Researchers expand study on muscle atrophy

July 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Researchers at The Ohio State University have fabricated a wearable sensor designed to detect and monitor muscle atrophy, a condition that’s typically caused by degenerative disease, aging or muscle disuse. The practice of using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess muscle size and volume can…
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On-demand color-changing fabric technology developed

July 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Fiber optic and fiber-device scientists in the laboratories of the University of Central Florida (UCF) have developed an innovative textile that changes color and appearance on demand. The scientists believe that their ChroMorphous technology is a first in e-textiles, as older versions of color-chan…
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Soft robotic biomedical devices function magnetically

July 1, 2023  |  Swatches

One of the challenges of minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery lies in getting surgical instruments into the patient’s body via a narrow catheter. Scientists may have found a solution with magnetic instruments that pop into and out of shape as needed. The experimental MaSoChain (magnetic soft-ro…
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Textile artist wins UK craft award

June 1, 2023  |  Swatches

A textile artist took the top contemporary craft prize for U.K.-based artists this spring out of 400 artists of varied disciplines, with the winning pieces joining the U.K. Craft Council’s national collection. The winning works will be on display this summer in London, England. 
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Researchers test heat-reactiveness of fabric

June 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Research into reactive textiles goes on around the world. At Aalto University in Finland, researchers have developed textiles that change shape when they heat up, thanks to weaving in liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs). The work was done in collaboration with the University of Cambridge in England…
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Fair-trade products + blockchain = transparency

June 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Supply-chain transparency, meet blockchain. Students at the London College of Fashion (LCF) have used the technology to follow the production of fair-trade textile products and create irrefutable provenance of each piece created. They call the process “the future of ethical and sustainable fashion…
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Process patented to adhere aerogel to nonwovens

June 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Outlast Technologies GmbH in Munich, Germany, has patented the procedure to adhere aerogel to nonwovens, enabling materials as thin as 1–3 mm to be well insulated and still soft and flexible. The treated fabrics, sold under the name Aersulate®, can then be processed conventionally and made into c…
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Sock could evaluate fall risk

June 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Researchers at the Nottingham School of Art and Design have designed a smart “over-sock” that predicts near falls. 
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Wearable dirt? Researcher turns soil into fabric

June 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Penmai Chongtoua, an associate researcher in the Natural Materials Lab at Columbia University, working closely with the lab’s director, professor Lola Ben-Alon, has created fabric using at least 60% dirt. Although it is normal for the lab to be filled with buckets of earth and clay and fibers such…
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Zero Bag packaging dissolves and washes new clothes

June 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Kyeongho Park and Yejin Heo, designers majoring in industrial design at Hanyang University’s ERICA campus in the Republic of Korea, have created new clothing packaging that not only dissolves in water but disperses washing detergents. After purchasing new clothes wrapped in a Zero Bag, the buyer c…
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