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Rocking-Knit chair knits hats as it rocks

Rocking-Knit chair knits hats as it rocks
The Rocking-Knit chair
The Rocking-Knit chair
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The Rocking-Knit was exhibited at ECAL’s Low-Tech Factory exposition
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The Rocking-Knit was exhibited at ECAL’s Low-Tech Factory exposition
The Rocking-Knit chair
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The Rocking-Knit chair
The hat is deposited above the user's head
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The hat is deposited above the user's head
A series of gears are driven forward by the regular movement of the chair (Photo: ECAL/Nicolas Genta)
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A series of gears are driven forward by the regular movement of the chair (Photo: ECAL/Nicolas Genta)
The Rocking-Knit was created by students Damien Ludi and Colin Peillex (Photo: ECAL/Nicolas Genta)
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The Rocking-Knit was created by students Damien Ludi and Colin Peillex (Photo: ECAL/Nicolas Genta)
The finished hat (Photo: ECAL/Nicolas Genta)
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The finished hat (Photo: ECAL/Nicolas Genta)
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If the idea of knitting your own hat has always appealed in theory, but you don’t know your double pointed needles from your garter stitch, then you may wish to take a look at the Rocking-Knit chair.

The Rocking-Knit is the brainchild of students Damien Ludi and Colin Peillex, based at Ecole cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL), Switzerland. It allows a person to sit back, relax, and enjoy the gentle rocking motion of the chair, while a woolen hat is automatically knitted and eventually appears overhead, ready to wear.

This is achieved by an ingenious use of simple gears, which draw upon the regular back-and-forth movement of the rocking chair in order to drive the automatic knitting mechanism forward.

A series of gears are driven forward by the regular movement of the chair (Photo: ECAL/Nicolas Genta)
A series of gears are driven forward by the regular movement of the chair (Photo: ECAL/Nicolas Genta)

The Rocking-Knit was exhibited at ECAL’s Low-Tech Factory exposition, as part of the Designers' Saturday event held at Langenthal, Switzerland.

The brief video below shows the Rocking-Knit in sedate operation.

Source: ECAL via Inhabitat

ECAL Low-Tech Factory/Rocking-Knit

View gallery - 6 images
2 comments
2 comments
knitwicca
As a knitter, I despair making the second sleeve of a sweater. If the "needles" are adjustable, I could hand-knit one while rock-knitting the other. What a great idea!
Sheena Hocking
What a brilliant idea! I wonder if it could be adapted for socks?