Secrets Revealed!
Secret #1: The picture from yesterday was the beginning of a rather fun and interesting project that continued on most of the night until the wee hours of the morning. The end result is this hat based on the pattern [Ravelink] by Margaret Sharp.
C.L. wearing her new robotics hat
It is one of a series of robot hats (with various ridiculous modifications) that I have made for the mentors of team 2809.
new mentors in robot hats
The hats started out very simple
Then came the BIG pompom (made by Opti)
The antenna…
The headband…
And now….a hat with EARS!!! They stand up because they are knit with one strand of yarn and one strand of copper harvested from a pot scrubbie. 
If you are interested in some structural stability in your knitting, this technique may help you. The results are strong, and flexible, and they sparkle as the copper catches the light.
Unwind the scrubbie. They have a loop of metal keeping them together.
You’ll then have a knitted tube of copper
which can be unraveled pretty easily
and can be knit together with yarn to form features for your hat.
Ears are knit in the round with increases every so often. The ears are then incorporated into the knitting of the body of the hat. They could also be sewn on after the hat is complete.
Why are we all wearing robotic hats?
Secret #2: Today was the kickoff for the FIRST robotics competition “Breakaway”. Team 2809 met to watch the webcast in the morning, and brainstorm for ideas and strategies for playing the new game.
We had a fun day coming up with plans, and learning the rules of the game. It’s like soccer, with towers, speed bumps and lots of balls.
Mo, with 10 soccer balls
Over the next 6 weeks we will meet 6 days a week to plan, prototype, draw, manufacture, assemble, program, and test a robot to play this new game. Follow along with the fun at the k-botics blog. We’d love to hear your comments, and words of encouragement!
simulating the game in the gym
We will compete in March, and again in April. Maybe I’ll have a few more hats knit by then.
What is the strangest material you’ve knit with?
