Abstract
The purpose of this study was to develop functional laboratory coat for clothing and textile students in tertiary institutions (College of Education, Monotechnics, Polytechnics and Universities) located in South East Zone of Nigeria. Specifically, the study planned to (i) determine the necessary features included in the functional laboratory coat (ii) determined the essential body measurements for the construction of the functional laboratory coat for clothing and textile students in tertiary institutions (iii) validated the comfort and suitability of the functional laboratory coat developed for clothing and textile students in tertiary institutions. The population used for phases 1 and 3 of the study consisted of Home Economics lecturers in tertiary institutions in the South East Zone of Nigeria. Three Home Economics lecturers were randomly sampled from each of two universities and two colleges of education that offer Home Economics. The population for phase 2 of the study was made up of all the students offering Home Economics in tertiary institutions in South East Zone of Nigeria. Thirty students were drawn from each of the four sampled institutions. The instruments used for the study in phase 1, dealt with instrument to determine features included in the functional laboratory coat. Phase 2, dealt with essential body measurements needed for construction of functional laboratory coats in three size categories – small, medium and large respectively. Phase 3, dealt with instrument for assessing the comfort and suitability of the completed laboratory coat. The three instruments were validated by three experts drawn from Home Economics lecturers in tertiary institutions in South East Zone of Nigeria. Research procedures involved determining the features included in the functional laboratory coat through the help of the experts, determined from the students the body measurement used in the construction of the coats, and finally, the validation of the comfort and suitability of the functional laboratory coat using the assessments of the Home Economics experts. The findings of the study were that: 1. Only nine (9) features were identified as necessary to be included in a functional laboratory coat and these included: open front with buttons; big buttons, large hip pockets, large neckline, long sleeve, length of coat below the knee, loosely sewn coat, and open slit at back. 2. The body measurements ranged from 80.2cm for small sized students to 105.4cm for large sized students at the bust and 72.25cm to 92.28cm for small sized students and large size students respectively at the waist. 3. Based on the measurements obtained, functional coats of three categories (small, medium and large) were produced and found to be comfortable and suitable for students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the features of laboratory coat as identified in the study be considered in making functional laboratory coats for students of clothing and textile in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
One of the functions of clothing is that of protection. This function of clothing is more obvious in some occupations and situations than in others. Certain occupations involve tasks or operations, which demand the use of work clothes or functional clothing constructed with certain features that could facilitate rather than hinder work activities. Such clothes may also provide the human body protection against weather, strong sunlight, extreme heat and cold precipitation (Kaiser, 1997). Functional clothing may also provide protection against insects, toxic chemicals and abrasive materials. Functional clothings are specially designed to provide the needed protection to people who need them to facilitate their work.
Some people’s work requires them to be in dangerous and hazardous conditions (Weber, 1990). Such people need protection. Construction workers may need to wear safety boots and helmets. Fire fighters may also wear asbestos clothing in hazardous situations. Police officers may wear bulletproof vests and road workers may wear fluorescent orange vests so that the drivers can see them easily and prevent accidents. Some functional clothes serve to protect the skin from injury and ensure safety. Soccer and hockey players wear shin guards to protect their legs from hard hits by ball. Amateur boxers require protective headgear to reduce the force of punches. Many other occupations such as clothing and textiles related ones require functional apparel. In addition, students of clothing and textile require functional clothing while they are in training.
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Clothing and textiles is a branch of Home Economics, which is studied in colleges of education, monotechnics, polytechnics and universities. It involves the use of equipment, machines and tools for pattern drafting, tie dyeing, printing, and sewing. The textile component requires among others, the use of chemicals, including dyes for tie dying, printing ink for printing on fabrics. All these require special skill, body movements, safety precautions that call for functional clothing. Functional clothing should be worn in clothing and textile laboratories of tertiary institutions since they could provide protection to lecturers, instructors, laboratory assistants and students working in such laboratories.
The functional garment or coat for the students should facilitate the activities and operations carried out in the clothing and textile laboratories of tertiary institutions. Students need functional clothing to protect their personal clothing from spills and splashes from chemicals like caustic soda, printing ink used during fabric printing and from dirt. Functional clothing should also be worn during the process of drafting and sewing of dresses using the sewing machine.
The nature of activities to be undertaken in the clothing and textiles such as drafting patterns, making printing and dyeing of clothes, demands the functional clothing to be worn must have certain characteristics or features, while offering the necessary protection. A functional laboratory coat should have certain characteristics which make the clothing comfortable to wear and suitable to the wearers. Such comfort characteristics may be described as comfort indicators (Brown, 1993). The necessary comfort indicators for a laboratory coat include easy to – manage fasteners, big buttons,
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large armholes, and open slit at the back. It should also have large neck openings, which will make it easy to put on or remove the coat.
Functional laboratory coast for clothing and textile students in tertiary institutions should provide enough room at the shoulders as it is to be worn over normal clothes. The functional laboratory coat should have large armholes and long sleeves. Besides, it should also have large hip pockets, which would be used for the storage of minor tools such as pencils, tape rule and tailor’s chalk.
The construction of functional laboratory coat starts with development of basic or blocks pattern (Igbo and Iloeje, 2003). Such basic or block pattern is adapted to make the required laboratory coat pattern. Block pattern is a foundation pattern from which adaptation is made. Five basic pattern pieces are used for drafting the functional laboratory. It includes a sung-fitting bodice front and back with darts, a neckline, a long sleeve, and skirts, front and back with darts (Hollen and Kundel, 1993).
Drafting on the other hand is a method of obtaining pattern pieces such as bodice, skirt and sleeve by using a set of prescribed measurements following a set of instructions in order to obtain each piece. Usually, the initial patterns obtained in flat pattern drafting are not reliable for indicating a perfect fit. A toile or trial garment is used to make the necessary adjustments in order to obtain a more accurate fit. These patterns once tested for accuracy become blocks or slopers that can be changed or adapted to each new style by moving the darts and seams (Frings, 1999).
A block drafted for an individual based on the person’s body measurement is known as individual block. In garment construction for mass production, it is obviously cumbersome for a dressmaker to embark on drafting blocks for each customer. However,
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blocks can be developed based on average measurements calculated by measuring large numbers of people (Igbo & Iloeje, 2003). The average measurements are grouped into sizes or ranges based on the recommendation of the Standard Institution. These average measurements are grouped into sizes or ranges; small, medium and large based on the recommendation of the Standard Institution (Aldrich, (2002).
A basic block is not complete until it has been proven to fit the figure for which it will be drafted, average or individual. This is done by making a test garment from the drafted block. It is cut from calico or plain cotton fabric and the pieces joined to form a toile or the test garment. The toile is manipulated following the guide for fitting until a perfect fit is obtained (Stringer, 1993). After correcting for fit, the toile is taken apart, pressed and transferred back to a fresh drafting paper. This new pattern obtained after the necessary correction is made is known as the ‘trued’ pattern.
Statement of the Problem
Clothing is necessary for the protection of persons from various environmental hazards and irritants. Beyond this, clothing also reflects personality (Clayton, 1994). It is also a means of recognizing one’s authority, or positions and reveals character traits. Through clothing, traits like trustworthiness, responsibility and a sense of belonging are often intuitively ascertained by employers than questioning (Johnson and Foster, 1990). For clothing to perform these roles, it must fit the wearer properly. Properly fitted clothing, according to Iloeje (2007), makes for comfort and self-confidence. The production of good quality properly fitted clothing makes enormous demands on the clothing industry by various categories of wearers for various functions.
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In Nigerian tertiary institutions, functional clothes in the form of laboratory coats are required in various laboratories for protection and in order to facilitate operations. In particular, functional clothing is required by clothing and textile students of tertiary institutions in South East Zone of Nigeria. In spite of the role of functional clothes in the protection of the students from hazards and in the provision of comfort at work, students and teachers of tertiary institutions in Nigeria, still wear normal clothes which are not designed and constructed based on the demands of the operations needed in clothing construction and textile practical and as such do not facilitate work or provide the necessary comfort required. What is needed therefore is the development of functional laboratory coat for clothing and textile students in tertiary institutions in South East Zone of Nigeria, hence the study.
Purpose of the Study
The major purpose of the study was to develop functional laboratory coat for clothing and textile students in tertiary institutions in South East Zone of Nigeria.
Specifically, the study was designed to:
1. determine the features to be included in the functional laboratory coat.
2. determine the body measurements for the construction of functional laboratory coats for clothing and textile students in tertiary institutions.
3. draft the functional laboratory coats in three size categories – small, medium and large sizes.
4. construct functional laboratory coat in three size categories of small, medium and large sizes for clothing and textile students in tertiary institutions.
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5. validate the comfort and suitability of the functional laboratory coat developed for clothing and textile students in tertiary institutions.
Significance of the Study
Functional clothing is of great importance in many ways. Brown (1999) explains that functional clothing protects the wearer from injury due to absorbing, inhaling or coming into contact with hazardous materials. Functional laboratory coat similar to the above findings helps to protect the wearer own clothing from biological agents, aerosols or chemical splashes and spills vapour. Functional laboratory coat are usually equipped with large pockets, which are easily accessible for the storage of tools used by the worker.
Functional laboratory clothes are beneficial to clothing and textile students, clothing and textile teachers, tailors and seamstresses, fashion designers, and the clothing industries.
Clothing and textile students in higher institutions in Nigeria will benefit immensely from the findings of this work. They require functional laboratory coats that will give them protection and other features that would facilitate their work. Clothing and textile students draft patterns sew dresses and make use of dyes in dying fabrics. They need laboratory coats that have necessary pockets, are of the right length and could easily be removed and are comfortable and easy to work in. The findings will help to provide the students a model of laboratory coat which they can modify to meet their need. Also, the findings of this study will provide the students useful information on skill acquisition through pattern drafting.
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Teachers of clothing and textile will also benefit immensely from the findings of this study. Teachers’ knowledge of the available functional laboratory coat would facilitate their recommendation to students. Further, teachers could also utilize the blocks provided in practical sewing classes with their students.
Tailors and seamstresses will also benefit from the findings of this study. This they do by either wearing the laboratory clothes developed or utilizing the blocks produced in sewing laboratory clothes or related functional clothes which they can market to consumers.
The findings of this study will also be beneficial to fashion designers. They could adopt the pattern blocks as developed in the study to sew different clothes and styles for their numerous customers.
The clothing industries are not left out from the benefit of the findings of this study. They will make use of the block patterns produced from the study to mass produce functional laboratory coats. The already developed block pattern will ease the job of the clothing industries thereby maximizing their income.
Research Questions
1. What are the features to be included in the functional laboratory coat?
2. What is the body measurements of students needed for the construction of functional laboratory coat?
3. How can the functional laboratory coat in three categories of small, medium and large be drafted?
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4. How can the functional laboratory coat in three size categories of small, medium and large be constructed?
5. How can the mean comfort and suitability indicators of the constructed functional laboratory coat be validated?
Hypothesis
One null hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance.
1. There are no significant differences in the mean comfort and suitability indicators of three size categories of the essential body measurements (small, medium and large) for the constructed functional laboratory coats.
Scope of the Study
The functional laboratory coat developed in this study is intended for the use of clothing and textile students in higher institutions in South East Nigeria. The coat is intended to offer comfort and suitable for students while working in the laboratory. The coat is also intended to have features such as pockets for items used by the students such as pencils, pens and tapes. The laboratory coat will be made in only three sizes small, medium and large.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
DEVELOPMENT OF FUNCTIONAL LABORATORY COAT FOR CLOTHING AND TEXTILE STUDENTS IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN SOUTH EASTZONE OF NIGERIA
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