For this experiment I used the agenlina fibres to cast the shape of the daily objects. For the first one, I used a water bottle with hot water inside as a mold. Then I put a latex glove over the surface and filled the fibers in between the latex and the bottle. I put the whole thing into boiling water. Unfortunately the latex began to melt during boing. But basically the result is good. Some parts are lack of fibers since I did not distribute them homogeneously. I used the iron to “roll” the bottle to get more fibers on.

Then I put the fibers in between two paper bowls and drop the whole thing into boiling water. The paper became soft, but the casting seemed fast. I took it out before the paper turned to shapeless.

After Leah showed us all of the interesting techniques last week for making non-woven it made me start to think about what processes I could use. I was specifically interested in the compound, possible constructed by two fabrics dipped in a rubber or resin. It has an interesting texture and look. I started to think about what I could used to mimic it. I decided to experiment with acrylic glossing medium and a light weight shiny fabric.  I brushed the gloss medium on to a single pieces and let it dry. It produced a compound that feels similarly to vinyl. It has a little bit of stretch to it and changes flexibility with the heat of your hands. Next I used the same fabric and layered two pieces brushed with the medium. It has a slightly different appearance and feel.

For this nonwoven, I decided to experiment with acrylic paints to see if they could be incorporated into a fabric. During the class, I was inspired by the silicone material, but thought the molding process was limiting and time consuming for textile applications. Making a mold takes time, and it is hard to control the topography of the finished product from the mold. Hence, I played around with some glue, acrylic paints and felt.

Unfortunately, the glue (Elmer’s) dried hard, and did not make an amazing fabric as it was very brittle. The acrylic however, dried into a splendidly soft and flexible material. Varying the paint colors and the way the paint was applied gave the top surface an interesting texture and surface aesthetic that I found very appealing. Next, I tried mixing felt and paint. Instead of painting on top of the felt (too similar to fabric paint), I decided to put the felt on top of the paint. This version has a combination of surface textures – the smooth back of the acrylic paint, the rough bumpy top surface of the paint, and the soft fuzziness of the felt. The felt also stuck pretty well to the paint.

I would like to further experiment with felt and acrylic paint. I think that putting the two together in a fashion that is similar to woven structures (maybe a grid of sorts?) will be quite fascinating. The fact that the acrylic can just be painted on gives rise to a large design space where one can paint whatever fabric structure one desires, and I think that property can be exploited for further use.

]]> http://newtextiles.media.mit.edu/?feed=rss2&p=2968 0 http://newtextiles.media.mit.edu/?p=2824 http://newtextiles.media.mit.edu/?p=2824#comments Tue, 03 May 2011 10:43:37 +0000 KristyKat http://newtextiles.media.mit.edu/?p=2824 I’ve recently become interested in the diagrid pattern and its variations. For this project, I laser cut a mold from masonite and plexiglass.

1st Diagrid Mold

I created the first mold from masonite  (1/8″) and used Smooth-On to cast the mold. The Smooth-On mold was very messy and runny. I wrapped it in three layers of wax paper and taped it to prevent leakage and let it sit for three days. After three days, however, the mold was not fully set. Despite this mold being very greasy — a feature intended to aid in the extraction process — I had a great deal of difficulty getting the mold out of the cast.

Smooth-On mold

Masonite

Smooth-On in masonite

2nd Diagrid Mold

I created the second mold from plexiglass (1/16″) and used another mold for casting. This mold was extremely viscous (but not as messy). I wasn’t quick enough pouring the mold into the cast and it became more viscous (hardened) as I worked my way across the mold (right to left) and air pockets formed on the left side of the mold. Additionally, I applied the final layer of the mold (smallest diagrids) on top too late — when I pulled it off the mold, it created an uneven surface across the already setting mold.

Plexiglass cast

plexiglass cast

Final Rubber Mold

On last Tuesday’s presentation class I was very impressed by the magnetic, flexible silicone that Leah has showed us. For this assignment response I wanted to experiment with magnets and make a soft material that could attract them. I used a steel fiber and mixed it with Angelina heat bondable fiber.

Since Angelina fiber wouldn’t bond to any other material I needed to set the steel fiber layer in beween two Angelina layers. I pressed them with hot iron and cut out a “Letter paper size” piece. At the end I tested Steel Angelina with magnets. The first version of my experiment appeared to be very thin and almost transparent. I liked the effect but the material was very fragile. I decided to repeat the process with more fibers. Both pieces attract magnets, however the thicker material has a stronger attribute.

]]> http://newtextiles.media.mit.edu/?feed=rss2&p=2800 0 http://newtextiles.media.mit.edu/?p=2714 http://newtextiles.media.mit.edu/?p=2714#comments Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:24:11 +0000 Sheralyn Woon http://newtextiles.media.mit.edu/?p=2714

I used the Angelica Fibers and ironed them together. I found that a 3D soft object with no seam can be created just by ironing carefully. When the fibers are mixed together, the sheen is very metallic.

I then sandwiched the paper-like substance between two sheets of the dissolvable film and ran the whole thing through the sewing machine. I sewed some random lines all the while playing with the stitch length and density. After half an hour, I ran the whole sheet under water and I got this lacy, paper-like textile.

Make a piece of flexible nonwoven fabric with some noteworthy characteristic. (An unusual blend of materials, interesting structural characteristics, embedded circuitry, special electrical properties, …?) Create a post that documents your project and add it to the Nonwoven category. Your page should include a photo of the finished nonwoven and a short description of the fabric and how it was built. Since you are also working on your final projects I am not expecting you to spend as much time as usual on this assignment or its documentation, but I wanted you to get a chance to play with some of these materials and techniques. A single photo and a few sentences is fine.

See designs from last year’s class here.

Bring your fabric to class on the 3rd for demos!