Klog: Kathy Reid's Blog » Knitting

Lilypad Arduino LightScarf

KathyReid — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 11:42:11 +0000

Working with Lilypad Arduino is something I’ve wanted to try for a while now – but simply haven’t found the time! Knowing that BarCampGeelong was only a few weeks away spurred me into action. First, I read up on the Lilypad Arduino tutorials from Leah Buechley. Running Ubuntu, I had already installed the Arduino IDE from the software manager, so I was good to go.

So, what sort of project was simple enough to allow me to get the hang of this new technology while still presenting enough of a challenge to be interesting? I decided on a scarf that would detect light levels, with the aim of turning on some bright white LEDs if light levels were too low.

First, I needed a scarf. I decided on this Dropped! lace openwork pattern so that the components could be sewn in with conductive thread and not look out of place. I also thought about what type of material to make the scarf out of – in case any of the electronic components overheated and melted or caught on fire. I chose a 98% wool blend – ‘Beulah’ by Sean Sheep – nice and cheap too in case the project didn’t work out.

Next, I needed some Arduino Lilypad components – which are now available in Australia from Little Bird Electronics. For this project, I used;

Lilypad main board - http://littlebirdelectronics.com/products/lilypad-arduino-328-main-board
Lilypad light sensor - http://littlebirdelectronics.com/products/lilypad-light-sensor
Lilypad e-sewing kit with conductive thread - http://littlebirdelectronics.com/products/lilypad-e-sewing-kit
Lilypad power supply - http://littlebirdelectronics.com/products/lilypad-power-supply

Then, I needed some Arduino code to read in the light sensor and do the logic for turning on the LEDs – you can get the code from my page on GitHub. Once the Arduino board was programmed, it was time to sew in the components with conductive thread. It was here that some problems arose. My original plan was to have 5 LEDs on the scarf, which all lit up at the same time. When sewing the conductive thread, I found that I could only sew in one LED to the -tive terminal (ground) petal on the Lilypad Arduino.

NOTE: Andy Gelme (@Geekscape) has since given me some advice on working around this, by finding alternative methods to ground the LEDs. I just haven’t implemented it yet!

The other problem was that due to the openwork design of the scarf itself, some of the conductive thread was prone to crossing – which meant that the circuit didn’t work as designed. I unpicked the thread and it was resewn, with care given to making sure the wire did not cross.

The presentation given to BarCampGeelong can be found on Slideshare here;

http://www.slideshare.net/KathyReid/not-your-nannas-knitting-my-first-lilypad-arduino-project

UPDATED: Photos!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathyreid/sets/72157627158152752/

Ben’s Finagle hat

KathyReid — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:45:54 +0000

A part of craft it forward, I made a lovely Finagle scarf for Ben, but had 100g of 12ply bulky yarn left over. Wanting to make a hat to match the scarf, the following pattern was improvised.

Needles: 5.5m (done using magic loop on KnitPro interchangeables)

Yarn: 100g 12ply

Pattern:

Cast on 84 stitches, join to work in round. Place stitch marker at beginning of row
Work 10 rows in K1, P1 rib
On row 11,* K1 front and back (creating an extra stitch), P1*, repeat from * to end of row. 126 stitches.
On row 12, *K1, P1, K1 front and back (creating an extra stitch)*, repeat from * to end of row. 168 stitches.
On row 13, *K3, P3*, repeat from * to end of row.
On row 14, *K1, P1*, repeat from * to end of row.
Repeat rows 13-14 5 times.
On row 24, knit the row.
On row 25, *K6, K2tog*, repeat from * to end of row. 144 stitches.
On row 26, knit the row.
On row 27, *K3, P3*, repeat to end of row.
On row 28, *K1, P1*, repeat from * to end of row
Repeat rows 27-28 5 more times.
On row 38, knit the row.
On row 39, *K5, K2tog*, repeat from * to end of row. 120 stitches.
On row 40, knit the row.
On row 41, *K3, P3*, repeat from * to end of row.
On row 42, *K1, P1*, repeat from * to end of row.
Repeat rows 41-42 4 times.
On row 50, knit the row.
On row 51, *K2tog*, repeat from * to end of row. 60 stitches.
On row 52, knit the row.
On row 53, *K3, P3*, repeat from * to end of row.
On row 54, *K1, P1*, repeat from * to end of row.
Repeat rows 53-54 once.
On row 57, *K2tog, P2tog*, repeat from * to end of row. 30 stitches.
On row 58, *K3, P3*, repeat from * to end of row.
On row 59, *K1, P1*, repeat from * to end of row.
On row 60, *K2tog*, repeat from * to end of row. 15 stitches.
On row 61, *K3tog*, repeat from * to end of row. 5 stitches.
On row 62, K2tog, K3tog. 2 stitches
On row 63, K2tog. Bind off remaining stitch.
Weave in loose ends.

Classic ruffles scarf

KathyReid — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 06:03:57 +0000

Having had a bit of time on my hands lately, I was looking for a fun and easy project that didn’t require too much concentration. This scarf, constructed almost entirely of garter stitch – was the perfect candidate.

Using one strand each of Habu Stainless Steel and K1 Linen, I cast on roughly 200 stitches, then knit 10 rows. On the next row, I K1M1, essentially doubling the number of stitches on the needle. After another 10 rows, the stitches were again doubled, and so on, until ending up with 800 stitches on needles and roughly 40 rows. After casting off, the edges were finished with double crochet just to even them up again.

The final touch was a lovely pearl brooch – and voila! – a classic ruffle scarf done using garter stitch and increases.