The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project

STEM in Knitting Part 3: Designing with a Swatch

STEM in Knitting:

Designing with a Swatch

A 6th-12th Grade STEM Lesson

Anna Boyd

03/27/2023

Notes for Teachers

• Context: This lesson is expected to take 45-60 minutes. You may give additional time if needed to complete their design.
• This lesson can be completed without lesson 2.

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List of Materials continued…

• Blank paper for designing and the math.
• A model that students will be designing for.
• Self-they can create something for themselves
• Stuffed animal - I had students bring in their own and I had multiples available.
• Students could create an item such as a backpack or purse, but it had to be unique and not just a box shape.
• Tailors tape (a flexible measuring tape). One per group.
• Knitting patterns with a 4x4 inch gauge. Find a few you like to use as examples. There are a lot of free ones available online.

List of Materials

• Either:
• Knitting Machines (circular or flat bed), at least one per 4 students recommended
• Knitting needles for the students to use, one pair per student
• None of the above if using the lesson without knitting
• Yarn, worsted weight (size 4) recommended if hand knitting, DK weight, or size 3 recommended if machine knitting depending on your machine.--Only if doing lesson 2.

Math Standards

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7.RP.A.2.c- Represent proportional relationships by equations. For example, if total cost t is proportional to the number n of items purchased at a constant price p, the relationship between the total cost and the number of items can be expressed as t = pn.

A1.N-Q.A.2 & G.N-Q.A.2-Define appropriate quantities for the purpose of descriptive modeling. Include problem-solving opportunities utilizing real-world context.

G.G-MG.A.3-Apply geometric methods to solve design problems utilizing real-world context.

Standards for Mathematical Practices

1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

4. Model with mathematics.

5. Use appropriate tools strategically.

6. Attend to precision.

7. Look for and make use of structure.

8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

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Science & Engineering Practices

● develop and use models

● use mathematics and computational thinking

● construct explanations and design solutions

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Objective(s):

Today we will use our swatch to design an outfit for our model using gauge and proportional relationships.

Agenda (60 minutes)

Using the student’s previous swatch (created swatch from lesson 2 or given swatch from lesson 1) students will measure and design a clothing item or accessory for their model.

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Creating a Design from a swatch.

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Present students with several knitting patterns out there that use a 4x4 inch gauge, the most common one out there. I had several copies on student tables. I recommend finding patterns that have net drawings if possible. This is a good example HERE, a free pattern from KnitPicks.

Demonstrate how to read the pattern and discuss why the gauge is helpful for someone about to make this pattern.

Present the final rubric & requirements. Editable Rubric HERE. Optional final presentation document HERE.

Hands-on

Activity Instructions

• Students may work together, but each student will create their own design.
• Students will measure and record the width, height, circumference, etc of their model to create their design.
• Students will then use their gauge from their swatch to create a net and idea drawing of their design. They will be using this information to build their design and compare their math with reality later.
• Optional videos that might help (NO AUDIO)�STEM in Knitting Gauge

STEM in Knitting Yarn

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Assessment

I assessed this part with a submission through Google Slides. Other options are a presentation or individual checking of each student’s work. Optional Google Slide HERE.

Differentiation

Students who might struggle can still create things with various rectangles and squares.

Allow them to use the 4x4 inch paper squares to get an idea of how their design will lay out and how many stitches and rows they will need.

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Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Encourage ruffles, using themselves as a model, buttons, other shapes, etc to get them to think outside the box. If creating with actual knitting they are limited by the amount of yarn they have available, which is a fun challenge within itself. If using paper squares, then I suggest limiting how many squares they can use or giving them an unlimited amount of squares to see how far they can go.