The Crochet Protocol Makes YOU the Machine

The process of making textiles is typically quite automated, but as noted in this Creative Applications.Net article, making crochet fabric has yet to be automated, and thus remains a labor-intensive activity. This is typically fine: advanced fiber designs like Gore-Tex jackets and... those pants that zip off into shorts can be mass produced, while the grandmas of the world make hats and booties to give away as snuggly gifts.

But what if you did want to automate the crochet process? It should be possible to create a machine to make this fabric, though it would be very difficult to do well. Julia Vollmer of HfK Bremen in Germany decided to approach crocheting automation from a different angle, turning human hands into an extension of a microcontroller to care of the mechanical complexity.

The system, described in further detail here, uses a crochet protocol devised by Vollmer for this project to break down stitches into seven basic movements. Crochet instructions are fed into the system as a sort of high-level language, and broken down into lower-level movement instructions.

To produce movement signals, Vollmer implemented an ESP32-based device to actuate three vibration motors on a (human) controller unit. This is attached to the crocheter’s wrist via crocheted bands, with its powering LiPo battery embedded inside. The protocol is found here, and project code is up on GitHub.

As for the semi-automatic crocheting experience, Vollmer notes that:

The finished item is not my focus while crocheting and I’m more attuned to the pattern and simple steps. Through this whole process I do feel bored at times and not knowing when the pattern will end can become tedious.

And that:

When taking the device off after wearing it for a longer time, my arm can still feel the vibrations like a phantom.

So not particularly pleasant. It’s certainly an interesting experiment, but likely not something that we will see commercialized any time soon!