There are so many things to consider when you find yourself with a knitting machine. What even is it? It says it’s a machine that knits in the name, but how does it do that? What if you don’t hand knit? Where do you find the yarn? How much space is this thing going to take up in the house?
If no one around you knows anything about machine knitting, you’re going to have to do the work yourself to track down the resources (and I’m here to help!). But before you start going crazy with all of the questions a potential new hobby brings, it’s time for the first significant stop in your knitting machine journey.
It’s not Google. It’s YouTube.
Googling your new hobby is a great way to find articles and inspiration, but you’ll often find yourself in too deep and overwhelmed by knowledge and terms when you dive head first into forums and specialized sites. You’ll get there in machine knitting, too, since that initial overwhelmed feeling can happen with every hobby, but stopping and watching first can help you catch your breath.
Take the time to see the possibilities in machine knitting. Try not to let any terms catch you off guard, and make a mental note of anything that catches your interest for later. Remember, you’re just watching for now.
Here are a few videos to get you started:
Machine Knitting a Sweater – Time Lapse by Lorna Watt – Start to finish of a cat sweater
Fruity Knitting Podcast Episode 105 – Interview with machine knitting instructor Susan Guagliumi – This episode is especially good for hand knitters wondering about machine knitting. In addition to a two part interview with Guagliumi, Fruity Knitting interviews a hobby machine knitter who does not hand knit.
Brother KH-860 Knitting Machine Demo by Buckwsr – sampling of many different knitting machine functions
What do you think? Were you inspired? Intimidated?
Machine knitting does have more of a learning curve than hand knitting or other yarn crafts, but don’t let that discourage you. Watching others work will open your mind to the endless possibilities of the craft.
If the dive into machine knitting does become too much, remember, there’s a pause button, and you can always come back later. Those of us in the machine knitting community will be happy to have you join us whenever you’re ready.
Where did your YouTube machine knitting video dive take you? Share some of your favorites in the comments below!
If you’re an experienced machine knitter who didn’t have YouTube when you began, where did you start?
ELY Knits 