Beyond contributing a new way to make soft, responsive electronic materials, this work suggests that sometimes the most innovative approach to wellbeing technology isn’t building another app – it’s rediscovering the therapeutic power of making things with our hands.
This study explores what happens when you combine traditional wool felting with conductive materials – and discovers something surprising along the way.
Working with six colleagues at the University of Salzburg, we spent months getting our hands dirty (and soapy) creating 22 unique felt objects by mixing regular merino wool with stainless steel fibers.
What started as a technical experiment to make electronic textiles turned into something much more interesting: we found that the slow, hands-on process of felting wasn’t just creating functional sensors that respond to touch and pressure, it was also incredibly calming and stress-relieving. Participants consistently lost track of time, felt their anxiety melt away, and discovered a creative flow they hadn’t expected.
The research reveals five key insights about how this ancient craft can serve modern needs:
- it naturally regulates stress,
- warps our sense of time in a good way,
- sparks creativity and storytelling,
- works best in the right environment, and
- leaves people with a genuine sense of accomplishment.
The step-by-step guide for your own conductive felting project can be found under resources.