Knitted Speaker

I will walk you through making a knitted speaker!

You will need:

• coated wire (make sure that it is conductive)
• knitting needles (probably size 3, but you can experiment with the size)
• muslin fabric (about 35 inches long)
• large, neodymium magnets (http://www.amazon.com/3-Count-CMS-Magnetics%C2%AE-Neodymium-Permanent/dp/B000UCVARK/ref=pd_sim_sbs_328_29?ie=UTF8&dpID=41qnamCHvxL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=12KG44NZDJFQCCBNRK5D)
• inexpensive headphones
• double-ended alligator clips (http://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Color-Double-ended-Alligator-Jumper/dp/B00D10KWE0/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1451132993&sr=1-2&keywords=jumper+wires+with+clips)
• sandpaper
• needle and thread
• wire strippers
• jumper wire (optional)
• soldering iron (optional)
  
• solder (optional

first, cast on five or six stitches (if you’re new to knitting, check this video out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tff3ng-djtk)

Continue knitting with the wire until it is the length you want and bind off when you’re done (check this out if you’re confused: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4V4DSJ9hUE).

Next, take the two ends of your knitting and sand them - make sure you do a pretty good job sanding as this will be where the current runs through.

Sew the speaker to the piece of muslin. Don’t worry about sewing every little part of it, you can do it every few inches or so. We just want it to be attached. In this image, I'm using the actual wire to attach it, which also works well in place of a needle and thread.

Take the headphones and cut the earpieces from them. Just to be clear, we want to use the end with the plug.

Then cut the newly-cut end of the headphones with a wire stripper and sand the ends just like you did with the ends of the knitted speaker.

You can also solder both the ends of the knitting to pieces of jumper wire and both headphone wires so the connections are a little stronger. This is highly recommended, but not essential.

Next, lay the speaker down on a clear surface with the neodymium magnets underneath the muslin and the speaker (be sure to keep the magnets away from your computer, electronics, and credit cards!!!!!)

clip an alligator clip to each sanded end of your knitted speaker. The other side of both alligator clips should be clipped to one of the two headphone wires.

Plug the headphones jack into your computer and play your favorite song and VOILA!!!

The speaker may be incredibly soft, so you may need to move your ear to just above the magnet.

If the speaker isn’t working, you may need to adjust different aspects of it, like the size of the rectangle, the tightness of each stitch, or the size and strength of the magnet(s). It can also help to run the sound through an amp as well.