Indian students use 3D printing to create stretchable maternity clothes

Recently, India’s 3Dwalla collaborated with fashion design student Devanshi Shah to create novel and unique 3D printed maternity clothing using thermoplastic polyurethane as fabric, which can stretch vertically and horizontally. Devanshi has also made at least one piece of men’s clothing, an attractive red tank top that has the same look and feel as 3D printed maternity clothing.

In 2015, Monik Shah established 3D printing service 3Dwalla in Mumbai, which provides 3D printing and prototyping services to accelerate product development and innovation.

Recently, 3Dwalla collaborated with fashion design student Devanshi Shah. Devanshi is about to graduate from the Fashion Institute and needs to design works for her fashion show in the next academic year. With the help of 3Dwalla, Devanshi creates new and unique 3D printed maternity wear.

Devanshi was inspired by a painting called Hope II, which shows the beauty of an expectant mother. Although we have seen a variety of 3D printed clothing, this is the first time that a 3D printed maternity clothing line has appeared.

After completing the clothing design, they started 3D printing new fabrics. The new fabrics had to not only capture the elegance presented in Hope II, but also match the creativity in the design, while also maintaining the right balance between style and comfort.

After many tests, the 3Dwalla team finally recommended Devanshi to use thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to print fabrics because this elastic material allows 3D printing of four-way stretch fabrics, so the garments can stretch longitudinally and transversely. TPU can give garments an attractive aesthetic appearance and also make them fit well.

They also use flexible materials to 3D print fabrics and connectors for maternity clothing. More than 400 pieces of fabric and more than 350 connectors were FDM 3D printed and used to create interesting patterns for the garments, such as florals and waves. Therefore, 3Dwalla and Devanshi created a 100% 3D printed fabric without the need to embed other fabrics.

In addition to its unique line of 3D printed maternity wear, Devanshi has also made at least one piece of men’s clothing, an attractive red tank top that has the same look and feel as its 3D printed maternity wear.