Knitting Machine Maintenance (cleaning your machine)
useful information on cleaning and looking after your knitmaster knitting machine
Useful Resources for Machine Knitting
List of useful online resources for buying knitting machine, tools and accessories, yarns and patterns.
Knitting Machine Yarn
Yarn comes in different plies, counts and thicknesses. It is important to know what yarn is best for your particular knitting machine.
Machine Ready? Lets start knitting!
Hopefully you have read the previous posts and have now set up your machine and work area. You have a new sponge-bar and your needles and carriage are all ready to knit. . You have also ordered or found some suitable practice yarn. You also have opened your operations manual. We are ready to start knitting. First though, do not jump into trying to knit a garment. Now is the time to learn to create some swatches. You need to learn to cast on, knit and then cast off. There are different ways to cast on and cast off so this should be fun. . But first you need to…
Get some Practice Yarn
Yarn can be expensive to buy so it is important to find a source of inexpensive yarn that you can use for practice.
Setting Up Your Machine – Check the sponge bar
. Many of the domestic knitting machines contain a needle retaining bar also known as a sponge bar or sponge-bar. Passaps, Superbas, some plastic bed machines and some really old machines do not have a sponge bar. Check if your machine has one. . The sponge bar is a long metal metal bar that contains a strip of foam that holds down the needles. The needles will not knit properly without a sponge-bar in good condition. . The manuals do not seem to mention anything about the sponge-bar. The sponge-bar on a Japanese metal bed knitting machine is found in a channel near the front of the machine. You need…
Got my Knitting Machine…Now what do I do?
When you first get your machine, unless it is new or newly refurbished, you need to carry out a number of checks to make sure that your machine will work. Find out what to do in this post.
Where to Buy your Knitting Machine?
. If you have read the previous post, you should have a good idea of what type of machine you want to purchase. You need to look for the best one that you can buy within your budget. For example, if you want to buy a standard gauge punch-card machine, then you can buy a new SK280 for approx £700, a reconditioned and tested machine for about £400 and an second-hand bargain for £100-300. The cheaper machines tend to be older and may not have been used for a while. Cheaper bargains can be found if you are willing to clean and service them yourself (you can find info and…
What is a Domestic Knitting Machine – Part 2?
The 1970s/80s introduced garment shaping or contour devices or charting devices that provided visual pattern guides as an alternative to written instructions. . The Knitmaster version was called a KnitRadar or Knit Contour and the Brother version was called a KnitLeader. Some knitting machines had these incorporated into the main bed, but external ones could be purchased and attached (as shown above). . A set of Pattern Contours came with the device in a range of sizes. The knitter chose the correct pattern to insert into the device. The device also included a gauge scale ruler and a set of stitch scales. A tension square was created and the gauge…
What is a Domestic Knitting Machine – Part 1?
Knitting Machines cover a range of styles from the simple plastic toy machines that can make simple scarves and socks, to the big heavy-duty industrial machines that can make a range of professional garments. . This blog will be referring to the home knitting machine, a flat-bed knitting machine that range from a simple manual knitter (the user has to manipulate stitches to form a pattern) to the more complex electronic machine (electronics or software create the patterns but casting on/off, shaping and moving the carriage are all still done by hand). . Home knitting machines are called flat-bed because they have a horizontal base that is clamped to a…
