Hack 1 Knit 2-Making Whole-Garment Knitting More Open

Whole-garment knitting technology enables the creation of fully formed garments that don’t need additional assembly after exiting the knitting machine.In Hack 1 Knit 2, I explore how designers outside the mass-market fashion industry could incorporate whole-garment knitting into their practices, if the technology was more accessible to the public. I achieve this by programming with Knitout—an open-source file specification—to produce a range of knitted samples. This demonstrates that it is possible to create knitted pieces while largely avoiding the restrictive software created by whole-garment knitting machine manufacturers. My goals with Hack 1 Knit 2 are twofold. Firstly, I intend to lessen the learning gap for others interested in exploring whole-garment technology by documenting my methods. I also aim to make a case for how whole-garment technology could be incorporated into more makers’ practices.