Intro to Soft Sensor Construction
Squish It! Stretch It! Press It! Bend It!
Taught by Alexandra Bachmayer, 9:30 - 12:30 pm, September 16th, 2024
Love textiles? Love building circuits? Interested in exploring new materials, concepts of softness, and/or learning how to craft your own bespoke sensors? This workshop is for you if you answered yes to one or more! In this workshop, we will cover a basic introduction to conductive and resistive textiles, examine different techniques for textile sensor construction, then build a pressure sensor in any shape or form you wish. Along the way, we can have side and group conversations about the worlds we build and relearn by combining disciplines traditionally lodged in different cultural and social spaces. What opportunities and inquiries exist at their intersection?
This workshop assumes the following:
- You can sew a basic running or backstitch. If you do not know how, please spend 10-15 minutes on YouTube beforehand as this will not be covered.
- No prior physical computing knowledge. Indeed, it is best to come with an open mind as these materials can be quite wicked and you must be willing to start a dialogue with them instead of seeking control over them.
2024 Workshops, Demos, and Talks
Starting Smarter with IoT - an introduction to MQTT and Arduino
Taught by Suraj Barthy, 2 - 5 pm, September 16th, 2024
Designed for participants with some Arduino experience, this hands-on workshop will introduce you to the world of IoT and MQTT. You will learn to make things that talk to each other using buttons and LEDS, and open your mind (and practice) to connection across the interwebs.
This workshop is for people who are familiar with Arduino.
Arduino 101
Taught by Lee Wilkins, 2 - 5 pm, September 16th, 2024
This workshop is for people who are not familiar with Arduino.
Let’s Ride Carriages with Yarn! (An Introduction to Machine Knitting)
Taught by Elizabeth Wickes and Ying Cai, 9:30-12:30 pm, September 17th, 2024
Have you ever tried knitting before and thought: “Wow this takes forever!”? Or maybe you’ve never knit at all but have wanted to design your own stretchy fabrics, conjure your own soft sculptures, or create your loved ones cozy sweaters? This workshop will expose residents to a breadth of what’s possible on a basic knitting machine including:
Casting On
Stockinette
Stripes
Increases/ decreases
Transfer (pointelle)
Short rows (hold)
Punch cards (faire isle/ lace)
Cast off
… and much more!
See what’s possible, scratch an itch, and make educated guesses about how to self explore in the big universe of machine knitting!
Weaving 101 - Skill Share Demo
Taught by Sarah Khadraoui, 2 - 5 pm, September 17th, 2024
Residents will learn the basics of how to use a 4-harness loom and will gain an understanding of some of the woven structures that can be used. We will go through every step of the process, from weaving terminology, creating a warp, dressing the loom, and of course, weaving! We will explore different woven structures and how they can affect the fabric as well as experimenting with different fiber contents or unconventional materials. Through this workshop, residents will be able to weave on their own or re-ignite that passion for weaving once again!
Researcher in Residence
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Researcher in Residence 〰️
AYAB: Breathing new life into old knitting machines
Talk by Carson Holgate, 8 - 9 pm, September 17th, 2024
All Yarns Are Beautiful (AYAB) is an open source hardware and software project that allows you to retrofit your vintage Brother knitting machine to be controlled by a modern computer. It has been updated and added on to by volunteers for more than a decade and now it's getting close to a 1.0 release. Learn about how the software works, how it expands beyond the original Brother functionality, and a deep dive into algorithms for double bed jacquard.
Past Workshops, demos, and presentations held at ETC
At ETC participants share techniques, explore materials, and discuss topics that relate to electronic textiles. It is our goal to document and share resources from these skill-shares with camp participants and any one who wants to learn more. Below you will find workshop descriptions, photo galleries, and lots of great resources.
Content is being moved from our old website, making this page a work-in-progress. Follow our IG account to stay up to date on this page’s progress and other updates.
