{"id":787753,"date":"2026-07-08T21:03:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T21:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/787753\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T21:03:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T21:03:18","slug":"luna-haverkorn-explores-interactive-textile-design-through-knitting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/787753\/","title":{"rendered":"luna haverkorn explores interactive textile design through knitting"},"content":{"rendered":"

luna haverkorn on knitting and interactive textiles<\/p>\n

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For Dutch textile<\/a> designer Luna Haverkorn, knitting is a structural system capable of producing interactive objects that shift, fold, and respond to the body. Currently completing her Master\u2019s in Textile Interaction Design at the Swedish School of Textiles after studying Product Design at Willem de Kooning Academy, Haverkorn develops body-scale knitted forms that invite people to discover their own ways of engaging with them, whether sitting, balancing, reclining, or disappearing inside.<\/p>\n

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Speaking with designboom<\/a>, Haverkorn reflects on designing through making, the knowledge that emerges from working directly with materials, and why she believes craft remains a powerful form of innovation in an increasingly automated world.<\/p>\n

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Haverkorn starts with the material itself. Observation, experimentation, and repetition form an ongoing cycle that gradually reveals the final object. \u2018I love making things with my own hands. I design through making,\u2019 she tells us. \u2018By really immersing myself in a technique, like knitting, I begin to understand where I can make small changes that lead to unexpected outcomes. The better I know a technique, the more I can push its boundaries and discover new possibilities.\u2019<\/p>\n

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all images courtesy of Luna Haverkorn<\/p>\n

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knitting as a construction technique<\/p>\n

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Looking at how plants combine rigid structures with softer, more flexible elements helps Luna Haverkorn solve questions of construction and movement. She develops ideas directly through prototypes, allowing every one of her experiments to reveal new possibilities. \u2018My process often begins with observation,\u2019 she explains. \u2018When I am trying to solve a problem, find a new form, or develop a new connection between elements, I look closely at my surroundings.\u2019 Technical precision enters only once those discoveries have been made. \u2018Only once I truly understand what I want to create does technical precision become important,\u2019 the textile designer<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>shares with us. \u2018At that point, I carefully program the knitting machine to translate what I discovered through experimentation into a finished piece.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Haverkorn approaches knitting as a method of building three-dimensional structures. Her pieces are often knitted continuously, with few or no seams, allowing a single strand of yarn to form complex forms before being filled to create their final volume. \u2018I like challenging people\u2019s expectations of what knitting can be,\u2019 Luna Haverkorn tells designboom. \u2018Many people associate knitting with clothing or traditional craft, while I use it as a way to construct sculptural, transformable objects.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Her background programming industrial flatbed Stoll knitting machines has fundamentally shaped this way of thinking, considering how an entire object can grow from one continuous thread. \u2018Because of my knitting background, I always think about how the yarn travels through an object and how a three-dimensional form can grow from a single continuous thread.\u2019 Years of working with knitting have also shaped the way Haverkorn approaches construction. \u2018Working directly with a material and technique teaches you things that you otherwise cannot know,\u2019 she says. \u2018By spending a lot of time with a machine and technique, you develop an intuition for how small changes affect the final result.\u2019<\/p>\n

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each configuration invites a different way of sitting, resting, or curling into the textile<\/p>\n

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designing objects that move with people<\/p>\n

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Haverkorn\u2019s objects only take their final form once someone begins to interact with them, leaving each person to decide how they are used. \u2018I never see the things I make as static objects,\u2019 she notes. \u2018I\u2019m always curious about how they can move, transform, or be played with.\u2019 For the Dutch designer, transformation creates opportunities for participation. \u2018When an object transforms, it can surprise the user and create a moment of discovery or play,\u2019 the designer says. \u2018By designing objects without one fixed form, I give some agency back to the user.\u2019<\/p>\n

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That openness becomes especially evident in her recent body-scale textile works. There is no intended way to use them. Visitors can sit, lie down, fold, balance against, or even hide inside the knitted forms. Depending on the interaction, the same piece can encourage movement, offer a place to rest, or surround the body with a sense of comfort and enclosure. \u2018The design doesn\u2019t define behavior,\u2019 she highlights. \u2018It invites exploration.\u2019<\/p>\n

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the knitted sculpture creates a soft enclosure that supports the body<\/p>\n

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can craft still innovate?<\/p>\n

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While innovation is often framed through emerging technologies, Haverkorn argues that craft offers its own forms of invention. \u2018Innovation doesn\u2019t have to come from new technology,\u2019 she points out. \u2018It can also come from approaching an existing craft with new questions or using a familiar technique in an unexpected way.\u2019 Rather than introducing new digital systems, her work explores how material, form, and interaction can reshape relationships between people and objects. \u2018I think innovation can exist just as much in material, form, or experience as it can in technology.\u2019<\/p>\n

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That perspective also shapes how she thinks about artificial intelligence. While AI can generate possibilities from prompts, she believes many of the most important discoveries emerge through physical experimentation. \u2018Many of my ideas emerge while I\u2019m making, through testing, making mistakes, or noticing unexpected behaviors in the material,\u2019 Luna Haverkorn adds. \u2018That kind of knowledge comes from working with your hands.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Looking ahead, Haverkorn expects craft and technology to become increasingly intertwined. Yet as daily life becomes more digital, she believes tactile experiences will become even more valuable.\u2018Craft offers experiences that screens cannot: touch, movement, and direct interaction,\u2019 she reflects. \u2018I believe those qualities will become increasingly valuable, making handmade and materially engaging objects even more relevant in the future.\u2019<\/p>\n

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the body-scale forms can also be worn<\/p>\n

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flexible textile panels suspend the body between structure and movement<\/p>\n

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the body becomes part of the sculpture as it transforms through use<\/p>\n

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participants explore the knitted forms together during an interactive session<\/p>\n

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the sculptures remain open-ended, allowing users to determine how they are experienced<\/p>\n

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one knitted sculpture can be used for sitting, hiding, or resting, depending on the participant<\/p>\n

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body-scale knitted forms invite different ways of inhabiting the textile<\/p>\n

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participants reshape the knitted sculpture through touch and movement<\/p>\n

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the flexible textile structure folds around the body to create different spatial configurations<\/p>\n

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the objects are knitted in a continuous process before being filled to create their final volume<\/p>\n

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openings within the textile allow the body to move through and interact with the form<\/p>\n

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a close-up reveals the knitted construction and integrated structural details<\/p>\n

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project info:<\/p>\n

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designer: Luna Haverkorn<\/a> | @luna.haverkorn<\/a><\/p>\n

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This interview is part of designboom\u2019s Crafting the Future chapter, exploring what it means to be a maker in today\u2019s world and the future of craftsmanship. Discover more related stories here<\/a>.<\/p>\n