Bridging Textiles to the Digital Future 2017-2020

Bridging Textiles to the Digital Future (2017–2020) was a research and innovation project initiated by the Icelandic Textile Center and led by textile researcher and weaving expert Ragnheiður Björk Þórsdóttir.

Project Background
Ragnheiður first collaborated with the Textile Center in 2015 to assess and maintain the building’s traditional wooden looms, now used by resident artists and scholars. In 2016, she conducted a five-month research residency focused on preserving unique Icelandic weaving patterns from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, found in the archives of the Kvennaskólinn building. This initial effort uncovered thousands of historic patterns and fabric samples—valuable not only for their cultural significance but also for potential use in the textile industry, education, and contemporary design.

Technology Development Fund Support
In early 2017, a proposal was submitted  by the Textile Center team to the Icelandic Research Fund outlining a three-phase plan:

  1. Translating and analyzing historic weaving patterns and instructions

  2. Photographing and cataloguing them in a dedicated database

  3. Making the archive publicly accessible to scholars, designers, and artists

By applying new research and digital weaving technologies, such as the TC2 digital loom at the Textile Center, the project aimed to make historic patterns compatible with modern tools and techniques.

The three-year project received funding from the Rannís Technology Development Fund and officially began in September 2017, with Ragnheiður as project lead. She worked alongside photographer Cornelia Theimer Gardella and Central Saint Martins student Guðbjörg Stefánsdóttir, conducting experimental sample weaving on the TC2 loom to reinterpret traditional patterns using contemporary materials and color palettes.

DesignMarch 2020 & Project Conclusion
The project concluded in summer 2020 with an exhibition ("Textiles, Tryouts and Technology") at the Icelandic design festival DesignMarch in Reykjavík. The weaving pattern database—first of its kind in Iceland—was formally launched by Minister of Education and Culture Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir. It continues to serve as an open resource for innovation, preservation, and creative exploration in textile design.

Exhibition and formal opening of the weaving pattern database, DesignMarch 2020.
Lilja Alfréðsdóttir, the Minister of Culture and Education, Ragnheiður Þórsdóttir, Guðbjörg Stefánsdóttir (left to right).
Image: Katrín Ólafsdóttir.