http://vimeo.com/86987828
http://www.engadget.com/2014/02/18/openknit/
Printable View
Hmm, not sure if I would consider this to be 3D Printing or not. It's based on the same type of technology to a certain degree, but it's not really 3D. It's just an automatic weaver.
Weavers in Paisley, Scotland used a form of punched card system from the mid-19th Century to set the pattern for the cloth hey were weaving. Like IBM punch cards for entering data into a computer, the openknit simply uses a digital interface. I'd say it is a distant cousin of what we consider to be 3D printing.
OME
I don't see this as full 3d printing either, it's digitally controlling an old manufacturing technique.
There are some efforts going on in 3d printing fabrics though, so it will be a possibility in the hopefully not-so-far future. Such as this one where they're looking for solutions to incorporate cotton fibers into the 3d printing process.
https://www.innocentive.com/ar/challenge/9933198
I think it would be especially valuable if the 3d printer could coat the yarns/fibers before printing them out. That way you can make fabrics with different properties at different locations, such as flexible vs rigid, breathable vs. insulating/waterproof, selectively glueing fibers together for reinforcement, different colors, etc.
Another development I've heard about is 3d bioprinting of cells that can be used as an alternative to leather.