Vanshika | Porfolio

Interlace

Project

Interlace explores the potential of long textile offcuts generated during garment production. Unlike smaller scraps that required reinforcement and patchwork, these continuous strips offered an opportunity to investigate weaving as a method of waste transformation.

The project focused on converting discarded fabric strips into new textile surfaces through a series of handwoven structures. By experimenting with different weave constructions, the collection demonstrates how waste materials can be reimagined as functional home furnishing products while preserving the softness, color richness, and tactile qualities of the original textiles.

Process

Understanding the Context

Researching Surat's textile ecosystem and understanding the journey of textile waste from production to disposal.

Material Collection & Analysis

Documenting, categorizing, and studying the properties of textile industry (Ganga fashions) scrap.

Material Explorations

Exploring different techniques to understand how chindi can be transformed into new material systems.

Technique Development & production

Refining material explorations into repeatable techniques and translating them into functional, manufacturable product systems.

Final Collection

Developing a series of contemporary lifestyle products that showcase the potential of textile waste transformation through craft, material innovation, and design.

Design Challenge

Long fabric strips often remain underutilized despite their structural potential. The challenge was to develop durable woven surfaces using irregular textile waste while exploring diverse weave structures that could influence texture, strength, flexibility, and visual expression.

Material Understanding

Waste strips were selected from the "long strip" category identified during waste mapping.

Material Characteristics:

Long, continuous fabric strips
Predominantly cotton and cotton-satin fabrics
Soft yet durable construction
Variety of colors generated from production leftovers
Suitable for interlacing and handweaving techniques

Explorations

To understand the potential of long textile offcuts, a series of weaving experiments were conducted. Different weave structures were explored to evaluate their impact on texture, durability, flexibility, and visual composition, helping identify suitable applications for product development.