Machine-Crafted: Investigating form and aesthetics in the seamless knit environment as a sustainable textile design practice

Abstract

The introduction of electronic, seamless knit technology in the mid 1990s enabled a new mode of industrial textile production. Shaped 3-dimensional knitted forms could be produced entirely by machine. While widely adopted by garment manufacturers for its economic efficiencies, the design capability of this advanced machinery and its potential for more sustainable textile production practices has remained largely unexplored.

This unrealised potential is highlighted in a small, emerging body of literature, which has begun to identify factors limiting design exploration. The complexity of the machinery and its interface, designed to reflect the specialised designer/technician roles fundamental to the traditional industrial knit production system, is recognised
as constraining access to the technology’s design capability. While cost initially limited this technology to commercial sites of production, more recently access and expertise to support education, experimentation and research into seamless knit design and applications has become available through centres like the Auckland University of Technology’s Textile and Design Laboratory (TDL).  This has allowed students, designers and researchers to develop a more hands-on approach, gaining a deeper understanding of the technology beyond the norms of design for mass production inherent to the available design software, to explore original, value-adding, sustainable, design opportunities.

This paper reports on practice-led research focused on the integration of seamless knit technology into a small-scale textile design practice. The exploration focused on developing a practitioner’s comprehension of the seamless knitting environment and on the acquisition of both design and technical skills.

Immersion in a domain more commonly associated with a ‘knit technician’ allowed the capability of the technology to be better understood before being explored through a designer’s creative process, an approach akin to that of a digital craftsman. Along with developments in online manufacturing capability, it presents opportunities for more localised and customised design production, waste reduction and higher product value. Further, in the use of woollen yarn, a natural, renewable and biodegradable fibre that is produced locally is embodied in the design process.

The research resulted in a series of seamlessly-knitted, home interior product prototypes including soft furniture, couch squab covers, double-ended chair covers, and cushion covers. The prototypes are composed of a complex assembly of 3-dimensional constructs such as corners, shaping, closings and layers translated via 2-dimensional knit diagrams. Extensive experimentation with stitch structures within the seamless environment allowed visual elements important to the on-going development of a South Pacific design aesthetic to be retained. This aesthetic has been applied through varying stitch combinations throughout the form, resulting in pieces that exhibit blended compositions of hue and texture within the fabric producing a lasting appeal.

Establishing a deep knowledge of this advanced digital technology has allowed for innovative 3-dimensional forms while maintaining the warmth and softness inherent in woollen knitted textiles in meaningful products that invite user interaction.
As such, this research showcases possibilities for high-value, distinctive aesthetic expression through considered materials and process choices in machine-crafted knitted production.