This weekend, a couple of Creative Communities members held our group’s first in-person workshop since the beginning of the CoVID-19 pandemic! We partnered with the Broomfield Library’s inventHQ makerspace to explore sewing and cybersecurity by making and testing Faraday cages for our phones.
Photo of workshop participants and facilitators working on Faraday phone cases at sewing stations.
This workshop was based on Aram Bartholl’s open source Kill Your Phone workshop. Workshop slides are available for viewing and remixing at the following link: https://bit.ly/cybersecurityinventhq/.
Workshop Preparation
Before participants arrived, we set up eight sewing machines around the room as making stations. We also set up a station in the center of the room with starter materials and other shared workshop resources.
Two tables only had one sewing machine, which left plenty of table space for tinkering and measuring fabric. Other tables had two sewing machines spaced apart from one another. At these tables, groups could work on more than one project at a time or participants who came separately could help one another.
Three tables, each with two sewing stations.
By the makerspace’s large TV screen, we set up two tables with mostly shared materials and gathered stools for participants to sit in during the start of the workshop.
Two tables by the TV screen with shared cutting station, example cases, and other resources.
At one table, we had a sewing machine, a sewing kit, several pre-cut pieces of the special signal-blocking Faraday fabric, and the rest of the fabric with cutting materials. At any time in the workshop, participants could come up to this station and get signal-blocking fabric to line their phone cases. The pre-cut pieces made it easy to start a project (as long as you find one that fits!) and having a shared station allowed facilitators to consult with people as they sized and cut their fabric. We also intended this to be a demo or testing station, but did not end up using it in those ways, partly due to time.
Shared cutting area with pre-cut Faraday fabric pieces.
We set up another table here with four example cases, sewing kits to take back to sewing stations, and the anonymous pre-workshop questionnaires. During this workshop, this table would be a dedicated sewing station. The most basic example pouch embodied the basic project option with just the signal-blocking fabric. Another case labeled “TRY ME/ I DO NOT WORK” included the fabric lining with an outer layer, but did not fold over the top. This illustrated the importance of surrounding your device with the fabric. On this table, we also included a fabric case with no Faraday lining (e.g., making two cases separately). Finally, a case made according to the advanced project option - a fully functional case with an inner and outer lining, fold-over top, and button closure.
Phone case examples and surveys. I (Janet) was so excited for people to arrive!
Finally, we grouped stools around these tables to encourage participants to congregate at the front for the workshop introduction.
Workshop Beginning
We kicked off the workshop with introductions and project background, showing the slide deck on the large TV. Following a suggestion from Voluntary De-Convenience workshop series developer libi rose striegl, we started off the workshop with a few questions to the group to probe their concerns, strategies, and questions with their digital privacy. Janet facilitated this introductory discussion and explanation.
Discussing our fears, strategies, and questions about digital privacy before the workshop kicks off.
Participants, who included middle school children, parents, working people, and retirees, volunteered a number of questions and worries about digital surveillance under capitalism, protestor surveillance by the state, and identity theft. This was supposed to be a quick introduction and icebreaker, but we found participants were really engaged after we opened this space for sharing. Adult participants in particular eagerly shared anecdotes and practices around their digital privacy, and asked to respond and build off of others’ responses as we moved through the group.
After this extended introduction, we walked through the following slide section explaining how cell phones receive signals as electromagnetic waves and why a Faraday cage diverts these, acting as a shield. Participants continued to raise questions and concerns.
“If I put my phone in the pouch, can I still get texts and calls to my smart watch?
If I turn off my Bluetooth in Target, can they still track me?
Does putting your phone in Airplane Mode block GPS signals? Or just calls and texts?”
We were happy to spend extra time on this section considering the energy and interest from our group around these technical details and how the project fits in! I would love to have more time spent on this in the future, maybe even an intermission group discussion while projects are in-progress.
Sewing Our Faraday Cases
After we went through these two sections, we started planning and sewing our cases. We asked participants to pull up the slides link on their devices, which included photo and written instructions on the basic and advanced project options. This allowed them to preview next steps and final products, and to move at their own pace. We had planned to present a basic project demonstration to the group, but at this point it was nearly a half hour after the workshop start time, so we skipped it!
Each participant or group grabbed a sewing kit and Faraday fabric from the shared tables. Most were able to use a pre-cut piece, but others had to size the fabric to their phone. Although the slides included guidance for seam allowance, participants often consulted with facilitators before cutting the special fabric.
Participants and facilitator sizing and cutting fabric. Sometimes it was helpful to have two sets of hands when cutting through the metal-threaded fabric.
Participants who decided to work on the more advanced case also used the shared station to size and cut pieces of outer phone case fabric.
One participant using the cutting station to size and cut their case’s outer layer of fabric.
We found that the easiest way to start off was by making the basic option (Faraday case with no outer lining or closure). This allows beginner sewers to practice straight seams and using the machine, as well as to test their case early on by holding the bag closed over it while someone tried calling them.
In the workshop, we recommended that participants fold over the sides of the Faraday fabric before sewing seams, which is also known as a French seam. In our experience, a tight straight seam is adequate to block cell phone signals, but less secure as over time the fabric will fray and the seams will wear out. We will update the linked slides for future workshops!
Other participants followed the advanced project walkthrough, sewing together inner and outer layer pouches into a more customized case. Many of these participants still tested their cases as they went!
Still other participants followed the slides to create their basic case, then added on an outer layer with closure by following the instructions for the outer case in the advanced tutorial. In fact, you can follow those slides to the tee if you switch out instructions for the outer layer with the instructions for the inner layer. I.e., leaving open 1-2 inches on the outer case fabric to close by hand sewing at the end and sewing the Faraday fabric case bottom closed completely.
Sewing an elastic onto the top of the pouch for a button closure.
Overall, this workshop’s processes of sewing and testing cases made for a powerful hybrid STEAM activity. Customizing their cases by sometimes following, other times deviating from the slide instructions, participants expressed creativity with sewing materials. At the same time, the technical requirements of the Faraday fabric provided interesting limitation to their designs. This combined learning created moments for reflection on the security functionality of the cases, the material affordances of sewing, and participants’ own digital and data privacy.
We are so excited to continue doing workshops on important topics with wonderful partners like inventHQ! Thank you to everyone who joined our workshop, your questions and willingness to try new things was so energizing. Let’s keep the spirit of this day by speaking honestly and working on fun, challenging projects with others around digital security and privacy.
Special thanks to Ronni Hayden, Lo Cianflore, Tracy Bellehumeur, Nancy, Ricarose Roque, and R. Benjamin Shapiro.