4 ms·

ThreadPlotter – toolkit for punch needle embroidery with X-Y plotters (2020)

130 points by matthberg 2y ago

dsp_person 2y ago
Woah, I may end up trying this on my axidraw v3/a3. I like that the supply list is pretty minimal.
- matthberg 2y ago
  You should check out the rest of the Licia He's work too. She's doing really cool stuff with watercolors and plotters, with a free course on it actively in the works. Unfortunately her site went down some time recently, yet archive.org has it here: Course: https://web.archive.org/web/20240525172327/https://www.eyesofpanda.com/project/painting_with_plotters/ https://web.archive.org/web/20240525172327/https://www.eyeso... Course GH: https://github.com/LiciaHe/painting_with_plotters https://github.com/LiciaHe/painting_with_plotters Portfolio: https://web.archive.org/web/20240415055736/https://www.eyesofpanda.com/gallery/ https://web.archive.org/web/20240415055736/https://www.eyeso...
  - dsp_person 2y ago
    Interesting approach with the brush. I added a peristaltic pump on mine to pump paint or any fluid to a syringe tip on the XY stage [1]. Example with bleach pointillism to do stuff on fabric [2] [1] https://x.com/dsp_person/status/1591146165181231104 https://x.com/dsp_person/status/1591146165181231104 [2] https://x.com/dsp_person/status/1593162129959686144 https://x.com/dsp_person/status/1593162129959686144
jasonjayr 2y ago
... there's no lock stitch underneath the fabric? if you pull on 1 thread the whole thing comes apart? I have a Husqvarana Designer Jade 35 Embroidery sewing machine, and the embroidery arm is just that: an x-y plotter/positioner that the computer can synchronize with the timing of the needle stitch.
- matthberg 2y ago
  Yep, seems to be a drawback of the punch needle embroidery technique, though, not just this specific automation of it. From a light skimming of a couple of articles even hand-done work in this style lacks a lock stitch and relies on the friction of the fabric and tightly packed loops. Though that could make for an interesting ephemeral art piece, particularly paired with generated/algorithmic designs—a plotter that embroiders a piece and then unwinds it once finished, repeating in a loop and accumulating wear and knots and flaws.
  - HideousKojima 2y ago
    You can hand stitch a lock stitch, you just have to pass a second spool through loops created from the first spool
- lysace 2y ago
  That triggered a memory: For some reason, in 1980s Sweden, it was felt that the grade 1-9 classes of textile crafting needed to "get with the times". The solution was that many schools bought these digital Husqvarna sewing machines with various embroidery programs. Weird times.
- zimpenfish 2y ago
  From the videos I've seen, it's essentially the same as the way you make rugs - those are sealed on the back with a wash of glue and something like hessian. Presumably you can do the same here to "lock it in", as it were. (I did try punch needle once but managed to misread the instructions and threaded the needle wrong. Hilarity ensued.)
teruakohatu 2y ago
Could this be scaled up to print custom rugs? Or would this kind of embroidery not survive foot traffic?
- thih9 2y ago
  Scaled up how? You can stitch multiple smaller pieces into a larger rug. But if you want a heavier thread then you might exceed your plotter’s limits. A tufting gun is one alternative, mentioned in one of the videos. While not fully automated, it speeds up the job significantly.
  - teruakohatu 2y ago
    I meant build a rug sized plotter. Would the stiching technique hold up to heavy wear of feet walking on it daily?
yboris 2y ago
Worth seeing other work by Licia He - the author of this repository: https://x.com/licia_he https://x.com/licia_he She uses plotters with watercolors and does other awesome experiments.
brcmthrowaway 2y ago
Wow, pandemic throwback
tdeck 2y ago
I looked up the plotter they recommend and it's in-production successor costs $700, which is more than some embroidery machines I'm seeing: https://store.bantamtools.com/products/bantam-tools-nextdraw-8511 https://store.bantamtools.com/products/bantam-tools-nextdraw... Are there cheaper plotters out there that anyone can recommend?

130 points by matthberg 2y ago

dsp_person 2y ago

Woah, I may end up trying this on my axidraw v3/a3. I like that the supply list is pretty minimal.

matthberg 2y ago
You should check out the rest of the Licia He's work too. She's doing really cool stuff with watercolors and plotters, with a free course on it actively in the works. Unfortunately her site went down some time recently, yet archive.org has it here: Course: https://web.archive.org/web/20240525172327/https://www.eyesofpanda.com/project/painting_with_plotters/ https://web.archive.org/web/20240525172327/https://www.eyeso... Course GH: https://github.com/LiciaHe/painting_with_plotters https://github.com/LiciaHe/painting_with_plotters Portfolio: https://web.archive.org/web/20240415055736/https://www.eyesofpanda.com/gallery/ https://web.archive.org/web/20240415055736/https://www.eyeso...
- dsp_person 2y ago
  Interesting approach with the brush. I added a peristaltic pump on mine to pump paint or any fluid to a syringe tip on the XY stage [1]. Example with bleach pointillism to do stuff on fabric [2] [1] https://x.com/dsp_person/status/1591146165181231104 https://x.com/dsp_person/status/1591146165181231104 [2] https://x.com/dsp_person/status/1593162129959686144 https://x.com/dsp_person/status/1593162129959686144

jasonjayr 2y ago

... there's no lock stitch underneath the fabric? if you pull on 1 thread the whole thing comes apart? I have a Husqvarana Designer Jade 35 Embroidery sewing machine, and the embroidery arm is just that: an x-y plotter/positioner that the computer can synchronize with the timing of the needle stitch.

matthberg 2y ago
Yep, seems to be a drawback of the punch needle embroidery technique, though, not just this specific automation of it. From a light skimming of a couple of articles even hand-done work in this style lacks a lock stitch and relies on the friction of the fabric and tightly packed loops. Though that could make for an interesting ephemeral art piece, particularly paired with generated/algorithmic designs—a plotter that embroiders a piece and then unwinds it once finished, repeating in a loop and accumulating wear and knots and flaws.
- HideousKojima 2y ago
  You can hand stitch a lock stitch, you just have to pass a second spool through loops created from the first spool
lysace 2y ago
That triggered a memory: For some reason, in 1980s Sweden, it was felt that the grade 1-9 classes of textile crafting needed to "get with the times". The solution was that many schools bought these digital Husqvarna sewing machines with various embroidery programs. Weird times.
zimpenfish 2y ago
From the videos I've seen, it's essentially the same as the way you make rugs - those are sealed on the back with a wash of glue and something like hessian. Presumably you can do the same here to "lock it in", as it were. (I did try punch needle once but managed to misread the instructions and threaded the needle wrong. Hilarity ensued.)

teruakohatu 2y ago

Could this be scaled up to print custom rugs? Or would this kind of embroidery not survive foot traffic?

thih9 2y ago
Scaled up how? You can stitch multiple smaller pieces into a larger rug. But if you want a heavier thread then you might exceed your plotter’s limits. A tufting gun is one alternative, mentioned in one of the videos. While not fully automated, it speeds up the job significantly.
- teruakohatu 2y ago
  I meant build a rug sized plotter. Would the stiching technique hold up to heavy wear of feet walking on it daily?

yboris 2y ago

Worth seeing other work by Licia He - the author of this repository: https://x.com/licia_he https://x.com/licia_he She uses plotters with watercolors and does other awesome experiments.

brcmthrowaway 2y ago

Wow, pandemic throwback

tdeck 2y ago

I looked up the plotter they recommend and it's in-production successor costs $700, which is more than some embroidery machines I'm seeing: https://store.bantamtools.com/products/bantam-tools-nextdraw-8511 https://store.bantamtools.com/products/bantam-tools-nextdraw... Are there cheaper plotters out there that anyone can recommend?