In the presented collection of artefacts, textiles are seen as active elements in their environments – being able to react to environmental stimuli by changing their shape, colour, or other qualities. Drawing parallelism to biological materials, some of these changes are two-directional and thus can lead to reversible changes, whereas some are linear and irreversible, such as ageing. As examples of two-directional changes, textile designs based on UV reactive properties: colour changing, light emitting, and self-cleaning, as well as textile constructions based on newly developed yarns capable of reversible shape changes upon exposure to heat are exhibited. On the other hand, the colour changes of natural dyes dictated by the ambient environment and the heat-response of new PLA yarns bring about elements of irreversible change. When two-directional and linear changes coexist, the appearance (and thus aesthetics) of the artefacts is constantly altering. The timescales contained in these textile transformations vary significantly creating an interesting interplay of diverse and sometimes intersecting qualities. These concepts are approached from different viewpoints – from developing new advanced materials for making yarns, exploring different textile crafting methods for producing diverse textile structures, and to engaging with aesthetic sustainability. 

This exhibition shows work in progress in the Beyond e-textiles project which bases on interdisciplinary research work involving contributions from physics, crafting, materials engineering, and textile design. Partners are Aalto University, University of Turku, University of Borås, VIA University College, and Iceland University of the Arts. Employing methodologies from these various disciplines and conducting research at different levels of hierarchy of textile construction can help us to reimagine, materialise and finally realise new textile concepts and their changing aesthetics

Sustainable design thinking challenges perspectives on approaches to material development that are considerate of resources from the natural environment. This involves limiting energy consumption and re-purposing materials’ use, qualities, and functions for an extended life span. Using a practice-based research methodology, this research proposes an alternative framework for sustainable textiles with a strong emphasis on designing a material’s expressive qualities related to its extended use values: co-creation and wear. The experimental practice looks at the interplay between a material’s inherent properties and its craftmanship, as well as aesthetic and expressive values which could extend the duration of use. The research takes a bottom-up approach to sustainable design thinking and exemplifies the design of diverse material strategies through a curated library of responsive textile expressions. The responsive textile samples developed in this research illustrate rich ways of responding and adapting to user actions and their environmental surroundings. The textiles’ extended multimodal attributes suggest an alternative framework to design for prolonged lifespan, and exemplify materials that enhance daily life by conserving energy and allowing for customization and location-specific applications. 

In the textile field, digital crafting is a relatively unexplored domain that requires further investigation in relation to the tools of the field and the aesthetic consequences of their use on the design. Computer software such as SDS-ONE APEX4 and computerised flat-bed knitting machines made by Shima Seiki are examples of the digitisation of analogue textile processes, and make use of digitally controlled material-fabrication methods. In adopting an exploratory approach to textile digitisation, this research aims to: i) explore methods of digital craftsmanship with a focus on textile materials and tools for the design of smart textiles, and ii) test the aesthetic possibilities of sketching smart textile artefacts using a hybrid workflow.

This paper presents a hybrid workflow composed of methods emerging from the synergy between experiential knowledge of materials and experiments with digital media. One category of experiments addressed the material level. By utilising digital tools for the virtual sampling of colour-changing smart materials, two changes in textiles were explored: from white to coloured in response to UV light, and from bright to dark in light-emitting yarns being recharged by UV light. The different timings of the colour changes and dimming of the smart yarns were documented and digitised, resulting in a library of colour swatches of gradients based on dynamic material behaviour. The swatches were combined with multi-layered textile structures, digital textures, and simulations of smart and conventional yarns to design the surface of textiles using the knit and weave design software SDS-ONE APEX4. In the sketches, every pixel represented a knit stitch or meeting of a warp and weft thread, providing information about material, structure, and colour at a specific point in time. Another category of experiments addressed the relationship between material and form; the colours swatches were further mapped on three-dimensional objects in Blender software to generate new forms and explore how dynamic surface effects influence the perception of form.

The experiments presented in this case study suggest that digitising a process that is based on the physical behaviour of yarns and textile structures offers an alternative medium for exploring smart materials more sustainably, expanding physical experimentation into the digital. This hybrid process enables designers to move between software packages and collaborate across professional knowledge domains, with the potential to develop cross-disciplinary and more sustainable material practices.

In the collection of artefacts presented in this exhibition, textiles are seen as active elements in their environments – being able to react to environmental stimuli by changing their shape, colour or other qualities, exhibiting behaviours similar to e-textiles but without using electricity. Drawing parallelism to biological materials, some of these changes are two-directional and thus can lead to reversible changes, whereas some are linear and irreversible, such as ageing. As examples of two-directional changes, textile designs based on UV reactive properties: colour changing, light emitting, and self-cleaning, as well as textile constructions based on newly developed yarns capable of reversible shape changes upon exposure to heat, are exhibited. On the other hand, the colour changes of natural dyes dictated by the ambient environment and the response of new PLA yarns bring about elements of irreversible change. When two-directional and linear changes coexist, the appearance (and thus aesthetics) of the artefacts is constantly altering. The timescales contained in these textile transformations vary significantly, creating an interesting interplay of diverse and sometimes intersecting qualities. These concepts are approached from different levels of study – from developing new advanced materials for making yarns to exploring different textile crafting methods for producing diverse textile structures, construction and aesthetics, as well as moving towards shape-morphing 3D textiles, where exposure and disappearance of different properties as a function of changing textile shape can occur.

The tendency to wear out and change is inherent in most materials, yet textiles are usually designed to retain a single expression. Within an experimental, practical work, materials that are inherently changeable were used to create woven and knitted structures in order to approach textiles from the perspective of changeability and explore what this might mean for the field of textile design. This was undertaken in order to improve our understanding of what designing textiles that change over time means for the practice of designing textiles.

The experiments explored changes in colour, texture, and structure within single textiles, and used textural changes to create form based on three variables: material, textile structure, and the stimuli textiles were exposed to. Further experiments explored the potential applications of these textiles in the context of fashion and interiors. The outcomes of the experiments showed that how materials are treated and used influences a textile’s expression and properties and how these change over time. 

The research presented in this thesis suggests an alternative way of perceiving and designing textiles: as things that are changeable. The changes in the properties, expressions, aesthetics, and uses of textiles could be embedded during the design process through three interconnected variables: time, change, and context of use. This further suggests an alternative conception of quality for textiles which is based on the aesthetics of change, in terms of when, how, and as a result of what a textile changes. Such a perspective could even encourage an increased acceptance of changes occurring in textiles, and help to re-establish a connection between people, the textiles that surround them, and the materials that textiles are made of.

Experiment 0 tunic and trousers: cut but unshrunk, shrunk on mould, uniformly shrunk [6 pieces]

Cotton and polyester

These textile-forms do not require new technology, only rethinking how existing technology is currently used and understood. Using an innovative design process that enables the production of 2D woven textiles with the form embedded into the weave structure, these structures and heat-reactive fibres produce zero waste garments (or other textile-forms) through cutting and heat-forming over a 3D mould, with minimal or no assembly required. The textile-form can also be uniformly shrunk or altered with heat over many alternative forms to manipulate its form further at any stage of this lifetime. The overall aesthetic expression of the garment – its texture and form – emerges from the making process, and is therefore unique to each textile-form.

This process transforms garment construction from what is usually a labour-intensive hand process to an almost fully automated one – and front loading or reversing the 'craft' of making to the design stage, while leaving the design perpetually ‘unfinished’. Each different decision and the sequence of alteration becomes an extension of the design and prototyping process, unveiling connections and unintended consequences of earlier decisions and material choices.

The development of dynamic materials has changed the ways in which textiles are designed, but few research projects have investigated multiple sequential changes in textiles. This paper explores the design of textiles with the ability to undergo transformations involving multiple stages. Dynamic shrinking, hardening and dissolving yarns were combined in industrially woven structures to create a collection of five textiles, the texture, size, thickness, and number of layers of which were possible to change through heat and moisture. The fabrics were used in two workshops, and a series of prototypes was developed to explore potential application areas. The outcomes of the experiments show that textiles can transform in several stages through alterations to their properties, and that it is possible to embed this in their structures. Further research is needed on potential applications and how to better integrate textiles into product design processes.

The tendency to wear out and change is inherent in most materials, but – aside from a few exceptions – has been considered to be undesirable by both the industry and consumers. The work presented in this licentiate thesis suggests that, due to change in some form being an inherent property of textiles, it may be viable to look for alternative ways of designing and perceiving textiles that accept change as one of their qualities.

 The experimental work explores change as a quality in textiles from the perspective of the textile material, and examines irreversible changes in textiles from three different perspectives: form, use, and teaching changeability in the field of textile design. Changes in colour, pattern, texture, and structure were explored by developing knitted and woven textiles using materials with pronounced changeable properties, and exposing these to various stimuli, such as outdoor conditions and use in workshops.

The experiments suggest that the combination of material and structure defines how textiles change when exposed to various stimuli. A material’s properties define what the textile reacts to and how, while the structure of the textile influences how it changes through the amount and placement of materials. In addition, time and the handling of a textile shape the exact changes that take place.

Designing with changeability as a quality in textiles opens up for alternative possibilities as regards creating expressions, wherein time and change are design variables alongside more traditional qualities, and could encourage a diversity of lifespans and changes over various timescales, better connecting textiles to the properties of their raw materials. This may mean that an alternative method for evaluating quality based on change instead of permanence could be viable, wherein the notion of permanence as a sign of quality in textiles is questioned.

Developing alternative materials and methods of production and recycling is crucial to achieving more sustainable, circular textile practices. In addition to these, a shift in how textiles are perceived may well be needed. Textile practice has long sought to create textiles that, regardless of their material or post-production treatments do not subsequently change in expression, eliminating the fading of colors and wearing out of materials. Questioning this in order to evaluate quality, durability, and aesthetics may open up for greater circularity through extending product lifetimes, and allowing change to be embraced rather than delaying the signs of aging. This paper presents work that challenges the notion of permanence as a sign of quality in textiles by shifting the focus towards creating textiles that are capable of developing different visual expressions over time.

By examining the natural changes in color of materials in plain and Jacquard-patterned woven textiles made of several materials, this paper explores the possibilities relating to designing textile patterns that can evolve in multiple different directions from one starting point. Textiles woven with a combination of different materials were used in various contexts, including outdoors, in order to explore how the materials reacted. The resulting color combinations varied depending on what conditions the material was exposed to, suggesting a more versatile view on the aesthetics of textiles.

The results indicate that various colors, patterns, and structures can be achieved from one starting point, indicating that an alternative definition for quality, based on the aesthetics of change, may be viable. The natural aging of materials could be used in design processes to embed evolving patterns, colors, or structures in textiles, reconnecting textile products with the inherent, changeable qualities of materials.