Here is a 7-page story as a sneak peek into my story series Mending. This chapter blends material science, my sensory appreciation of textiles and symbolism of embroidery with healing. 

Here I chose cotton and silk as yarn materials to visually illustrate their structural differences, which also affects sensory experiences when sewing (depending on the fabric too). I (visually) subjected the mended material to tensile testing, a common test in material science to asses under what load a material can deforms permanently and fracture. 

Aside from being the actual mending act, I chose embroidery as historically it has been a symbol to communicate, to (politically) resist and to express hope, especially during hardships.It is also a process that takes time to create, reflecting that healing and resistance are not instantaneous activities.

In the next chapters I delve into other methods in material science and design, including (microbial) biomaterials.