Azikiwe Mohammed: Digital Knitting Machine

During his Tech Residency, Azikiwe created software and electronics to digitize an analog knitting machine. There have been several successful approaches to digital textile manufacturing, but where knitting machines were used, previous modifications were limited to two color patterns. The goal was to develop a system for four colors, keeping the punch card system native to the machine, and create a software + workflow that could automate the production of punch card patterns with varying degrees of complexity. A processing program was created to convert simple images into a format readable by our laser cutter which was then used to cut the punch cards. Swatches were used for Mohammed’s ongoing installation, Jimmy’s Thrift.