After making the pressure sensors A and B, we decided that we’d like to integrate the sensors into a garment. Originally we were going to stick to experimenting with sensors only, but after continued research of the history of lace making and textile handwork we felt inspired to broaden the project. We also like the idea of giving the sensors a context.
We plan to make three dresses with three different themes. The themes are taken from poems we’ve found on antique embroidery samplers and each poem says something about the person who made the embroidery and communicates a certain feeling, e.g., weariness, melancholy, resolve. We’ve translated each theme into a gesture which, when made by the wearer, will trigger audio of the poem being read. We’ll write more about the poems later, but meanwhile, here are some photos of the toile we’ve made for the dresses.
The dresses will be very simple and will be made from white cotton, so they’ll look pretty similar to this!
Here’s the back. The pleats at the waist are there to leave room for an Arduino Microcontroller board. More on that later, too.
We’ve drawn where the pressure sensors will go so that when the wearer makes the gesture, she touches the pressure sensors.
Lace Sensor Project 