Interactive Textiles for Well-being in Dementia-friendly Communities

There is an urgent need for playful, personalised, interactive, comforting, and tactile solutions that help those living with dementia to live positively (Treadaway, Kenning, and Coleman, 2014; Treadaway et al., 2019). Using Research through Design (RtD) and a person-centred approach focusing on the “lived experience of people” (Reason, 1944), this paper explores the making and use of interactive textiles for well-being within two dementia-friendly communities (DFCs) in Scotland. Working closely with these groups, the researcher designed and facilitated interactive textile workshops. Following the workshops, the DFCs decided that they would “craft bomb” (using craft to decorate) their communities with textiles to raise awareness of dementia, and invite the wider community to collaborate.