Disguised Stretch : Changeable knitted textiles with altering functions and visual expressions.

This project places itself in the field of textile design within flat knitting textiles intended as prototypes for interactive textiles with multifunctional purposes and aesthetics. The purpose of the project is to suggest alternative design solutions towards knitted textiles in the field of sportswear that not only acts as a second skin both in terms of appearance and functionality, as well as aesthetic details once the knit interacts with a moving body. The aim of the project, but also offers visual and contrasting functions such as expandability, rigidness and stretch, as well as creating aesthetic details caused by movement of the human body. The design process was conducted in experimental knitting on both industrial and domestic knitting machines, workshops entailing the relation between the knits and the body as well as technically developing the proper bindings to work in unity. Analysis of the knits were made which led to the solely use of these bindings: rib, spacer, links links, ripple and mesh. The outcome of the projects resulted in four knitted textile prototypes, where one of them is designed as a product in the shape of a top, and the others as knitted fabrics each representing two opposing functions. The conclusion drawn in retrospect of this project that by placing opposing bindings parallel, such ripple and links links, it is possible to achieve two opposing functions as well as different visual perception within the same area of a knitted piece