3D Knitting: The Future of Advanced Textiles

A team of innovative engineers has developed a novel 3D stitching machine capable of producing complex shapes and structures. Their design pushes the boundaries of computational fabrication research and opens the door for more durable and capable textiles.

Here’s how 3D printed knitting has the potential to change the way you think about your clothes, and how it could impact the entire textile sector in the coming years.

Global Textile Market Growth in 2025

According to recent reports, the textile industry will exceed $1.07T in value by the end of this year. This growth can be attributed to several key factors. Recent advancements in digital printing and design, alongside AI integration, have helped manufacturers produce more without reducing durability.
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Considering that your clothes are one of your most intimate items, it’s no wonder that so much research goes into how to make them more comfortable, durable, and affordable. Today’s most advanced textiles are capable of a lot more than just providing a little warmth.

Smart Textiles

Smart textiles have the potential to revolutionize the market. These next-generation threads have integrated sensors and other components designed to enhance their functionality. For example, there are purpose-built shirts that use conductive fibers to monitor outside stimuli like your heartbeat or the temperature.

Now, imagine a sports team with players suited in uniforms that provide real-time monitoring capabilities. Coaches could use this technology to see which players are fatigued and sub them out before they get too tired or injured. The same technology could work for medical patients, soldiers, and many other applications.

How Textiles Are Made Today (and Their Limits)

The current textile fabrication strategies in place limit designers to only surface forms. These systems have been enhanced over centuries, and today’s industrial knitting and weaving machines have pushed the bounds of 2D knitting to its extent.

Currently, industry standard knitting machines are capable of automatically forming a loop and sustaining it while a feeder arm threads another strand through it. These machines use needle pairs that enable the machine to maintain the loop during the process. Notably, these machines can only support alternating left-to-right and right-to-left passes.

What Is Solid Knitting?

Solid knitting represents the forefront of computational fabrication research. It opens up the traditional knitting process, enabling full 3D designs. To accomplish this task, solid knitting machines add at least 2 additional stitches.

These systems use advanced algorithms to enable engineers to knit complex 3D surfaces or meshes. These complex knit structures open the door for new use cases for fabrics. For example, imagine a smart textile knitted in a way that enabled it to apply pressure on sensors or cushion your fall.

These systems could help to power future prosthetics, develop unique fabric infrastructure, and unlock more durable clothing that can adjust to certain conditions when needed. Solid knitting is still in its development stage, and there are several hurdles engineers need to overcome to achieve large-scale adoption.

Current Problems with Solid Knitting Processes

One of the main issues with solid knitting designs is that a single mishap can cause the entire project to be scrapped. Depending on the tensile forces and patterns, there are geometric limitations to overcome. Also, a lack of software and capable devices has limited its adoption.

For one, there aren’t many solid knitting design platforms, primarily because it’s very difficult to program the physical behavior of yarn. As such, programming solid knitting machines is a labor-intensive project that can take +100 hours to complete, adding to the cost and efficiency of these projects.

Inside the 3D Printed Knitting Study

The Using an Array of Needles to Create Solid Knitted Shapes¹ study introduces a 3D knitting process that combines a purpose-built design tool, a custom 3D knitting machine, and actuators to create solid volume using only thread.

The development opens the door for engineers to make clothes that can stretch where and when needed or stiffen up to provide added durability. These mechanical capabilities use volume to achieve additional functionality and can integrate sensors to add more capability.

Custom Needle Machine

The researchers designed and built a 6×6 prototype to demonstrate their volumetric printing strategy. This unique device integrates a multi-bed, symmetrical double hook design. Additionally, the unit can operate each of its needles independently using actuators.

Source – Carnegie Mellon Textiles Lab

From there, the team set out to create and program a customized design board based on a Raspberry Pi Pico. The board’s main task is to monitor the 72 motors that control every needle and hook within the system. Specifically, each linkage has 8 motors.

Yarn

In terms of adding fabric, the yarn gets fed into the machine, and then two sweeping arms grab it and feed it to the transfer grippers. These dual grippers then pass it to a compactor, before the feeder determines the optimal tension and delivery rate.

The Process

The engineers were able to overcome the loop stability issue that limited traditional solid knitting platforms using a combination of a loop transfer tool, a unique multi-needle tray, and a dual hook design that leverages the back hook to capture the yarn.

3D Printed Knitting Test

The team first developed several different 3D knitting methods utilizing their proprietary design software. Keenly, their designs integrated both vertical and horizontal patterns to create shapes. The prototype integrated a rowed design to build up the knitting into predetermined shapes.

Notably, the team tested their device across several different knits. Specifically,  they tried traditional knits, horizontal knits, and solid knits. Their goal was to use their design software to create intricate designs that could one day offer added functionality to their wearer.

3D Printed Knitting Test Results

The testing phase concluded and delivered some eye-opening results. For one, the team proved that their device could reliably and consistently create micro-structures arising from stitch-to-stitch connections. These solid stitched shapes were designed to adjust stiffness and other key aspects.  Impressively, their 3D knitting machine was able to create several advanced shapes that traditional machines would be unable to support.

Benefits of 3D Printed Knitting Technology

There is a long list of benefits that this research brings to the textile market. For one, it opens the door to further search into the development of accurate 3D printing software and fabrication methods. This prototype provides unmatched flexibility, enabling designs with reduced stitch connection constraints.
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Low Cost

The researchers’ focus on using affordable and readily available components has helped to ensure their design remains low-cost. Wisely, the team relied on modularity, alongside proprietary software, to create a low-cost 3D printing method that supports solid printing structures and designs.

3D Printed Knitting Real-World Applications & Timeline:

There are many applications for this style of textile fabrication. For one, it will enable the creation of fabrics that stretch where they need to and cushion in other areas. Imagine a pair of jeans that had added padding in certain areas simply by using the fabric’s knit layout rather than adding additional fabric.

Medical Applications

This form of solid printing will be integrated into smart textiles in the future. This integration will enhance monitoring and safety capabilities for smart clothing as well by enabling real-time tracking and other advancements. Additionally, certain stitch designs could be used to add protection to the sensors or smart components within these fabrics.

3D Printed Knitting Timeline

You can expect to see this technology in the market within the next 5 years. The team’s decision to utilize readily available material highlights how accessible this technology is and its low cost. However, there are still many factors that engineers will have to correct prior to any major upscaling of the project.

For one, there’s a lot of work to be done in terms of preventing the knit loop from closing. Additionally, the team noted that this is simply a proof of concept and there’s still research needed to test the true scalability of their new fabrication method.

3D Printed Knitting Researchers

The solid knitting study was put together by François Guimbretière, Victor F Guimbretière, Amritansh Kwatra, and Scott E Hudson. These engineers cited several previous projects that helped to inspire their latest research into solid knitting.

3D Printed Knitting Future

The next steps for the team are to figure out how to improve loop strength.  The current setup vastly improves over other approaches but still needs some tweaking in order to consistently create volumetric designs without error.

Investing in the Textiles Market

The textile industry is full of competitors seeking to gain an edge on their competition by any means possible. As such, there have been several companies that have managed to secure a spot at the top of the market using innovative fabrication processes, smart marketing, and consistently supporting innovative efforts.

DuPont de Nemours

Delaware-based DuPont de Nemours entered the market in 1802. Its founder, Éleuthère Irénée du Pont, started the business with the intent to provide gunpowder to the US armed forces. DuPont was very successful in this venture, which saw the company grow to become the largest gunpowder supplier for the US armed forces at the time.

In the early 1900s, the company pivoted to chemical and material sciences. This maneuver was followed by a string of innovative products, including the invention of neoprene synthetic rubber, the first true synthetic fabric, nylon, Teflon, and many others.

In 2017, the company merged with Dow Chemical. However, just 3 years later, the firm split into 3 separate entities based on their focus. Specifically, DuPont was centered on specialty products, while Dow worked on material sciences, and Corteva created agricultural chemicals.

While DuPont remains a benchmark for material innovation, emerging players such as Shima Seiki and Arkema are bringing 3D knitting and additive textile fabrication closer to commercial reality.

Latest DuPont de Nemours (DD) Stock News and Performance

3D Printed Knitting – Conclusion

The ability to create volumetric knitted shapes is going to lead to many interesting developments, like advanced safety clothing and more. These 3D shaped designs are just the tip of the iceberg, and in the coming months, you can expect to see this device create more complex knits that push the boundaries of the art to new heights.

Learn About Other Cool 3D Printing Advancements Here.

References

^{1. François Guimbretière, Victor F Guimbretière, Amritansh Kwatra et Scott E Hudson. 2025. Using an Array of Needles to Create Solid Knitted Shapes. In Proceedings of the 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST ’25). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 100, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1145/3746059.3747759}