Exercise: Laser Cutwork¶
New for 2025.
For this exercise I would like each individual to design and fabricate two sample textile artifacts using a laser cutter.
Textile craft has a long history of cutwork as a decorative technique, usually in conjunction with embroidery. When a laser is used to cut polyester, the heat of the process also lightly fuses the fibers at the edge. This may be sufficient to bind the edge for light-duty uses, so we will be attempting pure cutwork without additional hemming or embroidery.
There are several reasons cutwork may be useful to us:
Creating pattern in an otherwise solid color.
Color patterns using apertures through layered fabrics of contrasting color.
Selectively releasing tension to allow freely moving sections.
Opening wind vents to change aerodynamic behavior.
Creating light and shadow paths.
Modifying the elastic properties of a flat panel.
Expanding a textile by creating mesh cutouts.
Modying the auxetic properties of a flat panel.
Releasing a 3D form from flat 2D stock.
This is an opportunity to be creative. Please choose different strategies for each sample, and please try your own unique experiment with each.
In your exploration, please focus on the movement achievable with your artifact. A good heuristic is that the experience of seeing it should substantially change once tension, motion, air, or light are applied.
Objectives¶
After this exercise, you should be able to:
Design a cutwork pattern as a 2D digital drawing.
Prepare fabric for laser cutting.
Tune laser cutter settings for your chosen fabric.
Laser-cut and post-process a cutwork artifact.
Resources¶
For this exercise I will be supplying no more than one yard total of new Polyester China Silk Lining which I have available in four colors. I recommend you choose swatches of two contrasting colors.
You are also welcome to take other fabric from the common IDeATe supply.
I recommend you keep your samples fairly small. Please allow some material for tests and failed cuts.
Deliverables¶
Each individual should please:
bring two artifacts to class on Tuesday ready to show
post a brief Google Doc to the correct shared folder with the following:
one-sentence summary of each concept
several photos of the prototypes