Meet Amy O’Hare

My journey into textiles started when I was seven years old. My Grandma and I used to sew together every weekend, making everything from garments to pencil cases. I loved picking out fabrics and designing things. This really sparked my interest in textiles.

For my GCSE options, I chose textile technology, art, computer science and geography. That's when I fell in love with the science side of it all. I was fascinated by learning about different fibres and the technology behind textiles.

For A-levels, I studied biology, chemistry, and textiles, and realised these subjects all connected, especially when it came to understanding the chemical structures of fibres.

After finishing A-levels, I thought I wanted to go into design because it’s promoted so heavily to those who study textiles, so I started a design degree at university, but it wasn't for me. The design part wasn't what excited me - it was the technology behind it all.

I moved back home and found a laboratory job at Abraham Moon doing quality assurance, doing the acid, alkali and perspiration texts, and loved it! It felt like it was meant to be, I walked past the mill all the time and never knew what was inside, and when I was first given a tour, it was like walking into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory for me, looking at all the processes I’d been reading about and getting to see it in real life, it was so exciting!

Later, I moved into yarn testing and did a Textile Manufacturing Operative Apprenticeship. I completed that and now I’m doing a Data Analysis Apprenticeship which I love, it’s great.

I start work at 7am and finish at 4pm, with an hour lunch break. My days are varied, which I love. Usually, I start with some external testing on yarn deliveries.

We mostly receive merino or lamb's wool but we could also receive linen or polyester. I do spot checks and run tests to make sure everything's up to standard. I test the strength elongation, hairiness, evenness and the count of the yarn, which is the weight and thickness of the yarn.

I’ll mostly use the microscope, but I also use chemical solutions to separate out the fibres for testing, and a machine with magnets to detect the thickness of the yarn, called an evenness tester.


Then, if there are any faults in production, I'll investigate those which can take up lots of my day.

I might also need to help with issues in weaving, and then I’ll need to input all the data as everything is recorded, like the trends of when and where a certain machine is slowly deteriorating or improving and which yarns and colours are performing better. Every day is different, which keeps things exciting!