April update

April 2026

Dear Readers

Welcome to the 40th birthday of MKM and it’s hard to believe we’ve reached such a big milestone in our magazine’s life. Now, as when I started, I’ve tried to include a mix of articles and patterns that I hope you’ll enjoy. Over the years we’ve seen some big changes in machine knitting, but our craft is still strong. I pass on a huge ‘thank you’ from the magazine’s contributors and advertisers, for your continued support.

We’ve a new look on Page 44 and the photo shows a small selection of the huge number of spares at Uppingham Yarns. They’re for current or vintage models and, starting this month, Uppingham is offering machine knitters a new service. Let them know what bits and bobs you need for your machine knitting and they’ll get back to you with a price, including postage. It doesn’t have to be a big order and there are genuine spares in the mix, so it’s worth giving them a call. There’s far too much to list, but they’ll probably have what you need. There are also big savings on coned yarn including James Brett 4-ply in 10 shades and 25 shades of 1-ply (2/30s) high bulk acrylic on 250g and 500g cones.

Personal shoppers are welcome and Uppingham is a lovely town for a club day out, especially on market day. If you’d like to chat and browse the shelves for machine accessories and yarn, why not organise a car outing? Four or five of you could share the petrol and visit this lovely part of the country. There are lots of places for a coffee break or lunch and if a group of you decides to go, you can ask Uppingham Yarns to open on Saturday especially for you.

For our newer readers, I’ll mention that we’ve converted two more years of the magazine to a digital format. Each issue from January 2023 to the current magazine is now available as a digital download in the shop on our website. For many readers, it makes huge postal costs and customs delays in some countries a thing of the past. Find us at https://machineknittingmonthly.net/shop/

            Finally, my very sincere thanks to you all, for your lasting support over 40 years. It’s made it possible for me to continue to publish my magazine, for the craft I love. With Spring on the way, it really is time to knit happy!

NEXT ISSUE May 2026

Subscription copies sent out Thursday 2nd April

On sale Thursday 9th April

Ask your newsagent to reserve a copy – see page 61

New hard copy subscriptions

NEW SUBSCRIPTIONS Our magazines are mailed to subscribers on the first Thursday of the preceding month, so our April 2026 issue went out on Thursday 5th March.

If you’d like a new hard copy subscription, as long as we receive your order by or on 31st March, it will start with our May magazine. No money is taken with your order and May will be mailed out to subscribers on Thursday 2nd April. If we receive your order after 31st March, your subscription will start with the June 2026 issue, to be mailed to subscribers on Thursday 7th May.

INTERNATIONAL SUBSCRIPTIONS will always start with the next issue, as we’re unable to send back issues outside the UK mainland.

UK SUBSCRIPTIONS If you’d like to start with an earlier magazine, please buy it as a back issue and you’ll find lots of choice in our shop. UK readers please note At present, we can only send back issues to UK mainland addresses.

NEW DIGITAL VERSION From the January 2023 issue, you can now buy the digital version of the magazine. Just head for the SHOP and select either the hardcopy or downloadable option. The downloadable magazine is just £4 (sterling) for each issue and available straight away. It saves the huge expense and wait for overseas postage, so check it out NOW at machineknittingmonthly.net/shop/ Please note that, as yet, we don’t have a digital subscription available.

April 2026 (Issue 339) with Bill King, Alison Dupernex and Nina Miklin

Our April 2026 cover design is a comfy gilet with a stylish, relaxed fit. It’s in our mix of patterns for standard, mid-gauge and chunky machines. Nina Miklin’s superb man’s sweater has an excellent fit and we’ve two Alison Dupernex designs in Yeoman Tibet 3-ply. You need just 100g each in black and red and use the code MKM1025 for a great 10% off Yeoman Yarns (yeoman-yarns.co.uk). Bill King’s bargello stripes are fabulous and Susan Guagliumi’s expertise lives on in the Machine Knit Community. We’ve the final two of six hand and machine-knitted dog coats and one of our Techniques feature shares lots of tricks of the trade. We’ve a refresher on using the garter bar, with some Bill King magic tricks and Joan Lafferty has been going through old magazines. Dear Anne has help with knitting ribs, a couple of patterns and some new ideas. As always, the magazine is packed with techniques and help, advice, news and reviews.

Please note At present, we can only send back issues to UK mainland addresses.

Yeoman Yarns discount until 31st March 2026

Don’t forget! Until 31st March 2026, MKM readers can claim a 10% discount on any yarn purchase from Yeoman Yarns using the code MKM1025.

Whether you’ve a fine, standard, mid gauge or chunky machine, check out their latest shade card collections and there are three. Machine knitting yarn costs £9.95, hand knitting is £8.95 but the best value is a combined pack for just £11.95 with the full range. Claim the 10% discount on shade cards, too!

If you’d like to see a specific yarn and colours before buying, Yeoman can send you a colour card. For more details, Yeoman Yarns Ltd is at 6 Johnson Street, Leicester LE1 4DN, call 0116-240 4464 or visit yeoman-yarns.co.uk

High quality digital version – update!

MORE MAGAZINES We’ve now added all twelve January to December 2023 and January to December 2024 digital version magazines to our shop!

NEW DIGITAL VERSION From the January 2023 issue, you can now buy a digital version of the magazine. The high quality downloads from January 2023 are all available. Just head for the SHOP and select either the hardcopy or downloadable option. The downloadable magazine is just £4 (sterling) for each issue and available straight away. It saves the huge expense and wait for overseas postage, so make sure you have a good Wi-Fi connection and check it out NOW at machineknittingmonthly.net/shop/  

Please note that, as yet, we don’t have a digital subscription available.

March update

Dear Readers

At this time of the year, keeping snug and warm is the order of the day for all of us. Everyone has a favourite shape for a comfy sweater or cardigan and all the self-patterning yarn now available means we can knit something eye-catching with very little effort needed.

If you’d like a new project, head over to Yeoman Yarns website (yeoman-yarns.co.uk) for some inspiration. They now include videos of Silver Reed machines knitting many of the yarns we use and there’s always a bargain or two in the Sale Bin. Whether you’ve a fine, standard, mid gauge or chunky machine, check out their latest shade card collections and there are three. Machine knitting yarn costs £9.95, hand knitting is £8.95 but the best value is a combined pack for just £11.95 with the full range. Until the 31st March, they’ve a very special exclusive offer for our readers. There’s 10% off all their yarns and shade cards, using code MKM1025. Spring isn’t too far away and by the time we reach the end of March, the clocks will have gone forward into British Summertime. So it’s time to think about knitting something lovely for Easter, as it’s the first weekend of April this year.

Readers outside Scotland, especially those who went along to Metropolitan’s annual Dream Week in Nantwich, may not have heard that Morag Walker has died. She was a long-standing member of the Scottish Machine Knitters Association and did a tremendous amount for beginners and charity knitting. She’ll be much missed by her family and members of the SMKA. In case you don’t know, the Association is non-profit making and membership is open to all machine knitters worldwide. The annual membership is £16 and runs from 1st June to 31st May. However remote your address, all members can be involved through four Newsletters a year. They welcome new members of all abilities and for full details visit scottishmachineknitters.org.uk

Do join me next month and raise a glass of cheer to celebrate the 40th birthday of MKM. It’s a huge achievement for all machine knitters that we’ve kept our craft going and a milestone for which we should all be immensely proud. Knit happy.

NEXT ISSUE April 2026

Subscription copies sent out Thursday 5th March

On sale Thursday 12th March

Ask your newsagent to reserve a copy or order a subscription NOW!

March 2026 (Issue 338) with Bill King and Nina Miklin

Our March 2026 cover design is a chunky cable classic, in finished sizes from 82-87cm (32-34in) to 131cm (51¾in). It’s in our mix of patterns for standard, mid-gauge and chunky machines. Nina Miklin’s chic sweater has a narrow welt and neck trimming, to enhance the dressy look. We all love Anne Baker’s designs and she doesn’t disappoint this month! Alison Dupernex is a constant support and Bill King shows us how versatile single bed tuck stitch fabrics can be. Until 31st March 2026, don’t forget to use the code MKM1025 for a great 10% off Yeoman Yarns (yeoman-yarns.co.uk). Susan Guagliumi’s expertise lives on in the Machine Knit Community and we’ve the next two of six hand and machine-knitted dog coats. Our in-depth Techniques feature answers lots of your queries about tuck stitch for single and double bed machines. Over To You shines the spotlight on Passap hints and tips all knitters need to know and Dear Anne has DAK help, a couple of patterns and some new ideas. As always, the magazine is packed with techniques and help, advice, news and reviews.

Please note At present, we can only send back issues to UK mainland addresses.

February 2026 (Issue 337) with Bill King and Nina Miklin

Our February 2026 cover design is a pretty hand-tooled sweater, in finished sizes from 82-87cm (32-34in) to 126cm (49¾in). It’s in our mix of patterns for standard, mid-gauge and chunky machines. Nina Miklin’s versatile cardigan is in feather-light super-kid mohair, needing only one 200g cone. Alison Dupernex is a constant support and Bill King crosses single stitches with unexpected results! Susan Guagliumi’s expertise lives on in the Machine Knit Community, the new custodians of Susan’s invaluable online content. We’ve the first two of six hand and machine-knitted dog coats and Joan Lafferty passes on some ideas for using up oddments in our stash. We show you how to knit much-requested flat-pack slippers and adult balaclavas in Dear Anne and take an in-depth look at Bill King’s book of Cables. As always, the magazine is packed with techniques and help, advice, news and reviews.

Please note At present, we can only send back issues to UK mainland addresses.

February update

Dear Readers

We always go to press very early with this issue, so I usually mention things that might slip through the net. Two stalwart club leaders have handed over the baton this month and the first is Marian Timmins. She’s been a rock for machine knitting at Purl Drops MKC in Peterborough. After thirty years and due to poor health, she’s resigned as Club Chair. Hopefully she’ll be able to get along to an occasional meeting and I send Marian and the club my very best wishes. It’s now in the safe hands of Melanie O’Brien and her details are in Clubs Directory on Page 58. Melton Mowbray MKC is also saying goodbye to Karen Evans, as she relocates to Essex. Karen would like me to pass on her thanks to the club, for all the help and support she’s received whilst running it. Pat Jones has taken over and we’ve updated the club’s contact details on Page 58. Many of our clubs are doing really well right now. After the heroic efforts of Lichfield MKC last month, you’ll see on Page 10 that members of Rumney MKC in Cardiff pulled out all the stops for their recent challenge. Thanks for sending everything Chris and it’s so heartening that some members found their inspiration in the magazine.

Two other features this month have been constantly requested and the club members asking for the old pattern in Dear Anne had a discussion about it. They agreed the best place for small pattern requests was on our ‘new look’ letters page. They felt that using it as one of the main patterns isn’t fair to new readers, but it’s also not the right thing to have one copy and photocopy it many times. Also, they agreed the up-side is that it may be something useful for other readers. So this month, the flat-pack slippers and Nancy’s balaclava are on Page 13 and the so often requested dog coats are in Stash Box on Page 46.

I’ve to make sure this magazine goes out at the start of January. So, all that now remains is to send you my very best wishes and hopes for a happy, a healthy and a prosperous year ahead.

NEXT ISSUE March 2026

Subscription copies sent out Thursday 5th February

On sale Thursday 12th February

Ask your newsagent to reserve a copy or order a subscription NOW!