Designing for Multiple Expressions: Questioning Permanence as a Sign of Quality in Textiles

Figures & data

Figure 1 Irreversible and reversible changes in textiles. (a and b) Hanna Landin’s, Anna Persson’s and Linda Worbin’s work “the Burning Tablecloth”, a tablecloth that reacts to incoming phone calls by burn marks, explores a non-chemical burnout technique as an alternative way of presenting information (photos: Linda Worbin). (c) Marjan Kooroshnia’s work explores the design properties of heat reactive, color changing thermochromic inks to create dynamic surface patterns in textiles (photo: Jan Berg and Marjan Kooroshnia).

Table 1 An overview of the experiments with the left hand column indicating the type of weave pattern and materials used (marked from A to K), and top column indicating the treatment of the material (numbered from 1 to 14). Several of the experiments combine multiple materials in one treatment, and are referred to with one number, and several letters (e.g. an apron (5) combining plain satin in thin paper and cotton (B), and triangle patterned fabric (J) is referred to as B5–J5).

	Treatments
Textile material	1: burying	2: immersing in salt-water	3: water with iron powder	4: bag	5: apron	6: conference chair	7: foyer chair	8: lab coat 1	9: lab coat 2	10: lab coat 3	11: lab coat 4	12: wash test yellow	13: wash test blue	14: wash test black
A: plain satin - copper, cotton	A1	A2
B: plain satin - paper thin, cotton	B1	B2			B5						B11
C: plain satin - paper thick, cotton	C1	C2								C10
D: plain satin - linen, cotton	D1	D2
E: plain satin - wool, cotton	E1	E2
F: circle pattern - paper, linen, cotton	F1	F2				F6						F12		F14
G: circle pattern - paper, polyester, cotton	G1	G2				G6							G13	G14
H: circle pattern - paper, wool, cotton	H1	H2				H6						H12		H14
I: circle pattern - polyester, wool, cotton	I1	I2				I6							I13	I14
J: triangle pattern - paper, polyester, wool, copper, cotton	J1	J2		J4	J5			J8	J9
K: triangle pattern - paper, polyester, wool, cotton			K3				K7					K12	K13	K14

Figure 2 Various changes in expression. (a, b, and c) prototypes before and after use. (d, e, f, and g) plain samples after 2 months underwater and buried underground. (h) different color schemes placed in opposition to each other in the triangle pattern after two different treatments.

Figure 3 The differing expressions of the same section of the buried circle pattern. Before (a), after two months underwater, unwashed (b), and washed (c). Before (d), after two months underground, unwashed (e), and washed (f). The paper yarn in the buried sample was dyed brown, while the underwater sample was not.

Figure 4 The differing expressions of the same section of the triangle pattern. Before (a), after two months underwater, unwashed (b), and washed (c). Before (d), after two months underground, unwashed (e), and washed (f).

Figure 5 The differing expressions of the triangle pattern. The raw fabric (a); after 2 months underwater (b), 2 months underground (c), 2 days in water with oxidized iron powder (d), 4 weeks in use as a bag (e), and having been washed with yellow (f), blue (g), and black laundry (h), respectively.