MS212: Care of Textiles
Instructor: Ann Coppinger
Dates: November 5 through 30, 2007
Price: $425
Location:  www.museumclasses.org

Description:
Caring for textiles demands an understanding of how and why textiles 
deteriorate. This course offers a simplified explanation of the 
origin and structure of textile fibers as well as the finished 
textile object; be it either a piece of whole cloth or a finished 
garment. Care of Textiles teaches students to identify fibers, fabric 
structures and finishes, write condition reports, and understand the 
agents of deterioration that are harmful to various fabrics both in 
storage on exhibit. Topics include preparing textiles for storage and 
exhibit, the use of archival materials with textiles, and three 
dimensional supports.

Course Outline
1.      Introduction
2.      Textiles and Their Structures
3.      Textile Documentation and Condition Report Writing
4.      Textiles and Their Environment
5.      Handling of Textiles
6.      Treating Textiles
7.      Care of Textiles in Storage
8.      Care of Textiles on Exhibit
9.      Conclusion

Logistics
Participants in Care of Textiles work at their own pace through 
sections and interact through online chats. Instructor Ann Coppinger 
is available at scheduled times for email support. Care of Textiles 
includes online literature, slide lectures and 
student-teacher/group-teacher dialog. The course is limited to 20 
participants.

Care of Textiles runs four weeks. Sign up at www.museumclasses.org 
and pay for the course at http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html. 
If you have trouble completing an on-line order, please contact Helen 
Alten at [log in to unmask] or Eric Swanson at [log in to unmask]


Text Books:
Preserving Textiles: A Guide for the Nonspecialist by Harold Mailand 
and Dorothy Stites Alig. Available for purchase from Northern States 
Conservation Center at http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html.

Optional, but not required:  Conservation Concerns, a Guide for 
Collectors and Curators by Konstanze Bachmann (out of print)

Student Comments:
Course was great & worth the time.  I liked how the materials tied in 
together; the lectures were brief, yet to the point, the powerpoint 
slides showed images relating to the lectures.

It more than met my expectations.  I never realized there was so much 
involved in textiles.  Wow, what a lot of information! Thank you for 
all the time and effort that goes into providing the services of the 
Northern States Conservation Center.  Your classes, materials, 
website, publications, etc. are awesome and a real help.  I 
appreciate all that goes into this.

I enjoyed the weekly chats.  I found them to be very helpful.  I also 
liked how the course was meant to be a good refresher.  Lastly, I 
enjoyed the fact that all classmates could post comments/suggestions 
on the forum for all to see. I enjoyed the class and the chats.  Ann 
was very helpful in answering any questions I posed during those 
chats.  Thanks!

Good course and I highly recommend it.

The Instructor:
Ann Coppinger runs the conservation department and teaches 
conservation at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She 
has a master's in museum studies specializing in costume and textile 
conservation from FIT. She is a former NEA master apprentice at the 
Textile Conservation Workshop. Ms. Coppinger previously worked for 22 
years in fashion in New York City. She has degrees in both fashion 
design and pattern making from FIT.  

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).