Wind Knitting Factory
25 comments
·July 3, 2025jkhalaj
srean
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.
charcircuit
By that logic any instructions is programming and everyone on earth are programmers.
y-curious
Sources say God is actually a software engineer
dmkolobov
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
Luc
Most recent archive of the website: https://web.archive.org/web/20250614200747/https://www.merel...
MikeTheGreat
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?
MandieD
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.
ethan_smith
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.
imzadi
They might be sergering the edges.
null
data-ottawa
This is delightfully weird, I love projects like this.
socki
Is this something that can be seen in person?
metalman
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
gcanyon
I'm very disappointed there doesn't appear to be a Tom Scott video on this.
burnt-resistor
This! That would be awesomesauce. I haven't seen his videos in a while.
nativeit
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.
tiagod
He retired: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DKv5H5Frt0
MikeTheGreat
Is anyone else disappointed that you can't buy the wind-knitting device itself, only scarves knitted from the device? :)
imzadi
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.
rkagerer
I missed the (obvious) context and imagined an aircraft engine turbine attached.
ashurov
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/
c22
I'm disappointed it doesn't make socks.
radpanda
Every HNer knows your startup needs to maintain a moat /s
null
Knitting is programming. Read a knitting pattern and it's low level programming - knitters do not get enough credit.