WASSCE Clothing and Textiles: Sewing tools and processes
Name the tool by the job it does. A seam answer needs the order of the steps, not only the name of the seam.
The idea
A tape measure takes body measurements. Shears have long blades and are kept for fabric. Scissors are shorter and are used for thread and paper. Pins hold the pieces. The needle size matches the fabric: a fine needle for a fine cloth, a stronger needle for a thick cloth. Tailor's chalk and a tracing wheel move the pattern marks onto the cloth. A seam ripper unpicks a line of stitching. On a sewing machine, the needle, the presser foot and the bobbin each have a job. You do not force the cloth. You guide it. Unplug the machine before you change the needle.
A plain seam is the usual join. Place the right sides together, stitch, and leave the raw edges inside the garment. A French seam is used on fine or fraying cloth. Stitch first with the wrong sides together, trim the raw edges close, then turn and stitch with the right sides together so the raw edges are enclosed. A flat felled seam is strong. It is used on jeans and on some shirts. The raw edge is folded under and stitched down. A hem finishes an edge by folding. Fastenings include a button and buttonhole, a zip, a hook and eye, and a press stud. Choose the fastening the opening needs. A heavy skirt needs a stronger fastening than a light cuff.
Shears and scissors are different tools. A seam named with no steps is incomplete when the question says "describe" or "explain". French seam and plain seam are not interchangeable. Safety is a mark when the question asks how to use the tool: fingers away from the blades, and the machine unplugged before a needle is changed.
Practice questions
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
1Question 1
4 marks
(a) State the difference between shears and scissors. (2 marks)
(b) Give one reason the two should not be swapped. (2 marks)
Model answer
(a) Shears have long blades and are used to cut fabric. Scissors are shorter and are used for thread and paper.
(b) Cutting paper with shears blunts them, so the next cut on fabric is ragged.
Mark scheme
Shears: long blades, for fabric1 mark
Scissors: shorter, for thread or paper1 mark
A reason not to swap them, such as blunting the shears1 mark
The result of that mistake, such as a poor cut on fabric1 mark
2Question 2
4 marks
Describe how to make a French seam. (4 marks)
Model answer
Place the wrong sides of the fabric together and stitch a narrow seam. Trim the raw edges close to the stitching. Turn the work so the right sides are together, and stitch again so the raw edges are enclosed inside the seam.
Mark scheme
First stitching with wrong sides together1 mark
Trim the raw edges1 mark
Turn so the right sides are together1 mark
Second stitching encloses the raw edges1 mark
3Question 3
4 marks
Name two fastenings and state one use of each. (4 marks)
Model answer
A zip closes a long opening, such as a skirt or a dress. A hook and eye holds a waistband overlap. A button and buttonhole, or a press stud, is another true choice.
Mark scheme
One fastening1 mark
A suitable use for that fastening1 mark
A second fastening, different from the first1 mark
A suitable use for the second fastening1 mark
Practise Clothing and Textiles with Anna
More questions on this topic are inside glearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
On fine cloth that frays. The French seam encloses the raw edges. A plain seam leaves those edges inside the garment, where they can fray unless they are finished another way.