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Rhizome, the final project

Video

Rhizome, Everything intersects

Drawings: Annabel Fournier

  1. Imagine a world where every thread, every material, and every story intertwines to create something NEW.

This is RHIZOME

  1. Rhizome*… it’s a metaphor for the invisible connections that link heritage, savoir-faire, geography, people, infrastructures, and so on…

Rhizome is a philosophical concept created by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, in the book 'A Thousand Plateaus' in 1980

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  1. It’is about interconnection —like the stitches of a knit. Menu

Menu Photo: Isabelle Carmoy

  1. Who am I? As someone who has lived in multiple places, I’ve always asked myself questions about identity and Territory.

  2. Have you ever felt disconnected from a place, or wondered how you fit into the story of a territory? That’s where my journey begins.

  3. Today, I invite you to explore how the concept of Rhizome comes to life in my work.

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  1. Let’s explore my current home: Brussels, and specifically, the vibrant community at Green Fabric.

  2. When I first arrived I was struck by how this space brought together technology, craftsmanship, resources and community. It felt like the perfect place to explore the idea of Rhizome—where everything is connected.

  3. GreenFabric – A Living Territory: It’s more than just a workspace— it’s a third place that connects the textile and FabLab communities. It’s where I began my artcraft transformation.

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  1. It’s where ideas, skills, and materials intersect to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

  2. Rhizome in Action – Collecting: I gathered resources from the territory : photos, maps and geographic data, drawings and stories, textile resources and waste.

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  1. Rhizome in Action – Blending: To blend these resources into something interwised, I use many Green Fabric’s tools, like the Kniterate®, a digital knitting machine.

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  1. Rhizome in Action – Creating: I aimed to create connections between people and their territory through these creations.

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  1. Maps: In my work with maps, I explored dithering and transformed urban data into textiles—using the colors of the threads to tell the story of the territory.

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First test oj jacquard

Results

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'Air pollution', 50 x 50 ex, 100% Merino whool

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'Flood 2019', 50 x 50 cm, 100% Merino whool

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'Urbanization', 50 x 50 cm, 100% Merino whool

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'Noise of the train', 50 x 50 cm, 100% Merino whool

  1. Photo-report: I took photos of the area and transformed them into jacquard knits with only 4 colors. Natural dyeing: I dye knited yarns of different materials to see how to use local natural dyes in knitting.

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Photography + Dithering + Whool, cotton, tencel and polyesther + Dyed with Oignons + Dyed with Indigo

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  1. Participary: I invited people—inhabitants, workers, visitors—to draw what this territory means to them, and then I turn their drawings into knits.

Thanks to: Carmen, Laia, Eleonord, Romane, Valérie, Claire, Frédo

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  1. Thanks ou for you attention, Next time, I come to you to connect your territories to your resources!

Here is my presentation, enjoy!

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Rhizome, a final project in 3 months

My project is to connect a place to its territory by using the resources and know-how available. I had planned to demonstrate the RHIZOME concept with 3 techniques. 1. Kniterate + maps, drawings 2. Textiles fibers + photographies 3. Embroderies...

Given the tight schedule, 1 month of learning and numerous tests, 1 month of production and 1 month of making the keynote and the video, I kept the concept by focusing on the Kniterate.

Story telling script

In the project, I developed 3 sub-projects: The maps, the revelation of colors by natural dyeing and the collective fresco.

I managed to script my video by creating chapters for my video: 1. Incarnation 2. Technical 3. Chapter 1: maps 4. Chapter 2: natural dye 5. Chapter 3: collective fresco.

Here is my first idea for maps. Using a knitted map like a map, in 4 different places in the neighborhood :

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Kniterate, a digital knitting printer

BoM bill of materials

I bought my Merino wool for its quality at Bart & Francis in Courtrai, Belgium. Bart & Francis are 2 people who work on the creation of threads for haute couture and test the threads. It’s a bit like an Ali-baba cave of the thread! I chose this supplier because it is available to advise on each thread. It is also possible to buy 100 grs coils, mix a very large number of colors, in order to make tests or small quantities.

It is possible to find more accessible prices elsewhere.

Every jacquard samples are made in 4 colors, 2 threads each. Here are my favorite whool:

Jacquard

• Mérinos SuperKnit - 2 threads 100 gram 100% extra fine 19 micron super soft merino felt resistant 100gr = 1500mt 9,50 euros VAT

• Invisible thread - 1 thread 1000 meter/cone special for invisible knit & embroidery structures perfect transparence illusion invisible 100%PES 3 euros VAT / 1000 meters

Dyeing project

• Invisible thread - 1 thread 1000 meter/cone special for invisible knit & embroidery structures perfect transparence illusion invisible 100%PES 3 euros VAT / 1000 meters

• Cotton Boucletty - 1 thread 100gram = 700mt 82% west indian sea island cotton 18% core binder PA 3,5 euros VAT

• Tencel - 1 or 2 threads2500mt=100gram EU produced tencel VORTEX SPUN vortex single ply = more torsion!!! 3 euros VAT

• The polyester yarn comes from a spool of sewing thread, which is quite thick (800 meters per 100 grams). It doesn’t react very well during knitting; I would have to find a more suitable alternative.

Knitting on Kniterate is a tricky way. . It's how I resume 3 methods and I add my own tips: - 1. Birdeye Jacquard for 2 to 4 colors jacquard - 2. Creating a Stitch Image Knit - 3. Editing from a TXT Jacquard Knit

At the Greenfabric we use a PLA thread for the wast yarn. We have recovered these unused PLA coils. We use a lot of it, so we shouldn’t use an expensive thread. The cast-on thread is a nylon thread. Easy to removed! Finally, at the Greenfabric, we have only 4 colors left for jacquard.

One color means, 1, 2 or 3 threads together. Testing and own settings are essential, it takes time but it is indispensable.

Basics are here:

Creating a Birdseye Jacquard Knit

Creating the Jacquard Image

  • Design the image for the jacquard.
  • Scale the image to 1 pixel = 1 stitch.
  • Maximum width: 252 pixels (= stitches)
  • Account for vertical distortion of about 120%. Test it by knitting a test! It's never the same!
  • Save the image as .png or .jpg.

How to Dither an Image

  1. Import the already scaled image to www.dithermark.com.
  2. Choose the number of colors (2 to 4 max).
  3. Modify the color palette.
  4. Select a dithering algorithm.
  5. Export as PNG (not .jpg).

Tip 1: Use the "Image" tab to adjust settings. Only use "Filters (pre-dither)" settings. Tip 2: Apply settings to multiple images using "Batch convert Image files."

  1. You can modified pixels by using GIMP, and ajust the colors number. Export in png. Photoshop is not as good as GIMP.

Tip 3: be sure all colors apears in the last row. It prepares the transfert from rear to front easely.

Programming on editor.kniterate.design

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Part 1: - Move work - Select - Edit - Edit by line - Add image

Part 2: - Stitch Types

Part 3: - numbers of the carriage (now you can change the color of the whool!)

Tip: Click the mouse button to move the image on the screen.

Create a New File

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  • Rename/save the file: Unlock the padlock.
  • If you duplicate, the editor saves the current file first.

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Tip: Name your file with significante informations (Ribs, technics, size…)

Sizing Your Work

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  1. In LAYER, the CANVAS appears by default.
  2. Hover to see icons (Pencil/Eye/Trash).
  3. Click the PENCIL.
  4. Enter the number of stitches in SHAPE (width x height).
  5. Click anywhere on the window to validate your choices.

Casting On Stitches

  1. In LAYER, click + and select Waste + Cast-on.
  2. Select the location.
  3. Select Pick selection.
  4. Select row 1 with the selection tool (right-click, set selection/course wise).
  5. The cast-on rows appear at the bottom.

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Adjust:

  • Waste yarn: YARN 2 (PLA thread)
  • Body yarns: Use carriages, e.g., 3, 4, 5, 6
  • Check IS JACQUARD
  • In interlock, write: stitch 4 (tension applied to thread 2 in PLA)

Creating a Double Jacquard

  1. In LAYER, click on + and select Birdseye Jacquard.
  2. Click Location/Pick selection, select the 4th yellow row above the waste yarn: select the darkest row.
  3. Click the black window to upload the .png image.
  4. If there's an error, check that the pixel format and number of colors match the CANVAS image.
  5. Yarn order: Add '3 4 5 6'

Assign each color to a yarn guide:

  • Yarn 3 / Yarn 4 / Yarn 5 / Yarn 6

Important: - For 2-color jacquard: Check Invert colors. - For 3 or 4-color jacquard: Check Full needle if you want to have a crisscross knit.

[Tip: Birdseye Backs in Jacquard Knitting] (https://www.kniterate.com/2025/05/21/birdseye-backs-in-jacquard-knitting/)

Editing Block Parameters (Optional)

  1. In LAYER, click + and select Edit option columns.
  2. Adjust parameters for the entire block.
  3. Fill in stitch 4 for thread tension in the image. (my settings for my whool!)

Finishing the Jacquard

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  1. In LAYER, click + and select Front <> rear transfers.
  2. Select the last rows (top), ensuring all colors are present.
  3. You should get 2 staggered rows of arrows so all stitches are transferred to the front bed.

Changing Previous Block Parameters

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  1. In LAYER, click + and select Free Edit.
  2. To facilitate binding off with a crochet hook, change the tension to 10 on the front bed and choose the same yarn color as the cast-on.

Finishing the Knit with Waste Yarn

  • Ensure there are 10-30 rows of waste yarn 2.
  • Fill in Interlock: "Stitch 4". I preferred to knit in 30-row jersey and close the stitches by hand. I wanted to keep the rolled look of the jersey.

Dropping Stitches

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  • In Free Edit, delete the last 2 rows and place DROP stitches on the front bed alternately with tension 6.

References:

Improving Straight Edges

  • In SETTINGS/COMPILAR OPTION, reduce carriage spacing to 1 and 1.5.

Starting the Knit

  • Export Knit to a .kc file (place on the SD card, replace the file systematically).
  • Check: Yarn guides are placed at the start of the row.

Creating a Stitch Image Knit

Creating a Double Jacquard

  1. In LAYER, click + and select Stitch image.
  2. Select your 2-color image.
  3. Assign front/back stitch types.

Adding Rows

  • Add 1 row of jersey stitch on the front bed at the bottom and top of the work.

Adding Transfers

  1. In LAYER, click + and select Front <> rear transfers.
  2. Select all rows and apply.
  3. Fill option: roller 0 stitch 0 speed 120.

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Casting On Stitches

  1. In LAYER, click + and select Waste + Cast-on.
  2. Select the location.
  3. Select Pick selection.
  4. Select row 1 with the selection tool (right-click, set selection/course wise).
  5. The cast-on rows appear at the bottom.
  6. Add: Stitch 4.

Adding End Stitches

  1. In LAYER, click + and select Resize workspace.

Changing Previous Block Parameters

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  1. In LAYER, click + and select Free Edit.
  2. To facilitate binding off with a crochet hook, change the tension to 10 on the front bed and choose the same yarn color as the cast-on.

Finishing the Knit with Waste Yarn

  • Ensure there are 10-30 rows of waste yarn 2 with tension 4.

Dropping Stitches

  • In Free Edit, delete the last 2 rows and place DROP stitches on the front bed alternately with tension 6. 5

References: - 3 Ways of Finishing Your Knit - Alternative Bind-offs

Improving Straight Edges

5 { width=200 align=left }

  • In SETTINGS/COMPILAR OPTION, reduce carriage spacing to 1 and 1.5.

Creating a TXT Jacquard Knit

Creating the Black & White File

  • Create your black & white file in KRITA or GIMP.
  • Export the image as .XPM (Windows text file).
  • Download from GitLab: kniterate-tools.
  • Place the image in the unzipped folder.
  • Use the tab to suggest previously used names.

Open Application/Utilities/Terminal

  • Type the Python script (case-sensitive): 
    python3 cleanXPM.py image.xpm -c2
    (-c2 = 2 colors)

Create an Image File

  • Run a Bash script: 
    bash xpm2jacquard-2colors.sh image.txt
  • This creates a file named image....txt.

Select the File in Layer/TXT Image

  • Select the stitch type (Front, Back/MISS).

Note: - For empty stitches, use a horizontal dash to limit kicks.

Tip: Test in reversible mode. Tip: Reduce the length of dropped stitches by creating a dot pattern. Tip: Adjust the vanishing.

Thank you!