Research Introduction & Core Focus
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For over twenty years, Bradford Jamison has pursued independent research into the structural potential of lace braiding, extending a heritage textile process beyond ornamentation into functional and engineered textile architecture. This work is grounded in the preservation of traditional lace braiding knowledge while exploring how pattern logic and interlacement geometry can produce contemporary material systems with measurable performance characteristics.
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The primary innovation does not depend on extensive modification of lace braiding machinery. Instead, the research centers on the engineering of unique braided patterns, yarn pathways, and structural geometries that enable lace to function as an adaptive, breathable, and load-distributing textile structure. Through iterative prototyping and long-term machine-based experimentation, lace braiding is approached as a structural design methodology rather than a decorative surface technique.
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Developed outside formal institutional frameworks, this body of work exists primarily in physical prototypes, pattern logic, machinery practice, and long-term experiential research. The archive of this page is intended to document and preserve the evolution of lace braiding as a functional structural textile system, while supporting archival review, design history scholarship, and future textile innovation research.
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Key areas of research include:
Pattern-engineered lace braided structures
Variable density textile architecture within a single braided plane
Open-structure breathable textile systems
Geometric elasticity achieved through interlacement rather than knit stretch
Integrated textile formation through continuous braiding processes
Preservation and functional extension of heritage lace braiding knowledge
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This approach reframes lace as a viable structural textile system capable of supporting multidisciplinary applications while maintaining continuity with historical craft traditions. Rather than replacing legacy lace processes, the research demonstrates how existing machinery and interlacement principles can be extended into contemporary design, engineering, and material innovation contexts through pattern intelligence and structural sequencing.
