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
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
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.
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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?
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
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
I am new user of the Brother 930 knitting machine. I am trying to make the Purple Rain gilet in the June issue of MKM. Why does my machine sometimes do the pattern randomly and then start to produce it correctly? Is there a step I am missing out when I program the machine?
Sorry to hear you’re having problems. Needles in UWP (upper working position) are brought forward from WP (working position) so that the open latches are level with the sinker posts. When you knit a pattern in two colours it’s the needles in UWP which knit the second colour.
Needles in HP (holding position) are brought forward as far as possible. To increase several stitches bring forward the required number of needles at the same side as the carriage. Now pull a loop of yarn down under these needles and starting at the needle nearest to the knitting wrap the yarn fairly loosely and evenly round each needle. When you’ve wrapped them all give a tug on the yarn behind the tension unit to prevent a loop forming as you knit the stitches. Knit one row carefully and the new stitches should form properly. If you bring these needles to HP for the next few rows the stitches on them will knit off cleanly. You can then hang a weight under them and continue knitting.
Hope this helps. Sue.
Sorry to hear you’re having problems. Needles in UWP (upper working position) are brought forward from WP (working position) so that the open latches are level with the sinker posts. When you knit a pattern in two colours it’s the needles in UWP which knit the second colour.
Needles in HP (holding position) are brought forward as far as possible. To increase several stitches bring forward the required number of needles at the same side as the carriage. Now pull a loop of yarn down under these needles and starting at the needle nearest to the knitting wrap the yarn fairly loosely and evenly round each needle. When you’ve wrapped them all give a tug on the yarn behind the tension unit to prevent a loop forming as you knit the stitches. Knit one row carefully and the new stitches should form properly. If you bring these needles to HP for the next few rows the stitches on them will knit off cleanly. You can then hang a weight under them and continue knitting.
Hope this helps. Sue.
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