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The machine can perform a flat weave. Photos: Daniel Agudelo.

Predetermined designs from the machine.

Designs which may be produced by the machine.

This how macramé is traditionally carried out. Photo taken from www.portal.urosario.edu.co/

Daniel Esteban Agudelo.

The machine will work using a series of needles which take the thread and maintain it tight, which is the same artisans do. Every needle has a thread and with the sufficient amount to knit several meters of weave according to the predetermined design of the machine. The amount of needles determines the width of the weave and as in manual macramé, the amount of threads determines the thickness of the final product.

According to a patentability assessment carried out by the Intellectual Property Department of Gómez Pinzón Zuleta (a law firm), the design has great international potential, especially in countries such as England, France, Italy, Japan and United States as they discovered more patents for this type of weaving in these countries than in others.

“Patent claims, in other words, protects the mechanisms and procedures”, said UNal Mechanical Engineering student Daniel Esteban Agudelo, who also received support from Ruta N and the Colombian Administrative Department for Science Technology and Innovation (Colciencias, for its Spanish acronym) to fund the patenting process at the Colombian Superintendence of Industry and Commerce.

This idea to design this machine came from his own personal experience from when he was 15 years old and practiced the technique and felt and saw the physical pain people that carried out macramé had. “Since there is a need to pull and tighten the threads, people that practice macramé have lumbar issues,” he said.

He confirmed this with interviews with artisans which make a living with this technique and who as him suffered from back pain. They also said that despite the time invested in completing a project they do not make much money as the product sells for very low prices.

With the purpose of improving the quality of life of people devoted to this activity, make processes quicker and propose new knitting architectures, Agudelo decided to design a machine inspired on the hand movements of artisans.

A quality weave with macramé is functional to accessorize leather goods for women accessories, fine imitation jewelry, and couture, among others. 

“The potential for this knitting to create designs is not exploited as doing it by hand is tedious and the quality may be reduced depending on the skill of the artisan. With this machine they can take weaving to another productivity level to compete with other services and establish business opportunities,” said Agudelo.

Currently the student works on designing a software program which can create designs before manufacturing and will have the possibility to use designs and transfer them into macramé. “On the mid-term I have the intention of forming a technological development company, that will market knowledge,” he said.

Although the patent has already been filed in Colombia, he hopes to file it internationally before a year.