Hatch curator Erin Toale suggested I knit a cube as a warmup for creating sculptural (not wearable) knitted circuits. The process gave me lots of ideas (which is good-- the show is in October!).
Angeleah Daidone recently sent me this photo of the bracelet she made in my Circuit Building Workshop.
When I posted my knitted circuit instructable last month, I also entered it into Instructables' Battery Powered contest.
And... it took the grand prize! How cool is that???
I was, needless to say, thrilled for the recognition (and winning a new camera, tablet, and power tools ain't bad either!). I've posted two more instructables this month:
How to make your own e-textile Arduino
And today, how to solder stainless steel thread.
Lauren Singer of Houston, Texas (Ravelry ID: AuntieAnty) contacted me recently through Ravelry, to share Linen, Electronics and Diodes, a circuit-knit project she made with Glenn Manuel (Ravelry ID: Glennman), based on my knitted circuit design.
I'm thrilled to see people picking up the project and experimenting with new approaches. Lauren used 28AWG bus wire and a 50/50 cotton/linen blend. As far as I know, this is the first hand-knit version of the design (since I machine-knit mine). Very cool! I hope more will follow!
I posted my instructable for knitted circuits June 16, and had fun watching it spread across a tiny corner of the internet.
I got the idea for this pattern from the wee blinky, an astable multivibrator that flashes a pair of LEDs.
To create a knitted circuit pattern, I tried to minimize the number of places where traces cross over each other and require jumpers.
It was fun to plan, and after I got one working, I started multiplying it to create a pattern reminiscent of damask.
I was taking a yoga class a few years ago when I noticed a fellow student
with a circuit diagram tattooed on her forearm. After class, I asked her about it. She told me she was a theater sound
engineer, and the circuit was an op-amp, part of her audio console.
I've been wearing a circuit on my own forearm lately. The first time I wore it on the train, a man sitting near me kept staring at it, and finally complimented me by saying "You look like you got it going on!" I didn't even have it turned on at the time-- just a few LEDs and a battery. It made me think of the woman with the op-amp tattoo. I wondered if displaying it gave her more tech cred.
I, too, would like to wear an op-amp, and a number of other circuits as well. Because apparently I need some tech cred. Because electronics are fun. And because, frankly, it looks cool. So I've been working on methods to knit circuits with all the standard electronic components, in addition to the ever-popular LED.
The lovely thing about these circuits is that they're great conversation starters. People who know electronics want to know how they work. (As do people who don't.) I don't suffer from "invisible woman" syndrome* when I'm wearing them.
Clothing has long been a way to advertise status; for women it's also been a means of displaying "maker" skills, and of building community around the sharing of those skills. I think it's time we use it to create some new "Engineer" archetypes.
So I'm looking for collaborators -- engineering women with tech skills you want to wear on your sleeve (literally). What is your "circuit tattoo"? Would it fit on a cuff? A cardigan? A floor-length gown? You design the circuit board, I'll knit it, and we'll have a Stitch-n-Solder bee to build it. Model your new threads and re-define "what an engineer looks like."
- It'll probably work best if you are also in Chicago.
- The more visible the circuitry, the better.
- Circuits that make sound or light or movement get bonus points.
- So do circuits that give you super powers.
If all this sets your gears a-turning, get in touch and tell me what you want to build.
BTW, If you want to knit your own circuit boards, I'm working on an instructable for that. Stay tuned.
.........
*Sheila Miguez sent me this link to an amazing talk by Naomi Ceder, a programmer who transitioned from male to female. Starting at 19'50", Ceder discusses what the Python programming community is like for women (trans or not). I love her statement that she was
worried about being harassed at PyCon the first time she went to the conference as a
woman, but discovered instead that she was now invisible.
More Knitted Circuitry
Knitted circuit: 5mm RGB fade LEDs, 8mm blue LEDs, battery and switch.
The LEDs (both the blue and the RGB fade) are wired in parallel, soldered in place. Fun fact -- red draws the most current. So, when the color-changing LEDs turn red, they draw so much current they starve out the big blues. The result -- the blues fade in and out, no micro-controller needed.
Two knitted circuit boards, with iron-on backing.
My first gif. (The color changes are actually very slow and gradual, not blinking.)
The short answer is, I can't sew.
The long answer....
E-textile platforms are based on designing materials to fit textile fabrication methods, resulting in conductive thread and components mounted on PCBs designed especially for sewing (for example, the Flora platform). Perfect for experienced sewers interested in soft wearables.
However, the conductive threads often used for e-textiles can be unstable as conductors. Silver-plated thread oxidizes over time and becomes non-conductive, something I discovered after buying a large spool and leaving it out for months. (If you have some, store it in an airtight bag.) Stainless steel thread does not have this problem, but it does have higher resistance.
Creating solid connections with the thread presents another challenge. It requires hand-sewing skill, stitching the thread through the component lead multiple times, knotting tightly, and adding glue for security. The whole process makes me want to reach for my soldering iron.
But... the conductive thread widely available in the US is not solderable. Conductive threads made with polyester or nylon wilt or melt under heat. Solderable conductive thread is available in Europe, made with Kevlar. The minimum purchase, a kilogram, starts around 60 euro, from the company, Karl Grimm & Co. With shipping, you can expect to pay over $100. One of the creators of the phenomenal e-textiles resource, How to Get What You Want, Hannah Perner-Wilson, sells small spools of the Karl-Grimm conductive thread reasonably-priced on Etsy, but it's still not cheap enough for me to create artistic-experiments-with-abandon.
Additionally, conductive thread introduces resistance to the circuit-- it just doesn't conduct as well as the copper wire used in conventional circuits. Arduino-based circuits can compensate for this, but I'd like to build circuits using conventional components, as well. So I'm investigating how to apply textile techniques to conventional electronic materials. After much research, I've developed a tool-box of methods around my favorite skills of soldering and machine knitting. I'm documenting my methods here, as they evolve.
This approach is not for everyone. I've taught a number of basic knitting machine workshops at Pumping Station: One, and some people love it, some people, not so much. Even if you can machine knit, machine-knitting wire is an advanced technique. I don't recommend trying it until you're comfortable working with "difficult" yarns like cotton and silk. But once you do get the hang of it, knitting PCBs is soooo easy.....
I'm experimenting with machine knitting 2-color patterns with wire and cotton to create "pads" for direct soldering of components.
This simple circuit uses 5 leds, a switch and a battery, all soldered in place.
The wire looks great, and the circuit held up fine during a day of wear.
This simple circuit uses 5 leds, a switch and a battery, all soldered in place.
The wire looks great, and the circuit held up fine during a day of wear.
