Good Thinking

Human-powered device "unknits" old clothes to reclaim yarn

Human-powered device "unknits" old clothes to reclaim yarn
The unknitting machine in use
The unknitting machine in use
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The unknitting machine in use
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The unknitting machine in use
The unknitting machine is a student-designed device that uses human power to unravel old knitted clothes, so the yarn can be reused
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The unknitting machine is a student-designed device that uses human power to unravel old knitted clothes, so the yarn can be reused

Just last week, we told you about the Rocking-Knit chair, a student-designed device that utilizes the user’s rocking motion to knit a hat. After lots of use, needless to say, such a hat would eventually get worn out. Instead of just throwing it away, however, you could recycle it – using another student-designed contraption, the unknitting machine.

The device was created by Imogen Hedges, a Product and Furniture Design student at London’s Kingston University. The idea came to her when she discovered that staff at some charity shops spend hours unraveling old sweaters, so that the yarn can be sold and reused – her device makes that process faster and easier.

At the heart of the unknitting machine is an old bicycle frame equipped with pedals, chains and a bicycle wheel. As the seated user pedals, the wheel spins, and unravels yarn from an item such as a sweater. That yarn passes through a column of steam from a kettle, and is then wound around a series of brackets mounted around the outside of the wheel.

The unknitting machine is a student-designed device that uses human power to unravel old knitted clothes, so the yarn can be reused
The unknitting machine is a student-designed device that uses human power to unravel old knitted clothes, so the yarn can be reused

Once the item is completely unraveled, a hand crank is used to pull smaller quantities of yarn from the wheel and onto a plastic spindle. That yarn can then be pulled off the end of the spindle, and sold in compact bundles.

Britain’s National Centre for Craft and Design obviously liked the idea, as it selected the machine as one of 12 student projects to appear in its Celebrating the Class of 2012 exhibition.

The unknitting machine can be seen in use in the video below.

Source: Kingston University

Imogen Hedges

5 comments
5 comments
bergamot69
Clever but somewhat impractical- unless the user chooses to work in an improvised steam cabin!
Still, it is good to be able to recycle old wool to make new clothes.
knitwicca
For those of us who hand knit and recycle knitwear, the term is "TINK" rather than "unknit".
Belinda Contague
If it's, "worn out," what's the point of frogging and reknitting it?
JoLisa Coffey
People are too lazy to do this much even
nutcase
Perhaps they intend to return it to the sheep?