Originality Probability
7 Technological Advancement
6 Artistic Innovation
5 Equipment Availability/Accessibility
4 Industrial/lnstilutional Sponsorship
3 Supporting Knowledge and Expertise
2 Commercial Viability
I Materials Cost
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6.3 Ranking and Weighting of the Ten Techniques and Processes

The ten techniques were then ranked among themselves for each factor. A weighting from I
to IO was assigned to each technique in terms of its relative favourability in each factor, with
10 being the most favourable and I being the least. The weighting of the techniques are then
multiplied by the weighting of the factors to obtain the average weighting of the techniques
for each factor. Table 6a & b show the results.

Table 6. Results of the ranking of the factors among the selected techniques and processes.

EA ME IS KB CV AI TA OP
Two-dimensional Braiding 1(5) 1(1) 1(4) 6(9) 1(2) 1(6) 4(2R) 10(XO)
Basketry X(40) 9(9) 5(20) 7(21) 3(6) 6(36) 2(14) 3(24)
Dip Coating 4(20) 5(5) 4(16) 5(15) 9(IX) 7(42) 10(70) 9(72)
Origami 10(50) IO( 10) 10(40) X(24) 4(X) 10(60) 1(7) 2(16)
PV A as an Intermediate Medium 9(45) 6(6) 9(36) 4(12) 5( 10) 9(54) 3(21) I(X)
Plasticised PVC 7(35) 4(4) X(32) 10(30) X(4) 5(30) 9(63) 7(56)
Rotational Moulding 2(10) 2(2) 2(X) 9(27) 2(4) 3(1X) X(56) X(64)
Shrink Wrapping 6(30) X(X) 7(2X) 1(3) 6(12) X(4X) 7(49) 4(32)
Spraying 3( 15) 3(3) 3(12) 3(9) 10(20) 2(12) 6(42) 6(4X)
Thermosetting 5(25) 7(7) 6(24) 2(6) 7(14) 4(24) 5(35) 5(40)

NB: EA = Equipment Availability and Accessibility. ME = Materials Expenses. IS = Industrial Support. KB = Existing Knowledge Base
and Expertise. CV = Commercial Viability. AI = Artistic Innovation. TA = Technological Advancement. and OP = Originality Probability.
n = weighting. (n) = average weight.

6.4 Ranking and Weighting of the Overall Favourahility of the Ten Techniques and
Processes
The sums of the average weightings of each of the ten techniques were obtained. They are
then divided by the weighting sum, i.e., 400, to obtain the average sums of weighting. The
results suggested the overall favourability of each technique towards seamless fashion
creation. Table 7 shows the results.

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 Table 7. Results of the ranking of the overall favourability of the ten factors towards
seamless fashion creation.

Sum of the Average Weighting Average Sum Techniques

258 64.50 Dip Coating

227 56.75 Plasticised PVC
215 53.75 Origami
210 52.50 Shrink Wrapping
192 48.00 PVA as an Intennediate Medium
189 47.25 Rotational Moulding
170 42.50 Basketry
161 40.25 Spraying
150 37.50 Thennosetting
135 33.75 Two-dimensional Braiding

7. CONCLUSION

This study has been carried out to investigate past and present techniques enabling creation of
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seamless objects and clothing for generating original knowledge of seamless fashion creation
contributing to the creative and technological aspects of fashion design. Practical contributions
of the study are to improve garment appearance, enhance imagery continuation, eliminate
imagery matching problem, reduce processing and handling in garment production, save
material cost and add new dimensions in fashion creation and aesthetics. Various techniques
and processes were identified and were enlisted under seventeen generic headings. The
procedures of the respective techniques to arrive at seamless clothing configuration were
theorised by a four-step procedural framework. The favourability of these techniques towards
seamless fashion creation were further appraised and the results presented.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am greatly indebted to many people who have generously shared their knowledge and time,
and offered thoughtful and stimulating insights into the possibility of seamless fashion creation.
This paper owes much to the advice of my chief supervisor, Professor James Park, Head of
School of Fashion and Textiles, Royal College of Art, London, and co-supervisor, Dr. Paul
Ewing, Postgraduate Course Leader, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine,
London, who have patiently guided me along the study. My thanks also go to Professor Frank
Ko, Director, Department of Materials Engineering Fibrous Materials Research Centre, Drexel
University, and Professor X. M. Tao, Institute of Textiles and Clothing, The Hong Kong
Polytechnic University, for their advise on 2-D braiding technology; Dr. Geoffrey Sims,
Industrial Liaison Co-ordinator, Polymer Science and Technology Research Group, Manchester
Materials Science Centre, University of Manchester and UMIST, for his advice on polyvinyl
chloride and rotational moulding; Dr. Y. S. Szeto, Assistant Professor, Institute of Textiles and
Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Dr. Bob Dyson, Department of Polymer
Technology, University of North London, for their advice on polymer science and technology;
Katherina Vrhovsek and Mark Stonehouse, MA students at the Royal College of Art for their
advice on the creative applications of polyvinyl alcohol in textile art and print-making; William
Lindsay, Head of Conservation, Department of Palaeontology, The National History Museum,

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 London, for his advice on the application of polyvinyl alcohol in palaeontology and
conservation; and many others that go unmentioned.

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