The fabric that turns clothes into a walking sound system An artist from Texas has developed the 'sonic' fabric from polyester thread and spools of old cassette tapes A 'sonic fabric reader' made from a converted Sony Walkman is rubbed over the magnetic material to make the sounds An artist from Texas has created clothes that play music when a converted Sony Walkman is rubbed across the surface of specially made 'sonic fabric.' Sound designer Alyce Santoro developed the denim-style sonic material by weaving cassette tape through polyester thread. She then converted an old Sony Walkman into a sonic fabric reader and when the reader is rubbed over the fabric it creates futuristic-sounds, which Santoro describes as 'like scratching five records backwards at once.' Texan artist Alyce Santoro has created clothes that play music when a converted Sony Walkman is rubbed across the surface. She calls the denim-style material 'sonic fabric' and its made from weaving cassette tape through polyester thread Remove the faceplate. Find the playhead and remove excess plastic using small needlenosed pliers. Remove the head using a scredriver or tweezers. Get a small piece of wood - Alyce uses half of a wooden clothes peg. Glue the wood to the playhead but don't glue down the play button. Plug in headphones, press play and put the Walkman upside down on top of the fabric. Drag it over the material to create the sound. Santoro has now launched a range of neckties made from her sonic fabric that are hand-sewn in Manhattan by designer Julio Cesar. The sonic fabric works because the spools of cassette tape are magnetic. When the head of a tape player is rubbed over this magnetic material the sound is amplified. The fabric retains it's magnetic properties throughout the weaving process. Santoro originally designed the material to be a piece of art but has since used it in bags, dresses and now ties. Early versions of the fabric contained tapes from Miles Davis and The Beatles, as well as wildlife recordings. Santoro began by trying to knit with the fabric but said it was too loose and flimsy to work with. She then asked a weaver friend to try using the tape on a loom at the Rhode Island School of Design. The sonic fabric is 50 per cent polyester thread and 50 per cassette tape. When the head of a tape player is rubbed over this magnetic material a sound is amplified through headphones or a connected amp Sonic fabric is woven on a 1940's dobby loom at a textile mill in New England. The Dobby loom has a special shuttle capable of handling the cassette tape Santoro said: 'The product astounded both of us. We never expected such a beautiful, tightly-woven, functional material. Sonic fabric for larger projects is woven on a 1940"s dobby loom at a small family run textile mill in New England. The loom has a special shuttle capable of handling the audiobook cassette tape. When the 1/8inch wide strands of cassette tape get folded as they go into the loom they are squashed into the the fabric. About 20 strands are squashed into an inch of polyester fabric. Santoro said that an average-width tape head is capable of picking up maybe 5 or 6 strands of tape at a time. The large spools of tape used in the weaving process are taken from audiobook tapes from nearby companies. Santoro has now launched a range of neckties made from her sonic fabric that is hand-sewn in Manhattan by designer Julio Cesar. Larger projects are weaved on a loom at a textile mill in New England Because the audiobook tapes are recorded with a single note, the fabric makes a single clear tone that can be adjusted according to the speed at which the player is rubbed along the fabric. Santoro's idea for the fabric was inspired by the small strands of cassette tape that were tied to sailboats she used to race when she was younger. The strips of tape were used to see which direction the wind was travelling in and Santoro said the material was ideal as 'tell-tails' because 'it is light and very sensitive to the wind, it's extremely durable, and it dries quickly.' She said she used to imagine that if the wind hit the tell-tails just right, the sounds of whatever had been recorded onto the tape could be heard wafting out into the air. Santoro was then inspired by the colourful flags hung by Tibetan Buddhists. Santoro designed the first sonic shaman-superhero dress for a show in 2003, pictured. It was made by weaving together 100 individual cassette tapes. Santoro has previously used tape spools by Miles Davies and The Beatles, as well as audiobook cassettes in the material Tibetan prayer flags are made of colorful squares of cotton fabric imprinted with the images of mantras, or sacred sounds. They are hung outdoors where the breeze blowing through them can 'activate' the built-in sounds. She designed the first sonic shaman-superhero dress for a show in 2003 and was made by weaving together 100 individual cassette tapes. That same year Santoro made percussionist Jon Fishman a 'musical suit' that he played live on stage with his band Phish during a show in Las Vegas. The tape used in this project was made from Fishman's tape collection including Prince, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and more. Santoro used this inspiration for her sonic fabric sailboat sails art installation, pictured, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego Santoro said: 'It would be thrilling to work with other sound artists and musicians around the world to literally weave together our sonic experiences during these times of powerful transformation in the realms of society, politics, and the environment. The resulting fabric could be shared and made into anything imaginable by anyone interested. Santoro also makes sailboat sails as art installations from the material. She told CNN that she has collaborated with a designer friend on a line of small, wearable accessories. Julio Cesar hand sews neckties, small bags, and other custom pieces for anyone who would like to have a functional work of conceptual art that can be used as part of 'everyday life'.