In the past, perfectly fitting clothes required expensive custom tailoring. Now, thanks to innovative textiles and knitting techniques, the MIT Self-Assembly Lab and Ministry of Supply have introduced the 4D Knit Dress, a garment that provides both personalized fit and style.
Beyond Bespoke: A Dress That Adapts
The 4D Knit Dress utilizes several technologies to achieve its unique capabilities. Specially designed yarns respond to heat, allowing a robotic arm to precisely sculpt the dress to the wearer’s body. This eliminates the need for traditional “cut-and-sew” methods and minimizes fabric waste.
Sustainable Style
Sasha McKinlay, a designer at the Self-Assembly Lab, emphasizes the dress’s sustainability. Unlike fast fashion, which often results in excess inventory and discarded clothing, the 4D Knit Dress can be adapted to different styles and sizes. This reduces waste for both consumers and retailers.
Video: Self-Assembly Lab
Active textiles
Students in the Self-Assembly Lab have been working with dynamic textiles for several years. The yarns they create can change shape, change property, change insulation, or become breathable. Previous applications to tailor garments include making sweaters and face masks. Tibbits says the 4D Knit Dress is a culmination of everything the students have learned from working with active textiles.
McKinlay helped produce the active yarns, created the concept design, developed the knitting technique, and programmed the lab’s industrial knitting machine. Once the garment design is programmed into the machine, it can quickly produce multiple dresses. Where the active yarns are placed in the design allows for the dress to take on a variety of styles such as pintucks, pleats, an empire waist, or a cinched waist.
“The styling is important,” McKinlay says. “Most people focus on the size, but I think styling is what sets clothes apart. We’re all evolving as people, and I think our style evolves as well. After fit, people focus on personal expression.”
Danny Griffin MArch ’22, a current graduate student in architectural design, doesn’t have a background in garment making or the fashion industry. Tibbits asked Griffin to join the team due to his experience with robotics projects in construction. Griffin translated the heat activation process into a programmable robotic procedure that would precisely control its application.
“When we apply heat, the fibers shorten, causing the textile to bunch up in a specific zone, effectively tightening the shape as if we’re tailoring the garment,” says Griffin. “There was a lot of trial and error to figure out how to orient the robot and the heat gun. The heat needs to be applied in precise locations to activate the fibers on each garment. Another challenge was setting the temperature and the timing for the heat to be applied.”
It took a while to determine how the robot could reach all areas of the dress.
“We couldn’t use a commercial heat gun — which is like a handheld hair dryer — because they’re too large,” says Griffin. “We needed a more compact design. Once we figured it out, it was a lot of fun to write the script for the robot to follow.”
A dress can begin with one design — pintucks across the chest, for example — and be worn for months before having heat re-applied to alter its look. Subsequent applications of heat can tailor the dress further.
From Lab to Store: Promising Potential
The 4D Knit Dress debuted at Ministry of Supply’s Boston store, where customers witnessed the robotic personalization process. This initial showcase allowed the team to gauge interest and gather valuable feedback. Gihan Amarasiriwardena, co-founder of Ministry of Supply, highlights the potential for rapid production based on customer demand.
A Look to the Future
The project’s success has inspired both McKinlay and Griffin, who are eager to explore new styles and applications for this technology. They envision the 4D Knit Dress not just as a fashion statement, but as a catalyst for a more sustainable and adaptable relationship between people and their clothing.
Source: MIT
