KnitheWorld: lines_of_code_as_loops_of_yarn

Abstract

The rapid rise of digital fabrication provides new opportunities for young people to express themselves creatively and develop computational-thinking skills. By enabling the fabrication of soft materials, knitting machines have the potential to expand the expressive range of digital fabrication tools available — and to expand the range of young people who become interested in digital fabrication. But until now, the process of programming knitting machines has been very complex and not accessible to beginners. I present KnitheWorld, an educational software system to democratize knitting for young people ages 8-12 as a means of creative expression. By dragging and dropping visual programming blocks, learners can generate patterns for Jacquard knits, a type of knit with patterns featured with two or more colors. KnitBlocks features knitting terminologies, allowing learners to code line by line, following a similar process of how knitting creates new forms from loops of yarn. In our KnitheWorld workshops with children, we found that they not only create complex knit patterns with an understanding in computational thinking, but they also engage in storytelling about materials and patterns around them. KnitheWorld invites children to tinker, turning daily objects into patterns of colors, and helping them express their creativity through the world of knits.