From Ambidextrous Magazine
Spring 2008
Knitting Scarves and Stories Together (PDF)
By Daniela Rosner & Kimiko Ryokai
My younger sister recently gave me a scarf she had been knitting over several years. She created it using a difficult stitch, but there is more to the scarf’s story than just that. It had accompanied my sister when she traveled to Berlin and when she visited me here in California. For my sister, the journey of the scarf is emotionally intertwined with the object itself. Now when I wear the scarf, I want to know about the times she spent learning, developing, and recalling her crafting skills. I want a glimpse of the places she went to and the people she saw while knitting.
What if I could access the stories entangled in the making of this artifact? Does the augmentation of a traditional handcraft undermine its preservation? How can we, as designers, create tools that both maintain and extend people’s existing creative practices?
Spyn is a system for knitters to record, recall, and share information surrounding the process of handcraft. The project developed out of an interest in enhancing the narrative nature of craft....
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