New Textiles 2011

I wanted to make a very conductive yarn which would be elastic and flexible at the same time. I started to search for different types of aluminium. My class mate Ilan came with an idea to use a waste springs from his metal workshop. That was my first time in a workshop like that and it was a great experience to see all the mashines and other equipment they are using there. We wanted to make the longest ” waste” spring possible to spin it later with other fabrics. Unfortunately the material wasn’t as elastic as I was hoping at the begining. I managed to make just about a yard of my yarn. I wanted to isolate the yarn by wraping a natural cotton therad around it.

Process:

1. During our spinning tutorial led by KanJun Qiu we have learned how to use a spindle and make a yarn out of different types fiber. My first yarn made during this class was 164 cm long and I used it later to fill my conductive Spring.

2. I went with Ilan to the metal workshop where I could see a diffrent types of aluminium springs. They had diverse lengh and twist, some were very fragile but some quite elastic and flexible. We started to search for a right one, but than we had an idea to make one very long aluminium base by ourselves. That was my first time when I had a chance to use this “metal peeling” machine. It was a great experience, to feel how soft metal can be when is treated with a certain speed!

3. The longest piece we managed to make was 90 centimeters, but I decided to work with it. I was hoping that I could connect shorter pieces later on. I spun my toutorial-class yarn together with my aluminium spring – this gave me a needed  thickness cause the aluminium itself was very flat.

4. I wanted to isolate the spring so I started to wrap the spiral with a cotton thread.

Final length of the yarn:  87 centimiters (lenght of aluminium spring)

Conductivity: 0.6 ohms per 10 mm

Ply: 7 (2 inside yarn made during spinning tuotorial, 1 aluminium spring, 1 cotton thread (made out of 4)

Fiber length: aluminium 90 centimiters, wool- around 13/14 cm, thread – (used as continuous filament 2x 150 cm)

Twist: Aluminium 1 full turn per 15 mm, thread apx. 16 turns per 15 mm, my spun yarn 7 per 15 mm