From talking to you I know that those returning to the craft or who haven’t knitted for a while often need help, but where do you turn? Electronic machines are lovely and many knitters would like to try one or look at up-to-date accessories without the pressure of having to buy, so I decided to organise a get-together.
My idea was to invite machine knitters, who would like help and guidance, to an event – but outside of a ‘selling’ environment. As I don’t have suitable premises, I chatted with Carol Hocknell at Metropolitan to see if we could host a joint venture at her shop. It’s in a convenient location in the centre of the country and hosts a number of workshops throughout the year as well as Dream Week. The good news is that our first At Home will take place on 7th October. Opening on the Sunday exclusively for this special event, we’ll bring together some well-known names and enjoy a relaxed camaraderie.
Full details are on page 00 and you’ll notice that numbers will be strictly limited. This is to allow sufficient time and space to chat personally to everyone and enjoy individual demonstrations or join in a small group. Entry is therefore by pre-booking only and you won’t be able to buy a ticket at the door. It’s not a knitting exhibition and the shop will only be open for knitters taking part in our At Home. Metropolitan is one of the largest machine knitting shops in the country, so we’ll have all the machines, accessories and yarn at our disposal. If you wish, you can knit yourself to get the feel of a machine or accessory you’ve not used for a while.
I’ve listened to many of you who are unhappy to be excluded from many machine knitting events because you’ve other commitments on Saturday, so I’ve chosen a Sunday for our first At Home. We’ll welcome you with tea or coffee and biscuits then prepare lunch whilst you’re browsing and chatting, looking and learning. At the end of the day, we’ll all enjoy a cream tea before setting off home. Weeks of preparation still lie ahead, but Carol and I are sure we can give you a very special day out, which you’ll always remember. If you only dream of using your machine and accessories to their full capability, then make a date to unlock your potential and please join us on 7th October.
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October 2012
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Thanks for writing and we don’t have an electronic version of the magazine. However it can now be found on EBSCOhost databases.
Best wishes Anne
I recently bought a Passap Duomatic 80 knitting machine and have been having terrible trouble getting it to knit. It will do the first row but then the needles jam on the return or it doesn’t knit properly. Yes I have used the rack correctly so any advice would be appreciated to save my sanity.
Kind regards Lynn
Sorry to hear you are experiencing problems. Are you trying a full needle rib racking cast on?
When starting with a racking cast on don’t set the stitch size too low. The following is a guide for the stitch sizes I use for three thicknesses of yarn often used on the Duomatic:-
4 ply coned yarn: s.s 4/4
3 ply coned yarn: s.s 3.2/3.2
2.30’s coned yarn: s.s 2.3/2.3
When using 2/30’s or similar fine yarn tighten the tension unit on the yarn mast.
If you use hand knitting yarns; which is not recommended; you will probably have to use a bigger stitch size as they have a tighter twist.
Use Orange Strippers and make sure you rack a complete turn after the initial row so that the needles are not opposite one another.
Make sure the locks are set to N/N and leave the stitch size as it is.
Watch the end needles to make sure they knit properly or the stitches may bunch up at the ends of the knitting and cause a jam. After a few rows this should not be a problem.
Hope this helps solve your problem.
Kind regards
Sue.