Wind Knitting Factory
112 points
9 hours ago
| 10 comments
| merelkarhof.nl
| HN
dmkolobov
4 hours ago
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Beautiful work.

As an off-topic observation, whenever I see something like the phrase “operates between the public and the private space” I immediately think: this person definitely went to art school :P

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jkhalaj
7 hours ago
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Knitting is programming. Read a knitting pattern and it's low level programming - knitters do not get enough credit.
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srean
6 hours ago
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Same with weaving, especially the way symmetry is weft in.

Jaccard looms are too general, too unconstrained. I like shaft looms more gratifying. Their restrictions make it more interesting.

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charcircuit
5 hours ago
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By that logic any instructions is programming and everyone on earth are programmers.
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yjftsjthsd-h
2 hours ago
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Instructions to machines probably are. Instructions to humans aren't because humans interpret things themselves and exercise free will in execution.
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2muchcoffeeman
1 hour ago
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Written knitting instructions would benefit from a bit of standardisation and a system for depicting unusual stitches.
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gbear605
2 hours ago
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I’m not sure that I’d say that it’s programming, but it is a pretty neat DSL
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y-curious
3 hours ago
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Sources say God is actually a software engineer
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danielrico
1 hour ago
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stickfigure
1 hour ago
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Oh that device should look familiar to fans of Hand Tool Rescue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOCNaHMo2EI

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Luc
9 hours ago
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metalman
5 hours ago
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I spent a couple of days building staircases inside a rope factory, kinda thing that I would just add a glass wall and put in a coffee shop, it's an odd thing to watch something solid materialise out of a intricate repetitive motion that happens ever so slightly faster that you can track. different rig than the wind knitter but both I think are clasified as braiders
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MikeTheGreat
9 hours ago
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I'm curious about how you 'harvest' a section of tube without it unraveling.

Maybe cut it around, remove the little bits of yarn, then unravel a ways on purpose, and knit the unraveled yarn through the edge like a normal bind-off?

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MandieD
8 hours ago
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Thread a flexible needle (usually called "circular") or a wire through a full row near the cut, unravel the remaining rows, then take a fine crochet hook to chain the loops together.

Or just hem it, but that doesn't look like what she does.

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ethan_smith
6 hours ago
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Circular knitting typically uses a technique called "grafting" or "Kitchener stitch" to close tubes seamlessly without unraveling - you'd temporarily secure stitches on holders, cut one strand, then use a tapestry needle to mimic the path of the yarn through the live stitches.
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imzadi
8 hours ago
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They might be sergering the edges.
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data-ottawa
6 hours ago
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This is delightfully weird, I love projects like this.
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socki
6 hours ago
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Is this something that can be seen in person?
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gcanyon
6 hours ago
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I'm very disappointed there doesn't appear to be a Tom Scott video on this.
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burnt-resistor
6 hours ago
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This! That would be awesomesauce. I haven't seen his videos in a while.
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nativeit
5 hours ago
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He retired the format a few years ago. Now he just does game shows and random projects with his friends, which...fair enough, that's what I'd do with a pile of passive YouTube income.
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tiagod
5 hours ago
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MikeTheGreat
9 hours ago
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Is anyone else disappointed that you can't buy the wind-knitting device itself, only scarves knitted from the device? :)
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imzadi
8 hours ago
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I doubt it would be difficult to make. You can buy the knitting machine on amazon. They usually have a handle you can crank unless it is electric. Just attach a turbine to the handle.
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rkagerer
6 hours ago
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I missed the (obvious) context and imagined an aircraft engine turbine attached.
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ashurov
8 hours ago
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you could, but the (original) website is from 2009...so probably not enough interest to keep that up. The old link is dead: https://windknittingfactory.bigcartel.com/
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c22
6 hours ago
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I'm disappointed it doesn't make socks.
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radpanda
6 hours ago
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Every HNer knows your startup needs to maintain a moat /s
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