Material science and craft: 

Guided by green chemistry principles, a low-melting-point polyamide material composed mainly of bio-sourced monomers was developed. The small-scale custom-built twister-coiler device was developed alongside the polymer synthesis, thus highlighting the interplay of practice-led crafting and materials science approaches. This discovery laid the groundwork for an entirely electronics-free method for creating simplified actuating textiles and for environmental adaptation. 

Textile design and craftsmanship:

Different prototypes were created to showcase this shape-changing yarn. The designs were inspired by nature's daily choreography, e.g., plant tendrils, sunflowers, and leaves reacting gently to the sun's movement. The changing expression of the textile as a response to the different illumination conditions reveals an interplay between physical shape-morphing and the visual expression of the yarns. Each textile technique allowed us to explore movement at different scales and obtain variations in movement: bending, curling, retraction, and expansion.

-crochet:

Hand-crafting techniques such as crochet were explored to integrate the coiled yarns directly into the structure to exhibit nuanced movement.

Prototype 1: A crocheted butterfly where the reversible twist-coiled yarn triggered by UV energy allows for localized bend.

- weaving 

The weaving approach was to create 3D multilayered textiles using a TC loom. The textiles open and close, capturing energy and emitting light at night due to the UV light-emitting yarns.

Prototype 2: 4 Double-woven textile with reversible twist-coiled yarns triggered by UV energy. Cut top layer lifts and releases when triggered. The textile exhibits additional expressions through UV-charged yarns when viewed in darkened conditions.

Prototype 3: Multilayered woven textile gathers and releases using reversible twist-coiled yarns triggered by UV energy. The textile exhibits additional expressions through UV-charged yarns when viewed in darkened conditions.

-knitting:

Industrial knitting was used to scale up the textile designs further. 3D forms were designed in dialogue with the studied capability of yarns to expand and retract.

Prototype 4: Multilayered, modular, transparent knitted textiles relax and reform shape due to the polyamide filament and twist-coiled yarns triggered by UV energy or heat.

Prototype 5: Curved origami structure that contracts and expands, triggered by UV energy or heat.

The proposal for this exhibition is based on a collection of exploratory textile artefacts that can be activated by natural ultraviolet radiation from the sun. These examples explore diverse forms of craftsmanship in textile techniques, from hand crochet to machine weaving and industrial knitting. The textile artefacts demonstrate nuanced ways to generate movement in textile expressions through variations in materials, methods, and research methodologies that relate human-centred to more-than-human design methodologies. 

Inspired by nature's capacity for change, the project proposes an alternative approach to designing smart materials with shape-changing properties powered by green energy. Natural phenomena, e.g., light, are explored to trigger changes in textiles rather than using electrical circuits and energy, which are often used in smart textile design. The project relates material science to textile design through an experimental research methodology to generate responsive materiality, bridging developments in material science, textile craftsmanship, artistic research, and design.