Sensor Knitting 101 with Liza Stark

Description

Everyday, we interact with machines that are hard, with devices driven by abstract electrical and computational processes. They are produced in faraway places by unknown people, then sent to our doorstep in excessive packaging. In this workshop, we will consider an alternative narrative in which our electronics emerged from textiles and textile-related practices. In this story, we knit our own sensors and stitch our own computers by hand. We question how this might change our daily interactions with technology and each other. First, participants will be introduced to the basics of electronic textiles and soft circuits, then construct an eTextile loom out of recycled materials. Finally, we will knit their own sensors and test them on our looms. Note: You need absolutely no knowledge of knitting or electronics to take this workshop. This workshop is a public program of the New York Tech Zine Fair.