Textile Braille: A Fabric for Learning and Inclusion

An Innovative Approach to Teaching Braille

Unlike traditional methods of teaching braille using paper or metal plaques, the textile braille design offers a tactile and interactive learning experience. This industrial weave fabric can be read by people with good sight, making it an invaluable tool to assist blind individuals or those experiencing vision problems in their educational journey. The fabric is developed in shades of grey, adhering to the principle of no light perception, and features the alphabet, numbers, punctuation marks, and more.

The realization of the textile braille design involves using polyester dyed in black and grey yarns woven in electronic jacquard looms. The special weave technique incorporates satines and taffeta weaves, resulting in a fabric with unique properties and characteristics.

With a width of 1.40 meters and a repeat rapport of 35 cm width x 27 cm height, the textile braille design offers a versatile and practical solution for teaching and learning braille.

The interaction with the textile braille fabric is straightforward. Individuals with difficulty of sight can learn the braille alphabet by touching the six points of the braille cells from left to right. A helper can read the letters and also touch the braille, facilitating the learning process. The fabric provides a more tactile and user-friendly alternative to paper or metal, allowing individuals with limited resources to have access to a valuable learning tool in the comfort of their own homes.

The textile braille design project started in November 2010 and was completed in April 2011. Since then, it has been exhibited in prestigious venues such as Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Central de Diseño in Matadero-Madrid, Zaragoza, Peru, and Ecuador.

Cuevas conducted extensive research on weave techniques and yarn interaction to ensure the fabric's functionality and usability. The fabric was presented to a special organization for blind individuals, receiving positive feedback on its effectiveness in teaching braille. The textile braille design can be classified as a non-commercial textile, but it can be used in campaigns and woven with colors to support entities or organizations.

The textile braille design presented several challenges during its development. Initially, Cuevas experimented with different yarn thicknesses, but the results were unsatisfactory. The project was put on hold until a technique using three yarns on three layers was discovered. The key to the fabric's success lies in the use of a thick yarn on the top layer, which pushes the middle yarn, creating visible and touchable volume. Additionally, all the horizontal yarns had to be tors threads to prevent hook problems with the machines.

The textile braille design is an industrial universal jacquard textile that serves as a translator for blind individuals. Its unique properties allow individuals with good sight to assist those with visual impairments in learning the braille system. By using fabric as a medium, the textile braille design goes beyond commercial textiles, carrying a social meaning and promoting inclusivity.

This groundbreaking design was awarded the Silver A' Design Award in the Textile, Fabric, Textures, Patterns, and Cloth Design category in 2014. The award recognizes the design's outstanding expertise, innovation, technical characteristics, and artistic skill. The textile braille design evokes positive feelings, amazement, and wonder, showcasing a remarkable level of excellence.