Computational knitwear!? Here's my money, you can take it all.
If you’re looking for something unique as a gift, or for that personal flair, then look no further than KnitYak.
KnitYak started off as a kickstarter, launched by Fabienne “fbz” Serriere, with the goal of creating generative knitwear, and wow-oh-wow was it a success.
By basing all the designs off generative algorithms, KnitYak is able to make each item a one-off.
new backer update, 541 scarves have shipped so far, 93 left to ship: https://t.co/NKkPOhkauf pic.twitter.com/yJzvNgcJTJ
— KnitYak (@KnitYak) May 7, 2018
Looking through the catalog, you can recognize some of the generative algorithms that defined the art-space, from the Mandelbrot set to the Cellular Automata. There’s something very beautiful about pulling an algorithm out of the computer, and turning it into something you can physically touch and hold.
Each scarf is knitted on an industrial knitting machine, and my-oh-my is it a beast.
knitting a happy mac/sad mac macintosh ROM scarf. sad mac looks a little stretched raw off the machine like this before it gets washed ;) pic.twitter.com/lvpqzAeHcn
— Ms. Fabienne "fbz" Haas 🗝️ (@fbz) September 3, 2018
Giving the catalog a brief browse, it’s very easy to see that these don’t sit on the shelf long. In fact they look to be completely sold out as I write this!
Without a doubt, the best way to get your hands on one would be to follow the KnitYak Twitter account, look for release announcements, and jump on them the moment they’re posted.
Happy Mac / Sad Mac scarves back in stock: vintage Mac ROM from a Power Mac 5200 knit into a scarf. The ROM has hardcoded images in it. Comes with code by @qrs to make an image out of a ROM with a command line script for the exact wrap length of the scarf. https://t.co/xlrKsXFyFX pic.twitter.com/oVyPPteQYb
— KnitYak (@KnitYak) December 15, 2019
And as a final cool bonus, when your item arrives it includes the code that was used to generate it!
What a treat!