Material Monday - Woven Polypropylene

Make Works recently visited Sackmaker in Glasgow, who specialise in woven polypropylene. For materials geeks, the technical specification of woven polypropylene is that it is a thermoplastic polymer, made from strips and fibres that are bonded together into a stronger material that can hold weight and resist impact. It can be melted down and recycled, and you can print 2 colours onto it easily. Generally, woven polypropylene is used for storing and transporting heavy, granular materials, such as aggregates, minerals or in agriculture. It is the material that you find everyday used to make supermarket bags for life, for kerbside recycling and for sandbags.  

However, this material can be used for more than sacks. As Alan Dickson describes, this is "anything over, under, inside of or on top of". From bespoke shaped bags to hold heavy, sharp items in your workshop; waterproof seating covers for stadiums, bike seats or car covers.

Perhaps you need a bespoke or printed weight to trigger a part of your Rube Goldberg machine; you need to line your rucksack to make it waterproof; or you are making temporary architectural structures, like the woven rocker at the 2014 Seattle Design Festival.

Woven Polypropylene certainly isn't a material to be overlooked! If you think you might like to make something using Woven Polypropylene get in touch with Louise Thompson at Sackmaker.  

 If you would like to learn about some other interesting materials have a look at technical textiles supplier Scott and Fyfe or Montrose Rope and Sail who work in taurpaulin.