Embroidered Braille: Towards Accessible and Inclusive Educational Tools and Everyday Applications
Pouya M Khorsandi, Sara Nabil · 2026 · CHI EA '26: Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3772363.3798607
Summary
This short CHI Extended Abstracts paper by Khorsandi and Nabil (Queen's University iStudio) stakes out digitally embroidered Braille as a design space for DIY making of accessible everyday artefacts, rather than as another institutional assistive-technology pipeline. The authors argue that prior work on Braille and tactile graphics has concentrated on rigid substrates (embossed paper, plastic overlays, refreshable tactile displays) and on functional goals like recognition accuracy and task performance, leaving soft textile surfaces and expressive, user-authored uses underexplored. To open that space, they document three accessible digital workflows usable by non-experts with commercial embroidery software: (1) specification-based manual layouts drawn in Artistic Digitizer to BANA/Braille Australia dot and cell dimensions; (2) tracing output images from online Braille translators such as brailletranslator.org; and (3) using a built-in Braille symbol library (Apple Braille font in Artistic Digitizer), letter by letter, for Grade 2 Braille. They then run controlled fabrication experiments on a ZSK Sprint 6 embroidery machine with cotton fabric and Polyneon 40 thread, holding stitch density constant while varying stitch type (satin, step, row fill), stitch repetition (single- versus double-pass), and spatial configuration (standard-ratio spacing with fixed dot diameter versus uniformly doubled Braille dimensions). The paper frames these workflows and parameters as a practical toolkit for proximate makers—teachers, family members, makerspace users—to produce tactile textiles without specialist assistive-technology infrastructure.
Key findings
The three workflows each produced legible embroidered Braille but at different cell geometries: specification-based layouts yielded standard 1.5 mm dot diameter with 2.5 mm intra-cell and 7 mm inter-cell spacing; traced translator output gave 2.6 mm dots with 3.2 mm and 8.9 mm spacing; and the built-in symbol library, when scaled to twice standard size, produced 3 mm dots with 5 mm intra-cell spacing. Doubling all dimensions and using double-pass stitching noticeably improved dot prominence on compliant fabric, consistent with prior textile findings that soft substrates need larger features and clearer spacing than rigid Braille. The authors also demonstrate six working application classes: tactile fabric breadboards that label components and connection points for STEM learners; Tatreez (Palestinian cross-stitch) sampler books with conductive-thread Braille labels that act as capacitive touch sensors triggering audio about each motif's origin and symbolism; single-use felt recruitment posters with embroidered Braille and a tactile QR code for blind-participant studies; multilingual Braille name labels on towels, bedding, and gift wrap; tote bags and t-shirts carrying Braille mottos (e.g., "Proud TED Speaker") integral to the textile rather than added via beadwork or puff paint; and intergenerational Braille-embroidered quilts as heirlooms. User studies have not yet been run; evaluation is scoped as future work with a local blind and low-vision community organisation.
Relevance
For accessibility practitioners this paper is less a research result than a concrete, reproducible recipe set for embedding Braille directly into soft goods using commodity embroidery machines and software, which matters for libraries, schools, and makerspaces that want to stop retrofitting accessibility via stick-on labels. The three workflows span a useful skill gradient, from manual BANA-spec layout to one-click translator tracing, lowering the barrier for proximate makers who are sighted teachers or family members rather than blind end-users themselves—an honest framing the authors make explicit. Limitations are significant: no legibility testing with blind or low-vision readers, no durability or wash-cycle data, and fabric compliance means embroidered Braille will not meet the dimensional tolerances of embossed Braille for dense reading. Practitioners should treat this as a method for labels, identifiers, and expressive or cultural artefacts rather than as a substitute for certified Braille signage, and should push for the promised user studies before recommending it in institutional deployments.
Tags: braille · digital embroidery · tactile graphics · blind and low vision · DIY · hybrid craft · e-textiles · maker culture · self-expression · STEM education
Standards referenced: Braille Authority of North America (BANA) Size and Spacing · Braille Australia Physical Specifications for Braille