Beware IKEA: Solid knitted three-dimensional furniture could be a reality

Think of the possibility that allows fabricating furniture through knitting rather than traditional assembly. Where your shoes aren’t manufactured, but crafted stitch by stitch. This isn’t science fiction, but it could surprisingly be the future of fabrication.

That’s the vision of Yuichi Hirose, a robotics Ph.D. student, who aspires to create solid knitting machines.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have already developed a prototype machine, which is currently capable of knitting triangular or rectangular prisms in various sizes.

Interestingly, chairs, tables, and more could be knitted with a future version of this machine. This fabrication technique is known as solid knitting.

“My dream is to have these solid knitting machines everywhere in the world,” Hirose said.

Solid knitting is like 3D printing

In 2012, Hirose became interested in creating shapeshifting objects while studying digital fabrication in Japan. He came up with the idea for solid knitting after being inspired by the Claytronics project, which featured self-assembling robots.

Years later in 2018, he began building a solid knitting machine. Hirose completed a basic version of his knitting machine in 2020 but faced delays due to the pandemic. He joined the Textiles Lab in 2022 and began a robotics Ph.D.

Solid knitting is a process that constructs three-dimensional forms by successively layering and stitching yarn — akin to the layer-by-layer method used in 3D printing with plastic materials.

“It can be hard to wrap your head around the concept. But it’s a very cool idea, and one that has a lot of promise,” said James McCann, leader of the Carnegie Mellon Textiles Lab.

As the machine significantly elongates the yarn, an elastic cord has been employed as the material. Despite using a stretchy cord, the knitted fabric is surprisingly rigid.

“It feels sort of like a stack of felt or the sole of a shoe,” McCann said.

The present prototype is about the size of a clothes dryer and can only generate basic forms.

Still in its infancy

Solid knitting is still in its infancy, but it’s a technology with the potential to revolutionize how we create furniture and shoes.

The team’s ultimate goal is to automate the production of complex objects. Hirose plans to expand the technology by creating a larger machine for furniture production and a smaller one for crafting detailed objects.

“We hope that other people out there are going to build their own solid knitting machines and come up with ideas we haven’t yet explored,” McCann said in the press release.

The CMU team presented their innovative solid knitting research and prototype at the prestigious SIGGRAPH 2024 conference. They also earned recognition with an honorable mention in the Best Paper competition.

Those interested in learning more can replicate the process by hand knitting. To aid in this endeavor, the researchers have shared a comprehensive guide and a video tutorial.