Maarten Kolk and Guus Kusters used unbleached and uncoated yarn to produce tufted samples, which were executed in various materials: wool, silk, seaweed, raffia, viscose, wool, linen and silk. After tufting, dark blue residue ink from the digital printer was applied to the rear of the samples by hand.
When moistened, this ink soaks into the yarns. The goal was to see which yarns would optimally absorb the ink and transport it to the fabric’s upper side and to determine what would produce the most beautiful outcome. Next came a tufted sample made with linen, after a photographic image had been printed on the rear of the polypropylene backing. The last test, in which the rear was treated with pigment, which makes fixation unnecessary, was highly successful. It requires less than a third of the dyestuffs that are normally used in coloured yarns.
This video is part of the ‘Making of…’ series for the textile museum Tilburg, the exhibition can be still be seen until September. www.textielmuseum.nl
