The lycra layer for the smocked fabric comes from a lycra manufacturer near Gent. Big quantities of lycra with productions flaws are given away to projects like this.
How does is quitling happen in a factory ? Imagine a series of machine stitching needles set up in parrallel over the width of the fabric (usually 140 cm), all making the same movement. A digital design steers the movement of the needles.
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THE PROCES
The smocked fabrics are made with a toplayer of ribstop cloth and a layer of discarded white lycra underneath.
The padded fabrics are composed of 4 layers: one white transparant ribstop, one colored opaque ribstop, one layer of padding,finished woth one layer of white ribstop.the bright colours are "chalked" with a white thin layer.
PANELS OF RIBSTOP SAIL + WASTE LYCRA =
The padding is idealy made from waste fabrics, which is an ideal application for the short fibers won from the recycling fibre proces.
Designing with waste material imposes specific challenges. It is all about exploring its possibilities and its limitations.But when you find some answers, it feels right.