Through our research, we aim to improve access to textile and garment construction tools.  We will start with ur local community by assessing then making adjustments to the Ability Project Lab.  

Our projects are broken down into the following larger categories: 

Existing Lab Hardware & Tools

• Domestic Sewing Machines
  • Singer Heavy Duty 4452
• Domestic Embroidery Machines
• Iron and other heating tools
• Patterning tools 
• Dress forms
• Domestic Knitting Machines 
  • LK150 Knitting Machine
  • Brother KH-910 Electronic Knitting Machine
  • addiExpress Circular Knitting Machine

Opensource Software

• FreeSewing.org
• All Yarns Are Beautiful (AYAB)
  • We have the Brother KH-910 in the lab for this project

Opensource Hardware

• 3D Printed & Laser Cut Tools
• Adaptive Technology Community
  • Makers Making Change 

Patterns for Adaptive Garment

• Research into and testing of patterns for adaptive clothing
  • Crochet Patterns
  • Wovens Patterns
  • Stretch Patterns
  • Knit Patterns 

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Considerations for Our Work

Throughout the semester, we will use the following to guide our work:

Community

• Who makes up the community around a particular tool?
  • Disabled individuals and organizations that support disabled artists
  • Academic research (Institutions, labs, conferences, etc.
  • Market research
• What are the needs of the community?
  • What are their pain points?
  • What do they want support with?
  • What do they not want support with?
• What adaptations/accommodations have community members created?
  • Tools, processes, etc. 
• More to come as we explore…

Affordability

• What does the tool cost?
• Does the tool’s cost prohibitive?  
• Are their open source options?
• What solutions can we design to alleviate the cost of use?
• More to come as we explore…

Readability

• Can the tool be used with a screen reader?
• Are the instructions easy to follow?
• Is the tool in a particular language and is that changeable?
• Are the icons and/or writing on the tool readable (size, location, etc.)?
• More to come as we explore…

Functionality

• Does the user experience support or hinder the tools usage?
• Is the tool able to easily be adapted to meet the needs of different people?
• What accommodations/adaptations are available?
• More to come as we explore…