Guide to Cleaning Your Knitting Machine

Go to my post called “Knitting Machine Maintenance (cleaning your machine)” to get more information and pictures.

Download a pdf version to print out here.

Weekly Clean (or after every garment)

  1. Carriage:
    1. remove main carriage, turn over and brush out fluff from back and front channels and across metal cams. Leave to one side.
    2. repeat for ribber carriage if being used.
  2. Main Bed:
    1. push main bed needles to holding position and gently brush, back to front, over the needles to push fluff to front gates.
    2. vacuum the fluff away. Gently vacuum over bed
  3. General:
    1. repeat above for ribber if using.
    2. cover machine with lint free sheet if not being used immediately.
    3. if machine will not be used for some time then take yarn out of tension wires to stop them from weakening. Put tools away.

Regular Clean ( after every 4 – 5 garments)

  1. Carriage:
    1. take off carriage, turn over and brush out fluff from rails and cams.
    2. with lint-free cloth, wipe out all old oil from rails. also gently wipe between cams and over moving parts. put to one side.
    3. you do not need to oil a Knitmaster carriage, but if you have a brother carriage add a drop of oil to the back two corners.
  2. Main Bed:
    1. take out sponge bar from channel and check. Replace or renew sponge if needed.
    2. clean out the channel with long stem brush, twisting to get out fluff (clockwise from right, anti-clockwise from left).
    3. Replace sponge-bar…. sponge downwards, on top of needles (hold needles down with ruler).
    4. push main bed needles to holding position and brush front to back across needles and through gates.
    5. vacuum dust away from needles and from back rail.
    6. check yarn masts/tension disks and remove any fluff
    7. using a lint-free cloth, wipe off old oil from front and back rails and main bed until no more comes off. also do quick wipe of needle butts.
    8. put one or two drops of oil on a clean lint-free cloth and gently wipe over the back and front rails. add another drop and wipe over needle butts.
    9. use another clean cloth and Groom cleaner to wipe over plastic parts of machine. also wipe over plastic top of carriage.
    10. replace carriage and check everything is moving well.
    11. repeat for ribber if using.

Full Clean (annual or bi-annual)

  1. Carriage:
    1. take off carriage, turn over and brush out fluff from rails and cams.
    2. with lint-free cloth, wipe out all old oil from rails. also gently wipe between cams and over moving parts. put to one side.
    3. you do not need to oil a Knitmaster carriage, but if you have a brother carriage add a drop of oil to the back two corners.
  2. Main Bed:
    1. take out sponge bar from channel and put aside.
  3. Needles:
    1. fill mason jar half full with surgical spirit and two drops of machine oil.
    2. take out middle 100 needles and put hook downwards into mason jar. Put on lid and shake well.
    3. take out needles and spread them out to dry on lint-free cloth.
    4. take out remaining outside 100 needles and do the same.
  4. Main Bed:
    1. clean out sponge bar channel with long-stem cleaning brush.
    2. vacuum dust away from front of machine and from back rail area.
    3. using a lint-free cloth, wipe off old oil from front and back rails and main bed until no more comes off.
    4. put one or two drops of oil on a clean lint-free cloth and gently wipe over the back and front rails. add another drop and wipe over needle butts.
    5. use another clean cloth and Groom cleaner to wipe over plastic parts of machine. also wipe over plastic top of carriage.
  5. Yarn Masts:
    1. check yarn masts/tension disks and remove any fluff
  6. Sinker Plate:
    1. check and clean all brushes and moving parts. Unscrew brushes to remove any fluff.
  7. Sponge-bar:
    1. replace sponge in old sponge-bar or replace whole sponge-bar.
  8. Needles:
    1. when dry put back into machine swapping position, ie. inside needles to outside.
  9. Sponge-bar:
    1. put new sponge-bar back into machine on top of needles, sponge facing down. use ruler to hold down needles as you push.
  10. Final Check:
    1. replace carriage and check everything is moving well.