Help needed for e 6000

Hi everyone, I have just bought a second hand e 6000 and am struggling with it. I live in south Lincolnshire, south Holland area, and would welcome help from any one in the area.
It would be lovely if anyone knows of a club in the area.
Thanks Sue

Calling Northumberland

It’s a big county and I would have expected that there would be a few people interested in machine knitting. I know that there’s a club South of the Tyne but are there any North of the Tyne? Best wishes, Peter Robinson
We know from our subscribers that a number of you knit in that part of the country so if you organise a club, or get together to knit ‘n’ natter, then please let us know and we’ll spread the word.

Knitmaster 155 chunky punch lace problems

I have an old second hand Knitmaster Chunky 155, which I am just trying out. It has been cleaned up so is running quite smoothly for stocking stitch, tuck stitch and even weaving. However when I tried out Punch Lace using a very fine crepe yarn and both a double knitting and an aran weight yarn, I get lots of random floats on the back like Fair Isle. I checked the bottom of the carriage and all the levers seem to be moving okay. As none came with the machine, I punched a special card for this – as recommended for this type of stitch. It is totally inconsistent about where the floats appear and they seem to occur more on the left to right pass than the right to left. I tried various tensions and also double wrapping the thin yarn round the tension rings so it didn’t slip.
Can anyone help please?

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

Sue P
2012-03-08 21:02:16
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
Moogie1947
2012-03-08 21:00:47
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.

Sue P
2012-03-09 00:05:19
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

Moogie1947
2012-03-09 16:01:06
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
Mac1
2012-03-16 16:23:33
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 🙂

britlady52
2015-01-05 21:22:54
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
Moogie1947
2015-01-07 13:01:13
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 🙂
britlady52
2015-01-07 14:10:30
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

Sue P
2012-03-08 21:02:16
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
Moogie1947
2012-03-08 21:00:47
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.

Sue P
2012-03-09 00:05:19
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

Moogie1947
2012-03-09 16:01:06
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
Mac1
2012-03-16 16:23:33
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 🙂

britlady52
2015-01-05 21:22:54
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
Moogie1947
2015-01-07 13:01:13
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 🙂
britlady52
2015-01-07 14:10:30

Passap DUO 80

Hi
I’ve now owned my Passap DUO 80 for six months and don’t seem to be making progress beyond the very basic knitting techniques. Is there anyone in the South Yorkshire, S73 area, who would be willing to give up some time to help me out.
Very kind regards, Alan

Hi Alan

Do you have copies of the Bramwell Duomatic books? They are called ‘Design for Duomatics’ by Eileen Metcalf and there are two of them. They contain patterns for various techniques with explanations of how to set up the machine. They are often available on eBay.

Regards
Sue.

Sue P
2014-06-04 11:53:54
Thank you very much for that I will take a look.

Very kind regards
Alan

Stivi
2014-07-08 10:41:10
Hi Alan

Do you have copies of the Bramwell Duomatic books? They are called ‘Design for Duomatics’ by Eileen Metcalf and there are two of them. They contain patterns for various techniques with explanations of how to set up the machine. They are often available on eBay.

Regards
Sue.

Sue P
2014-06-04 11:53:54
Thank you very much for that I will take a look.

Very kind regards
Alan

Stivi
2014-07-08 10:41:10

Three colour cast on

My carriage jams knitting the first row. I don’t know what I am doing wrong. Should I use three colours together or alternate them? I am using Tension 10.

Hi Tanna

I know it’s a while since you posted your query but I did have a go at a three colour cast on.

If you bring the needles out to Holding Position but have the carriage set to knit you can weave the yarns over and under the needles – over one under two so that the different colours form a repeating pattern across the needles. Hang the cast on comb push the comb back to the gate pegs thread the carriage with one of the yarns and knit carefully across.

I hope this answers your query
Sue.

Sue P
2014-06-04 12:18:40
Hi Tanna

I know it’s a while since you posted your query but I did have a go at a three colour cast on.

If you bring the needles out to Holding Position but have the carriage set to knit you can weave the yarns over and under the needles – over one under two so that the different colours form a repeating pattern across the needles. Hang the cast on comb push the comb back to the gate pegs thread the carriage with one of the yarns and knit carefully across.

I hope this answers your query
Sue.

Sue P
2014-06-04 12:18:40

Ribber for Brother Chunky KH-260

Hi
I am returning to my knitting machines after an absence of 15 or so years and would like to find a ribber for my Brother Chunky KH-260. What is the model number(s) that go with the 260? Does it have to be the 260 ribber or will a 230 fit and does anyone out there have one they want to sell?

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.

Sue P
2013-11-11 12:48:09
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

suzandy
2013-12-04 16:40:42
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.

Sue P
2013-12-05 13:01:46
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.

Sue P
2013-11-11 12:48:09
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

suzandy
2013-12-04 16:40:42
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.

Sue P
2013-12-05 13:01:46

Pattern Opium Effects

Hi
I’m having major problems with tension and measuring it. I could not match the tension suggested so used DesignaKnit for the tension square I had. However the yarn is so stretchy that you can measure the same piece several times and get very different measurements. Any suggestions?

Knitmaster 120 Chunky Spongebar

Hi
I’m getting quite desperate now. I bought a lovely chunky machine, a Knitmaster Empisal 120 which I’m told was also sold under the name Singer SK120. I intend to use this to knit sock blanks for dyeing. However I can’t get started as I cannot find a replacement sponge bar for this machine. I will even consider a kit to refurbish if necessary. The bar is very narrow compared to the one from my Brother KH-836 (about 3 mm across and 8 mm deep). I can’t get my business off the ground until this is up and running!
Many thanks, Jenni Pitt

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

Sue P
2013-08-16 13:47:04
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.
Kari
2013-09-12 16:57:44
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
esme48
2013-09-12 16:57:44
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.
britlady52
2014-02-26 17:50:24
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

Sue P
2013-08-16 13:47:04
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.
Kari
2013-09-12 16:57:44
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
esme48
2013-09-12 16:57:44
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.
britlady52
2014-02-26 17:50:24

Brother KH836 Carriage jamming

I got my Brother KH 836 machine out to knit up some left over wool to make myself a jumper. After lots of attempts with the ribber (the rib carriage kept coming unhitched!) I made the back and was nearly at the front neck shaping when the carriage jammed. It would knit right to left okay, but moving left to right it jammed in the middle every time. After a lot of shoving and a LOT more swearing, I got it moving again to finish the row, but after about ten more rows of this I gave it up as a bad job. It moves freely in each direction without the sinker plate, but not with it on. I’ve prodded, poked, sworn a lot more, thought I’d sorted it, but after about 15 rows it happened again. Can anyone give me a clue as to what might be the problem? I feel like taking the whole lot to the tip!

Bring your needles out and with no yarn and sinker plate attached go slowly across the needles and when it starts to jam check whether the needles are going over the sinker plate or just touching it. Often the sinker plate becomes slightly bent out of shape and may need realigning and bent back into shape.

Re your ribber – sounds like the height may need adjusting if you have it in the highest position and the connecting pin is still slipping out.

jaysdowell
2013-08-09 15:14:16
Hi PollyDoodle

Sorry to hear of your problem. There are several things it might be an idea to check.

As the carriage moves freely without the sinker plate attached it suggests the problem is with the sinker plate. Is it seated properly on the carriage? Make sure the alignment holes in the sinker plate fit over the little lugs on the carriage before you tighten the thumb screws. Have the metal plates at the front gone out of alignment? When you attach it to the carriage check that these plates are parallel to the gate pegs and re-adjust if necessary by loosening the three screws underneath.

Does your sponge bar need replacing? If it’s worn it will cause all sorts of problems.

Regarding your problem with the ribber carriage did you have the ribber pushed up to its highest position and was the carriage seated properly on the needle bed? Once the ribber carriage has clipped into the connecting arm it should not move forward or unhitch itself!

I hope this helps you sort the problem.

Regards
Sue.

Sue P
2013-06-12 21:53:47
Bring your needles out and with no yarn and sinker plate attached go slowly across the needles and when it starts to jam check whether the needles are going over the sinker plate or just touching it. Often the sinker plate becomes slightly bent out of shape and may need realigning and bent back into shape.

Re your ribber – sounds like the height may need adjusting if you have it in the highest position and the connecting pin is still slipping out.

jaysdowell
2013-08-09 15:14:16
Hi PollyDoodle

Sorry to hear of your problem. There are several things it might be an idea to check.

As the carriage moves freely without the sinker plate attached it suggests the problem is with the sinker plate. Is it seated properly on the carriage? Make sure the alignment holes in the sinker plate fit over the little lugs on the carriage before you tighten the thumb screws. Have the metal plates at the front gone out of alignment? When you attach it to the carriage check that these plates are parallel to the gate pegs and re-adjust if necessary by loosening the three screws underneath.

Does your sponge bar need replacing? If it’s worn it will cause all sorts of problems.

Regarding your problem with the ribber carriage did you have the ribber pushed up to its highest position and was the carriage seated properly on the needle bed? Once the ribber carriage has clipped into the connecting arm it should not move forward or unhitch itself!

I hope this helps you sort the problem.

Regards
Sue.

Sue P
2013-06-12 21:53:47