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10. Textile Scaffold

🔍 Research & References

For this week, I focused on projects and studios that explore experimental material behavior and how textiles can transform, sculpt, or grow. I was especially drawn to artists and researchers whose work feels alive or who treat fabric as a structural or reactive element.

🧠 MIT Self-Assembly Lab

Project: Programmable Table
Their work on shape-shifting furniture inspired me to think of textiles as dynamic structures — not just passive materials. This project, which flattens or expands depending on pressure or weight, made me wonder: what if textile scaffolds could adapt too? 🔄

🧬 Neri Oxman / The Mediated Matter Group (MIT Media Lab)

Projects: Silk Pavilion, Aguahoja, etc.
Oxman's team uses biological processes to build form, merging nature, design, and digital fabrication. The Silk Pavilion showed me how fiber can be layered in ways that are both soft and architectural — perfect for rethinking textile formwork or biomaterial composites. 🕸️🌿
Link to Mediated Matter Group

🌱 Studio Sarmīte (Sarmīte Polakova)

Project: Icons Re:Outfitted
This project reimagines sacred garments by upcycling traditional liturgical clothes using materials like old denim. The work challenged me to think about ritual, memory, and texture in textile composites. It’s emotional, physical, and deeply connected to natural cycles. 🧵🪵

get inspired!

Process and workflow

🧪❄️Crystallization

For my first experiment, I explored crystallization using:

  • Yarn pompom

  • Vinyl paper butterfly

  • Earring with yarn

  • Small piece of chiffon fabric

Why I chose this

I was curious about how crystals can grow on different textures and surfaces and wanted to try an aesthetic yet scientific method of creating surface embellishments on various lightweight materials. I prepared a solution of 80g alum with 500ml boiled water, then submerged the materials and left them for 2 days.

🔬 Observations:

Crystals formed on one side of the pompom only.

The butterfly and earring crystallized only where yarn was present.

On the chiffon, crystals formed a barely visible salt-like film.

📸

What I learned
Surface texture matters a lot — porous or fibrous materials create a better foundation for crystal growth. I also realized that even if the visual outcome is subtle, the effect of layering such crystalized elements could work better as embellishments or texture contrasts.

🧱Fabric Formwork with Ciment

Why I chose this I wanted to explore how textiles can be used to shape rather than contain material — flipping the casting logic by using textiles as structure and not as molds.

Materials used:

Human hair weave

Crocheted napkins

Woven fabric

I mixed two handfuls of ciment with water to create a liquid paste, then:

Soaked each textile in the ciment.

Sculpted them into organic shapes.

Let them dry for 48 hours.

🔬 Results:

The dried forms became rigid but fragile.

The hair maintained its shape, surprisingly visible in the final piece.

Each textile retained its unique surface structure.

📸

What I learned Using cement as a stiffening agent instead of a mold material can give textiles new sculptural potential. The resulting texture feels raw and slightly eerie, which opens possibilities for conceptual or wearable art pieces with unexpected tactility.

👗Resin & Kitenge Composite: Sculpted Corset

Why I chose this I wanted to see how far I could push soft fabric into a rigid, body-sculpted structure using resin — aiming to create a wearable sculpture.

Steps:

  • Wrapped a mannequin in plastic + tape.

  • Mixed 1 part resin + 0.5 part hardener.

  • Soaked kitenge fabric fully.

  • Draped and sculpted the fabric onto the mannequin.

  • Added black beads into the wet resin for detail.

  • Cured for 48 hours.

📸

🔬 Outcome:

The shape held well, but the corset remained soft—likely due to an incorrect resin ratio. Still visually compelling and sculptural. It remained soft and slightly bendable.

What I learned: Resin can successfully reinforce fabric to create sculptural forms, but mixing ratios and ventilation are critical. I also learned the importance of setup — prepping the form and timing the draping made a big difference in controlling the shape.

🌀Shibori Fabric Manipulation

Why I chose this I was curious about how everyday objects (like coins or buttons) could leave structural imprints on fabric through binding and boiling — a process that transforms surface into texture.

Materials:

  • Muslin fabric

  • Coins, beads, buttons

  • Yarn

Steps:

  • Tied various objects inside the muslin.

  • Boiled the bundle for a few minutes.

  • Let it dry for 24 hours.

  • Removed objects after drying.

📸

🔬 Results:

The muslin retained the 3D shapes perfectly. Even when stretched, the fabric returned to its formed shape.

What I learned: Shibori isn't just about dye patterns — it can also create structure. This manipulation opens up ways to pre-sculpt fabric through boiling and shaping, creating repeatable modules or reactive textures.

🧍‍♀️ Mold Making (Silicone + Wax)

Since mold-making is required for this week and I was short on time, I reused the female 3D body model I created during Week 2. I scaled it down and 3D printed a small version.

🧪 Step-by-step:

  • 3D Print the body model using PLA.

  • Seal the print and create a wall around it to prepare for casting.

  • Mix and pour silicone over the 3D print to create a flexible mold.
  • Once cured, remove the PLA body and clean the mold.
  • Pour melted wax into the silicone mold to cast a wax figure. 🕯️

This method allowed me to fulfill the mold-making requirement quickly while still experimenting with material behavior.