UC Santa Barbara

New approaches to 3D printing have made it possible to create 3D-printed materials that closely resemble traditional textiles yet these filament-based textiles, while easy to produce, often lack the tactile qualities and visual appeal of fiber textiles. To address this limitation and explore new possibilities for personal textile production, my research focused on developing methods that combine established manual textile craft techniques with additive fabrication. Needlecrafts offer the possibility of embedding 3D-printed fabrics with yarn to achieve the visual and tactile attributes of traditional fabrics. This thesis presents a series of explorations of combining needlecraft with 3D printed elements. These explorations set the foundation for PunchPrint, a technique for integrating filament and fiber-based textiles by combining the 3D printing of a custom parametric fabric substrate with punch needle embroidery. By combining punch needle embroidery with 3D printing and employing a toolpath that mimics traditional textile weave structures, we can fabricate a flexible fabric that serves as a substrate for punch needlework. Furthermore, I present an evaluation of a two-day workshop conducted with textile crafters and enthusiasts. Through the workshop I explore ways to integrate computational design and digital fabrication with the manual craft of punch needle embroidery, leveraging the design tool provided by PunchPrint.