openMaterials

Pa++tern, created by Daito Manabe + Motoi Ishibashi, is a combination of an installation and an esoteric programming language for embroidery in which a series of industrial sewing machines are controlled by twiterers. Here’s the process: using a simple environment, users create a short program for an embroidery pattern and send it over to the [...]

Over at the Torvalds family blog, Linus has just written a really interesting post about helping his wife with a new computerised embroidery machine she got for Christmas. He talks about the problems with the proprietary/undocumented firmware and file formats. There’s progress being made in these series of posts (When you have an itch to [...]

Sewing Rebellion was started by textile worker and activist Frau Fiber, under the gospel “stop shopping, start sewing,” with the purpose of encouraging others to learn how to sew and thus be able to create unique and personal clothing. Working with accessible materials, sewing rebellion members are also known for the creativity with which [...]

Open Source Embroidery is a socially engaged art project initiated by Ele Carpenter in 2005, investigating the relationship between programming for embroidery and computing. It’s based on the common characteristics of needlework crafts and open source computer programming: gendered obsessive attention to detail; shared social process of development; and a transparency of process and product. [...]