I’m on the cusp of buying a knitting machine, I’m probably going to get the Silver Reed SK280. I have never even seen a knitting machine in real life before, so it’s a leap into the unknown for me. I hand knit a lot and I’m at the stage where I want to focus more on designing than spending hours knitting up stockinette in garments. Don’t get me wrong, I know hand knitting is a different craft from machine knitting and I’ll always have some project or other on my needles, but I want to venture into machine knitting. I came across your magazine recently and I wanted to pluck up the courage to say hi and introduce myself. It’s frustrating not being able to read the patterns in your magazine yet, the abbreviations are so different from hand knitting, but I know I’ll learn as I go along. It’s nice to meet you! I hope to meet some new and interesting people along my journey into machine knitting!
Best wishes, Valerie
I have two machines – a Silver Reed 860 and the 280 which I enjoy using as I previously started with basics and worked my way up. I’m on holiday at the moment and machine knitting is so addictive that I can’t wait to get back to the machines. I love MKM and wait for it to drop through the letterbox. Sometimes I wonder how I have time to go to work!
Bye Rosie
I had three knitting machines in the 80s and early 90s and I sold two and kept one in the loft until three months ago! I feel like a beginner again but you will find lots of help on-line. There are some tutorials on YouTube which are really helpful. Good luck and happy knitting. Karen
Welcome to Machine Knitting and here are a few suggestions to help you on your way.
Once you get your machine read the manual carefully and learn what all the bits and pieces are. You may have to go through everything several times before you feel happy. Practice using the tools without any knitting on the machine.
Buy yourself a cone of good quality 4-ply; cones are specially made to run smoothly through the machine and the yarn has a different twist than hand knitting yarn. I have tried winding balls of hand knitting yarn to use on my machine and it isn’t very successful. So to avoid aggravation it’s best to start off with a cone of yarn in a colour you like.
Now work your way through the manual. It will show you how to thread the yarn cast on and knit and cast off. It will also explain how to get the correct tension to produce a neat piece of knitting.
The important thing is to get to know your machine and build up your confidence so start with the basics and gradually progress on to the more difficult techniques.
Hope this has given you a few pointers – be warned – machine knitting is addictive!
Regards Sue