Textiles 101: Fast Fiber Transform (39c3)

Textiles are everywhere, yet few of us know how they’re made. This talk aims to give you an overview over the complete transformation from fiber to finished textile. We'll be exploring fiber properties, spinning, and techniques like weaving, knitting, crochet, braiding, and knotting, followed by finishing methods such as dyeing, printing, and embroidery. You’ll learn why not only fiber but also structure matters, and how to make or hack textiles on your own without relying on fast fashion or industrial tools. Textiles play an integral part in our daily lives. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re wearing clothes or have some form of fabric within arm’s reach. Yet despite how common and essential textiles are, few of us know how they actually come to be. How do we go from a plant, animal, or synthetic polymer to a fully finished piece of clothing? This talk unravels the full transformation pipeline of textiles: starting with fibers and their properties, then spinning them into yarn, turning that yarn into textiles through weaving, knitting, crochet, braiding, knotting, and other techniques, and finally finishing them through printing, embroidery, dyeing, or bleaching. Along the way, you’ll learn why your “100% cotton” garments can feel completely different despite being made of the same fiber, how structure matters just as much as material, and what environmental impact different choices have. Whether you want to make your own textiles, hack existing ones, or finally understand why that wool sweater you washed too hot is now tiny, this talk is a crash course in most things textile, and a reminder that you don’t need industrial machinery or fast fashion to create something on your own. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 about this event: https://events.ccc.de/congress/2025/hub/event/detail/textiles-101-fast-fiber-transform