Chunky

Hi
Sorry to hear you are having problems. I have done a bit of research for you and found some information in Mary Weaver’s ‘Easy Fair Isle for the Brother Ribber’.

On page 66 she recommends a yarn between a 2 or 3 ply thickness for the finer yarn saying that Artistic is a good yarn to use. This is a crêpe type yarn but a bit thicker than fine crêpe. Also 2/30s singly can be used but this makes the eyelets bigger. Your fine crêpe might be a little too fine especially as you are having problems with it in the tension mast.

On page 99 of the same book there’s a pattern for a Chunky Thread Lace Top using two strands of 4 ply Acrylic as the main yarn and 1 strand of Artistic for the lace thread knitted at tension 4 on the Brother Chunky. If a finer lace yarn is used the tension needs tightening.

Hope this helps and that you soon master it!
Regards Sue

Thanks Sue
As you suggested I tried using a thicker yarn (2-ply) with 4-ply double knitting and Aran weight now and it is better. If I knit really very slowly this also helps as well. There are still a few random floats but not on every row so I’ll persevere with re-adjusting the tension to see if I can solve it.
I did knot the large holes with a very fine yarn and it didn’t look good at all.
Lyn

Hi Lyn

Glad to hear it has improved.

Just one other thought – what condition is your spongebar in? If the foam has gone flat it will cause problems with stitches not forming properly. Stocking stitch and other main bed stitches are not usually affected too badly but as the punch lace is formed slightly differently it might be worth checking.

Sue.

Hi Sue
Thanks for the thought but the sponge bar is almost new – I replaced it along with many of the needles after I acquired the machine. And as it is a Knitmaster genuine spares are still available luckily.

I will keep trying – it was the one technique that I didn’t have on my old Brother that I really wanted to be able to do.
Lyn

Hello Moogie1947′
I have just logged into this site in the hope that I might be able to help.
I have now got three Knitmaster machines a 326 a 360 and a 155. The 326 I’ve had from new way back in the 80’s which I brought out of storage the early part of last year. The 360 I bought from a seller on the eBay web site and the 155 I bought from a friend.
I discovered when I went to use the 326 that it was knitting just fine until I used a punch card then it gave some problems with floats and strange patterns. On further inspection I found that one of the memory drums was quite stiff and the spring loaded cancelling device wasn’t doing it’s job properly by cancelling the small fingers after a pass. After stripping the carriage down and cleaning and oiling both drums they spun nice and free which is how they should be.
I had the self same problem with the 360 and the 155 but having had the original experience with the 326 I was well prepared and solved the problem immediately .
Just thought that this might be of some help to you. Check to see if both memory drums spin freely.
Best regards… Mac

Hi
I know this is an old thread but I’m sure others like me have come across it when searching for details on the 155. I have just acquired one and my search brought me to this page. After reading the original question I did a ‘youtube’ search and found an interesting video by Roberta Kelley on using the 155 – including how to do punch lace. So if anyone else has difficulty with any of the knitting processes on the 155 the video is well worth watching. The link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJf9_2t2Sjs

Terri in Scotland 🙂

Hi Terri
Thank you for your response I know the Roberta Kelly site – good videos and easy to follow patterns too. It’s not the process of creating punch lace that’s causing me headaches. I can do that on a number of my other machines with no problem. It’s this old chunky 155 I was given that seems to leave loops on the back randomly like Fair Isle rather than knit them in. I tried a range of different yarns made lots of adjustments to the tension cleaned and oiled it and so on – but it may just be worn out and they are no longer available new sadly.
Lyn

Hi Lyn
I’ve also recently received an old SK155 – a model I haven’t owned or knitted on since the late 80s. I haven’t tried punch lace on it yet but I’ll give it a go once I’ve finished my current project – within the next next day or two. I’ll see how it turns out and will get back to you with the results and anything else I discover along the way which may be of use.
Regards Terri 🙂

Hi
Sorry to hear you are having problems. I have done a bit of research for you and found some information in Mary Weaver’s ‘Easy Fair Isle for the Brother Ribber’.

On page 66 she recommends a yarn between a 2 or 3 ply thickness for the finer yarn saying that Artistic is a good yarn to use. This is a crêpe type yarn but a bit thicker than fine crêpe. Also 2/30s singly can be used but this makes the eyelets bigger. Your fine crêpe might be a little too fine especially as you are having problems with it in the tension mast.

On page 99 of the same book there’s a pattern for a Chunky Thread Lace Top using two strands of 4 ply Acrylic as the main yarn and 1 strand of Artistic for the lace thread knitted at tension 4 on the Brother Chunky. If a finer lace yarn is used the tension needs tightening.

Hope this helps and that you soon master it!
Regards Sue

Thanks Sue
As you suggested I tried using a thicker yarn (2-ply) with 4-ply double knitting and Aran weight now and it is better. If I knit really very slowly this also helps as well. There are still a few random floats but not on every row so I’ll persevere with re-adjusting the tension to see if I can solve it.
I did knot the large holes with a very fine yarn and it didn’t look good at all.
Lyn

Hi Lyn

Glad to hear it has improved.

Just one other thought – what condition is your spongebar in? If the foam has gone flat it will cause problems with stitches not forming properly. Stocking stitch and other main bed stitches are not usually affected too badly but as the punch lace is formed slightly differently it might be worth checking.

Sue.

Hi Sue
Thanks for the thought but the sponge bar is almost new – I replaced it along with many of the needles after I acquired the machine. And as it is a Knitmaster genuine spares are still available luckily.

I will keep trying – it was the one technique that I didn’t have on my old Brother that I really wanted to be able to do.
Lyn

Hello Moogie1947′
I have just logged into this site in the hope that I might be able to help.
I have now got three Knitmaster machines a 326 a 360 and a 155. The 326 I’ve had from new way back in the 80’s which I brought out of storage the early part of last year. The 360 I bought from a seller on the eBay web site and the 155 I bought from a friend.
I discovered when I went to use the 326 that it was knitting just fine until I used a punch card then it gave some problems with floats and strange patterns. On further inspection I found that one of the memory drums was quite stiff and the spring loaded cancelling device wasn’t doing it’s job properly by cancelling the small fingers after a pass. After stripping the carriage down and cleaning and oiling both drums they spun nice and free which is how they should be.
I had the self same problem with the 360 and the 155 but having had the original experience with the 326 I was well prepared and solved the problem immediately .
Just thought that this might be of some help to you. Check to see if both memory drums spin freely.
Best regards… Mac

Hi
I know this is an old thread but I’m sure others like me have come across it when searching for details on the 155. I have just acquired one and my search brought me to this page. After reading the original question I did a ‘youtube’ search and found an interesting video by Roberta Kelley on using the 155 – including how to do punch lace. So if anyone else has difficulty with any of the knitting processes on the 155 the video is well worth watching. The link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJf9_2t2Sjs

Terri in Scotland 🙂

Hi Terri
Thank you for your response I know the Roberta Kelly site – good videos and easy to follow patterns too. It’s not the process of creating punch lace that’s causing me headaches. I can do that on a number of my other machines with no problem. It’s this old chunky 155 I was given that seems to leave loops on the back randomly like Fair Isle rather than knit them in. I tried a range of different yarns made lots of adjustments to the tension cleaned and oiled it and so on – but it may just be worn out and they are no longer available new sadly.
Lyn

Hi Lyn
I’ve also recently received an old SK155 – a model I haven’t owned or knitted on since the late 80s. I haven’t tried punch lace on it yet but I’ll give it a go once I’ve finished my current project – within the next next day or two. I’ll see how it turns out and will get back to you with the results and anything else I discover along the way which may be of use.
Regards Terri 🙂

Hi

Welcome back to machine knitting.

You will need a KR260 to go with your machine. They do sometimes come up on ebay UK but they are usually quite expensive. Heathercraft Steeles and HKC Knitting Machines all advertise in Machine Knitting Monthly and may be able to help.

Kind regards
Sue.

Many thanks Sue.

Have been having fun getting my Knitmaster 580 working. Andrea at Andee Knits has been tremendously helpful.
Now my ‘Jolie Unicorn’ stick picker up has broken. Don’t suppose you know anywhere that still sells them?
Have done an internet search to no avail. Sue

Hi Sue

It’s good to hear you have your machine working again.

In ‘Trading Post’ in MKM Hague advertise a curved pick up tool for the chunky machines and Metropolitan have a set of wooden handled tools; one looks to be a pick up tool. Brother made a hooked tool that came with their machines Toyota provided a tool with a crochet hook at one end and a curved end at the other and Passap had the orange tool with a transfer eye at one end and a curved stitch pick up tool at the other. Perhaps one of these would replace yours?
Have you looked on ebay? There are always lots of machine knitting related items advertised.

Kind regards
Sue.

Hi

Welcome back to machine knitting.

You will need a KR260 to go with your machine. They do sometimes come up on ebay UK but they are usually quite expensive. Heathercraft Steeles and HKC Knitting Machines all advertise in Machine Knitting Monthly and may be able to help.

Kind regards
Sue.

Many thanks Sue.

Have been having fun getting my Knitmaster 580 working. Andrea at Andee Knits has been tremendously helpful.
Now my ‘Jolie Unicorn’ stick picker up has broken. Don’t suppose you know anywhere that still sells them?
Have done an internet search to no avail. Sue

Hi Sue

It’s good to hear you have your machine working again.

In ‘Trading Post’ in MKM Hague advertise a curved pick up tool for the chunky machines and Metropolitan have a set of wooden handled tools; one looks to be a pick up tool. Brother made a hooked tool that came with their machines Toyota provided a tool with a crochet hook at one end and a curved end at the other and Passap had the orange tool with a transfer eye at one end and a curved stitch pick up tool at the other. Perhaps one of these would replace yours?
Have you looked on ebay? There are always lots of machine knitting related items advertised.

Kind regards
Sue.

Hi

In the September issue of MKM in Trading Post p.46 there are Chunky Needle Retaining Bars listed in the Silver Reed section. The code is SR26 and the price is £33.75. You need to state the model number of the machine. However they are not listed on the Trading Post on this Website. It might be worth contacting Silver Reed to see if they are still available.

Another thing to try is to replace the sponge with some draught excluder. The brown type is best as it has a firm top and the consistency of the foam is about right. You might need two layers of it on your bar. Make sure it is well stuck and bind the ends with tape to hold them in place.

I hope you can get it sorted and happy knitting.
Sue

i contacted Silver – and they do not have a replacement for the 120 Sponge Bars.
If you are a memmber of Yahoo Groups there a few people with “ideas” on how to replace a 120 sponge.
Yahoo has JUSt changed their layout and I cannot find which group I saw it in yesterday.

Jenni If you join the Sk120/Bulky Yahoo Group(very easy to do). In the files is pdf of how to refurbish your existing sponge bar. Avril

Hi
I’ve owned many SK-120s over the years and trying to refurbish the sponge bar is a nightmare. The last one I had (two years ago) I tried so many times that in the end the metal just became non-usable. Frustrated I looked around my garage and found a thin flat rigid metal bar to which I glued a thin length of sponge with ribbon on top. I slid it into the machine and it worked brilliantly. So my advice is this: think outside the box. A rigid piece of plastic or maybe even wood that would fill the retaining channel should serve equally well as a good base for the sponge. This is a very ‘forgiving’ machine and you can’t break it by trying. I’ve just been lucky enough to win another 120 on eBay (arriving on Tuesday) and despite that one shortcoming I believe this to be the best chunky/bulky machine out there as its stitches are far more attractive than those produced on a 9 mm machine.

Hi

In the September issue of MKM in Trading Post p.46 there are Chunky Needle Retaining Bars listed in the Silver Reed section. The code is SR26 and the price is £33.75. You need to state the model number of the machine. However they are not listed on the Trading Post on this Website. It might be worth contacting Silver Reed to see if they are still available.

Another thing to try is to replace the sponge with some draught excluder. The brown type is best as it has a firm top and the consistency of the foam is about right. You might need two layers of it on your bar. Make sure it is well stuck and bind the ends with tape to hold them in place.

I hope you can get it sorted and happy knitting.
Sue

i contacted Silver – and they do not have a replacement for the 120 Sponge Bars.
If you are a memmber of Yahoo Groups there a few people with “ideas” on how to replace a 120 sponge.
Yahoo has JUSt changed their layout and I cannot find which group I saw it in yesterday.

Jenni If you join the Sk120/Bulky Yahoo Group(very easy to do). In the files is pdf of how to refurbish your existing sponge bar. Avril

Hi
I’ve owned many SK-120s over the years and trying to refurbish the sponge bar is a nightmare. The last one I had (two years ago) I tried so many times that in the end the metal just became non-usable. Frustrated I looked around my garage and found a thin flat rigid metal bar to which I glued a thin length of sponge with ribbon on top. I slid it into the machine and it worked brilliantly. So my advice is this: think outside the box. A rigid piece of plastic or maybe even wood that would fill the retaining channel should serve equally well as a good base for the sponge. This is a very ‘forgiving’ machine and you can’t break it by trying. I’ve just been lucky enough to win another 120 on eBay (arriving on Tuesday) and despite that one shortcoming I believe this to be the best chunky/bulky machine out there as its stitches are far more attractive than those produced on a 9 mm machine.

Hi

Try taking the sinker plate off the carriage check that both sides match and that both sides are evenly attached; there are three little screws either side which hold the metal plates in place. These metal plates should be parallel to the gate pegs.

When you fit the sinker plate back on to the carriage make sure it is seated properly and is flat against the carriage before you tighten the thumb screws.

If these simple measures do not rectify the problem as your machine is new I suggest contacting the suppliers.

Kind regards
Sue.

Hi

Try taking the sinker plate off the carriage check that both sides match and that both sides are evenly attached; there are three little screws either side which hold the metal plates in place. These metal plates should be parallel to the gate pegs.

When you fit the sinker plate back on to the carriage make sure it is seated properly and is flat against the carriage before you tighten the thumb screws.

If these simple measures do not rectify the problem as your machine is new I suggest contacting the suppliers.

Kind regards
Sue.

Hi Jax

I did a search on google for sk155 user manual and found a manual to download.

The R is for when the ribber is attached if you have one. The 0 is the tightest tension unless you can move the dial a couple of clicks beyond it.

As this is a chunky machine try tension 3 or 4 for DK yarn. Remove your sample from the machine and tug it lengthways to close the stitches. If you think it is too loose tighten the tension a little (lower number on dial). If you experiment with tensions you will find out what is suitable. When the tension is too tight there will probably be missed stitches and the knitting will be very stiff.

All machines vary slightly from one another so it is best if you keep a personal record of yarns and suitable tensions. You will soon get to know what tension to try for a particular yarn and make slight adjustments as necessary.

I hope this helps to answer your query.
Regards
Sue.

Thank you Sue for your help. Apparently you can no longer get a ribber for the SK155 but I don’t mind I will quite enjoy knitting the ribs by hand.
Slow process getting comfortable with my new machine not helped by lack of patterns out there. I would love to do more baby things with double knitting so will keep experimenting and keep a log as suggested.

Hi again

Do you buy Machine Knitting Monthly?

Every month Anne publishes baby patterns using DK or Chunky yarn – I’m sure you would find them useful. Don’t worry if the pattern does not specifically mention your machine; if it’s for DK you can use the tension which suits your machine and use the measurements from your tension swatch to work out how many stitches and rows you need for the size you want to knit as given on the pattern diagrams. If your figures come out close to one of the sets of instructions in the pattern you can follow these to knit the garment.

Enjoy your knitting.

Regards
Sue.

Hi Jax

I did a search on google for sk155 user manual and found a manual to download.

The R is for when the ribber is attached if you have one. The 0 is the tightest tension unless you can move the dial a couple of clicks beyond it.

As this is a chunky machine try tension 3 or 4 for DK yarn. Remove your sample from the machine and tug it lengthways to close the stitches. If you think it is too loose tighten the tension a little (lower number on dial). If you experiment with tensions you will find out what is suitable. When the tension is too tight there will probably be missed stitches and the knitting will be very stiff.

All machines vary slightly from one another so it is best if you keep a personal record of yarns and suitable tensions. You will soon get to know what tension to try for a particular yarn and make slight adjustments as necessary.

I hope this helps to answer your query.
Regards
Sue.

Thank you Sue for your help. Apparently you can no longer get a ribber for the SK155 but I don’t mind I will quite enjoy knitting the ribs by hand.
Slow process getting comfortable with my new machine not helped by lack of patterns out there. I would love to do more baby things with double knitting so will keep experimenting and keep a log as suggested.

Hi again

Do you buy Machine Knitting Monthly?

Every month Anne publishes baby patterns using DK or Chunky yarn – I’m sure you would find them useful. Don’t worry if the pattern does not specifically mention your machine; if it’s for DK you can use the tension which suits your machine and use the measurements from your tension swatch to work out how many stitches and rows you need for the size you want to knit as given on the pattern diagrams. If your figures come out close to one of the sets of instructions in the pattern you can follow these to knit the garment.

Enjoy your knitting.

Regards
Sue.

Hi Yolande

It sounds as though your sponge bar needs replacing. Use the latch tool to push it out of the needle bed and pull it right out. Check the condition of the foam it should be well above the metal of the bar and spring back into shape when pressed. If it is squashed or degraded you will either need to replace the foam or the whole bar. There is a company which makes suitable replacement foam for various machines and they advertise on ebay. Alternatively check Trading Post on this website.

Regards
Sue.

Hi Yolande

It sounds as though your sponge bar needs replacing. Use the latch tool to push it out of the needle bed and pull it right out. Check the condition of the foam it should be well above the metal of the bar and spring back into shape when pressed. If it is squashed or degraded you will either need to replace the foam or the whole bar. There is a company which makes suitable replacement foam for various machines and they advertise on ebay. Alternatively check Trading Post on this website.

Regards
Sue.

Hi
First don’t be afraid! Chunky machines are great to get started on. Is there a club near you? I would try Google or go to your local library to find one otherwise there are on-line courses as well as courses you can actively go on. I’ve just returned from Hereford with Amy Twigger Holroyd who has beginners’ classes on the Knitmaster Chunky 155. You could also try YouTube. Just put in ‘beginner machine knitting’ and select from the short videos. Some are better than others. Good luck stick with it it’s a great hobby. If you’re near Hertfordshire I could maybe help.
Best wishes

Hi
You don’t say the area you have come from but I’ve just bought a 155 and I’m willing to help if you live in the Lincolnshire area.

Hi
First don’t be afraid! Chunky machines are great to get started on. Is there a club near you? I would try Google or go to your local library to find one otherwise there are on-line courses as well as courses you can actively go on. I’ve just returned from Hereford with Amy Twigger Holroyd who has beginners’ classes on the Knitmaster Chunky 155. You could also try YouTube. Just put in ‘beginner machine knitting’ and select from the short videos. Some are better than others. Good luck stick with it it’s a great hobby. If you’re near Hertfordshire I could maybe help.
Best wishes

Hi
You don’t say the area you have come from but I’ve just bought a 155 and I’m willing to help if you live in the Lincolnshire area.