Crossing Boundaries: Incorporating Crocheting in Hollow Metal Ware

Abstract

Metal product designers have continually employed textile construction techniques which are outside their respective practice to produce different artefacts for the wider market. In a different product application approach, the study seeks to employ crocheting as a textile construction technique to produce hollow metal wares suitable for decorative and storage purposes. To achieve this, the art studio-practice research, coupled with the researchers’ experi-produce model, was employed where materials were randomly selected and subject to experimentation. It was revealed that an 18-gauge copper wire was not suitable for the crocheting process due to its thickness and limited malleability. Contrary, 26 and 28-gauge copper wire was suitable for the loop-forming process without breaks. Further experiment results are carefully captured in this study. The study essentially reveals the possibility of employing crocheting to produce hollow metal wares for specific applications. This widens the creative scope of other designers to exercise different textile construction techniques for hollow metal wares. Considering this, relevant experiments should be conducted to ascertain the outcomes before executing the final piece under strict studio regulations.