Needlework has been practiced throughout history, across the nation of Sweden and the world, primarily by women within the home. In recent years a revival of the craft has been seen worldwide, the covid lockdown and an aging population being two factors contributing to this. Historically there’s been a duality to the practice of needlework. On one hand, it’s been a means of oppression, and on the other hand, it's been a weapon of resistance and a source of joy, creativity, and collectivity. It has, throughout history, proven to be a political, social and creative tool and, as argued in this thesis, a spatial tool. The practice of needlework allows for the artisan to travel between different spheres. This thesis sets out to explore the potential of moving between private and public, performing a public domesticity through, for example, knitting. Needlework is, in its nature, slow. This slowness, the repetitive movements of the hands and the touching of tactile materials emphasizes the process of making and prompts reflections and emotions. This thesis argues that methods of needlework as, for example, layering, mending, joining, ripping, and patching, clearly connect to the architectural design process. These methods emphasize notions of care and maintenance. The thesis uses an interdisciplinary approach to investigate needlework as both the topic of research and the means of spatial exploration and representation, aiming to underpin the relevance of engaging with needlework in the architectural design process, as a way of maintaining the craft and learning new things. Rooms devoted to the practice of needlework haven't appeared in a building plan for many years. The design proposal, presented in the report, aims to explore the possibility of these spaces reappearing within the public sphere. The proposal is placed within the context of Sweden with no specific site intended. Proposing a space of appearance (term coined by Hannah Arendt in her theory of Plurality) actualized through the collective making of the syjunta (sewing circle). Creating a public syrum (sewing room) where the practice of needlework and its practitioners can appear, connected to ideas of feminist architectural practice to make the everyday visible. The thesis project engages with needlework by seeing it as a collective act of taking and making space.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-196671 |
| Date | January 2022 |
| Creators | Bäckström, Nathalie |
| Publisher | Umeå universitet, Arkitekthögskolan vid Umeå universitet |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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