Hyperbolic Crochet

Drop in free workshop with Hannah Thomson

‘Discovered’ by Professor Daina Taimina in 1997, hyperbolic crochet solved a problem that had been puzzling scientists and mathematicians since the mid 19th century: how to model and study hyperbolic planes, a form of non-Euclidian geometry that could help to understand the shape of the universe itself.

Once she started making these models it became apparent that these shapes, with continuous negative curvature, were present in many corners of the natural world, from lettuce leaves and kale, to coral reef and sea slug’s skirts.

Hyperbolic crochet is a free-form and experimental technique that can be created without a pattern and in infinite variations just by learning a couple of simple stitches. After experimenting with the technique, a group of us are collaborating to use this technique to create a piece of wearable art to enter in the Arts Couture Painswick Wearable Arts Festival in June, to fit in with their biomimicry theme. We will be exploring themes of environmentalism by using donated, reclaimed and recycled materials.

Hannah Thomson is a community arts practitioner with a special interest in the crossovers between art and other subjects, and the potential for arts-based learning to help people to explore and understand the sciences, maths, history and the natural world.