Most of us will know the mundane feeling of waiting for a train on your daily commute. However, design student George Barratt-Jones decided to make killing time more enjoyable by installing his latest creative invention at an Eindhoven station platform. Introducing The Cyclo Knitter—a man-powered knitting machine that creates woolen scarfs in 5 minutes.
With this project, Barratt-Jones asks us all to imagine it’s the middle of winter. “You are cold and bored waiting for your train at the station,” he says. “This pedal powered machine gets you warm by moving, you are making something while you wait and in the end you are left with a free scarf! That you can decide to keep yourself or give to someone who needs it more.” The clever machine was built as part of a weaving assignment for the Design Academy Eindhoven. Barratt-Jones reveals, “I like making projects that are useful and make people smile.”
The charming invention features a “scarf tower” made from wood, with a knitting machine attached to the top. The designer added custom-cut wooden gears and the inner-tubes of old bicycle wheels as drive belts, connecting an exercise bike to the knitting machine. A simple wooden base completes the device, ready for commuters to hop on and knit their own scarf. Check out the video below to see their delighted reactions.
For more of Barratt-Jones’s projects, check out his work on Vimeo, and the website for his company Craftz—a creative community where you can learn hands-on skills from local craftsmen, artists, and designers.
Design student George Barratt-Jones decided to make waiting for a train more enjoyable by installing The Cyclo Knitter at an Eindhoven station platform.
The man-powered knitting machine that creates woolen scarfs in 5 minutes.
George Barratt-Jones: Instagram | Vimeo
h/t: [Reddit]
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