Shipwreck Wood Becomes Wearable Art

Why this is here: The Ioncell® process used to create the yarn doesn’t rely on harsh chemicals, instead utilizing a solvent called ionic liquid to convert cellulose from materials like wood pulp and recycled textiles into fibers.

In Finland, a team of archeologists, chemists, and designers transformed wood from a 1684 shipwreck into a knitted dress. The Hahtiperä wreck, discovered in Oulu in 2019, yielded timber used to create a novel textile fiber. Bioengineer Inge Schlapp-Hackl utilized the Ioncell® process—a method employing ionic liquid—to convert the salvaged wood into a silky, strong fiber.

The team then knit two identical dresses using an AI-assisted design program and a Shima Seiki knitting machine. The dresses feature a pattern inspired by wood grain and retain the wood’s natural brown hue. Maritime archaeologist Minna Koivikko hopes the dress will connect people to underwater cultural heritage in a new way.

The project successfully demonstrated that the Ioncell® method can process diverse cellulose-based materials, but scaling up this process for widespread textile production remains a challenge. The Shipwreck Dress will be on display at the Oulu Museum of Art starting May 22, and later at Aalto University.