Hook and Loop
Personal Statement: Hook and Loop, more commonly known as Velcro®, has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I think my first interaction with it was owning a pair of Velcro-strapped Dora shoes as a kid. I chose to research Hook and Loop because it is an everyday object that is often overlooked. Just today, I have used this Hook and Loop design tool to tighten my hat, close a pocket of my backpack, and stick a dry erase marker back on a white board.
History: The Velcro® brand of hook and loop was invented by George de Mestral in the 1940’s while hunting in the Jura mountains in Switzerland. De Mestral, a Swiss engineer, realized that the tiny hooks of the cockle-burs (a type of plant) were stuck on his pants and in his dog’s fur and wondered how they attached themselves. After researching using a microscope, he observed the hooks had latched onto the loops in the fabric of his pants. De Mestral recognized that this would make for a practical new fastener. It took 10 years to experiment, develop, and perfect his invention.
Function: Velcro was first used in the aerospace industry in the 1950s to help astronauts get in and out of their complex spacesuits. Today, Velcro is used for less serious matters. It is common to find it on straps of children’s shoes, attached to smaller objects and another surface so that the two can connect, or wrapped around things like chords so that it stays contained.
User: Velcro is used by all ages because it is such a simple tool. I know that I have used the hook and loop technology since I was two years old. There is no specific gender, race, age group, etc. that uses this over another because it is cheap and accessible to everyone. Some professions may use it more than others, however. People who work in an office environment and have a desk may use it to stay organized, or a handy man or craft-maker may use it in their projects.
Materials and Production: Velcro is made up of two separate sides. One side is made up of stiffened hooks, and the other side is made up of soft loops, but both sides of a strip of Velcro are made of nylon. The hook side is created under an infrared lamp, which helps mold the hooks and give them the appropriate stiffness needed. The loops are made of matted, nylon fibers that are created using a loom.
Affordance: When looking at two pieces of Velcro, one might not realize what to do with it as first. When feeling the two pieces, one with a rougher texture and the other smoother, a person would mostly likely experiment with touching the two together. They would notice that it takes some pressure to get the two apart again, and that the tighter you push the two sides together, the more effort it requires to take them apart. Overall, I believe the Hook and Loop technology is very simple to use with maybe a little investigating when first using it.
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