10. Textile Scaffold¶
Research and Understanding¶
Basic concepts¶
A textile scaffold is any textile structure that acts as a functional support for another material. Thanks to its porosity, flexibility and fiber geometry, the textile becomes a matrix that can guide form, reinforce materials or host transformations.
Textiles can act as scaffolds through different techniques:
Credit to Anastasia Pistofidou
References & Inspiration¶
Textile composites¶
- TWIST AGAIN by Dominique Vial explores textile-waste recovery by transforming discarded fabrics into a composite material with bio-resin to create decorative objects. Developed as his Fabricademy final project, Dominique continues to refine TWIST AGAIN at Le Textile Lab in Lyon, where I’m lucky to see his beautiful pieces every day.
- Pinhadar®, developed by Arrosia, is a 100% natural composite panel combining pine resin and plant fibers.
Credits: Arrosia
- Solid wool is a design company that makes a strong composite material from 50% wool and 50% bio-resin.
Credits: Solid wool
Textile formwork with wool¶
- Mémoires de Formes is a series by Gaétan Bobichon (Capucine's friend) that creates ceramic vases using felt and clay. He soaks the felt in liquid clay, lets it dry and then fires it. During firing, the felt burns away, leaving the clay to keep the shape of the fabric.
Credits: Gaétan Bobichon
- Glacial Bio‑Pottery, final project of Alice Sowa (a former Fabricademy student), who used felted wool as molds to created a set of plates inspired by Icelandic glaciers. She casted them with a bio-mixture made from eggshells and ash.
Credits: Glacial Bio‑Pottery
Wool shapes and techniques¶
I am fascinated by the variety of forms that textiles can take, especially with wool. This week, my Pinterest board collects inspirations ranging from felted and crocheted pieces to woven structures to create frameworks and visually interesting compositions.
Credit to artists from Pinterest
Process and workflow¶
This weekly assignments required to:
-
produce 2 techniques of textile scaffold choosing from the ones explained during the lecture.
-
digitally fabricate a 3d mold, through 2d/3d design, if possible using CNC milling, otherwise lasercutting or 3d printing.
I decided to focus on wool applications and for the first part:
- bio-based, biodegradable textile composites (textile-dominant)
- textile–resin composites (resin-dominant)
- crystallization.
I also began experimenting with fabric formwork for casting.
Regarding 3D fabrication, I created 3D molds from laser-cut 2D pieces and then filled them with a wool and starch composite. The process is detailed here.
Wool and Alginate Composite¶
I tested two different types of wool with the alginate bio-plastic. To prepare the material, I used the same recipe I tested in week 07, only doubling the quantities to obtain more mixture.
Thônes et Marthod carded wool¶
I used both white and unwashed black wool to replicate the Le Precious Textile process, which combines natural or synthetic fibers with an alginate mixture to shape objects. To ensure an even mix, I cut the wool into smaller pieces and shredded it using the machine in the lab.
Guidelines to use the machine
- Cutting the material into small pieces prevets the machine from blocking.
- The controls include: emergency stop button, forward, reverse and off. Use the reverse function if the material gets stuck.
- Never reach into the blade area unless the machine is completely stopped.
Steps:
I added a few grams of wool to the alginate mixture (there’s no exact recipe to follow), shaped the blend using laser-cut wooden molds and finally sprayed the calcium solution.
Results:
I expected the panels to dry into a stronger material, but after three days they were still soft, probably due to wool’s natural properties.
Update +1 week: Once the material was completely dry, it became more rigid, and each square now resembles a thin, small panel. They can be used individually (for example, as coasters) or combined to create larger objects.
Merino crocheted wool¶
I wanted to test a merino wool I crocheted into a net and then stiffened with the alginate mixture.
To shape the net, I used a leftover laser-cut wooden board and secured the net with four screws after spraying it with the calcium solution, leaving it to dry overnight.
Results:
The crocheted net reminded me of traditional fishing nets and made me hope that the originals could be biodegradable. Companies such as Catchgreen are already working in this direction.
I could also see this net as a fashion accessory, as shown below.
Wool sheets¶
This process creates sheets from textile fibers by combining them with water. It consisted of immersing the shredded wool in water, lifting it with a frame covered in mesh, removing excess water with a sponge and then leaving it to dry.
In the lab, the method is usually tested with natural or synthetic fibers. Diana wanted to try it specifically with wool, and I joined her, with the support of Capucine, to explore its potential.
Results:
We used previously shredded wool but the result was not as expected: the fibers seemed more felted than sheet-like. Adding cotton improved the consistency but still not enough to obtain a paper-like structure.
Feedback: Anastia suggested to try adding 1% CMC cellulose in the water.
Wool and Resin¶
Inspired by the textile–resin bijoux Pauline is creating, I wanted to try making earrings and buttons. She kindly let me use the same material: a two-part, water-based acrylic resin (Plasticréte). I followed the instructions on the box, added a few grams of wool and tested some molds in the lab.
* 100 g of plasticrete part A
* 50 g of plasticrete part A
* 3 g of carded wool previously frayed
* Cool Slip Anti-Stick Solution
* a spatula
* a balance
* a recipient
* silicone molds
* Mix part A and part B in a small recipient
* Add some grams of wool or material you want to include
* Optional: spray a cool slip in your molds
* Quickly pour the mixture into molds (you have 10 minutes before it hardens)
* Let it dry
Results:
Once removed, the samples were as rigid as expected. I noticed that a second coat of resin on the back would have made the surface smoother and the work more refined, but I didn’t have extra material.
I sewed the buttons onto fabric and placed the earring components into rings (I didn’t have the right bijoux findings to assemble them differently, but I’ll do so later).
Crystalization¶
I followed the recipe from the lecture slides, guided by the step-by-step illustrations in Florencia Moyano's documentation.
I experimented with light-colored wool processed using different techniques.
Results:
Later, since I still had some solution left, I tested crystallization on a blue yarn that I had crocheted into a small, doily-like shape (similar to the ones at my parents’ home). The crystals were still forming but remained quite few, so I heated the solution again and replicated the process in a small jar.
Results +1 week: The crystals are quite big, although irregular, and I am happy with the result.
Updates: Mycelium and Wool composite¶
During the Biomaterials week, we experimented with mycelium combined with two types of Thônes et Marthod wool to create samples, bowls and flat sheets.
Results:
After three weeks, I checked the samples, intending to heat-press the sheet-like experiments and unmold the bowls and petri dishes. However, the pieces were still not fully formed and the wool did not adhere well to the mycelium, particularly the curly type.
Lab bowls, typically used in Precious Textile workshops, were repurposed as molds for the mycelium and wool mixture, which set over several days to take their shape.
3D Fabrication¶
Molds¶
A CNC milling machine was not a sustainable solution for our lab, so I designed 2D molds that could be laser-cut from wooden sheets and assembled with wood glue to form 3D molds.
I created two shapes on a square base, using a leftover MDF panel marked by traces of earlier projects. MDF (medium-density fiberboard) is made of wood fibers and glue, not the most sustainable material but still suitable for laser cutting. Each piece was sized to 60 × 30 cm, with a thickness of 3 mm.
The layout was optimized to use the entire panel, leaving no leftover material. In total, 8 pieces were cut:
- two simple squares as bases,
- three copies of a square with repeated rectangles,
- three copies of a square with circular motifs.
These pieces were stacked to increase thickness, creating a more three-dimensional form.
Laser cutting operation
I followed the steps explained in Week 2 and cut the panel according to the parameters below.
| Power | Speed |
|---|---|
| 55.00 | 1.00 |
Material¶
Curious to explore a softer bio-composite using a different wool, I proceeded with unwashed llama wool in natural beige tones, using starch as the primary binder.
Starch–Wool Bio-Composite
Below quantities are for 1 mold
* 30g corn starch
* 10 g glycerin
* 200 ml water
* 2 tsp white vinegar (optional, for stability)
* 10-20g wool fibres
Key ratio: Starch : Water ≈ 1 : 6–7
* a pot
* a balance
* a spatula
* a heating plate
* wood molds
* Cover the wooden mould with slightly crumpled plastic film to allow easy demoulding. Use also anti-stick spray (e.g., CoolSlip) if available.
* In a container, dissolve the starch in cold water, mixing well. Add glycerin and vinegar.
* Heat on medium–low temperature, stirring continuously.
* Remove from heat immediately once it becomes translucent and very thick, similar to mashed potatoes.
Do not overcook: an over-gelled mixture becomes brittle once dry. * Let the mixture cool for 1–2 minutes. * Add the cut wool fibres gradually, mixing gently with a spatula. * If the mixture feels too soft, add a small amount of starch and mix well. * Transfer the composite into the mold using a spoon or spatula (do not pour). Recommended thickness: 5–10 mm. * Leave the material to dry in the mold for 2–3 hours. Demold the material and let dry for 24–48 hours.
Results +2 days:
Samples are still drying and the material has a felt-like effect.
Results +7 days:
After one week, the material is fully dried and thin and stiff, as the starch provides rigidity to the composite. Despite this, the high presence of wool fibres remains clearly visible and tactile on the surface, resulting in a material that feels rigid overall but still strongly fibre-based.
What's next: more to explore¶
I began exploring the use of wool as a formwork material for casting. I ran a first test by crocheting a small structure and applying the alginate bioplastic process. Now that the piece has hardened, the next step is to embed it in plaster and cast a new form from it.
When I walk around Italy, I am always fascinated by the use of the fabric safety net used to cover and protect the structure, when construction is underway. One idea is to reproduce something similar in wool, a structure that rests on scaffolding.
Tools¶
- Lecture material
- Equipments and tools in the laboratory
Images: Martina Muroni unless otherwise stated.