This thesis investigates whole-garment weaving as an experimental design and construction method. The majority of the current development and research within the field focuses on production efficiency and the development of weaving techniques. Here, the intention is to connect form, material and making. The aim is to find ways to deconstruct the process of garment making in order to create new knowledge through craft. Within whole-garment weaving, many design processes are dealt with simultaneously, through direct experimentation on the loom. In order to maintain the integrity of the weaving, interferences such as cutting and sewing is limited. The basics of the practical method is that the cloth is woven as a double weave on the loom. For the practical work, the first objective was to find basic parameters for the project, freely experimenting with weave constructions and bindings. As the process developed, more aspects of garment construction were included in the design process. The combination of bindings, floats and elastic is used to create expressive textile as well as dress, so that the textile surfaces influences the silhouette or the drape. The result shows the expressive potential of whole-garment weaving through a series of nine examples, each showcasing different aspects of the method. The focus is on showcasing experimental approaches to simultaneous fashion/textile design interaction.

This thesis describes a practice-based research project that explores the relationship between textile and fashion systems through whole-garment weaving. In the current state of the textile and fashion industry, these are mostly based on two separate systems where the textile industry merely functions as an invisible backbone of the fashion industry. The structure of the weave, the jacquard patterns, the yarns and colours have the ability to link the textile to the garment, materialising the interdependency of the two. Hybrid forms of dressing is based on a series of experiments related to the components of jacquard weaving, local yarns and weaving constructions in a layering system, to gain an understanding of their relationship in the process of garment creation. This project aims to contribute to creating an equal balance between textile and fashion systems, working in a simultaneous design approach and opening up for discussion on this matter.