Craftivism = making things yourself using your hands to try to achieve political or social change.

Knitting has been used historically as a place for women to exchange ideas and talk about political work. It had provided, for decades, a path for political involvement for women from knitting clothes for  WW1 soliders, to the rise of DIY culture by Riot Grrrl's feminist punk movement and resisting capitalist corporations that eschew unique hand-knit objects. Knitting and sewing, however, have also maintained a path of traditional gender roles. 


Inspired by themes of feminism and community, the performance aims to represent this intersection of tradition and innovation using Arduino powered needles that 'break' the stereotype. While the main melody is playing along the whole performance, the process of knitting and more specifically the act of touching the needles while knitting stops the continuous repeated act and creates an interactive symphony by the various audios generated by each motion. (Knitting and Feminism’s Third Wave,Beth Ann Pentney).


The perfomance being held by three people makes clear the intention of community and highlights the way everyone can have in impact on the rest. While all the colors are being knit at the same time, the result ends up being neat showing that feminism is a strong force able to connect difficult situations. The song implemented is a distorted version of"Labor" by Paris Paloma, a song that aligns with the feelings represented by this performance.
//note list taken from: https://github.com/robsoncouto/arduino-songs/blob/master/minuetg/minuetg.ino
#define NOTE_D2  73
#define NOTE_G2  98
#define NOTE_A2  110
#define NOTE_B2  123
#define NOTE_D3  147
#define REST      0

const int needlePins[][2] = {{2, 3}, {4, 5}, {6, 7}}; // pins for pairs of knitting needles
const int buzzerPin = 8;
const int tones[] = {340, 700, 523}; // frequencies for each needle pair

void setup() {
  for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
   
    pinMode(needlePins[i][0], INPUT_PULLUP); //resistor for first needle of the pair
    pinMode(needlePins[i][1], INPUT_PULLUP); //resistor for second needle of the pair
  }
  pinMode(buzzerPin, OUTPUT); //set buzzer as the output
}

void loop() {
  bool pairActive[3] = {false, false, false};

  //check if the touch works
  for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
    if (digitalRead(needlePins[i][0]) == LOW && digitalRead(needlePins[i][1]) == LOW) {
      pairActive[i] = true;
    }
  }

  // What tone is played when a specific pair touch
  if (pairActive[0] && !pairActive[1] && !pairActive[2]) {
    tone(buzzerPin, tones[0]); //needles from pair 1 touching
  } else if (!pairActive[0] && pairActive[1] && !pairActive[2]) {
    tone(buzzerPin, tones[1]); //needles from pair 2 touching
  } else if (!pairActive[0] && !pairActive[1] && pairActive[2]) {
    tone(buzzerPin, tones[2]); //needles from pair 3 touching
  } else if (pairActive[0] && pairActive[1] && !pairActive[2]) {
    tone(buzzerPin, (tones[0] + tones[1]) / 2); // Pair 1 and 2 active
  } else if (pairActive[0] && pairActive[2] && !pairActive[1]) {
    tone(buzzerPin, (tones[0] + tones[2]) / 2); // Pair 1 and 3 active
  } else if (pairActive[1] && pairActive[2] && !pairActive[0]) {
    tone(buzzerPin, (tones[1] + tones[2]) / 2); // Pair 2 and 3 active
  } else {
    playMelody(); //when the needles don't touch then the melody starts
  }
  delay(10);
}

void playMelody() {
  int melody[] = {

    //notes taken from a song called "labor" by Paris Paloma, note sheet source: https://chordify.net/chords/paris-paloma-songs/labour-chords
    NOTE_G2, REST, NOTE_B2, NOTE_D2, NOTE_G2, NOTE_A2, NOTE_B2, NOTE_D2,
    NOTE_G2, NOTE_A2, NOTE_B2, NOTE_D2, NOTE_B2, NOTE_D3,
    NOTE_D2, REST, NOTE_B2, NOTE_G2, NOTE_A2, NOTE_B2, NOTE_D2,
    NOTE_G2, NOTE_A2, NOTE_B2,NOTE_D2, NOTE_G2, NOTE_A2, NOTE_B2, NOTE_D2,
    NOTE_G2, NOTE_A2, NOTE_B2, NOTE_D2, NOTE_G2, NOTE_A2, NOTE_B2, NOTE_D2

  };

  //milliseconds per note
  int noteDurations[] = { 200, 0, 200, 200, 200, 200, 200, 200, 400, 400, 400,400, 400,400,200,0,200,200,200,200,100,200,200,200,400,400,200,400,200,200,200,200,200,200,200,200,200};

  for (int i = 0; i < 37; i++) {
    tone(buzzerPin, melody[i]);
    delay(noteDurations[i]/5); //sped up version of the song
  }
  noTone(buzzerPin); //stop the sound
}

Final Outcome

Knitting the Base

Arduino Code

Second trial

First trial

Firstly we stripped thin wire and sew it through the crochet square

We then sanded off the coating of the knitting needles as they were not good electricity conductors in order to get to the aluminium.

Taking off the cap from the end we were able to connect the jump wires. 

The colours we chose and the pattern we followed are inspired by the painting we mentioned above.

Exploring e-Feminist Craftivism 

Then we connected the two wires to the arduino in which we uploaded the code we wrote for the wires to make sound when they touch

We threaded the wire through the yarn

Circuit diagram

INSPIRATION:

"The Revolutionary Knitting Circle" & “Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting” & Judy Chicago's "Birth/Tear".

https://medium.com/@grantneufeld/the-revolutionary-knitting-circle-proclamation-of-constructive-revolution-67efc906bf9d

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/stitch-stitch-history-knitting-activism

Results

This time the wires connected easier without having to put any pressure to the yarn but with this method the project would take more time to be done and the result won't be as clean and tidy

Results

It was difficult to make the wires touch and in order to do so we had to put pressure to the crochet

“I never associated knitting with having as much power as my science and now I’m realizing that it really does,” she said. “Knitting is a way I can reach people.”

*knitting needles