Topic outline

  • Welcome to Textile and Clothing Materials Course

    TEXTILE AND CLOTHING MATERIALS 3cr


    This course is an independent online course despite the two meetings in the beginning and the end of the course:

    Wednesday the 13th of September at 9.15-12.00 in room F102 (Väre)

    Wednesday the 18th of October at 9.15-12.00 in room F102 (Väre)

    Attendance in these meetings is compulsory. Send Helmiina an email if you are not able to join. If you missed the first session, please check the replacement task at the end of this page. 


    This course introduces you to the textile industry and textile design field. Through this course, you will learn the common textile and clothing materials; their raw materials, production, and properties. In addition, you will understand the importance of material selection in textile and clothing design. On top of that, the course introduces the most important perspectives on sustainability and environmental questions related to textiles. 

    The course consists of 12 topics that are divided into sections 1-4. Each topic includes readings, short inspiring lectures, and summary material with exercises. In addition, each section 1-4 includes a short written assignment. 

    The course has two contact teaching days, on 13th September and 18th October. The course completion requires turning in the 1st submission and 2nd submission to the submission boxes as gathered PDF files, as well as completing all the topics 1.1-4.3 with all the exercises. To receive a grade from the exercises, 80% of your answers need to be correct. It is possible to retry. 

    The book Interwoven by Salolainen M. can be purchased from the Aalto shop in Väre lobby or AaltoARTS Books online shop. Students get a discount. Some copies are available in the Aalto Learning Center.  It is a good basic handbook for understanding textiles. The book Textiles and Fashion by Sinclair R. (ed) can also be found as an e-book in the Aalto Learning Center (Primo).

    Recommended further reading:

    • Sinclair, R., ed. Textiles and Fashion, Materials, Design and Technology. Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing Limited, 2015. The book is available in e-book format in the Aalto Learning Center
    • Thompson, R. Manufacturing Processes for Textile and Fashion Design Professionals. New York: Thames & Hudson Inc, 2014.

    Exhibition recommendation


    Replacement task for the kick-off session 13.9. 

    1) check the short lecture on the Dialogues website https://virtualexhibitions.aalto.fi/en/dialogues-creating-new-textile-futures/dialogues-an-ode-to-textile-stories and Maarit's lecture on this website https://circulartextiles.aalto.fi/courses/c2t1-side-classes/ (lecture 1.1). These cover partly the themes Maarit covered on 13th September. 
    2) Go to the Dialogues exhibition in Oodi Library and choose one of the works. Take a photo of the work and write shortly why this work attracted your attention and what new or familiar textile materials and techniques were used in the project. Send the photo and text to Helmiina by email by the end of the course. 


    Replacement task for the final session 18.10.

    1) Watch Pirjo Heikkilä’s online lecture about textile recycling here: https://circulartextiles.aalto.fi/courses/c2t2-main-class/ and go through Kirsti’s slides. 

    2) Reflect on the topic of circular textiles and textile recycling: how do you see it affecting your choices as a textile professional in your future work? Send Helmiina your text (max 1 page) by email by the end of Tuesday 24.10.



    Welcome to the course!

    - Maarit Salolainen and Helmiina Hirviniemi