Mapping Fabrics to Music: Lessons Learned

Various quilting techniques are a part of the cultural heritage in many different cultures. The history of quilting evolves from 3000 B.C. into the 21st century. Quilted objects have been used in lots of different contexts; as altar hangings made in patchwork style out of votive gifts, as padded shirts worn as an undergarment beneath chain mail to prevent chafing, to create fashionable effects in clothing, as folk art to create everyday objects, as Civil War mourning quilts etc. Hence, to sew a patchwork quilt of old cloth and fabrics is a traditional way of preserving memories. Every patch contains and may trigger different memories when you look at it or touch it. Within the Interactive Quilt project we wanted to keep these qualities but instead of using old fabrics, already containing memories, we used new ones, wanting them to contain different songs and music as a new way to create emotional relationships to a piece of fabric. To achieve this, we turned to modern technology.