3. CIRCULAR OPEN SOURCE FASHION¶

RESEARCH & INSPIRATION¶

Inspiring fabricademy projects¶

*1.Camille Barot | 2.Dinesh Kumar | 3.Julie Merlino | 4.Surzhana Radnaeva | 5. Raul Babines | 6. Maite Sosa Methol | 7. Vivane Labelle*

Camille Barot - Straps out of ring chains
Dinesh Kumar -Flower shapes
Julie Merlino - Camouflage Pattern
Surzhana Radnaeva
Raul Babines
Maite Sosa Methol
Vivane Labelle - Modular Smocking

Inspiring artists¶

Bolor Amgalan - Metabolism 2015

I think the modular system he works with is great and that it allows you to customize a piece of clothing individually.

Danielle Elsener – Decode Design

Pattern and fashion design with zero waste. As a pattern maker, this approach resonates with me since I was always frustrated by the waste generated when cutting fabrics.

*Danielle Elsener, Settlemiers x DECODE*

Karin Vlug
- Unseam: UNSEAM developed a technology that forms three-dimensional textile shapes directly within textiles by digitally programming local shrinkage based on special material properties. The final size and shape can be different for each piece.
- Labeledby X Karin Vlug: In collaboration with Labeldby, Karin Vlug created a 100% digitally produced outfit using lasercut pattern parts and 3D printed details, designed for consumers to assemble themselves with a simple DIY button and lacing system. I really like the idea of freely assembling the garments.

*Unseam, Karin Vlug | Labeledby x Karin VLug*

Issey Miyake – A-POC

With A-POC Miyake creates a pattern that a machine directly turns into a ready-made garment, eliminating traditional cutting and sewing while ensuring zero waste by precisely calculating and using only the needed material. He started A-POC already in 1999 where zero waste wasn't as known as today, which I find quite impressing. Miyake continued with the idea of zero waste techniques and the concept of adjusting garments without sewing which you can see in the video of his fashion show of spring/summer 2021.

Inspiring books¶

I found two books during my research that I would like to explore further. Unfortunately, there is no digital copy available, so I plan to visit the library to take a look at it in person.

ZERO WASTE FASHION DESIGN - by Timo Rissanen & Holly Mcquillan
Circular Design for Fashion Book by Ellen Macarthur Foundation

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT¶

The assignment this week was really inspiring for me, as I have been thinking a lot about how to make my work as a pattern maker more sustainable. Because of that, I was fascinated by many of the projects and artists listed above.

Since I work with biomaterials, I had already brought a material made of wool and alginate that I wanted to use for this week’s project. I had already made a jacket from this material before (see image below), but sewing it was difficult. The fabric is very stiff, I couldn’t iron it, and I also wasn’t able to use any interlining, because of it's stickyness. During the process, I realized that new materials may require different adjustments than traditional sewing. That’s why I wanted to work with the same material and again, to explore new possibilities.

*Biomaterial: wool & alginate | Wool & alginate jacket*

Prototype Paper¶

I experimented with several ideas until I arrived at something I wanted to pursue. At first, I tested interlocking seams along the shoulder and back seams, inspired by Maite Sosa Methol, and tried them out on paper. I also explored creating a form inspired by bacteria, with multiple interlocking options, a square shape to interlock and a rectangle shape with female- and male connection.

I started creating the shapes and the files in Affinity Designer, as 2D software similar to Adobe Illustrator and prepared them as svg file to be cut with the cricut - vinyl cutter.

Cruicut - Vinyl Cutter¶

Upload the SVG file into Cricut.
Select all objects and click Attach to keep them together.
Follow the on-screen instructions and choose the setting for paper, 120 g/m².
Place the paper on the slightly sticky cutting mat so it stays in place.
Insert the mat into the Cricut—the machine will check the paper outlines.
Once the check is complete and everything looks correct, press Play to start cutting.

Troubleshooting:

If the SVG file cannot be seen in Cricut, re-import it into Rhino, group the objects, and save it again as an SVG. After doing this, the file should work. Since Cricut is a hobby-level software, it sometimes has issues with showing or handling certain files.

Cut paper shapes

Laser cut test: Alginate-Wool-Biomaterial¶

As mentioned in the beginning I brought my onw biomaterial out of wool and alginate. However, I knew working with this material would present challenges. Its uneven thickness, ranging between 1–2 mm, makes it difficult to cut. In addition, the wool fibers that stick out can burn easily.

I tested the material and had to be careful to avoid burning it and to slowly test the cutting settings to achieve a good result without burning.

The following cutting settings worked well:

Digital Prototype¶

Preparing modules in Affinity Designer¶

I started by drawing a rectangle with the desired size: 80 x 40 mm.
Next, I created another rectangle to subtract from the first one in order to get the outer shape.
I wanted to interlock the material with a male-female connection. Therefore, I made the slit of the female connection 0.2 mm wider than the male connection to make it easier to insert the piece later.
Then, I positioned the slits. I experimented by making the slits as lines, as well as rectangles with widths of 1 mm, 1.5 mm, and 2 mm, to see which fit best. To waste as little material as possible, I created a smaller shape to test the connection.

Testing connection¶

Here are the connection I tested and it turned out that just making slits as a line is best because otherwise it doesn't hold

*Different slit sizes in original material*

Final shape

Preparing Files in Rhino¶

Troubleshooting Affinity Designer SVG Export

I work with Affinity Designer as a 2D software, which is a great alternative to Photoshop. However, I encountered trouble exporting SVG files because the measurements changed when importing into Rhino. To solve this, I scaled the measurements within Rhino after adjusting in Affinity Designer.

Checking measurements¶

Select the Distance command.
Click on the first point of the line you want to measure.
Click on the endpoint of that line.
The measurement will be displayed in the command history below.

Scaling¶

To scale a rectangle from 47mm to 40mm:

Choose the Scale command.
Click the base point (beginning of the line) and press Enter.
Rhino will ask for the “scale factor or first reference point” — click the endpoint of the line.
Rhino asks for the “second reference point” — type the desired size (e.g., 40) and press Enter.
Rhino scales the rectangle proportionally so the selected edge is exactly 40mm long while keeping the base point fixed.

Nesting shapes¶

After scaling, I duplicated and nested the shapes in a way to minimize waste using Array.

Array¶

To duplicate vertically - I wanted 3 shapes stacked vertically

Enter Array command.
Number in X direction: 1 - Enter
Number in Y direction: 3 - Enter
Number in Z direction: 1 - Enter
For me it helps to visualize the process as if I were doing it manually in real life: click on the reference point, then move and click to the desired new position for the duplicate, ensuring you select the correct reference point. Otherwise it was hard to get along with the array command

ArrayLinear¶

For diagonal duplication:

Use the ArrayLinear command.
Select the objects.
Number of items: 3 (press Enter)
First reference point: select the point to move.
Second reference point: click the point where you want the copy to be located.

Duplicates¶

After arraying, verify that no lines overlap, as this causes the laser cutter to cut twice:

Use Explode to break apart objects.
Use SelDup to select duplicate lines (those exactly overlapping).
The command history will indicate if overlapping lines are found.

Connecting lines¶

For efficient laser cutting I connected the lines.

Create a new, locked layer.
Use the Polyline tool to draw connected vertical lines.
Use Mirror to replicate these lines on the opposite side.
Draw missing lines to complete the frame around the shape.
Use Join to combine these new lines.
Move these new lines back to the default layer.
Delete the underlying original lines within the shape.
Finally, group all relevant lines.

Export to SVG¶

Select the shapes to export.
Use Export Selected.
Choose Save Geometry Only.
In the Export SVG window, under “View and output scale,” click Set.
Draw a frame around the objects to export and press Enter.
Important: Rhino tries to scale objects automatically; set Scale in model to 1.
Save the SVG.

Laser cutting modules¶

Importing the File in Lightburn¶

Use the settings tested before for the biomaterial:
- Speed: 50
- Max power: 25
- Min power: 12

Adjustments in Lightburn¶

If material sheets have slightly different sizes, adjust the imported file in Lightburn to minimize waste.
Use Lightburn tools for curve editing:
- B: Cut the point to open the curve. - only hover over the point, no clicking
- I: Insert a point to open the curve where no point exists.
Use the Joint command under the Edit -Menu to connect curve segments.

Setting Job Origin¶

Set the job origin to control where on the material the laser starts cutting.
Choose the optimal origin for material placement and zero-waste nesting.

Laser cut modules¶

Cutting the shapes worked well. However, at some points, I had to loosen them manually with the cutter because the laser did not fully cut through the material in those areas due to its unevenness.

Adjusting Modules¶

Testing connection of final moduls¶

Testing the connection of the final shapes and trying to show how the material behaves.

Arrangement options¶

As the shapes are modular, there are several ways to adjust them. In the video, you can see four options. The first and second options are used to build textile-like surfaces, while the third and fourth are more decorative elements. There are probably many more possibilities.

Stabilizing¶

To adjust the garment, I decided to use option 2. As the biomaterial is quite heavy and the male connection tends to slide out of the slots, I had to stabilize some pieces with an additional layer — especially around the neck, where the tension is very high. I already suspected that this might happen, but since the connection tests worked well before, I decided to try it anyway. To stabilize the neck and shoulders, I used the smaller shapes that I had originally cut as decorative elements. I also reinforced modules that were particularly thin by using two layers.