Fabricademy Week 7 : The Textile Scaffold – Knitted Fabric formation with concrete
Knitted Fabric formation with concrete
Part 1 – Concrete with knitting impressions
Part 2 – Removing the knitted casing
Part 3 – Other Concrete fabric formations
Part 1 – Concrete with knitting impressions
One of my favourite concept was the concrete with the knitting impression in it. I set about using some previous hand knitted textile samples.
I started by creating a simple pouch by folding the sample in half, then stitching the edges up. I knew from the tutorials that the textile would stretch out and there should be a secondary barrier, so I also created a pouch put of jersey stretch fabric that the knitted pouch would sit in. I sewed the two pouches together and left a gap at the top centre where the concrete would be poured in.
Here are the preparation stages, right up to the point after the wet concrete had been poured in.
In the future I think I would pre-prepare all of the pouches, whether knitted or sewn and all of the tolls and instruments needed in one area.
Part 2 – Removing the knitted casing
Here are the stages afterwards, where the concrete has dried and I am peeling off the fabric. I let the concrete sit for just under 72 hours over a weekend.
The smallest piece had a block of wood pushed into it after it was filled with concrete. I intended it to act like a whole to indent into the form, but I think it went too near the base and it also caused the piece to crack. I think it would be different if the piece had a fabric layer to protect it as the large one did, so this is what I would differently in the future.
The largest piece also had a block of wood pushed ito it but this was horizontally along one side of the pouch and it also had the 2 knitted and fabric layers sandwiched in between. This gave great results and is also now a functional piece. It is nice to know that once the pouch is full of concrete, it can still be moulded into another form.
I must say it is my favourite piece so far.
Part 3 – Other Concrete fabric formations
I also tested making concrete forms in other kinds of fabric, mainly jean as I felt it was the wrongest and probably the most durable out of the fabrics I has started with. This piece was stitched and sewed to created a zigzag raised texture, then I stapled it into a wooden frame, before pouring the concrete in.
I also tried the cotton poplin piece which had been painted in wax. The cotton ripped easily and it was easy to pull of and resisted the concrete well, aside from the fabric getting stuck in a crease and causing the sample to break in half! Next time I will be aware of too many fine folds not working in concrete.
Possibly for a future project, I might like to try this with plaster or even a bioplastic material that shapes to a mould.
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