<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><ns2:project xmlns:ns1="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api" xmlns:ns2="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api/project" xmlns:ns3="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api/fund" xmlns:ns4="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api/person" xmlns:ns5="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api/project/outcome" xmlns:ns6="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api/organisation" ns1:created="2026-06-03T15:52:43Z" ns1:href="http://gtr.ukri.org/gtr/api/projects/5620C5F1-D135-470D-8088-C23FAEEFD174" ns1:id="5620C5F1-D135-470D-8088-C23FAEEFD174"><ns1:links><ns1:link ns1:href="http://gtr.ukri.org/gtr/api/persons/D26234DF-A0F9-4C49-9335-2424F4DE76EF" ns1:rel="PM_PER"/><ns1:link ns1:href="http://gtr.ukri.org/gtr/api/organisations/4493F1FA-912C-433D-B61A-94F60F1E4FB6" ns1:rel="LEAD_ORG"/><ns1:link ns1:href="http://gtr.ukri.org/gtr/api/organisations/4493F1FA-912C-433D-B61A-94F60F1E4FB6" ns1:rel="PARTICIPANT_ORG"/><ns1:link ns1:end="2022-03-30T23:00:00Z" ns1:href="http://gtr.ukri.org/gtr/api/funds/A53A2BB7-15B5-40BA-BA0B-DCA1812B15F0" ns1:rel="FUND" ns1:start="2022-01-01T00:00:00Z"/></ns1:links><ns2:identifiers><ns2:identifier ns2:type="RCUK">10021840</ns2:identifier></ns2:identifiers><ns2:title>Distributed Stitches - Design Research for Custom-fit On-Demand Clothing Microfactories</ns2:title><ns2:status>Closed</ns2:status><ns2:grantCategory>Feasibility Studies</ns2:grantCategory><ns2:leadFunder>ISCF</ns2:leadFunder><ns2:abstractText>Background

Pattern Project is a Smart Grant funded clothing micro-factory startup. We have developed proprietary machinery and a patent-pending process to enable clean, on-demand manufacturing of customized clothing.

Vision

Our vision is for clean-energy driven, on-demand micro-factories which produce custom-fit / customised clothing on every high-street, available online for home delivery to replace fast fashion stores across the country. For our proprietary low-emission fabric cutting machine and software to help digitise traditional tailors and small fashion houses. For people to have a deeper relationship with 'their style' and sense of ownership with their clothing, and to know their clothes inside out. For Britain to lead the world in a hybrid of craft, digital fabrication and human-centred automation.

**Key Objectives**

We are proposing conducting design research with the following objectives -

* Better understand the needs, motivations and clothing buying and customisation behaviours of people with non-average and extreme body shapes. Understanding the key pain points with off-the-rack sizes. Conducting this research for both instore and online audiences (followers of [@patternprojectuk][0]).
* Define the problem statement and generate ideas for an experiential clothing micro-factory that provides customisation and custom-fit garments moments after they are ordered.
* Pinpoint the characteristics necessary to make the solution desirable and fit for purpose for both online and instore audiences (multi-channel revenue model).

**Research Outcome**

As an outcome, we will deliver a clearly communicated concept for a high-street experiential clothing micro-factory that offers customisation/custom fit to both online and in-store audiences. The concept would have been validated through fast, low-cost prototyping and user-testing and is ready for further technical R&amp;amp;D.

[0]: https://www.instagram.com/patternprojectuk/</ns2:abstractText></ns2:project>