Lynn Biesmans

Fully Fashioned Furniture

How can a 3D-knitted shape be converted into a fully fashioned piece of furniture that does not require any finishing? As an intern in the TextielLab, Lynn Biesmans had the opportunity to spend several days researching answers to this question. With product developer Sarena Huizinga, she experimented with fully fashioned knitting on the flat knitting machine. In the lab, she made the first samples for Fully fashioned furniture. She tried a combination of wool and melting yarn that was initially filled with leftover polyester on the machine, then with Tencel. The latter is made entirely of natural fibres that are produced in an environmentally friendly way – a good fit with Biesmans’ interest in sustainability.

Following her internship, Biesmans returned to the lab to continue developing the project as part of her degree. The result is a custom-knit upholstery line that produces virtually no residual waste. In the summer of 2024, she graduated from the Maastricht Institute of Arts with Fully fashioned furniture. At the graduation exhibition, she presented her sustainable furniture fabrics in modular frames. The components can be combined in different ways and are easy to separate and recycle.

Instagram

Photos by Miquel Plummen and Mitch van Schijndel