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Deliverables

Steps

To achieve the end goals, the following steps and milestones will need to be crossed. These will also evolve in the course of this project.

Research :

  • Into the physiological / anatomical strutures that the corset will be replacing/replicating
  • Into Corsets, support garments, belts
  • For stylisation, moodboards and research into Contemporary styles as well as my preference of Steampunk

Problem Identification / Definition :

Design and Prototyping :

My approach will be to tackle this from both ends.

  • Design a garment that works for me and parametrize it to be able to create variants
  • Design a system that generates the garment based on input parameters and test it to get the right design

In reality, I suspect it will be a mix of the two, with aspects of the design being created and parametrized or the computation reverse engineered, then the design being reworked based on the computational output, and back and forth.

Step 1 : Study the musculature and imitate it in external structure from scratch, not taking reference of the existing garments.

Step 2 : Test and explore

  • biomaterial for inserts, ribs, stiffening, as well as primary material
  • 3d printing on fabric and wood+textile to understand structure

Once 1 and 2 are done, the rest of the design and process will have clarity in the details, and will flow from there.

Generator :

Once a sense of what the design looks like is in place, the generator will need to be created.

It will use one or both of

  • p5.js
  • Grasshopper

to take in inputs, dimensions, zones of strength/reinforcements, etc to give outputs which my include

  • general cutting line of the garment
  • shapes for reinforcement and strength that may be grown/crafted/lasercut
  • locations of attachments and addons - buckles, holes, hooks, etc

Production :

Once the prototype and generator are in place, the final garment will be produced through the system, and a workflow will be established to make it repeatable atleast, and scalable as well.

Essentially

Research + Design → Prototype
Prototype + Generator → Production

GANTT

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Support required

  • Biomaterials : This is an area I've only explored during Fabricademy, so here I may need help in working out appropriate recipes to get the required strength/flexibility etc properties. I intend to use both crafted materials based on Gelatin or Agar, as well as grown Bacterial Bioleather from Kombucha

  • Computational : Since I intend to use Grasshopper or Processing to create the generator, I may need help here - not for the software but more for working out the structures that need to be computed. However, this one I am fairly confident.

  • Documentation : I struggle with decent pictures, and video is anathema to me. This and the storytelling may be the toughest for me, since I can't science may way out of it.

BoM bill of materials

Draft / Approximation

Tools

Digital Fabrication - Lasercutter - 3D printer

Kombucha Bioleather growing - Trays - Covers

Crafted materials - Stove - Weighing scale - Molds - Basic tools - mixing cups, spatulae, etc

Textile tools - Needles - Snips

Category Item Specification / Notes Qty Price
1. Raw Materials – Kombucha Leather
Culture SCOBY starter Mature kombucha culture
Sugars White sugar / jaggery Fermentation substrate
Tea Black / green tea leaves No flavour oils
Liquids Filtered water Chlorine-free
Reinforcement Open-weave fabric / cheesecloth Embedded strength layer
Conditioning Glycerin Plasticiser
Conditioning Natural oils / wax Final flexibility / waterproofing
2. Kombucha Leather Growing Equipment
Containers Shallow fermentation trays Food-grade plastic / glass 2–4
Covers Breathable cloth covers Muslin / cotton
Tools pH strips / meter For monitoring acidity
Environment Drying rack / flat boards For sheet curing
Sterilization Spray bottle + alcohol Mold control
3. Bio-Resin Stiffeners (Structural Inserts)
Polymer Gelatin / Agar / Bio-resin base For rigid panels
Plasticiser Glycerin Controls brittleness
Reinforcement Cotton fabric / jute Embedded fibre
Molds Silicone molds / laser-cut trays Corset rib geometry
4. 3D Printing – Testing Phase
Filament PLA / TPU filament Flexible + rigid testing
5. 3D Printed Components – Final Build
Filament TPU (preferred) Flexible load-bearing parts
Filament PLA / PETG Rigid anchor parts
Parts Structural ribs / boning Replace metal stays
Parts Lacing eyelets / guides Integrated channels
Parts Back spine connectors Modular locking spine
6. Closures & Attachments
Fasteners Velcro strips Sew-on / adhesive backed
Hardware Buckles / sliders Side & front closure
Hardware Metal / bio-plastic buttons Decorative + locking
Hardware Clips / snap buttons Emergency release
Thread Heavy duty thread Nylon / polyester
Tools Needles / hand sewing tools Manual finishing
7. Assembly & Fabrication Tools
Bonding Bio-adhesive / contact cement Kombucha-safe bonding
Pressing Weights / clamps Panel curing
Finishing Edge burnisher / wax Edge sealing

Slide show

Story telling script

A good exaple of story telling sketches are from ...Florencia Moyano https://class.textile-academy.org/2022/florencia-moyano/finalproject/prefinal03/

FABRICATION FILES

Code Example

How-Tos & Tutorials

Fabrication files