Cassie Henderson

In my work I have always been passionate about creating structures, I love working with textile machinery to develop new and innovative stitches. I have spent years working with Dubied machines and now have my own Stoll computerised knitting machine so I am able to take my developments to a new level, I love the challenge and the added complexity I am able to bring to the fabrics. The digital element allows me to be more thoughtful about the structure throughout the fabric and the composition as a whole.

At RCA I have been exploring the purpose of the stitches I create, my research is focused on producing perfect fit garments through structure with the view to replace the need for unsustainable synthetic stretch yarns. I aim to create garments cherished by the owner increasing the longevity of the garment from the customers perspective and challenging fast fashion cycles. I have created auxetic materials and used the structure as inspiration for my stitches as well as creating highly engineered stitch patterns, using the properties of each stitch to work with the different body parts and create the perfect movement and fit. I ensured all final fabrics were created using 100% natural fibres (merino wool and castor bean) with the stitch creating the necessary properties needed for perfect fitting garments rather than synthetic stretch fibres.

As part of my masters I have also been working on collaborations with aiKNIT and upLYFT where I use stitch innovation for technical medical applications. They have been an integral part of my masters but the details and imagery are protected by Non-Disclosure Agreements. The collaboration with upLYFT achieved the award of The Mayors Entrepreneur 2023 as well as The Gandhi Center of Inclusion.