Development and integration of a capacitive sensor in a pleated woven structure using Tango chirimen production methods

This case study is an example of ongoing collaborative initiatives between the Kyoto Prefectural Institute for Northern Industry, Kyoto, Japan working with the international network created by the annual Textiles Summer School (Cassim et al, 2017)1 in Kyoto initiated and directed by Julia Cassim to explore new weave and product possibilities using the weave, yarn and technology of Tango chirimen crêpe, a traditional kimono fabric from Kyoto and the Japanese Jacquard loom. Written from a technical standpoint, it centres on the challenges of interpreting and realising the concept of the lead designer / educator to create a hybrid silk fabric with a pleated structure with integrated conductive fibre to allow the textile to be used as a capacitive sensor. Inspired by Issey Miyake’s ‘Pleats, Please!’ exhibition, this fabric was linked to an electric circuit and became an interactive system that changes pre-recorded sound according to the expansion and contraction of the pleats. The collaboration was facilitated exclusively online with all parties sharing ideas and the results of parallel prototyping through hybrid methods, which we designate as an “interpretative collaboration.” Lectures, instructional and contextual videos created for the Textiles Summer School 2022 (TSS 2022) were provided while academic papers, translated communication, and drawings were used to address the details of the project and supported the dialogue between parties which was facilitated by Cassim and the TSS 2022 team. Apart from the woven samples, a zine-like publication will be available to students interested in understanding the principles of e-textiles capacitance.