Department
of Design

The art of knitting a tiny shell in large scale.

The aim of this project is to explore free-flowing and texture, based on tactile and visual properties of shells and pearls, in order to design knitted three-dimensional textile surfaces for a body and interior context.

This work places itself in the field of knitted textile design and the context of body and interior. The primary motive is to investigate the tactile and visual properties of oysters and pearls, inspired by Botticelli’s painting The birth of Venus. The aim is to explore free-flowing and texture through knitted three-dimensional textile surfaces.

Material and colour choices have been made based on the source of inspiration, the oyster, and investigated on industrial circle knit and flat knit machines. The circle knits expression has been explored from a hand knitting perspective, using the manual elements to push the machine’s technique to design new expressions. The result of the project is a collection that has four suggestions for a knitted, three-dimensional surface, each inspired and developed from one specific part of the oyster; the shell, the nacre, the flesh, and the pearl.

This work investigates the potential of using circle knit machines, commonly used in fast fashion for bulk production, as a tool for handicraft and higher art forms. The final collection pushes the conversation regarding the future uses of the knitting machines and investigates how rigid objects can be expressed through the flexible structure.

Photos: Daniela Ferro and Carolina Sardal Jerhov

Contact:
Instagram: @CAROLINALEONTINA
E-mail: CAROLINALEONTINADESIGN@GMAIL.COM