Parallel Practices

Those of you who know my work, will know I get a bit obsessive about digitally programmed embroidery.  You’ll also know that I’m fascinated in medical data as a starting point for my work, so when I saw that the  Crafts Council were looking  for makers who were interested  in working with medical academics at Kings College London I jumped at the chance.

It’s a long story but I met Dr Matthew Howard who lectures in Informatics at an event organised by the Crafts Council and KCL and we got on like a house on fire.  Our bid to make embroidered electrical connections for sensors stitched into garments to measure both movements of the wearer and the electrical impulses in the muscles causing the movement was accepted as one of four residences as part of the Parallel Practices project.

The plan will involve working with Matthew’s research students to make the ‘technology’ work with bespoke, cutting edge components and programming and with Pfaff sewing machines to make the ‘stitch’ using conductive thread and embroidery software.

Now if we can get the technology to work, we hope to make garments that can capture movements and electrical impulses……and if we can get this all to work well, then we’ll be able to make the garments and its technology to look pretty,….. and if we can do it well, then I’ll have the time to make the garments with aesthetic considerations to the muscles structures below or the electrical data we have captured.