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Hands-Off Knitting Machine Powered by Wind

Wind turbine gear mechanism close-up. Royal College of the Arts student Merel Karhof has come up with an innovative way to harness natural resources: a wind knitting factory. Merel's device is a mechanical wind-powered knitting machine that sustainably produces long tubes of knitted material. Nice. I'd let the wind knit my scarves.

Merel says:

"While I was trying to walk in a straight line from the RCA towards Kensington Olympia, I was confronted with lots of cul de sacs. Interesting to me was the way the wind blows in and out these spaces, unlike in normal streets where the wind blows only in one direction.

Looking at this phenomenon, I set myself the brief to use this 'free' energy source and create a product with it. I created a mechanical wind powered knitting machine, which knits fast when there is a lot of wind and slow when there is not a lot of wind."

Wind turbine close-up showing blades and rotor assembly.

Cleaning the exterior of a building with a tall ladder.

Art installation featuring spools of thread and a wind turbine in an industrial space.

Wind turbine with damaged blades and a blue generator.

Art supplies and tools arranged on a table.

Assorted colorful leggings hanging on a rack.

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