Arts Thread

Compositional textile research in knitting can yield unique characteristics in the final textile sample. Using a combination of techniques, as well as material research and development, allows three-dimensional form to be synthesised from dubied machine knitted textiles. This body of work explores the duality of the project’s fundamental notion; Comfort can not exist without discomfort. The project investigates the capacity of knitted textiles influencing sensory experience by seamlessly amalgamating soft and rigid surface textures.Through meticulous experimental processes, a specific yarn blend was discovered allowing a rigid knitted structure to be created, with no added external material. The interaction between the unique composition of yarn in the final textile allows the fabrication of a seamlessly fashioned shoe which includes a knitted sole intended to stimulate acupressure points and yield reflexology benefits. These exciting results allowed the further exploration of the use of knitted textiles and techniques in a holistic health manner, unearthing the endless possibilities within the realm of functional textiles. Further experimentation with material selection, conceptual ideation and a multidisciplinary design approach has the potential to create means of enhancing individual’s health and well-being.