Inspired by another project on Hackaday, maker Kyle Rankin knew he needed his own. This clock stitches out a scarf as time passes. Great guide and write up, made with some Adafruit goodies.
The day the post showed up on Hackaday, I actually shared it with my wife saying how cool it was and how I wanted one. Her response? “You should make one!” While I had already entertained the idea before that, her encouragement pushed me over the edge. After all, even without any instructions, if you break down what this clock is into its individual components, it isn’t all that complicated. You need:
A 48-hook circular knitting machine
A stepper motor attached to the hand crank
Electronics to control the stepper motor
Software to turn the motor one stitch every 30 minutes
I had a stepper motor from an old 3D printer, a Raspberry Pi, and willingness to learn new skills. I needed a knitting machine, some electronics components, and a lot of new skills. To complete this project I ultimately needed to learn how to control stepper motors electronically, expand my rudimentary Python skills, and learn 3D modeling.
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
Python for Microcontrollers — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: CircuitPython 8.1.0 and 8.2.0-beta0 out and so much more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
