A Level Textiles at Ashton Sixth Form College is an exciting, highly creative course designed for students who want to explore fashion, textiles, surface design, construction and innovative material processes through practical making and independent design.
This course is ideal for students with a passion for colour, texture, pattern, construction and visual storytelling. Whether your interests lie in fashion design, textile design, surface pattern, print design, costume, interiors, embroidery, garment construction, trend forecasting, creative direction or developing work for fashion and retail markets, this course gives you the skills to build your own creative identity and prepare for progression into higher education and the wider creative industries.
From your very first week, you begin making. Students develop confidence through a wide range of practical workshops that explore both traditional and contemporary textile processes, alongside drawing, sampling, construction and experimentation. The course encourages students to work across fashion, textiles and mixed media surfaces, helping them understand how ideas can move from research and visual recording into refined design outcomes.
You will learn through a broad and varied programme of projects that develop skills in surface design, print, dye, embroidery, fabric manipulation, embellishment, weaving, mixed media techniques, garment construction and digital textile design. Alongside hand processes, students also learn industry-standard digital skills using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and CAD processes to create professional print collections, repeat patterns, technical flats, range plans and portfolio presentation.
A major part of the course focuses on employability and understanding how textiles functions within the fashion and creative industries. Students explore trend forecasting, target customer profiling, repeat pattern design, placement prints, collection building and professional portfolio presentation. This helps students understand how creative ideas are translated into commercially successful products and prepares them for careers within fashion, textiles and design industries.
In the second year, students use all of these taught skills to build their Personal Investigation and Externally Set Assignment. This is where the course becomes fully personal. Students choose their own themes, artists, techniques and final outcomes, developing highly individual portfolios that reflect their own creative interests and future ambitions. This may include fashion garments, textile installations, costume, accessories, interiors, embroidered surfaces, mixed media outcomes or conceptual textile art.
Textiles is one of the most diverse and exciting creative subjects because it combines design thinking, practical making, drawing, photography, construction, digital design and personal expression. It teaches students how to think visually, solve problems creatively and communicate ideas professionally.
Most importantly, it helps students discover what kind of creative practitioner they want to become.
If you are curious, imaginative and excited by making, designing and creating something original, A Level Textiles is the perfect place to start!
Erin Day | Teacher of Textiles
Ashton Sixth Form College, Darnton Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 9RL
t: 0161 330 2330
e: e.day@spt.asfc.ac.uk
w: www.instagram.com/asfctextiles
