openMaterials

UV reactive materials, which initially have an off-white appearance, change to bright colors when exposed to UV rays (sunlight or a UV lamp) and revert to their original pale color when away from UV light. The basis for these materials are photochromic pigments which can be mixed with an acrylic base and then applied as [...]

As the name indicates, electrotextiles are textiles with electrical properties. They’re mostly used for electromagnetic shielding, anti-static and heating purposes, and also for soft circuits: electric circuits or sensors made out of a combination of special fabrics, threads, yarns and electronic components. :: conductive fabrics :: conductive threads & yarns :: special electrotextiles :: related materials :: starter kit :: electrotextiles [...]

I’ve learned that there are 3 main challenges in working with soft circuits. The first one is to create circuitry with materials that are almost always completely exposed: a lot of thought goes into the layout of the circuit to not only avoid accidental shorts during normal wear, but also to avoid crisscrosses between conductive [...]

This mitten lights up when its wearer shakes hands with someone. It has two exposed soft contacts around the thumb and across the palm which, when bridged by bare skin, turn on the LED embedded on the flower. The mitten itself was created by fashion designer Isabel Tomás, and we then sewed a simple touch [...]

Conductive yarn is a great material to experiment with, but it is difficult to buy in small quantities. Hannah Perner-Wilson from ‘How to get what you want‘ has negotiated with the manufacturer Schoeller to place a minimum order of 30 kilograms, and is looking for others who may want to make a collective purchase. She’s [...]

bionic yarn is a ‘new fabric made of recycled plastic bottles’ (PET). I’m loving the great ‘process’ section on the website, explaining the extrusion process and how the fibers are spun together to make the yarn.