Edinburgh Napier University

  This paper will disseminate an interdisciplinary project, undertaken at Edinburgh Napier University between the Design and Advanced Materials. Several 3D printable materials are commercially available that use recycled material, but none that incorporate textiles. This project was funded by the Textiles Future Forum in collaboration with four Scottish textile companies who provided ‘waste’ textiles (wool, cashmere and leather), to be used in this way. In the cases of the wool and cashmere, this is predominantly selvedge waste from the looms and knitting machines. The leather was recycled from airplane seats. The paper will outline the historical context of the project, particularly the advent of ‘shoddy’, how these historical processes have common characteristics with the procedures used in this project, a brief outline of how the 3D printable materials were created and an evaluation of the embodiment of the narrative of Scottish tradition and ‘authenticity’ in the materials.