Just last week, we told you about the Rocking-Knit chair, a student-designed device that utilizes the user’s rocking motion to knit a hat. After lots of use, needless to say, such a hat would eventually get worn out. Instead of just throwing it away, however, you could recycle it – using another student-designed contraption, the unknitting machine.

The device was created by Imogen Hedges, a Product and Furniture Design student at London’s Kingston University. The idea came to her when she discovered that staff at some charity shops spend hours unraveling old sweaters, so that the yarn can be sold and reused – her device makes that process faster and easier.