The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project

STEM in Knitting Part 2: Knitting Technology & Creating the Swatch

STEM in Knitting:

Knitting Technology & Creating the Swatch

A 6th-12th Grade STEM Lesson

Anna Boyd

03/27/2023

Notes for Teachers

• Context: This lesson is expected to take at least 90 minutes depending on technology available. Hand knitting will take longer and is only recommended for after school lessons.
• This lesson requires the teacher to be able to hand knit/machine knit or both depending on how you are implementing.
• Including this lesson and using hand/machine knitting will increase the project time by at least 3 weeks to possibly a semester or longer if done as an after school activity.

List of Materials

• Either:
• Knitting Machines (circular or flat bed), at least one per 4 students recommended..
• If machine knitting, have different swatches already made with different tension settings (FLATBED ONLY) and allow students to see which tension they want to use or yarn (CIRCULAR MACHINES SUCH AS SENTRO OR ADDI)
• Knitting needles for the students to use, one pair per student
• Yarn, worsted weight (size 4) recommended if hand knitting, DK weight, or size 3 recommended if machine knitting depending on your machine.
• Knitting notions, stitch markers, large eye needles, lights and magnifiers recommended for students with visual impairment.
• Hand knitting: Document camera or some way to display your work to the students.

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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Ed Technology

6-8.6.c. Students create artifacts using digital tools to communicate complex ideas textually, visually, graphically, and auditorily.

Objective(s):

Today we will look at knitting by hand/machine and creating our swatch.

Agenda (Lesson time varies)

• Introduce students to the method they will be knitting.
• Show videos on the method to be used.
• Demonstrate. This lesson takes time, patience, and an experienced knitter. If you are able to acquire knitting machines I highly recommend working with those and practicing.

• My students preferred the flatbeds over the circular machines even though those are supposed to be more beginner friendly. We all agreed that the learning curve is greater on a circular. We did have LK150 knitting machines for the flatbeds, which are very beginner friendly.

What is a knitting machine and how is it used?

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For this part of the lesson I recommend displaying the knitting machines and have them ready to be used. You can demonstrate the use of the knitting machine or show a video. A good video for showing how knitting works for a machine I recommend the video HERE. If using a flatbed this is a good start HERE.

Be creative in this discussion. There are many videos on YouTube, but nothing comes close to the experience of the teacher which is why I recommend this lesson only if you have experience in machine knitting.

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What are knitting needles and how are they used?

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If using knitting needles a great place to start is showing them the structure of knitting. There is a good video HERE.

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Be creative in this discussion. There are many videos on YouTube, but nothing comes close to the experience of the teacher which is why I recommend this lesson only if you have experience in hand knitting.

Demonstrate hand knitting using a document camera. Allow students to play with the knitting needles and get the feel of it. Remember, if hand knitting through the project just creating the swatch can take a week or more. Practice makes progress.

Hands-on Activity Instructions

• Students will work by themselves during this part but also in groups.
• For machine knitting I recommend at least two students working together to make sure that the yarn flows nicely and they can learn off of each other. I found this to be the most effective, and even the students who wanted to be alone eventually found a partner as they found it easier than trying by themselves. It can be much more encouraging as well if they struggle.
• For hand knitting I recommend groups of three or four to sit together. Pair stronger knitters with weaker ones so they have a peer teacher to get guidance from.
• Students are creating their swatch. Swatches are larger than the 4x4 inches because we do not measure end stitches in the swatch, so I recommend at least 5x5. No harm in going bigger.
• After completion of the swatch, students must find their gauge.

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Assessment

I assessed this one through the completed swatch. If students were able to complete the swatch with minimal assistance than they did well. Also, I had them verbally describe the process. This lesson is more about learning the technology behind knitting.

Differentiation

For students that are struggling significantly, encourage their partner to help them with their swatch, and for a few I made them their swatch with the yarn of their choice. Each student, even my students that struggled the most, created their own project because they had much more time to work on it versus just getting the swatch done.

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If hand knitting in an after school program, you are less likely to run into this program, however, if you have a student with a physical limitation I recommend the One-Handed knitting aid, The Knitting Aid, or Compression gloves. There are a lot of aids out there for knitting so do not be intimidated if a student with a disability wants to knit.

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Have students play with tension if machine knitting and different knitting needle sizes and have them look at how the stitches change and how the ‘feel’ and drape of the fabric changes.