Automatic Knitting Powered by the Wind

Now grandma can do something else

Sighted on YouTube: an automatic knitting machine powered by the wind. Aside from the knitting contraption itself, only yarn is needed. Wind pushes the rotor, which rotates the tube knitter. The knitter automatically pulls yarn into itself, slowly but surely creating knitted tubes of yarn.

The yarn tube emerges from the bottom of the machine, leaving the impression of an automaton relieving itself. Maker Merel Karhof periodically harvests the tube for scarves to sell off, with each retail piece labeled with completion date and total knitting time.

As setups go, this is pretty low-tech. But anything that gets done with a minimum of supervision—without adding to the electric bill—is always welcome. The YouTube video showing the machine in action (located here) also paints a picture of beautiful intricacy at work.

Still Karhof's creation is pretty one-dimensional, and there's always room for improvement. Got suggestions or comments? Hit the comments below. Personally, the need for better weather-proofing is clear.