Creative Design: Professional

Gloveborne

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Abstract

This creative scholarship explores how a standard 3D knitted glove template can be transformed into an innovative garment silhouette through a humanized, tactile digital design process. WHOLEGARMENT® technologies have streamlined knitwear production but they limit designers’ experimental engagement with form. Using a research-through-practice approach, the seamless glove shape was treated as a modular draping unit. Gloves were digitally modified, enlarged, and physically draped to generate silhouette innovation with minimal stitching. Sustainability was addressed by blending recycled PET yarn with wool and applying natural madder root dye, achieving soft ombre coloration without toxic disperse dyes. Textural knit structures, couture hand techniques, and near-zero-waste assembly further enhanced material expressiveness. The resulting design conceals the original glove form, producing a sculptural, modular aesthetic inspired by botanical roots. This work contributes a novel creative methodology for sustainable knitwear design and offers a pedagogical model for engaging advanced knitting technologies without complex programming.

Keywords: knitwear, 3D shape, modular design, natural dyeing, sustainability, Shima

How to Cite:

Gorea, A. & Tyler, C., (2025) “Gloveborne”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 82(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.21819