E-Textiles Network Webinar – Exploring the use of Cotton and Cotton Blends for Electronic Textile Innovations

Presented by Dr Theo Hughes- Riley, Nottingham Trent University

Cotton is an ideal substrate for many worn applications due to its comfort and consumer acceptance. Historically, cotton received limited attention in the academic electronic textiles (E-textiles) literature, however the use of cotton by the community has seen growth in recent years. While cotton and cotton blends have been employed in various studies, the exact rationale for design choices or material selection is often lacking.

This work takes a textile focussed approach using different cotton and cotton-natural fibre blends to systematically create and evaluate a series of electronic textiles using established techniques. By exploring the use of different materials and integration methods the opportunities and limitations of incorporating electronics with different cotton-based textiles can be understood from a practical perspective. Seven types of E-textile were produced including using embroidery, knitting, weaving, and bonding. Nine material types were explored across the project including four types of cotton and five blended textiles.

Produced electronic textiles were evaluated for properties linked with comfort. Functionality tests were also carried out. User workshops were employed to understand user perceptions of the produced textiles, particularly difficult to quantify properties such as softness.

This work provides a guide for researchers and industry on how to successfully utilise cotton and cotton blends in the creation of new, innovative, E-textiles.

This research was funded by the Cotton Textiles Research Trust (https://cottontextilesresearchtrust.org/).

This webinar will take place on Tuesday 10th November 2026 12.00-13.00 (GMT). To register for the webinar, please complete the registration form.