Digital printing is leaving its mark on contemporary fabric design, with a plethora of luxury fashion brands showing off more and more wearable technology pieces on the runway this season, churning out the sports-luxe look as the fashion industry’s of-the-moment style trend. (Look at Designer Bradley Rothenberg and his 3D printed cellular tank top at New York Fashion Week SS15).A group of German scientists from the Faculty of Textile and Clothing Technology department at the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences have taken the 3D printing craze one step further. The team – made up of scientists R. Melnikova, A. Ehrmann, and K. Finsterbusch, successfully replicated textile-inspired structures and fabrics, solely using 3D printing technologies. The news means, both designers and textile manufacturer alike, may be forced to consider the future of standard fabric sourcing and production. And as scientists continue to experiment with 3D printing technologies, will synthetically produced ‘fabrics’ prove more efficient when compared to the current use of natural wools, cotton and silk?From lace to knitwear, the scientists mimicked traditional woven fabrics; recreating the layer-by-layer technique seen in additive manufacturing. The fabrication was made possible due to two technologies: a printing mechanism called Fused Deposition Modeling and the use newly discovered filaments. The scientists initially conducted their 3D printing experiment using PLA material – biodegradable thermoplastic polyester derived from renewable resources such as cornstarch. Laid in open structures with little to no support, the PLA was found to effectively replicate the open weave pattern usually associated with layered cloth. However, even with a minimum 0.4mm diameter, scientists found the “strings” were prone to breakage and could not be used to make wearable clothing.The scientists then attempted to make lace. To do so, a newly developed Lay-felt filament, which is more porous in its structure than general filament, was placed in the FDM printer. Eventually replicating a lace-like structure, the scientists found that, due to its partially open base layer and absence of free-floating areas, the printed lace resembled the structures of actual lace. More specifically, the connection lines within the lace had big enough diameters to prevent breakage, unlike the previously attempted strings using PLA materials. Meanwhile, soaking the lace in warm water dissolved any hardness in the material, softening the piece and rendering it more lace-like. The scientists’ final challenge was the recreation of weft knitted structures – compositions that physically resembled wearable knitwear. The team used a CAD model system (created using Blender and Adobe Illustrator) compatible with SLS and FDM printing technology, both of which were used during the experiment.SLS 3D printing technology produced a printed nylon piece that had the right ‘knitted’ look but it was not flexible, and therefore, unsuitable for textile use.FDM technology was tested next. The team chose to use BendLay filament, which was then magnified to a minimum material thickness of 1.88mm. However, the support structures were too delicate to print and therefore, not wearable. The FDM technology was used again using the soft PLA material, which failed in the first experiment with strings. This time, the resulting fabric did not require support structures. Scientists noted that, while the structure still contained connections between stitches, the structure was clear and separate between each stitch, resembling real wool, as it was flexible. But the quality was not comparable to real wool. In summary, the scientific research indicates that the perimeters of 3D printing, wearable technology and fashion are extending but not final in their capacities to evolve. Imperfections remain in the printed replica version when it comes to softness and the comfortable wearability of the material. However, steps have been made towards a future where original textile production and reproduction of fabric fibers could be possible through 3D printing technology.