Source: Textile School | History of Fabrics | http://www.textileschool.com/articles/339/history-of-fabrics
A Brief History of Fabric
Fabrics are the foundation of your group’s apparel. Fabric is woven into humanity and has touched so many lives—beginning in ancient times when primitive peoples used flax fibers, separated into strands and plaited or woven into simple fabrics colored with dyes extracted from plants. The fabric business is often used to symbolize the transformation of manufacturing brought about by the industrial revolution, as it was one of the first industries to benefit from the energy produced by the steam engine powered by fossil fuel. With industrialization, the fabric industry transformed from one grounded in nature to one that relies heavily on synthetic materials and chemicals.
For thousands of years before the introduction of synthetic fibers, the four great fibers in the fabric industry were flax, wool, cotton and silk, all products created from natural, rapidly renewable and abundant sources. Innovators developed synthetic fabrics to overcome some of the inherent limitations of natural fibers: cotton and linens wrinkle; silk requires delicate handling; and wool shrinks and can be irritating to the touch. Rayon, the first man-made fiber produced to emulate silk, became commercially available in 1910. Nylon, “the Miracle Fiber,” came to market in 1939 as one of the first synthetic fibers created from petrochemicals. It established an entire new world for synthetic fibers—including thread and women’s hosiery—and quickly replaced silk in a range of applications. Nylon became the dominant fiber for tents and parachutes in World War II. Nylon’s successful adaptation opened the door for other synthetic fibers
At the time nylon was introduced, cotton was the king of fibers, making up 80 percent of all fiber production. By 1945, cotton production had decreased to 75 percent and its use in the home furnishings market continued to decline. Synthetic fibers made up 15 percent of the balance of the market, with wool and other fibers making up the remaining 10 percent. As more synthetics were developed, however, the manmade cellulose-based fibers like rayon, and the new fossil fuel fibers and films—acrylic, nylon, polyester, and polyvinyl chloride—continued to replace natural fibers. Synthetics delivered greater comfort, soil release, broader aesthetic range (for example, special dullness or luster could be achieved), dyeing capabilities, improved fiber cross section and longitudinal shape, tensile strength, abrasion resistance, colorfastness and better blending qualities, as well as lower costs.
The man-made fibers and films, and a steadily growing palette of synthetic additives, made it possible to add flame-retardancy, wrinkle and stain resistance, antimicrobial properties and a host of other performance improvements. By the mid-1960s, synthetics increased in market share to over forty percent. In the 1970s, a wave of greater consumer awareness and recognition of increasing product liability stimulated market demand for flame resistance in children’s sleepwear, carpet and other products, including upholstery fabrics. For some, manufactured fibers meant “life made better.” Our most popular fabrics are ITY, crepe back satin, crushed tafetta, foil knit, micro sequins, glitter knits, and foil knits. Many of these provide options that allow the foundation of your style to shine!
Praise Hymn Fashions and Ginger Snaps Apparel are the manufacturer and we utilize a wide variety of fabrics and colors. If you do not see what you desire for your fabric, please contact us. We are constantly adding new choices.
Source: Textile School | History of Fabrics | http://www.textileschool.com/articles/339/history-of-fabrics
The Versatile 4 Piece Set
The versatile Mens Black and Silver Four Piece Set (15 SL) is a bargain for music groups wanting to change their look from performance to performance. The set includes a vest, neck tie, bow tie, and pocket square, providing multiple looks within the budget of one product.
Recently, the Praise Hymn Fashions staff took this product and crafted a series of eight looks. We stopped there, but could of kept going! Fortunately, we took some pictures and created this product video.
Contact Praise Hymn Fashions today for production and shipping times on this fantastic set.
Mens Black and Silver Dot 4 Piece Vest Set - 15 SL
Includes: Vest, Bowtie, Necktie and Pocket Square
Black with Silver Dot and Covered Buttons
S-XL Price Listed Above
2X-4X Add $5
Production Time For Orders Placed:
January 1 - August 31 4 weeks
September 1 - December 31 6 weeks
When the curtain rises or the lights come up, your group fashion is one aspect of the performance. Praise Hymn Fashions and Ginger Snaps Apparel (our children’s clothing division) invites you to consider three questions to help you own the stage.
What is our first Impression?
As a parent of teenagers who recently completed the summer working in summer jobs, I frequently answered the question, "Is this outfit work appropriate?" I am proud that my teens asked this because they understand that first impressions matter. The same is true for concert apparel.
A choir director called our staff to inform us that his group won this year a competition that they lost last year. He believed that the difference was this year the choir wore new uniforms. His group “owned the stage” in his opinion. Competitive choirs know that judges begin scoring the moment the first member walks onto the stage. Do we grab the attention of the judges and state, “We are prepared?”
Church choirs need to think about the first impression as well. The message of the music is lost when members of the choir wear apparel that is too short, tight, see through, or really too anything! A church choir wants to eliminate distractions so the content of the music is primary.
Are the lights the right color and are they working?
Many of our customers love our outfits that allow for a "costume change" simply from changing the light color. For example, a silver micro sequin top will reflect the color of the lights and more closely match the "mood" of the song being performed.
Be certain to experiment with the lights prior to the performance. You may think, "I know my stage, we do not need to test the lights," but a bulb may be out or not as bright as last time. This could be an issue if the main soloist of the performance is singing, but everyone is looking for her because the light is missing in action!
Do we appear uniform?
When your group takes the stage, uniformity can work for or against you. If the marching band is on the field, the judges are looking to see if anyone is out of place and the most obvious way to search is to look for a different pattern along the line. The uniform is one way to hide these inconsistencies. If the overarching goal for the performance is to show the sway of the choir, uniformity matters as well. It is easier to portray a “one voice” sound when everyone looks similar.
If the group is in different outfits, sometimes the audience is not listening to most of the first number because they are trying to mentally process the visual cues in front of them. The sound is trying to penetrate the brain, but the visual thought engine is working overtime and the sound processor is lacking the resources to fully hear the performance.
Praise Hymn Fashions partners with over 10,000 music groups to help them own the stage. Our customer service representatives are standing by willing to help you consider what will help your group capture the attention of the audience and accomplish your music objectives.
Praise Hymn Fashions and Ginger Snaps Apparel give back to the community in many ways, but one of our team favorites is the $500 Trip Scholarship.
We love to review the scholarship applications to determine who is the most creative, deserving school to receive the $500.
The scholarship is available to schools traveling on a music trip and the online application is a simple form that generally requires about 15 minutes to complete.
The judging criteria are:
Again, the online application is easy to complete and the deadline is October 15, 2017. We will announce a winner by the end of October, so apply soon.
If you are on our education email list, you already know about this scholarship and should receive a reminder today. If you did not receive a reminder, you should join our email list!
Let's Start at the Beginning...Or at least the Pyramids
"The Redcoats are coming!"
Group Apparel Today
Group Apparel is everywhere today. Children wear school uniforms, choirs have moved from robes to concert dresses, and teens seem to dress more alike than the fashions of their predecessors due to the rise of athleisure apparel. To prove this point, simply go to the popular shopping spot and notice the groups of teens who seem to look alike.
Group fashion does not stop there. Sports groups are on the rise. Once considered on the decline, bowling leagues, with their matching shirts, are making a comeback. It is almost considered taboo when someone runs a race or volunteers for an event and a T-shirt is not given. Family reunions, fundraising campaigns, and corporate apparel are branded, embroidered, mass produced, and sold at an ever increasing pace. Group fashion is not going away.
Contact Praise Hymn Fashions and you, too, will learn how to consider, design, order, and boldly wear some of the best group apparel in the nation. Your group will shine and a new tribe will be born!
About Praise Hymn Fashions
John Robertson, President of Praise Hymn Fashions, invites you to learn about the history, mission, and values of the company.
Praise Hymn Fashions...Providing Excellence in Fashion and Service since 1983.
Rounds Resounding Day
Praise Hymn Fashions invites you to sing the praises of Rounds Resounding Day. This annual event aims to celebrate the art of singing rounds, or part-songs – with different voices taking up various elements of the melody.
English nursery rhymes Three Blind Mice and Row, Row, Row Your Boat and the Australian song Kookaburra are among the most popular rounds, often sung around the campfire by Scouts and Guides. However, serious composers have also written many songs in this format. The oldest published English part-songs date back to the 17th century. More recently a cappella groups and barbershop quartets have put a whole different spin on singing in the round.
The special day was founded in 1987, to promote singing in harmony.
A great way to mark the occasion is to join forces with family or friends and try singing along with Jimmy Fallon, Justin Timberlake, and Michael McDonald!
Days of the Year (2017). Rounds Resounding Day, Retreived from Daysoftheyear.com on August 1, 2017.
Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day
One of our favorite days! It combines ingenuity, design, art and music - it's nothing short of amazing and fun!
"It’s easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself.
– Johann Sebastian Bach
Well Mr. Bach, what if the instrument you’re working with doesn’t have keys? There are all sorts of instruments in the world, and most of them have keys or strings of some sort. But there are drums that lack both, and instruments like the Theremin that is uniquely bizarre in that to play the instrument, you do not touch the instrument. Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day encourages you to broaden your idea of what an instrument is.
History of Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day
The history of Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day is really just the history of the many types of instruments in the world today, and the less commonly known producers of that music. There are hundreds of instruments you’ve likely never heard of, things like the contrabass balalaika, easily the least unusual of the instruments you can research. It has a large triangular body and is either played with the fingers or leather plectrums.
Another odd type of instrument is the American Fotoplayer, a specific form of player piano that was designed to play out the sound effects during the 19th centuries silent movies. One of our personal favorite unique forms of instruments is the armonica, also known as the ‘bowl organ’ or ‘hydrocrystalophone’. It is an instrument comprised of glass bowls of varying sizes that produce different notes when friction is applied. Think of it as an automated crystal wine glass player. These are just some of the amazing Uncommon Instruments that you can learn about, and they come from a long history of musical tradition in various parts of the world.
How To Celebrate Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day
The easiest way to celebrate Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day is simply to take some time researching the many and varied instruments of the musical world. From the Singing Ringing Tree to the Gameleste, there are more instruments in the world than you can even begin to fathom. Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day encourages you to get out there and learn about them, who knows, you may even find an instrument that calls you to play it. So get out there and explore the musical world, and maybe find yourself a new hobby or passion, it’s high time the world had another high profile Holophonor player."
Thread the Needle Day
Sometimes you find yourself in that most difficult of positions, having to navigate your way through two positions of equal delicacy. Maybe you have to find a way to navigate the desires of two family members in an attempt to please both, perhaps you’re a public official trying to do the same for your constituency. Whatever the case, Thread the Needle Day is a day to show respect and appreciation for those who have to do this every day, and encourages those in this position to continue to try to find the middle way.
History of Thread The Needle Day
Thread the Needle Day obviously came from the concept of attempting to navigate ones way through a narrow aperture, such as that on the head of a needle. It isn’t at all uncommon for us to find ourselves in a difficult place between two friends, where extreme politicking is necessary to find a way to satisfy both without becoming the enemy of both. That’s the two ways threading the needle can go, either you slide through the aperture easily, or you get pricked by the other end. Never an envious place to be.
The term is often used by politicians, to describe that metaphorical struggle that is navigating a path through two opposing ideas held by different parts of their constituency. Have you ever found yourself in a position like this? Dealing with family or friends? If so, thread carefully and continue to work to find that way between. It may be difficult, but it’s always worth it. Not every difficult situation must result in a decision made one way or the other, threading the needle allows you to find a delicate path between the two, and if handled correctly, can stitch them together through their similarities.
How To Celebrate Thread The Needle Day
The best way to celebrate Thread The Needle Day is by looking at your life and seeing if you’re dealing with a difficult situation. It happens far too often that we have to deal with them, and even more often that it appears that the only way out is to pick one side or the other. Thread The Needle Day reminds you of the third, more delicate path. Successfully navigated, you can bring together people who were in opposition to each other, and help weld family and friends together where the idea may have previously torn them apart.
In order to perform well, many music educators schedule additional practices just prior to a concert. The increased strain on the voice of singers may actually produce the opposite of the desired effect on the quality of the performance according to a preliminary study published in the March/April 2017 issue of Journal of Singing. As in athletics, early preparation and then tapering rehearsal time as the concert approaches may result in increased vocal quality.
"The results of the current study suggest that a tapered rehearsal schedule may be beneficial for some performers in improving vocal quality, at least as measured by postperformance vocal function. The participant who derived the most benefit from the tapered schedule was an individual who exhibited significant tissue changes during the preperformance exam and thus required additional rest and healing time." (Gorham-Rowan, Paoletti, and Morris, 2017)
Researches studied choirs who tapered rehearsal time by ten percent (10%) each week, up to thirty percent (30%), for three weeks prior to the performance. Additional research should be conducted to explore rehearsal duration and the correlating effects upon performance.
Praise Hymn Fashions is committed to providing excellence in fashion and service and sharing tips for excellence in the classroom and in life for educators. We are an approved vendor in many school districts across the United States and proudly support schools and universities not only with our products, but also by giving back to the education community. To learn more about our children's concert apparel division, visit Ginger Snaps Apparel online.
Gorham-Rowan, M., Paoletti, K., & Morris, R. (2017). Effect of a tapered rehearsal schedule on voice in choir singers. Journal of Singing, 73(4), 391-401. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1874694784?accountid=12085
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