60-442 Advanced SIS: Soft Sculpture
10 units, Carnegie Mellon University
In this class, we will explore techniques for creating, manipulating, and embellishing fabric, fibers, and soft materials, with a focus on demonstration and practice of the following skills: hand and machine stitching/ seaming, sewing with non-traditonal/ non-fabric materials, free motion machine embroidery, needle felting, planning and execution of quilting and 3-d objects, knit and crochet, and the care and manipulation of existing garments and textiles through repair, reconstruction, and redesign. We will also explore and discuss historical and sociopolitical contexts of textiles and garments; specifically, the history of cloth and garment making, the expression of collectivist and individualist identities through textiles, fiber art in the 20th - 21st centuries, and the current state of waste vs sustainability within the fashion and homegoods industries. Projects will be assigned via technical themes and may take the form of: garments, fiber sculpture, quilts, stuffed or built 3-d objects, inflatables, and/or experiential art. Students will also be expected to create samples and sketches for each unit, and will complete the class with a physical collection of samples in the form of a bound book or other container, with the option to include a digital component, to demonstrate understanding of technique, inspiration, ideation, and planning.
Prerequisites: none listed
Offered: Spring 2026
Courseweave needs JavaScript to show sections, workloads and planning tools.