Computational Design of Knit Templates

Abstract

We present an interactive design system for knitting that allows users to create template patterns that can be fabricated using an industrial knitting machine. Our interactive design tool is novel in that it allows direct control of key knitting design axes we have identified in our formative study and does so consistently across the variations of an input parametric template geometry. This is achieved with two key technical advances. First, we present an interactive meshing tool that lets users build a coarse quadrilateral mesh that adheres to their knit design guidelines. This solution ensures consistency across the parameter space for further customization over shape variations and avoids helices, promoting knittability. Second, we lift and formalize low-level machine knitting constraints to the level of this coarse quad mesh. This enables us to not only guarantee hand- and machine-knittability, but also provides automatic design assistance through auto-completion and suggestions. We show the capabilities through a set of fabricated examples that illustrate the effectiveness of our approach in creating a wide variety of objects and interactively exploring the space of design variations.

RobotSweater: Scalable, Generalizable, and Customizable Machine-Knitted Tactile Skins for Robots

“…Knitting with functional yarns yields aug-mented electronic textiles (e-textiles) with sensing [17] and actuating [18] capabilities while preserving the above qualities. Recent efforts in computational design tools [19] and scheduling algorithms [20] allow researchers to easily program industrial knitting machines and manufacture complex shapes [21]. Conductive yarns and loop structures of knitted fabric enable strain [22], pressure [7], and proximity [23] measurement.…”

Singing Knit: Soft Knit Biosensing for Augmenting Vocal Performances

“…Custom design of textile structure was explored by Hofmann et al, who designed programmatic ways of controlling [19] and designing for digital knitting machines [20], supporting designers to implement custom material properties. This enables creating custom garments, where material properties such as texture or elasticity can be fine-tuned dynamically [28,34]. Such material properties are essential for chronic deployment of wearable systems [24] both with regards to maintaining electrical functionality [23] and user comfort [38].…”

AmiGo: Computational Design of Amigurumi Crochet Patterns

“…The graph is computed by sampling 2D garment patterns according to a specified time function designed by the user. Other approaches focus on knitting compilers [McCann et al 2016], interactive design of knit templates [Jones et al 2021], and complex knit structures and multi-yarn [Nader et al 2021].…”