Empirical Sweaters
2021–2022
Supervisor Kairi Lentsius
Wool is a material that has a long tradition and is suitable for our climate. I raise my own sheep and have three different breeds of sheep in the herd, whose wool characteristics vary in color, texture and roughness, which result in very different materials.
One of the most important issues in the design process of empirical sweater is how transparently can one make a design product of wool that has preserved a connection with the sheep from which the material originates. I chose a sweater as the product, because for me it symbolizes the use of sheep’s wool most authentically through the age of time. Each product is knitted of wool from just one sheep, so it gets a new life being worn by its owner. In my work I study how yarns with different properties affect the shape of an object and contribute to the creation of empirical sweater.