New Textiles 2012

We all know that today’s lastest fashion is tomorrow’s vintage. In order to address this fact, I have designed a color changing textile that allows for the transition from checks to stripes by the push of a button.

Supplies: thermocrohmic paint, cotton fabric, conductive thread, sewing needle, a switch, a battery

Step 1: Paint checks pattern on to the cotton fabric

Step 2: Sew in conductive thread to horizontal lines, connecting the switch and battery terminal as well

Step 3: After securing everything in place, I used a multimeter to calculate the resistance in each trace, as well as the voltage. Using this information, I was able to determine the amount of current running through my circuit:

Key Measurements:

Resistance: 1st Trace – 13.4 2nd Trace – 1.3 Total – 14.7 Ω

Voltage: 3.9 V

Measured Resistance: 202.4 mA

Calculated Resistance: 265.3 mA

(I am not clear why there was a discrepancy, except due to human error).

Given that the maximum amount of resistance allowable in the systam was 37Ω, and the minimum current required was 100mA, I was confident that my system would work.

Step 4: Cut off all extra thread, make pretty:

Step 5: And enjoy the video:

Extra Considerations: I thought the idea of having a versatile textile would be really cool. In the future I would try to integrate the conductive thread into the fabric better, so that once the blue color “disappeared” you couldn’t see the conductive thread. There is also an opportunity to make the checks smaller and the design more intricate. I would need to do further tests as I make the circuit longer, since the resistance will increase.