Rina Chen

"When I knit or braid, keeping a consistent texture means constantly judging whether the string is too tight or too loose. With Kumihimo, a Japanese braiding craft known for its intricate patterns, this consistency requires experience. It made me wonder: what if the tension on each string could be sensed and expressed back to the maker in real time? The inquiry has led to a Kumihimo disc with LEDs and arduino embedded inside. A white light signals that the string is too tight, so that the braider cannotice and adjust the tension before moving on to the next sequence."