FIBRE, FABRIC, AND FORM: EMBEDDING TRANSFORMATIVE THREE-DIMENSIONALITY IN WEAVING

Abstract

Textiles, and textile objects, no matter their scale, retain traces within their expression of the finescale fibre or yarn from which they are formed. Woven textile forms are typically constructed using hierarchical cut-and-assemble techniques, where the expression at the fibre-scale may be subsumed by that of the dominant form expression. Through experimental design research, a framework for designing non-hierarchical woven textiles has been developed, which navigates between 2D and 3D thinking and micro- and macro-scale design elements. This framework is contextualised through three methods for embedding three-dimensional form in a textile as it is woven: Catenary Structure, Tension Folds, and Expanding Layers. An example is presented for each method, and the design of these multimorphic textile-forms is discussed, alongside the variable nature of scale in the digital textile design process. The framework exposes the multimorphic nature of woven textile-forms, and provides a lens for understanding their design process.