Design and Product Development

Leveraging Technology to Maximize Cutting Yield from Wild Alligator Hides for Crafters or Small Business Owners

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Abstract

In the Southern US, there are numerous industries devoted to maintaining the American alligator as an agricultural product. However, a severe price slump has occurred in the marketplace for wild alligator hides, which could threaten the entire alligator industry. One solution is to encourage more small craft business owners and hobby leathercrafters to utilize alligator leather. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to determine how to leverage technology to maximize cutting yield from alligator hides. A secondary goal was to find free technology that could easily accomplish this method. To begin, the researchers developed a digitization process for alligator hides that employed Adobe Illustrator and a cell phone camera. Four free programs (Draw Pad Graphic Designer, Inkscape,Vectr, and Vector Q) were then tested. This work has positive implications by creating an easy, free method for crafters and small craft business owners to test their cutting yields for alligator.

Keywords: alligator, cutting, technology, crafting

How to Cite:

Stannard, C. R. & Lansdell, L. E., (2024) “Leveraging Technology to Maximize Cutting Yield from Wild Alligator Hides for Crafters or Small Business Owners”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 80(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.17398