Crafting the Composite Garment: The role of hand weaving in digital creation

There is a growing body of practice-led textile research, focused on how digital technologies can inform new design and production strategies that challenge and extend the field. To date, this research has emphasized a traditional linear transition between hand and digital production; with hand production preceding digital as a means of acquiring the material and process knowledge required to negotiate technologies and conceptualize designs. This paper focuses on current Doctoral research into the design and prototyping of 3D woven or 'composite' garments and how the re-learning, or reinterpreting, of hand weaving techniques in a digital Jacquard format relies heavily on experiential knowledge of craft weaving skills. Drawing parallels between hand weaving and computer programming, that extend beyond their shared binary (pixel-based) language, the paper discusses how the machine-mediated experience of hand weaving can prime the weaver to ‘think digitally’ and make the transition to digital production. In a process where the weaver acts simultaneously as designer, constructor and programmer, the research explores the inspiring, but often indefinable space between craft and digital technology by challenging the notion that 'the relationship between hand, eye and material’ naturally precedes the use of computing (Harris 2012: 93). This is achieved through the development of an iterative working methodology that encompasses a cycle of transitional development, where hand weaving and digital processes take place in tandem, and techniques and skills are reinterpreted to exploit the advantages and constraints of each construction method. It is argued that the approach challenges the codes and conventions of computer programming, weaving and fashion design to offer a more sustainable clothing solution

DKR

Seating furnitureCharles and Ray Eames developed this model in connection with the ""Low Cost Furniture"" competition held by the Museum of Modern Art in New York and for the Herman Miller company, who produced various versions of the chair between 1951 and 1967. As with their plastic chairs, the seats and backs are again modeled on the human body. In the case of DKR, however, the result is a comfortable organic form even though such a hard and cold material as steel wire is used. Steel crossed side chair shell over steel Eiffel Tower frame.steel wire chromium-plated Eiffel Tower base.5.15 in. H x 3.14 in. W x 3.66 in.

Antony

Seating furnitureIn 1955, Jean Prouve took part with the support of the French designer group Union des Artistes Modernes, in a competition for the furnishing of a student residence in Antony near Paris. Collaborating with Charlotte Perriand, he produced an exemplary furniture series for the leisure area, the cafeterias and a series of rooms in the student residence. His series included the chair, Antony, which Prouve had designed a similar version of for Strasbourg University as early as 1950.bent plywood, lacquered steel tubing and steel sheet5.79 in. H x 3.34 in. W x 4.5 in.

DKR

Seating furnitureCharles and Ray Eames developed this model in connection with the ""Low Cost Furniture"" competition held by the Museum of Modern Art in New York and for the Herman Miller company, who produced various versions of the chair between 1951 and 1967. As with their plastic chairs, the seats and backs are again modeled on the human body. In the case of DKR, however, the result is a comfortable organic form even though such a hard and cold material as steel wire is used. Steel crossed side chair shell over steel Eiffel Tower frame.steel wire chromium-plated Eiffel Tower base.5.15 in. H x 3.14 in. W x 3.66 in.

Rocking Armchair Rod (RAR)

Seating furnitureThis chair was designed by Charles and Ray Eames. The fiberglass chairs are rare examples of a satisfying synthesis of formal and technical innovation. For the first time in the history of design, Charles and Ray Eames utilized the unlimited malleability of plastic for the development of a comfortable seating shell that corresponds to the shape of the human body. The RAR has a white fiberglass seat with arms, wire legs and wooden rockers.plastic shell, steel wire Eiffel Tower base, wooden rockers4.5 in. H x 4.1 in. W x 4.4 in.

Nr. 41 Paimio

Seating furnitureA chair designed by Alvar Aalto. The chair features a plywood seat housed in a laminated, lacquered frame. The solid piece of black plywood seat scrolled on each end of the chair. The frame is natural wood and the seat is black. This chair is 1/6 scale. Manufactured by Vitra Design Museum.plywood4.05 in. H x 4.05 in. w x 5.7 in.

Dining Side Chair Wood (DSW)

Seating furnitureThe fiberglass chairs are rare examples of a satisfying synthesis of formal and technical innovation. For the first time in the history of design. Charles and Ray Eames utilized malleability of plastic for the development of a comfortable seating shell that corresponds to the shape of the human body. The idea of making a three-dimensional molded shell goes back to a design from 1940. The original attempt to make the shell out of plywood was unsuccessful, however, due to the extreme conditions necessary to mold the material. Only with the advent of fiberglass technology was it possible to achieve satisfying results. The first fiberglass chair went into production in 1950. After years of experimentation, Charles and Ray Eames were able to realize their goal: an industrially produced chair that is inexpensive, sturdy, and comfortable. For ecological reasons however, fiberglass was questionable. Thanks to recent advances in technology and Materials, the DSW can be produced today in exact the same shape but made of polypropylene.plastic shell in black and white, wooden/wire base5.3 in. H x 3.07 in. W x 3.26 in.

La Chaise

Seating furnitureLa Chaise was created as an entry for the Low-Cost Furniture Design competition held by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. La Chaise consists of two paper-thin fiberglass shells glued to each other but separated by hard rubber discs; the intervening space was filled with polystyrene foam. Charles and Ray Eames left the plastic shell untreated. The base is made of five in part angled metal rods inserted into a cross-shaped wooden structure. The space left open between back and seat is not technically necessary, but instead purely a design element. The intention was to emphasize the chair's light weight visually by perforating the otherwise large volume of the shell.fiberglass, iron rods, wood5.39 in. H x 9.84 in. W x 5.59 in.

Ottoman

Seating furnitureThe Womb Chair is regarded as one of the icons of postwar American Modernism. Designed by Eero Saarinen in 1946 and manufactured by Knoll International since 1948 (originally as Model No. 70), this armchair is the first piece of mass produced furniture in the history of design with an integrated seat shell made of fibre reinforced plastic. The expansive foam upholstered shell, which has two inset cushions for added comfort, is supported by a bent tubular steel frame. Saarinen developed the Womb Chair in close collaboration with a boat builder. his stated intention was to design a chair that would allow a variety of sitting positions and create a special feeling of relaxation and coziness. A two-piece set including the chair and ottoman.glass-fiber reinforced plastic shell; fabric, chromed base2.67 in. H x 4.6 in. W x 3.3 in.

Panton Chair

Seating furnitureDesigned by Verner Panton. Inspired by Pop Art and Pop Culture, 1960 furniture design broke with the purism of modern functionalism. The use of new Materials liberated furniture from the constraints of traditional structures and made it possible for designers to play imaginatively with form and color. The Panton Chair is regarded today as one of the classics of modern furniture design. It was the first chair in history to have no back legs and be moulded in one piece entirely out of plastic. It took nearly 12 years of development work before the idea could be put into practice. One of a set of five chairs: a. black; b. blue; c. red; d. yellow; e. white.plastic5.5 in. H x 3.26 in. W x 3.38 in.