Browsing by Author "Pokorny, Colleen"

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    Innovation In Craft: A Mixed Methods Study on Pre-Cut Fabrics' Impact on Quiltmaking
    (2020-06) Pokorny, Colleen
    The purpose of this mixed methods study was to develop an understanding of how the innovation of pre-cut fabrics impacted the Under 45 Quilter’s processes, quilt designs, and connections to the historical craft of quiltmaking. The effect of pre-cut fabrics on contemporary quiltmaking has been a neglected area of scholarly research. This research advanced the understanding of shifts in quiltmaking and the relationship between historical and contemporary practices of quiltmaking. A review of the literature discussed the impact of previous innovations on the evolution of quiltmaking. Background was provided on pre-cut fabrics, based on information from literature as well as interviews with industry professionals. Core values of quiltmaking were identified from the literature and categorized into three aspects specific to quiltmaking: processes, designs, and connections to the historical craft of quiltmaking. A mixed methods approach was used with multiple data sources, including interviews with 14 Under 45 Quilters, quilt photographs, five industry professional interviews, and participant observation. Data were analyzed through a grounded theory approach to find emergent themes on how pre-cut fabrics impacted quilters’ processes, designs, and connections to the historical craft. The themes identified were categorized under the three aspects of quiltmaking. Results showed that pre-cut fabrics were pivotal for the Under 45 Quilter’s sustained engagement in the craft of quiltmaking. Pre-cut fabrics redefined the traditional relationship with the fabric stash through purposeful buying and collectible eye candy. The Under 45 Quilter’s aesthetic preferences were affected by pre-cut fabrics, as seen through simpler quilt designs with a variety of fabrics. While the Under 45 Quilter found ways to be creative within the constraints of pre-cut fabrics, pre-cut fabrics were also limiting to design capabilities. The quilters’ selection of quilt designs and fabrics reflected the influence of pre-cut fabrics. Pre-cut fabrics contributed to a reworking of traditional patterns for contemporary techniques. Pre-cut fabrics also influenced how the Under 45 Quilter adopted quiltmaking. The interrelationships among the resulting themes of this study showed the scope of the effect pre-cut fabrics had on the Under 45 Quilter and quiltmaking. There was a shift towards efficient, quick completion, which caused changes to the aesthetics of quilt designs. Historical connections to traditional quilt designs potentially were being lost. For the Under 45 Quilter to maintain a historical connection to quilting, traditional designs needed to be presented in pre-cut fabric friendly techniques and modern colors. The findings of this study contributed to theory development on the relationship between innovations and quiltmaking. The study illustrated how pre-cut fabrics fit into the values and lifestyle of the Under 45 Quilter, and therefore impacted their quilt designs and connections to the historical craft of quiltmaking. The Under 45 Quilter was looking for solutions that accommodated their lives and allowed them to enjoy a creative and meaningful craft. Using pre-cuts, the Under 45 Quilter could quickly finish quilts, which helped sustain their engagement in the craft of quiltmaking.
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    Transforming Quilts into Garments: Designers' Experiences with Upcycling
    (2023-07) Pokorny, Colleen
    The purpose of this hermeneutic qualitative phenomenological study was to describe designers’ experiences when upcycling quilt materials into fashion garments. As calls for sustainable production methods have increased, there has been a greater emphasis on reusing and upcycling society’s material culture. Designers play a critical role in the reinterpretation of material culture as they initiate the transformation of these objects. However, researchers have yet to examine designers’ experiences when upcycling quilt materials. This study illuminated the designer’s role in deconstructing and transforming quilt materials into new fashion garments. A review of literature provided an overview of reuse and repurposing practices in textiles and apparel and historical examples of quilt materials repurposed into garments. It examined factors that led to the rise of the 21st century phenomenon of upcycling quilt materials and the controversy surrounding this phenomenon. In addition, previous research on upcycling and slow fashion and the meaning and value of upcycled objects was discussed. Lastly, research on apparel design models and experiences of designers when upcycling was explored. This research entailed a three-pronged approach to phenomenology, including interviews with 17 designers representing 16 businesses actively involved in upcycling quilt materials into fashion garments, photo elicitation, and content analysis. Data analysis was emergent in nature, following the concept of the hermeneutic circle, aimed at conveying a common essence of the designers’ experiences. This approach expanded on methods used to examine quiltmaking by investigating the social and cultural contexts where quiltmaking, fashion, and sustainability intersected. This research found that the designers shared common foundational elements of experiences related to second-hand shopping and the fashion industry, which were the primary influences for their interests in sustainability and preserving material culture. These common elements motivated designers to give quilt materials new life by transforming them into garments. Their experiences revealed a distinct apparel design process based on their relationships with quilt materials. This design process aligned with material culture methodologies of examining objects rather than traditional iterative apparel design processes. Designers’ experienced strong emotional and aesthetic responses to the quilt materials during the design process. Their emotional responses were specifically due to the handmade nature and living history aspect of quilt materials. Due to their intersecting and conflicting aesthetic and emotional responses, designers experienced a series of tensions throughout their design processes. They became re-interpreters of material culture and actively contributed to and passed along the quilt material’s story to customers. By integrating their emotions throughout the design process, designers hoped to encourage customers to value upcycled quilt material garments. The findings of this study contributed to the knowledge of designers and design processes within sustainability spaces. The distinct design process based on material culture methodologies responded to slow fashion’s calls for new approaches in apparel design to address sustainability issues. The research showed how integrating upcycled material culture into slow fashion paradigms was a way we can begin to address society’s current overproduction and overconsumption problems. It enriched the knowledge of the design process and the relationship between designers and objects within slow fashion, upcycling, and sustainability.