Swatch Collection

Jingwen Zhu: EcoThreads is a sustainable e-textile prototyping approach for fabricating biodegradable functional threads. We synthesized two thread-based fabrication methods—wet spinning and thread coating—to fabricate functional threads from biomaterials or modify natural fiber to achieve conductive or interactive functionality. We built a wet spinning tool from a modified DIY syringe pump to spin biodegradable conductive threads. These conductive and interactive threads can be further integrated into textiles through weaving, knitting, embroidery, and braiding. The EcoThreads approach presents a path for individual creators to incorporate biodegradable material choices toward sustainable e-textile practices.
Project Credits: Hybrid Body Lab at Cornell University, directed by Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao.
Research Team: Jingwen Zhu (Lead Researcher), Lily Winagle (Undergraduate Researcher), Prof. Dr. Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao (Lab Director).

Becca Ricks: This swatch is an experiment in both tactility and soft circuitry. The swatch was knitted on my Brother KH-930e knitting machine, using a technique called hand-manipulated stitching, creating a "ruching" 3D texture. The result is a swatch that is dimensional and tactile. I integrated soft circuitry into the swatch, using conductive thread to wire up a proximity and IR light sensor to a FLORA—an Arduino-compatible microcontroller—connected to a battery pack. The idea is that this swatch might serve as a "patch" that can be attached to a garment. The swatch was a proof of concept for a larger project I am working on, designing garments that track and monitor other bodies' proximity to my body—a reflection on connectedness, community, and intimacy.

Joah Lui: Swatch of Changes - I Ching Switch is an e-textile switch that utilizes ancient Chinese metal coins—historically a currency for trade and divination—along with conductive thread-wrapped cording in knots that symbolize and cast magical spells. As the coins flip and connect or disconnect the circuit, trigrams from the ancient and occult I Ching (Book of Changes) are invoked as coded binaries of Yin and Yang. This swatch is an investigation into ancient and modern energies, the effects of their combination, and representation in craft, as well as the use of technology outside of its intended forms.

Daniel Ryan Johnston: A machine-embroidered small sculptural form. Starting with PCB LEDs soldered together in serial, they were then sewn onto water-soluble material with machine-embroidered poly-cotton thread. After being soaked in warm water, the threaded structure was left to dry, pinned to a Styrofoam ball, creating its current form. The LEDs are activated via a switch.

Ahree Lee: Many e-textiles are based on sewing—attaching electronics to a base cloth—but I wanted to explore how circuitry can be woven directly into cloth rather than added after the fact. At eTextile Camp, I wove a textile breadboard with an integrated LilyPad Arduino and conductive threads that can be tied into components for prototyping. This swatch was woven using a technique called doubleweave, in which two layers of cloth are woven simultaneously, merging and separating in multiple permutations. Through this method, I can control the connections between conductive threads to create a circuit.

Kathleen McDermott: This project consists of tests for mounting mini solar panels to fabric, comparing durability, conductivity, and aesthetic possibilities for body-based power. Different methods were explored, including removable conductive snaps, soldered wire, copper tape, and conductive fabric. The final design uses 60 panels to produce 7 volts and is open-sourced at idmwearables.club.

Craftwork:

• Soft Flip Dot: This textile swatch features a crochet design that seamlessly incorporates a magnetic bead and coiled copper wire to create a soft, flexible structure with interactive capabilities. When activated by an electrical current, the copper wire interacts with the magnetic bead to produce movement reminiscent of a traditional flip-dot display, blending traditional craftsmanship with technology.

• Sonic Textile Knit: Swatch-making is vital to the Craftwork creative process. This swatch was produced during the early phases and ideations for Ancient Futures. Using a hacked domestic knitting machine, this swatch employs the traditional Fair Isle technique to visualize sound waves. Inspired by storytelling in Ancient Futures, this work explores how people have stored information and secrets in textiles over time.

• Tilt Switch: This e-textile tilt switch is crafted using copper thread, conductive fabric, and LEDs, combining flexibility with functionality. As the textile tilts, the copper thread and conductive fabric make contact, completing a circuit that illuminates the embedded LEDs, creating a soft, responsive light display that reacts to movement.

• Stroke Switch: This stroke switch is an e-textile component crafted from copper thread, conductive fabric, and LEDs. When stroked, pieces of conductive fabric come into contact, completing the circuit and illuminating the LEDs, offering a tactile interaction that visually responds to touch.

Jen Costillo: Collaborating with Kyle Chan for their next piece, I envisioned a modern friendship bracelet of sorts, transforming four songs that were special to our group and entwining memories into "cybergoth" cloth. Using Processing to transform frequencies radially, the result became Industrial Plaid. Once the initial image was generated, Chan performed digital weaving of the form into its present plaid style. The final edited image was then transformed into the woven fabric.

Yu Nong Khew: The Mycelium Voxel Swatch is a collaboration between people and living materials. The swatch is both knitted and grown, a partnership between Yu Nong Khew and Sonia Roberts. While Sonia knitted the cotton casing, Yu Nong grew and cultivated the mycelium, feeding it with nutrients. The final form is ultimately decided by the mycelium, challenging traditional ideas of authorship. This swatch asks: What is a code?

Kay Wasil: This sample swatch is a chainmail-style material I created out of PCB boards to function as an LED grid.

Shayna Ahteck: This piece of embedded electronic lace was created by hand using tatting techniques—a process of making decorative knots in connected rings and chains to form lace motifs. Using stainless steel conductive fiber, I connected a simple LED to a coin cell battery in a flower motif.

Rona Redeker: This sample is part of a series of five interactive e-textiles researching the use of textiles as switches for electrical circuits. Each fold of the satin ribbon closes one circuit, allowing individual LEDs to be controlled through touch, eliminating the need for code. The sample represents a decorative option for integrating electronics into clothing or accessories, making e-textiles accessible through intuitive interaction.

Lily Crandall: This swatch was an experiment in a series of food-themed soft buttons and sensors. The "sandwich" is made up of two pieces of conductive fabric that, when pressed together, complete a circuit to turn on a light—time for lunch!
Materials: Felt, conductive thread, conductive fabric, hot glue, 1.5V battery, coin cell battery holder, and 1 LED.

¡wénrán zhào!: This e-textile piece incorporates embroidery with conductive threads and fabrics, flexible LED filament, and miniature LED lights. The piece brings needlework to life with "breathing" lights, modulated by a microcontroller. In idle mode, the "scar" breathes slowly as the lights fade in and out. When touched, the scar glows at its brightest, with certain spots flickering, evoking different types of pain. The conductive fabric, connected to a large resistor, serves as a capacitive sensor, triggering signal flows when touched. All electronics and wires are sewn onto the back of the hoop.

Nishra Ranpura: TouchMeOrNot is an expression of intimacy and tactile memory. She reacts to your touch and remembers it. Be kind, be aware. The construction of the swatch is a dialogue on transparency—or lack thereof—in today’s increasingly black-boxed applications of emerging technologies. The concept of open-source and transparent application is materialized through sheer fabrics and layering. She is constructed on an LED and Touch Matrix (using Velostat) that are sewn using copper thread, coded on an embedded Teensy LC.

Yue Xu: The swatch was knitted with Stoll industrial machines using both elastic yarn and conductive yarn. It was knitted in several iterations of double-layered structures that enabled stretchiness and created interesting surface textures. As one pulls the swatch and stretches the conductive yarn structures, the resistance changes. This piece was designed with the potential to become part of a wearable garment that could detect the wearer’s body movements.

Yafira Martinez: Soft Glitch blends traditional craft with the unpredictability of disruption. Created with the punch needle technique, the swatch layers chaotic strands of black, soft pink, pastel blue, and lavender yarns—evoking the fragmented nature of glitches. A purple Electroluminescent (EL) thread is intertwined on the surface, adding an animated flicker that mimics digital disturbance. This piece merges tactile texture with the subtle movement of light, embracing the beauty of imperfection and the fluidity of digital error in a glowing, textured form.

Sarah Khadraoui: Inspired by the structure of earwig wings, these are one of several prototypes that explore the question: How does nature modify physical space? Made on an AVL 24-shaft dobby loom with cotton, polyester, and cardstock, then heat-pressed to create the folding structure, this piece is part of a broader investigation into bio-inspired design and textile engineering.

Tsing Liu: This swatch draws inspiration from the transmission of vibrations in an orb spider's web. Reflecting the spider’s role as a natural weaver, Viking knitting with jewelry wire was used to create a looped web pattern. A delay circuit (capacitor and resistors hidden behind black fabric) and 28 LEDs simulate vibrations traveling from the outer edge to the center. When a user touches an LED on the outer ring, the circuit activates, lighting up four LEDs sequentially along a single thread. The interactive design highlights the spider web's elegance and functionality in transmitting vibrations.

Krithi Nalla: This project explored insulation techniques for conductive thread by testing seven adhesives—hot glue, wood glue, spray adhesive, craft glue, Sobo craft and fabric glue, Aleene’s fabric glue, and super glue—on two types of conductive thread (Karl Grimm and Adafruit). A swatch book was created to compare how effectively these adhesives insulated stitched circuits, prevented shorts, and maintained LED functionality. Two stitching techniques were also evaluated for their impact on insulation. Each combination was documented, offering practical insights for Neo-TCH 1.3 (krithinalla.com/Neo-TCH-1-3).

Jennifer Meakins: The Knit LED Switch Swatch is a result of my recent exploration of e-textiles and digital knitting. Designed to be an interactive switch, the swatch was knitted in a single piece, integrating conductive yarn into the textile itself through plating and intarsia techniques. Numerous samples were created, working to integrate knit tubes for yarn insulation while testing after-production connections to components (Lilypad RGB LED and coin cell battery holder). The mixing of light through different switch combinations introduces an element of play and interactivity.

Riley Cox: This sample was created for a quilted button. The button is formed using layers of batting and copper, conductive fabric. When the central circle is pressed, power flows to traces of conductive thread connected to a circle of sewn LEDs. Pressing illuminates a silk top layer of laser-cut applique motifs, highlighting the potential for soft, interactive textiles.

Thea Rae: Trek - 2024, composed of walnut, satin cord, brass eyes, LED fibers, and 5V power, explores the invisible threads that connect us to places, moments, and each other. It reflects on my relationship with digital fabrication in the framework of tech culture.

Shelby Wilson: Using right-angle weaving, I’ve stitched glass beads together with a single strand of enameled wire to form an electrical circuit (akin to a mathematical space-filling curve). The beads are coated in thermochromic pigment. When the wire is connected to electricity, it warms the beads, activating the pigment and changing their color. Several of these squares in parallel can be individually controlled as modular “pixels,” forming a rudimentary screen. This is a single pixel within the International Bad Screen Consortium (with Lee and Alex).

Josh graupera: This e-textile swatch is screen-printed with water-based ink, discharge (bleach) ink, photochromic ink, and thermochromic ink. Three LED sequins are sewn on and activated by a sandwich switch. The top of the switch has thermochromic ink that shifts from purple to pink after pressing. A cloud at the top is printed with photochromic ink, turning magenta if exposed to UV or sunlight. This experiment explores how lights and reactive inks might interact with my existing printed fabrics. I’m excited to continue exploring narrative strategies with these processes.

Yihyun Lim: Felted Terrain attempts to subvert the notion of knitted and felted textiles as primitive handcraft through the integration of soft electronics, computational design, and fabrication. Inspired by Iceland’s rolling, mossy landscape, this interactive textile translates natural terrain shapes into three-dimensional, interactive forms. At an interior scale, the knitted/felted textile becomes more than just a familiar material for the body—it is partly furniture, partly surface, and also a sensory outlet, allowing users to experience the familiar textile in an unexpected way.

Suraj Barthy: My work is around time. This swatch is a knit clock that uses a standard clock movement. The end is left loose, and people are encouraged to pull the loose end and unravel the clock’s body. Even if the movement falls away, the clock mechanism keeps running, symbolizing our limited control—if any—over time.

Helen Lin: This swatch is a soft sculpture painting combining discarded fabric scraps and yarn with conductive thread, lighting up three LEDs in a parallel circuit. It explores sustainability, creativity, and new e-textile possibilities.

Delara Rahim: Poetic Entwine is part of an ongoing series of digital embroideries exploring the relationship between code, embroidery, text, and textile. The computer-coded geometry is a skewed warp and weft grid that results in a layered woven patch on top of the embroidery, created by the CNC embroidery machine’s toolpath. This project investigates the tension and translation between embroidery—a slow, handmade, labor-intensive practice often associated with femininity—and digital technologies. This particular variation uses red polyester thread layered over heavyweight cotton canvas.

Alexandra Bachmayer: This is the beginning of a really bad screen. This swatch combines thermochromic bioplastic and machine-embroidered silver conductive thread. When the thread is connected to a battery, it warms the bioplastic, activating the pigment and changing its color. Several of these squares, placed in parallel, can be individually controlled as modular “pixels,” creating a rudimentary screen. This is a single pixel within the International Bad Screen Consortium (with Lee and Shelby).

lee wilkins: I will be using conductive fabric cut into a space-filling curve to make a textile heater. The textile will be painted with thermochromic pigment that changes color when activated. Several of these squares in parallel can be controlled as modular “pixels,” forming a rudimentary screen. I will be using buttons to represent the effect. This is a single pixel within the International Bad Screen Consortium (with Shelby and Alex).

Blair Simmons: Electrical waste, woven on a lap loom. “Red wires are mostly used to connect the home’s power system and hardwired smoke detectors such that if one alarm goes off, all of them go off.” — Mister Sparky, America’s On-Time Electrician.