Its finally happened! The Kniterate desktop digital knitting machine that I’ve been coveting for 9 years has made been purchased and made public by an Australian brand.
It’s not mine unfortunately but I am still very excited.
Kniterate started as a KickStarter crowd funding project in 2015. They were seeking 100k to development an accessible desktop digital knitting machine. With a promised entry point of approximately 8000US (Industrial machines start at 100k) - they WENT OFF! The KickStarter closed with over 600k pledged and the product was born!
Now, 9 years later it has arrived in Australia and @dempstah, winners of the 2025 Ebay circular fund are currently setting it up.
Why am I unreasonably excited?
I recently wrote about the long road from crochet to advanced manufacturing. A big gap in the road had always been desktop digital fabrication, that is, the pathway to advanced manufacturing.
Australia's $28 billion fashion industry faces critical challenges around manufacturing sovereignty, while the National Reconstruction Fund's $15 billion investment in enabling capabilities creates unprecedented opportunities for distributed manufacturing. Add to this the Australian Fashion Council's ambitious smart factory initiative, and you have a perfect storm of policy support, industry need, and technological capability.
A background to futures
When I was working in academia I watched as universities built expensive advanced manufacturing hubs. These high-end technologies where unbelievable and yet, when I went back into the design studio, students were making models with cardboard. The gap between existing and new practices had yet to be crossed. This was what originally sparked the Mobile Makers digital fabrication studio.
Over the next little while I noticed how desktop digital manufacturing becgan to transform local production. Technologies such as 3D printing, laser etching, real time body scanning, VR and AR became embedded in everyday life. It also transformed local creation, particularly in publishing.
Have a look at your home printer. If you are as old as me, you will remember the dot matrix printer. Beautiful as the internal workings were, the best we could do when we wanted to use it creatively looked something like this.
Today I can print transfers and iron them onto t shirts, print my own photos, print onto fabric, I can even print onto some odd substance that I can then iron onto knitwear- all from my front room.
I’d like to explore how desktop digital fabrication creates pathways to advanced manufacturing and why we should be supporting any and all attempts to create textile hubs where this technology is available to designers, brands and anyone with an idea but not the technology to achieve it.
What Are Microfactory/Circular Textile Hubs?
IMAGINE walking down your local main street and discovering a bustling hub where vintage sweaters are being transformed into new products, digital knitting machines hum alongside their traditional analogue counterparts and where community members learn to repair their clothing. This is the vision for microfactory/circular textile hubs, small-scale, digitally-enabled facilities that combine digital technologies with craft knowledge, specialising in on-demand, customisable production with minimal waste.
They tend to operate on five key principles: making, repairing, recycling, repurposing and rethinking textiles. They are places where people practice what it means to manufacture at scale, creating low risk, high value products.
I have sought out as many of these microfactories/circular hubs as I can find (please contact me if you would like the details) and while I can’t visit them physically, I can collect data about how they operate, the benefits that they bring and the ways in which they support advanced manufacturing at scale.
Having created both digital fabrication labs(Canberra 2015, Newcastle 2016) and the IMAGINE CIRCULAR FASHION textile pilot in, Adelaide 2024, I am of the belief that in Australia, we could create a next generation of skilled and knowledgeable textile workers by creating micro factories/ circular hubs in our local areas.
These hubs complement larger scale manufacturing, While smart factories handle mass production, microfactories excel at customization, repair services, and community-centered manufacturing that builds local resilience and economic diversity The beauty of the microfactory model lies in its multiple revenue streams. Unlike traditional manufacturing that relies solely on product sales, these hubs generate income through diverse channels:
Product Manufacturing creates premium, locally-made goods using sustainable materials and processes. Skills Development programs generate recurring revenue while addressing critical workforce gaps in emerging manufacturing technologies. Retail Integration provides platforms for local artisans and sustainable brands. Community Services like repair workshops and educational programs build customer loyalty while advancing sustainability goals.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I have applied for funding for a local textile hub.
I can demonstrate how such a hub can create local jobs while boosting tourism through eco-conscious visitors attracted to the region's sustainability leadership. I feel confident that the micro-factory approach is something that we could add to the lexicon of Australian fashion manufacturing regeneration.
The Tourism Factor
I visited Bilbao, Spain in 2014. There was no reason for me to ever visit it had it not been the place where Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum was built. This building changed the town and the cultural institution sector, introducing brand name architects to the regeneration of cities through signature cultural institutions. Today we visit and remember those cities in some part due to the innovative buildings we experienced while we were there.
I live within earshot of one of the most important wine making districts in Australia. I have personally seen how contract processing has transformed this place into an international tourism destination. They tell me that there is only so much wine that you can drink while holidaying, {ok… } so when you have had enough, what else is there in regional areas? I would hope to stand corrected if I couldn’t point to highly creative, talented and entrepreneurial makers across the country who could benefit from a microfactory/circular textile hub model.
The Ripple Effect
The hubs that I have found attract visitors from around the world while creating local employment and reducing waste. These success stories provide roadmaps for how Australia could implement such models while showcasing our potential for international leadership in
Perhaps most importantly, microfactories create ripple effects that extend far beyond their physical boundaries. They preserve traditional craft knowledge while embracing innovation. They transform waste streams into economic opportunities. They provide gathering spaces that strengthen community bonds while advancing environmental goals.
These hubs also serve as living laboratories for sustainable practices, educating consumers about repair over replacement, quality over quantity, and local over global. They're not just changing how we manufacture—they're changing how we think about consumption, community, and our relationship with the things we use every day.
Looking Forward
As Australia grapples with manufacturing sovereignty challenges and climate commitments, microfactory hubs offer practical solutions that align economic opportunity with environmental responsibility. They demonstrate that advanced manufacturing benefits from facilities that upskill communities, create opportunities for latent expertise and knowledge and link all of this to existing cultural and economic infrastructure to support the growth of advanced manufacturing.
So while @demstah set up their Kniterate, I am visiting my son in Berlin. I booked my date with Kniterate at Berlin Textile Coop and have registered to attend sustainability talks at Berlin Fashion Week.
I look forward to writing about those as we go, and until then, if you are interested, I have a relatively thorough dataset of the circular textile hubs that I have been able to find. I am very happy to share it with you. Email me.
Cheers
Angelina
Professor Angelina Russo, PHD, MBAHEM
I am the Designer and Founder of Fleurieu Made. I was an academic for many years and I have been a designer for more. I continue to write to make sense of the world in between knitting and building the business. Contact me at angelina@fleurieumade.com