A 4D knitted dress

Researchers at MIT Self-Assembly Lab along with Ministry of Supply have combined several technologies to create a garment that is sculpted to create a personalised fit or style.

Generally, in the making of a garment, a 2D pattern is used to cut fabric to size and sew these together. This leads to waste, additional costs and labour, and bulky seams. An alternative is offered by 3D knitting, but this generally does not allow for customised shaping to fit anyone’s unique body or style.

With the 4D knit dress, the researchers combined heat-activated yarns, computerised knitting, and 6-axis robotic activation to create a garment that is sculpted to create a personalised fit or style.

Heat-activated yarns are embedded within the knit structure for controlled transformation, while maintaining softness, stretch and resilience. Using a tubular knitting technique, a 6-axis robotic arm, which is commonly used in automotive manufacturing, heats specific areas to take them in, mimicking the design process of pinning and tucking used in traditional dress tailoring.

Images: MIT