I was recently introduced to Kristine Boesen’s work and I’m excited by her exploration of textiles, particularly this changeable piece Geometric Waves. A pull of a few strings transforms flat territory into puffy modules, while a drop of color transforms white spaces into colorful shapes. Here’s Kristine’s basis for the project.

Geometric Wave is a concept for a changeable textile. The idea was to investegate how a knitted textile can be changed in look and performance in the hands of a consumer. I have explored how a flat fabric can be given 3-dimensional shape in simple ways. The fabric is knitted with different white fibers which are sensitive to different types of dyes and and therefor the fabric can get multiple colors through the dye process. It is a conceptual idea that can be taken into interior design as well as apparel design.

Usually textile customization is something you come across in a craft store in the form of a canvas tote-bag kit with magic markers. It’s not very satisfying and probably doesn’t amount to an interest piece. However, Kristine’s work puts texture and color up for grabs. I can imagine it as an interesting woven lampshade or parachute style maxi skirt, dyed to match the current season. People often keep their surroundings static, which doesn’t make sense considering we are in flux every day, down to our biology. It just seems natural that we should wear clothing and surround ourselves with textiles that morph and adapt. It’s an exciting field and Kristine is already doing interesting work at Jakob Schlaepfer Textiles in Switzerland. Don’t forget experimentation in textiles is not just limited to color and texture. Nowadays you can incorporate circuits, and we’ve got the perfect Knit Conductive Fabric for the job. Make conductive glove tips, game pads or whatever else you imagine. It’s soft and flexible, so people won’t even guess how you are doing the triggering. Just tell them it’s magic.

Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!