Reflective Practice - Repair as a sensory experience

In the month of February, I kick started the first study in my PhD research around the sensory experience of materials (specifically embroidery materials and practice) for human-product attachment within a circular economy (CE) framework. My research starts by looking at the CE strategy of repair. I decided to look at repair for a number of reasons - Repair fits perfectly into the CE strategy because an important part of circularity is the slowing down of fashion production and consumption, including highlighting the significance of longevity of clothing in the context of sensory and emotional attachment. Repair offer the ability for us to slow down our consumption. Aside from that, as my research is focusing on embroidery and stitch as a sensory material and practice, it taps into the many positive connotations that embroidery practice provides.

As I build my research and the Circular design Studio database, I will explore the context and importance of embroidery, including its historical, contemporary and cultural significance as a craft practice, its relevance as a tool for sensory experience of materials and the technical issues it presents within the framework of the circular economy.

Embroidery is often used to uplift clothing with aesthetically pleasing tactile designs. As well as being a decorative art and design process, embroidery is often used as a means to repair and up-cycle garments thereby giving new life to old clothes. However, as my research sits within the framework of the circular economy, the materials and process of embroidery raise sustainability questions both in its materiality and as a practice. Embroidery has both positive and negative associations;

Embroidery as a slow craft, is a great way to combat the overwhelming speed of contemporary culture and our daily digital interruptions. The haptic, tactile and meditative nature of stitching (especially by hand) has been shown to increase wellbeing. The slowness of stitching embroidery (both hand and machine embroidery) affords the maker a deeper connection and reflection on the choice and combination of materials when partaking in craft and repair projects. In that sense there is a connection between hand (body), mind (brain), materials and tools. These connections can be further understood through phenomenology, bringing to the foreground meanings, values and curiosities in making and material knowledge.

Though embroidery has many positive attributes, contemporary and industrial embroidery materials, processes and practice often involve the mixing of fibres which pose a problem for recyclability at the end of use. Embroidery techniques such as beading also presents problems - with the use of small pieces of plastic contributing to micro-plastic pollution of water bodies. As my research sits within the framework of the Circular Economy, it is imperative that I address the technical issues that embroidery practice presents.

My exhibition - Repair as a Sensory Experience - included a poster explaining my research, a video showcasing the Shashiko repair process and a participatory repair embroidery frame with samples of repair methods and stitches. I also showcased repair samples where I used weave darning, decorative embroidery darning on knitwear and Shashiko darning on a pair of denim jeans.

The intention of the embroidery frame was to get participants to imitate the types of embroidery stitches I had sampled that could be used for repair. Unfortunately I never got round to making the instruction booklet for the stitches - but what was created was, I believe more interesting. Participants experimented freely with their stitches showing a varied level of skill across the board.

There was a good level of interaction with the embroidery frame, with some participants leaving their thoughts in my exhibition comment notebook. Some expressed the process of stitching as nostalgic and evoking their childhood memory of embroidering. There were also consideration on the connection between all senses that enable us to engage with our world. There were comments about the relaxing, healing, calming and meditative process of stitching, but also reflections on the frustration felt when treading the needle and the fear of trying a craft they loved but didn’t feel good enough to produce beautifully.

For some participants, the process of stitching in public provided a fun communal activity. Participant A describes…

“Having a chance to gather/repair quite literally in a public space feels novel, merely challenging the context of what happens or happened in the confines of a domestic feminine space to an industrial public space is really interesting. There is a sense of agency that using a tool as simple as embroidery creates - not being at the mercy of consumption minded (sic). There is also an ancient memory of the practice that is remembered in my muscles as soon as I pick up the needle. Each stitch allowing me to regulate my breath to total grounding.”

In the context of repair, participant B describes -

When I repair I become a part of the weave of the fabric. There is less separation between me and the piece and I understand that care and (re)use are embedded into all we use to live.

Such language connects very much to the emotional and functional attributes of repair, most especially those done by hand. The inter-woven relationship between body, tools and materials speaks to the intimate and emotional relationship we have with clothes.

This article forms part of a series called the Reflective Practice - a method I am using in my first study of my research. It aims to establish a commentary on my findings as a maker, researcher and observer as I gather data from designers and repair specialists, consumers and my own design and making process.