Tools, as extensions of hand and mind, prescribe defining properties for a practice. We anchor our tools research within a case study of electronic textiles (eTextiles), combining textile materials and electronic and computational functionality. While the field of eTextiles is expanding into new personal and ubiquitous applications, its tools as productive means, however, are rarely investigated. We fill this gap by both proposing and exploring new tools, aiming at an integrated eTextile craft practice across disciplinary boundaries. Results from a research through design process have been developed into research products and proposed to a wider community of novices and practitioners. Research insights from making, using and reflecting on our new tools show they not only guide habits of making, but also are formative to the understanding of eTextiles as a practice and a field. Their form and function matter for the skills, processes and users, ultimately prescribing the technologies that surround us.

中文翻译：

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工具的问题

工具，作为手和心的延伸，规定了实践的定义属性。我们将我们的工具研究锚定在电子纺织品 (eTextiles) 的案例研究中，将纺织材料与电子和计算功能相结合。虽然 eTextiles 领域正在扩展到新的个人和无处不在的应用程序，但它作为生产手段的工具却很少被研究。我们通过提出和探索新工具来填补这一空白，旨在实现跨学科边界的综合电子纺织工艺实践。从研究到设计过程的结果已被开发成研究产品，并向更广泛的新手和从业者社区提出。制作、使用和反思我们的新工具的研究见解表明，它们不仅指导制作习惯，但也有助于将 eTextiles 理解为一种实践和一个领域。它们的形式和功能对技能、流程和用户都很重要，最终规定了我们周围的技术。