Skip to content

5. E-textiles

Research

de-textile "This week will be playfull + physics + electronics + design" Starting a week with e-textile a field still in developing and research and considered early stage yet. eventhough it was the start for everything from e-wearables such as your smartwatch and more electronics in research and maybe the e-ship that can read your mind one day !!

This week started not too easy but the more you go with ... the more you understand the logic and for me finding many sources for information on internet about electonics was definatly helpful aligned with fabricademy.

Referances and inspiration

??? bug "Referances"

* Soft tools - [Stephanie Vilayphiou - GreenLab](https://class.textile-academy.org/2024/stephanie-vilayphiou/assignments/week05/#knitted-breadboard)

* Booklet & veggie moisture sensors - [Kae Nagano - FabLab Kamakura](https://class.textile-academy.org/2024/kae-nagano/assignments/week05/#moisture-sensor)

* Felted Digital Touch Sensor - [Carolina Beirao - TextileLab Amsterdam Waag FutureLab](https://class.textile-academy.org/2025/carolina-beirao/assignments/week05/)

* Knitted samples - [Alice Sowa - Icelandic Textile Center](https://class.textile-academy.org/2023/alice-sowa/Assignments/week05/#knit-cables-circuit)

* Final project trajectory - [Ieva Maria Dautartaite](https://class.textile-academy.org/2023/ieva-dautartaite/project/)

Let's start the journey togather with a breif explination of :

What's E-Textile?

What is etextiles? It is by nature a hybrid discipline. Embedding electronics into textiles using conductive threads/fabrics; new functionality and aesthetics to textile artefacts; can be on the body or everyday interfaces. Craft techniques; high low tech.

e-textile

What is circuit?

A circuit is a path for electrical energy to flow. This electrical energy is called current. All circuits must have a power source and output or load.

circuit

What is Arduino?

The king of this week is an Arduino

How to Install and Use the Arduino IDE

1. Go to the official Arduino website .

2. Download the version compatible with your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux).

3. Install the software by following the on-screen instructions.

4. Once installed, open the Arduino IDE.

What is Arduino UNO

Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board contains 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz ceramic resonator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header and a reset button. It works as a prototype brain by writing a code via arduino 'in this document' , then upload it to the board via dat-USB, and it starts reacting between input then it tells the outputs what to do (like lighting LEDs, moving a servo, ...etc) .

However it also helped me to test LEDs and the output of the code before add it and test it on the fabric.

Get to Know our new freinds for this week

  • Alligator Clip — A spring-loaded clip for temporary electrical connections (also called crocodile clip).
  • Analog — A signal that changes smoothly across a range (like light, sound, pressure).
  • Arduino — An open-source electronics platform (hardware + software) used to build interactive projects.
  • Breadboard — A tool to test circuits without soldering, so it’s easy to rearrange and debug.
  • Conditionals — Code logic that decides actions based on rules (example: if / else).
  • Conductive — A material that lets electricity flow (conductive thread/fabric).
  • Current — The movement of electric charge in a circuit, measured in amperes (A).
  • Digital — A signal with only two states: ON/OFF (1/0).
  • Electronic Textiles (E-textiles) — Textiles that include conductive materials to create circuits inside fabric.
    They can integrate sensors, LEDs, and microcontrollers (like Arduino) to create interactive wearables.
    ➜ Expanded view: When electricity becomes a “material property,” we also think about: Embedding vs. enclosing / Transparency vs. opacity / Narrative & aesthetics vs. functionality
  • Functions — Reusable blocks of code that perform tasks. Arduino already provides many (ex: digitalWrite()), and I can write my own.
  • Input — Data entering the system (button press, sensor reading).
  • Insulating — A material that blocks current (used to prevent unwanted contact).
  • Jumper Wire — A wire used to connect parts of a circuit (often on a breadboard).
  • Multimeter — A measuring tool for voltage, current, and resistance.
  • Open Source — A design that anyone can use, modify, and share.
  • Output — The action produced by the system (LED on, motor movement). Also called an actuator.
  • Parallel Circuit — A circuit with multiple paths for current.
  • Pull-Down Resistor — Keeps an input reading stable at LOW (0) when nothing is pressed (often 10KΩ).
  • Pull-Up Resistor — Keeps an input reading stable at HIGH (1). Arduino can enable internal pull-ups with INPUT_PULLUP (logic becomes reversed).
  • PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) — A technique to control power by switching fast (used for dimming LEDs).
  • Resistance — Opposition to current flow, measured in ohms (Ω).
  • Resistive — A material that limits current; used in sensors where resistance changes.
  • Sensor — A device that detects changes (light, pressure, motion) and outputs a signal.
  • Series Circuit — A circuit with a single path (same current passes through each component).
  • Short Circuit — An unintended path that causes excess current and heat — avoid it.
  • Solder — Metal used to permanently connect electronics.
  • Switch — Opens/closes a circuit (when open, no electricity flows).
  • Traces — Conductive paths that electricity follows (on PCBs or conductive material).
  • Variable Resistor — A resistor you can adjust to change current flow.
  • Variables — Named values in code that can change while the program runs.
  • Voltage — Electrical “push” that drives current, measured in volts (V).
  • Voltage Divider — A simple circuit that splits voltage between two resistors to create sensor-readable values.
    ➜ Textile sensors often change resistance, but Arduino reads voltage — voltage dividers help translate that.

Process and workflow

My Arduino kit i used during this document see the photo below and then let's start the workflow step by step.

Code Example

This is the simple coding test for arduino - blink code feom arduino example . feel free to check the video for steps and the next description photo. 

/*
  Blink

  Turns an LED on for one second, then off for one second, repeatedly.

  Most Arduinos have an on-board LED you can control. On the UNO, MEGA and ZERO
  it is attached to digital pin 13, on MKR1000 on pin 6. LED_BUILTIN is set to
  the correct LED pin independent of which board is used.
  If you want to know what pin the on-board LED is connected to on your Arduino
  model, check the Technical Specs of your board at:
  https://docs.arduino.cc/hardware/

  modified 8 May 2014
  by Scott Fitzgerald
  modified 2 Sep 2016
  by Arturo Guadalupi
  modified 8 Sep 2016
  by Colby Newman

  This example code is in the public domain.

  https://docs.arduino.cc/built-in-examples/basics/Blink/
*/

// the setup function runs once when you press reset or power the board
void setup() {
  // initialize digital pin LED_BUILTIN as an output.
  pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);
}

// the loop function runs over and over again forever
void loop() {
  digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, HIGH);  // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
  delay(1000);                      // wait for a second
  digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, LOW);   // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
  delay(1000);                      // wait for a second
}

Choose board on arduino

After connect the usb/microcontoller to PC and open Arduino and choose what board is connected then port you are the one you are Plug in your board.

Click the dropdown menu in the top toolbar Select your board on the right port (usually /dev/cu… on Mac and COM on PC) You may need to do some additional set up depending on the board see the photo below.

White breadboard

After that, I used a breadboard to plan and test the circuit layout before integrating the components.

There are two main circuit types:

Parallel circuit: components are connected on multiple paths, so current can flow through each path independently. If one path fails, the others can still work. The voltage stays the same across each component.

Series circuit: components are connected end-to-end in a single path. The same current flows through all components, but the voltage is divided between them. If one component fails, the whole circuit stops working.

And i used the resistor before the parrallel LEDs as the resistor help adjust the flow of these LED to minimize their current as they are only 3v and more voltage can burn them.

See how the wires can be connected bwtween white board and arduino uno : GND and V.

Pressure Sensor

Here i reused one of the fabric from the lab the thread circit is already swing on so i used it and worked on it to add LED and close the circit and start upload the blink code on it .

Design Workflow

I wanted to create a playful product that can be explored by kids and teens as i have a mini statup project for teaching kids about STEM and fabrication so that i thought i could create something with pressure sensore and mix it with simething !

A pressure force sensitive sensor measures physical pressure, weight of objects or the squeezing of the sensor. For textile pressure sensors, piezoresistive materials are often used. That means the conductive material changes its electrical resistance when a force is applied to the sensor. Such materials are often carbon-coated fabric

More research i did i found some helpful articles has inspired me to do some circit design , feel ree to check this article Bend sensor it will help you create fabric bend sensore. and this project is a referance

Tools