Celia Ford

We are a Leicester Machine knitting Club and our demonstration machine needs to be serviced. I’d like to know approximately how much it would cost please.

CIRCULAR KNITTING

Hi

I have a Knitmaster 260 and I would like to make knitwear without a seam. Would I have to buy a new machine or can I buy a attachment for circular knitting.

Thanks
G

Hello G

You need a ribbing attachment in order to do circular knitting.

As you have a Knitmaster machine you need a Knitmaster or Silver ribber and the models that fit your machine are the SRP 20 SRP 50 and SRP 60.

There are several suppliers who advertise in MKM.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards Sue

Sue P
2010-09-02 18:51:36
Hello G

You need a ribbing attachment in order to do circular knitting.

As you have a Knitmaster machine you need a Knitmaster or Silver ribber and the models that fit your machine are the SRP 20 SRP 50 and SRP 60.

There are several suppliers who advertise in MKM.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards Sue

Sue P
2010-09-02 18:51:36

Worth Knitting

I have not used a knitting machine for years, but have just bought a Brother 836 at a sale and have just taken a subscription to the magazine. I used to use Worth Knitting because their 4-ply Acrylic was great. However, I can’t find them now so they must have closed down. Does anyone know who sells their 4-ply? It was branded as their own, but they must have got it from somewhere! Also, does anyone know where I could get 2/30s 1-ply yarns (or any ply for that matter) near to Ellesmere in Shropshire. I don’t think Machine knitting has reached my area.
Thanks
Linda

Hi Linda

You are right, Worth Knitting closed down several years ago and the company that took over is nowhere to be found either!

However, Metropolitan in Nantwich is fairly close to you and they advertise in MKM. There are several other suppliers who advertise in MKM and they also do mail order and internet ordering. Also eBay has a Machine Knitting section with lots of yarn and accessories.

Hope you find what you are looking for.

Kind regards, Sue

Sue P
2010-09-02 18:48:12
Hi there, I, like you have started machine knitting after a long while and, after research have found Yeoman do some really lovely yarn, the postage is free too.
slippery stitches
2011-03-15 11:09:45

Beginner – What machine should I look at?

Hi

I’ve been a hand knitter for years and would like to try my hand at machine knitting. I think I’d like to look at fine gauge knitting for using fine yarns to make shawls, scarves and the like. There seems to be loads for sale on eBay, but with no detailed descriptions. I don’t have much space at home so something that’s portable, easy to store and simple to use would be great. Can anyone help me?

Thank you in advance

Tracey

Dear Tracey

Brother Toyota and Silver Reed/Knitmaster standard gauge machines will all knit a variety of yarns from very fine to 4-ply or a soft Double Knitting thickness.

Brother made various models; the electronic machines have numbers starting with KH9. The later manual machines have numbers starting with KH8. In both cases and as a general guide the higher the number the later the model. Most of these models have a punchcard patterning mechanism. www.scanthecat.com has a lot of information about Brother machines.

The later models of Toyota are the KS901 and KS950 – both punchcard machines. I have a KS901 and it knits fine yarns beautifully.

Silver Reed/Knitmaster produced a variety of machines too. The older models have numbers starting with 3. Older electronic machines have numbers starting with 5. The more recent punchcard models are the SK280 (standard gauge) and SK270 (fine gauge machine with more needles) and there are two electronics – the SK840 standard gauge and SK830 fine gauge.

All of the above machines are about 41″ wide and it’s best to set them up and leave them out ready for use. If you do need to pack a machine away all of its tools fit neatly within a lid which clamps on to the machine. It can then be stored under a bed or behind a settee. If you know what to look for you can get a good buy on eBay. However look for a machine which has been well looked after preferably serviced and with a new sponge bar (needle retention bar). This holds the needles in place and makes for smooth knitting. Avoid any adverts which show all the accessories bundled into a box! There are some guides on eBay on what to look out for when buying a secondhand machine.

I hope this gives you a few pointers and that you find a machine that you are happy with.

Kind regards Sue

Sue P
2010-08-09 19:04:13
Hi
I have a Toyota KS901 and have had it for 20 years. I knit a while and then put it away until the mood hits again. Right now I’m getting it out again after several years and finding out that all my sources of information have closed down. I love my machine and have never had any problems with it. I’m also looking for a ribber to go with it and a good internet support group to help me learn new things. I love the speed of the machine for large pieces and then add hand embellishments. It’s also easier on hands with arthritis.
Good luck in your search.
Dianne
DiAnne4Gs
2012-01-05 20:29:59
Hi Dianne

Machine Knitting Monthly is the only knitting magazine magazine published in the UK. Anne provides a good mix of patterns and technical advice in each issue – it’s well worth getting every month.

There are several Internet groups on Yahoo and Ravelry.

Ebay UK have a large section of machine knitting related items.

The KS901 takes the KR501 or the KR560 ribbers.

Hope this helps you find what you are looking for.

Regards
Sue.

Sue P
2012-01-05 23:54:21

Knit Leader

Hello Mary

When substituting yarns it is very important to knit a Tension Swatch in your chosen yarn and in the stitch pattern that you will use for your garment. The measurements you take from this tension swatch will determine the finished size of the garment.

Once knitted roll it up and give it a pull lengthways. Leave it overnight to settle or wash it and allow it to dry. While the tension swatch is ‘resting’ you can draw the pattern on to the Knit Leader sheet.

The sheets are marked out in centimetre squares so draw the shapes onto them using the measurements given in MKM for the size you require.

As a rough guide for the armhole shaping if you need to decrease the width of the garment by 7cm each side draw the curve about 7cm deep. The front and back are usually the same.

The depth of the sleeve head is always given in the patterns and the measurement of the cast off stitches at the top is sometimes given. If there is no measurement given for the stitches to cast off 7 or 8 cm is a reasonable figure. (Halve this figure if you are only drawing one side of the pattern piece.)

Draw this as a straight line on to the Knit Leader sheet then draw an ‘S’ shaped curve from the point at which the decreasing starts to the end of this line. I find it helps to make the start of this curve match the shape of the armhole decreasing. Also don’t make the sleeve too narrow too quickly.

Once the tension swatch is ready measure it carefully in cm across the 40 stitches. Find the appropriate scale from the chart on the Knit Leader plastic tube.

Measure the 60 rows in cm and set the dial on the Knit Leader. You should now be able to knit the garment to the correct size.

Hope this helps with your query.

Kind regards

Sue

Sue P
2010-08-02 10:37:40
Hi Sue

I hope you got my e-mail thanking you for your time in coming back to me and explaining how to use the Knit Leader. I shall try all you suggest. Hopefully I’ll realise how easy this piece of equipment is to use and better still make garments which fit.

Best regards.

Mary

scary007
2010-08-09 12:35:03
Hello Mary

When substituting yarns it is very important to knit a Tension Swatch in your chosen yarn and in the stitch pattern that you will use for your garment. The measurements you take from this tension swatch will determine the finished size of the garment.

Once knitted roll it up and give it a pull lengthways. Leave it overnight to settle or wash it and allow it to dry. While the tension swatch is ‘resting’ you can draw the pattern on to the Knit Leader sheet.

The sheets are marked out in centimetre squares so draw the shapes onto them using the measurements given in MKM for the size you require.

As a rough guide for the armhole shaping if you need to decrease the width of the garment by 7cm each side draw the curve about 7cm deep. The front and back are usually the same.

The depth of the sleeve head is always given in the patterns and the measurement of the cast off stitches at the top is sometimes given. If there is no measurement given for the stitches to cast off 7 or 8 cm is a reasonable figure. (Halve this figure if you are only drawing one side of the pattern piece.)

Draw this as a straight line on to the Knit Leader sheet then draw an ‘S’ shaped curve from the point at which the decreasing starts to the end of this line. I find it helps to make the start of this curve match the shape of the armhole decreasing. Also don’t make the sleeve too narrow too quickly.

Once the tension swatch is ready measure it carefully in cm across the 40 stitches. Find the appropriate scale from the chart on the Knit Leader plastic tube.

Measure the 60 rows in cm and set the dial on the Knit Leader. You should now be able to knit the garment to the correct size.

Hope this helps with your query.

Kind regards

Sue

Sue P
2010-08-02 10:37:40
Hi Sue

I hope you got my e-mail thanking you for your time in coming back to me and explaining how to use the Knit Leader. I shall try all you suggest. Hopefully I’ll realise how easy this piece of equipment is to use and better still make garments which fit.

Best regards.

Mary

scary007
2010-08-09 12:35:03

Jean Gibbs

I have just started using the Mylar sheets, which originally are for a Silver Reed (Knitmaster) machine. I have managed a pattern, which will knit when I use the machine, but I can’t put it into the memory. What am I doing wrong?
Jean

Hi
I’ve run this query though NewBrits on-line club and the consensus is that while the sheets are fine the Brother pencil is different. If you’ve been able to knit the pattern then I don’t see why you can’t download it – but then I don’t have a Brother 950i only a 940.
Ozmartian
ozmartian
2010-08-31 13:31:08
Hi
I’ve run this query though NewBrits on-line club and the consensus is that while the sheets are fine the Brother pencil is different. If you’ve been able to knit the pattern then I don’t see why you can’t download it – but then I don’t have a Brother 950i only a 940.
Ozmartian
ozmartian
2010-08-31 13:31:08

Shaping Armholes

Hi G

There’s not a problem but just think for a minute about what you’ve asked. ‘After you cast off 5 sts at beg of next 2 rows . . .’

If your carriage is at the right at the start of the armhole shaping you cast off 5 sts and knit the row from right to left (1 row) then cast off 5 sts and knit the row from left to right (1 row). Two rows have been knitted and the carriage is back at the right to start the decreasing.

That’s all there is to it!

Best wishes
Anne

Anne
2010-07-22 10:03:04
Thanks Anne
g
2010-08-31 13:36:23
Hi G

There’s not a problem but just think for a minute about what you’ve asked. ‘After you cast off 5 sts at beg of next 2 rows . . .’

If your carriage is at the right at the start of the armhole shaping you cast off 5 sts and knit the row from right to left (1 row) then cast off 5 sts and knit the row from left to right (1 row). Two rows have been knitted and the carriage is back at the right to start the decreasing.

That’s all there is to it!

Best wishes
Anne

Anne
2010-07-22 10:03:04
Thanks Anne
g
2010-08-31 13:36:23

Mylar Sheets

I have purchased some Mylar sheets for my Brother 950i. Although the machine seems to have read the pattern I have drawn, I can’t get the machine to knit the pattern. Is it because they are not the correct Mylar sheets for the machine? I know that it’s difficult to get Brother Mylar sheets and wonder if anyone had the same problem?

Greyhound Jacket

I’ve a friend whose daughter raises Alpaca and she arranges for hand knitters to make the yarn into various items, which she sells at shows when they exhibit the animals. She had a request for a greyhound coat and took some measurements. She gave me some of the yarn to see if I could knit it up on the knitting machine, so it would be firmer than hand knitting. I did a sample in 1×1 self-colour Fair Isle and it was fine.

Next I had to find a pattern. I searched on the Internet but couldn’t find one that was suitable. The shape was all wrong and the sizes were different. Luckily a friend of mine spotted a neighbour walking a greyhound with a coat. One day we knocked on her door and asked if we could trace the coat on to a Knit Leader sheet. I folded the coat in half to get it on, but unfortunately it was the wrong size. More problems! Then I had the bright idea to do one piece, increasing the size and shape to what I thought it should be. I decided to do the coat in three pieces, as greyhounds are notoriously sensitive on their spines and it could have irritated the buyer’s dog. Luckily the piece was okay and I knitted the coat and sewed it together, making a 1×1 double collar round the neck.

It was curling up round the edges but the normal ‘worm’ edge looked all wrong. I tried using the wool double, picking up every alternate needle and knitted one row, but of course if I’d cast off, there would have been several joins. I decided to just knit the one row and take it off on about ten rows of waste yarn before going on to the next section until I’d gone round it all. I cast off the last bit and worked backwards. It was time consuming but worth it.

The finished result looked good and I was able to press the whole thing and there was very little curling. The last touch was a long full needle rib strap to go all round the dog to keep it secure. Luckily the owner was very pleased and I understand the dog was happy as well. It took quite a while, but was worth it in the end! It was snapped up before I’d chance to take a photo. I hope I haven’t taken up too much of your time with this!
Cheerio for now and best wishes, Denys Cave

Take a look at YouTube

Have you seen the wonderful videos that Diana Sullivan from Austin, Texas is putting on YouTube? There are many on there but hers are very professional and are free to view and will eventually be offered for sale. I think the one on using the garter bar is already for sale and that one really got me able to use my garter bar with confidence. If you haven’t viewed them and are interested, go to www.diananatters and the videos and other lessons are all listed on the left side. A great one for beginner knitters is ‘How to make a child’s raglan sweater’.

As you may have heard we had the Olympics in our fair city and the warmest winter since records were kept. Just when we needed lots of snow, we got very little. Isn’t life amazing? I hope you are keeping well and wish you and all the staff a good 2010.
Sincerely, Barbara Tulip

Hi
Thanks for the info on Diana Sullivan’s You Tube videos. I checked them out and they are indeed a wealth of information. I have some hand knit patterns I wanted to convert to the knitting machine and now I know how to do it.
All the best, Olive
olive-knits
2012-01-06 18:27:27
Hi
You’re right – machine knitting is on the upswing everywhere. So get your dream machines now, because the prices will skyrocket as people find out they’re in demand and dig them out of attics and garages. You won’t find those $40 deals for long! The good news is that more companies will take advantage by introducing new machines.
Char
cvsharkey
2012-01-06 18:26:51