Wind powered knitting

July 2, 2009 2:43 AM

Wind powered knitting
posted by johnny novak (13 comments total)

Wind powered testicle electrocution
posted by twoleftfeet at 3:34 AM on July 2

Seems like it would be kind of limited — you can only make tube scarves out of a single strand of yarn. Still, really cool idea!
posted by orange swan at 3:39 AM on July 2

A friend of mine has a wind-powered crowd dispersal device. It's powered exclusively by organic curry and haricot beans.
posted by MuffinMan at 4:23 AM on July 2

The power for Fair Isle Crafts knitters' houses comes from wind ... does that count?

They got their rotor type pretty much right for the application; high solidity, low startup speed - perfect for driving a small mechanical apparatus.
posted by scruss at 4:42 AM on July 2

Interesting idea - wonder where he'll take it from here.
posted by garnetgirl at 5:16 AM on July 2

Seems like it would be kind of limited — you can only make tube scarves out of a single strand of yarn.

How long until we can expect the Orange Swan tube-scarf alternate-usage DIY post?
posted by explosion at 5:43 AM on July 2

This is really cool, thanks.
posted by middleclasstool at 5:56 AM on July 2

If it'll make tube scarves, it'll make socks! Perhaps they will be ill-fitting, a loose gauge and a hand knitter would have to turn the heel and close the toe, but I think socks are possible.
posted by MaritaCov at 6:43 AM on July 2

I found it kind of odd that she's trying to reinvent space-dyed yarn. I'm guessing she's not a knitter outside of this installment or she'd know that yarns with more colours that create a pattern in the fabric were all the knitting rage about 4 years ago, and are still very commonly available.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:20 AM on July 2

If she made them a little smaller she could get some wrist warmers, and a little bigger and she could get some hats. Hrmm... not a bad idea.
posted by julie_of_the_jungle at 7:42 AM on July 2

There is nothing in the concept that limits this to a tubular form. It would be possible to hook a windmill directly to a knitting machine after all. Properly cammed you could turn out any kind of knitted object. Socks would be awesome. It's interesting as it's a process that doesn't require continuous operation. I might just fiddle with this for a while.
posted by Mitheral at 9:26 AM on July 2

If she's a student at the RCA, jacquilynne, chances are quite good she knows more about knitting than your average bear -- they've got Freddie Robins teaching now, apparently. The UK-based knitting magazine I edit (Yarn Forward) recently did some articles on textiles education in the UK, including handknitting, and they're miles ahead of the US.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 9:34 AM on July 2

(oh, and also, dyeing yarn the way she's done in the one link would probably work well for coned yarn, which is the better choice for a project like this given you'd have to switch to a new one less often than if you were knitting from smaller balls or hanks!)
posted by bitter-girl.com at 9:36 AM on July 2