Abstract
This paper reports findings from a one-month design research project, in which four textile and fashion designers engaged in collaborative making on technical and artistic knowledge embedded in ‘folds and folding’. Textile technologies and construction methods to design, fabricate and analyze three-dimensional dynamic materiality in electronic textiles (e-textiles) were explored. The focus is on sensor structures achieved by knitting, weaving, pleating and coating techniques. Measurements of electrical resistance between one and 36 sensing areas per sample demonstrate the added value of folds integrated into textiles sensor structures, which are high resolution and soft touch (weave), high responsiveness to small movements (pleat), combining stretch and pressure in one movement (knit) and broadening aesthetics and choice for sensing materials (coating). Detailed information on design, fabrication and experimental results is provided as Supplementary Material to this article.