An interesting type of fabric has been tucked away in my pile of sewing materials for almost a year. Unlike the others, this fabric is made not just of cotton but also metallic threads that lend it special powers and thus, made me a little nervous to work with it ... until now!
This mysterious fabric of which I speak is the silver one in the picture bellow and is called Faraday Fabric. Made with threads of metal this special material was made to block harmful electromagnetic frequencies which is more popularly referred to as EMF.
As a society we need to be honest with ourselves about our use of technology. Cellphones are quite a new invention and we do not know the long term effects of having device constantly sending and receiving date in our pockets and next to our beds while we sleep.
Probably most people will go about their lives hardly noticing EMF radiation. But, there is a growing population of people who are increasingly sensitive to these invisible emanations from WiFi devices, 4g/5g towers and cellphones that experience very real symptoms such as headaches, nausea, and fatigue.
Yes, cellphones make life easier in some ways, but when thinking about this logically (even without citing studies) how could it be healthy to have a cellphone attached to us at all times? One simple way to avoid any possible health outcomes is to only have a cellphone in our hands when needed, to keep it off and in another room while sleeping, and use speakerphone or a headset when a long phone conversation is required.
As a modern person use of a cell phone is pretty much necessary to work and live. So, to living comfortably as both a nature-lover and technological-appreciator, I have finally broken out the Faraday fabric and made some EMF blocking cases to use when carrying a cellphone is unavoidable for myself and my partner. Here is how it went:
I made two different models and will trial them both to see which works best. One was a bag with a flap and the other a draw string bag. Both have three layers of different fabric. The inner most layer is jean, then Faraday fabric, and the outer layer something decorative: either the indigo velvet or the cute fox print.
Making drawstring bags is pretty much second nature to me and I never use a pattern. Usually I make a single or double layer bag with great ease. This time, creating a lining of jean and and outer layer of a decorative fabric with the Faraday fabric sandwiched between was a bit tricky. Faraday fabric being made of metal is quite stiff and makes a crumpling sound (like that of a bag of potato chips) when ruffled and adding an inner lining to dampen the sound and further protect the cellphone screen seemed wise.
Nearly all of the bag I made with the machine. But, due to the experimental nature of this fabric and the small size of the bag, I ended up sewing the later parts by hand.
Another reason to sew by hand is that the Faraday fabric is quite tough. I appreciate the sturdiness it will lend to this case which will help protect the phone screen if dropped as well as filter out any EMF if I have my cellphone by my side. When sewing through multiple layers of jean, cotton and Faraday I used a thicker needle and some dark nylon thread.
The indigo velvet bag needed a little hand sewn attention too and I ended up sewing this flap which, like the rest of the bag has three layers with the Faraday hidden in the inner most one, by hand.
After a bit of trial and error the first batch of these bags are finished and I am already taking measurements to create more for my friends and family! Although I do not have a EMF measurement device to totally ensure their viability, I did do a little test of my own to see how well the fabric blocked incoming messages when the phones were inside the bags and I am glad to say it did block the signal.
In order to have a productive life my cellphone is always off or in airplane mode when I don't actively need to use it. This way random text messages can't distract me from my work and keeping the phone inside a bag is yet another barrier to keep me from mindlessly scrolling when I could be doing something useful. There are other times, however, when I like to listen to a podcast while I sew, clean, or cook. The phone is in airplane mode with WiFi and Bluetooth off, tucked away in side my bag and sitting on my desk, or even in my handbag as I do my tasks.
If you are interested in purchasing Farday fabric you can find the particular one I used in this post here on Etsy and this one also on Etsy which is much more flexible and could be used for clothing too.
While on Etsy there are plenty of pre-made cellphone bags and even clothing with Faraday threads incorporated. But, as this is the NeedleWork community I assume you would all quite enjoy creating these items yourselves.
All photos are my own, thanks so much for reading! -- Chloe Calendula