Coders' Watches

[rjbull]

Kevin Kelly of the Cool Tools Blog recommends the Swatch Original; clear, accurate, light, cheap, waterproof...

If you're into landscape photography, and want a watch that tells you when sun/moon rise/set are, and the phases of the moon, check out this Luminous Landscape article on The YES Watch which does all that and more.  The same author wrote an article on how to make a camera buying decision by using a watch purchase as an analogy

No limits to geekiness? 

[app103]

How on earth do you fasten a crocheted band?  Or does it slip over your wrist?

Pix pls k thx.

-Ralf Maximus (November 08, 2007, 06:59 AM)

Imagine your typical leather watch band with a buckle and little holes. Now imagine the same thing being cotton and not leather. I recycled the buckle from the original band that came with the watch.

Once I find the watch (I can't remember where I put it) and replace the band (need to make a new one) & battery, I'll share pics.

[Ralf Maximus]

Imagine your typical leather watch band with a buckle and little holes. Now imagine the same thing being cotton and not leather.

So, do you fabricate little holes where the metal part sticks in, or does it just kinda poke through between whatever strands of thread are convenient?

(Forgive my inquisitive nature; I won't be able to sleep properly until I can envision this thing accurately...)

[app103]

I'll try not to get too technical in explaining exactly what I do, but that would be near impossible:

I use #10 granny cotton thread and a tiny size 7 (1.65mm) steel hook to crochet a 'double sided' single stitch, so it is twice as thick as it would be if I had done it in normal rows (this is a unique technique that is hard to explain but it is based on the stitch shown in the video).

The size of the hook I use combined with the size of the thread and the particular stitch I use results in something resembling a tiny canvas belt similar to this one, only it has a normal watch band buckle attached to it:



You could never fit the metal part between the stitches (it's that tight), so I have to create the holes by skipping a stitch every so often and creating an extra stitch to act as the base for the next row.

A small pocket must be made that has a small hole for the metal part to fit through, on the buckle end. I have to take the pin out that holds the buckle together to insert it and put the buckle back together, attached to the band. (if you look closely at a leather band's buckle, you will notice a pin that is just like the two that holds the band onto the watch)

It is made in one long continuous piece that is threaded over a watch pin, under the watch back, and over the opposite pin.

And yes, I even make loops near the buckle to thread the band through that hold the band flat.

So basically, it looks a lot like this nylon one but it's cotton:



It's about 8-10 hours of work for each one, and I can get 3 bands from a single ball of thread.

They are tough, comfortable (you don't get a sweaty wrist), they can be machine washed and tossed in the dryer, and even bleached if you make them in white or beige.