The Application of Decorative Techniques in Fashion and Textile at MTSIFA Makerere University

Abstract

The study aimed at identifying the applications of decorative techniques in fashion design and textile at Margret Trowel School of Industrial and Fine Art.The researcher looked around MTSIFA and found out few decorative techniques used by students and went looking for the equipments and found out inadequate tools and equipments yet students doing fashion design are many and even the studio is not enough to hold more than 50 students. Due to these challenges that are faced around MTSIFA, the researcher researched on other decorative techniques applied on a fabric that are rare to fashion students at MTSIFA. The researcher aimed at finding out why the undergraduate students doing fashion students at Makerere University do not apply some of the decorative techniques due to inadequate tools and equipments and even the studio being small, and the scope of the study based on description used to describe the situation thus describing decorative techniques as a non functional aspects of functional design aesthetic appeal of functional or wearable art. Under the application of decorative techniques, the researcher indicates some of the techniques including; beading, macrame, embossing, patchwork, applique, embroidery, fagotting, piping, and these are applied on any kind of fabric using the sewing machines, manual and electric machines though they are not enough. The researcher used instruments to collect data including data sampling thus, random sampling using 35 Undergraduate Fashion students, observation observing the tools and equipments and the space for the studio, interviewing by collecting data from the group of subjects and here the researcher interviewed 15 fashion students and questionnaire using the questionnaire guide. Some of the findings include; more studies and training are needed to explore student's perception of learning experience, solutions which included brainstorming the idea with friends and fashion instructors. In a conclusion, the researcher under the objectives of the study, explored the possibilities of using the decorative techniques.