Bike-Driven Scarf Knitter Is An Accessory To Warmth

Despite all our technological achievements, humans still spend a lot of time waiting around for trains. Add a stiff winter breeze to the injury of commuting, and you’ve got a classic recipe for misery. [George Barratt-Jones] decided to inject some warmth into this scene by inviting people to knit a free scarf for themselves by riding a bike.

All a person has to do is ride the Cyclo-Knitter for five minutes and marvel at their handiwork. By the time the scarf is finished, they’ve cycled past being cold, and they have something to hold in the warmth. Cyclo-Knitter is essentially an Addi Express knitting machine being belt-driven by a stationary bike. Power is transferred from the bike through large, handmade wooden gears using old bike tire inner tubes as belts. [George] built a wooden tower to hold the machine and give the growing scarf a protected space to dangle.

We love the utility of this project as much as the joy it inspires in everyone who tries it. Check out their scarves and their reactions after the break. We haven’t seen people this happy to see something they weren’t expecting since that billboard that kills Zika mosquitoes.

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Steampunk Wings: Bigger, Heavier, And Steampunkier

This pair of backpack-mounted wings was conceived after seeing the Angel/Archangel character in the movie X-Men: The Last Stand. They measure 14’6″ inches across, but they fold up so that the wearer can actually get around in them. The mechanism is built from MDF, using several layers of gears cut from the material as well as pieces that act as the skeleton for the appendages. This makes them look and work well, but adds a lot of weight as the project comes in at about 25 pounds.

The steampunk wings we saw a few days back were partly inspired by this set. But this pair is more true to the Steampunk concept, relying on pneumatics instead of electricity for motion. A pair of pneumatic rams originally made to cushion the closing of screen doors let the wearer automatically extend the unit. As you can see in the video after the break, this happens quickly and gracefully. They do have to be folded back up by hand, and we’d bet you need a second person to assist with this, but we could be wrong.

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