Emily Dennett

Biography

I am high school mathematics and computer science teacher. I also enjoy exploring how mathematical ideas can be used to create designs in knitted fabric. This year I've been experimenting with creating knitting patterns that are generated using minimal superpermutations. A superpermutation on n symbols is a string that contains each of the n! permutations of the n symbols in a contiguous substring.A minimal superpermutation is one that uses the shortest string to construct a superpermutation. This hand knit shawl uses a minimal superpermutation on three to create the design that I tiled to create the resulting fabric. I created this design based upon a square grid where each row and column of the grid represented a minimal superpermutation of three symbols. The shawl is knit out of 100% wool yarn. I also created a matching shawl pin by using a laser cutter to engrave one motif of the superpermutation onto acrylic.

Looks

About the look

Superpermutation Shawl

wool

2023

A superpermutation on n symbols is a string that contains each of the n! permutations of the n symbols in a contiguous substring.A minimal superpermutation is one that uses the shortest string to construct a superpermutation. This hand knit shawl uses a minimal superpermutation on three to create the design that I tiled to create the resulting fabric. I created this design based upon a square grid where each row and column of the grid represented a minimal superpermutation of three symbols.

Superpermutation Shawl Pin

Acrylic

2023

I used a laser cutter to engrave one motif of the superpermutation shawl onto acrylic to create a shawl pin to hold the shawl together.