Category: Knitting Machines

Knitting Machines

How to Store Your Knitting Machine

elyknits

I don’t know many machine knitters who have just one knitting machine. After all, there are three common gauges (4.5mm standard, 6.5mm, mid-gauge, and 9mm bulky) that knit different yarn sizes. It’s wonderful if you’re fortunate enough to have the space to leave all three sizes of machines set up, but that’s not the reality for everyone.

So what’s the best way to store your knitting machine? Options vary, but there are some definite musts for storage.

Between Projects

If you plan to leave your machine set up while you aren’t using it, you should cover it with a sheet or table cloth to protect it from dust.

simple instructions from a knitting machine manual

Storage Musts

Climate Control is a must. Plastic beds and parts can become brittle if exposed to temperature extremes. Freeze/thaw and extreme heat can also damage the machine’s metal parts. Prevent warping by storing your machine in a climate controlled environment.

storage warning doodle from a manual-Keep away from moisture and heat!

In addition to temperature, you should pay attention to humidity. Metal needles can rust open or shut. Sometimes extensive cleaning can save old needles with superficial rust, but uneven needle surfaces can snag yarn, and it’s generally not worth the time and trouble to try to save them.

Prevent rust and buildup by only storing a clean machine. Excess oils and lubricants can build up and eventually gunk up your machine’s moving parts. They also attract dust.

You should consider removing your sponge bar and running a long cat-tail cleaning brush through the channel to catch and remove fiber buildup from the machine. You should remove needles to make sure the brush doesn’t get stuck in the channel, so you might prefer to do this step for long term storage only. Removing the sponge bar also prevents any degraded sponge from falling apart in the machine, but hopefully you won’t be storing your machine quite that long!

fiber buildup in the sponge bar channel

Keep Your Boxes

If you have the box your machine arrived in, keep it! Even if your machine comes with a lid and is its own case, keeping the box can prevent dust buildup on the case.

I’ve had to scrub some interesting mystery substances off of the outside of knitting machine cases. A little extra protection can’t hurt.

Machines Without a Box

If your machine does not come with a built-in case lid and you do not have a box, you have a few options.

Rifle cases are often long enough to store a knitting machine bed or a ribber. If you choose to go this route, be sure to measure all dimensions of your machine-length, width, height, and depth, before purchasing a case.

If you lack a box and don’t like the idea of a gun case, you can always build your own box. Big box stores that carry large appliances, appliance specialty stores, and furniture shops often have excess boxes and are happy to give them to you at no charge if you call and politely request some. This option can use quite a bit of tape to secure the box’s shape, but your machine will be secure in its custom box.

Where to Store Your Machine

Your machine is clean and safely tucked away in its box, but where do you put it? Many machine knitters store their machines under a bed or in the back of a closet. If you plan to lift and store your machine on a high shelf, be sure to ask for help. Metal bed machines weigh around 40lbs and can be unwieldy to lift because of their length.

If you prefer to build or buy a shelving unit, be sure to check that it can support the weight of your machines. I bought a heavy duty garage shelving unit with wood shelves for my studio that can support up to 400lbs per shelf. Some less expensive, wire rack storage units are the same size but support much less weight, so make sure to check the manufacturer’s specs before hefting your machine onto any old shelving unit.

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

storage examples

My garage shelving unit can hold all of these machines, but there are still a few issues here. Make sure that your machines and accessories aren’t hanging off the shelves when you store them. (Don’t worry, things were safely stored right after this picture.)

Rumor or Warping Hazard?

The bottom shelves in the picture have machines stored with the case handle and latches pointed upward. I’ve read in multiple forums online and seen warnings in social media groups that storing machines latches up as opposed to latches stored facing horizontally can warp the knitting machine bed.

That’s scary! Can you work on a warped bed?

I read through the manuals of many different models from Brother, Toyota, and Silver Reed, but I didn’t see any notes about machine orientation in storage.

I contacted Knitcraft, the importer of Silver Reed knitting machines in the United States who I’m also a Silver Reed dealer through, and they had this to say:

We have not heard of any issues with warping. Maybe if you have a lot of heat with the LK[150] it could possibly bend standing straight up, but we have not had any of that happen here.

We would suggest lightly wiping [the machine] down with oil and keep the lid on the metal bed machines. Do not store in a spot that can get rusty or frozen or exposed to light. Best places to keep them are in a closet away from the elements. For the LK 150 it would be optimal to store it back in the original box it came in. If leaving up on a table, drape a tablecloth over the machine to keep dust off.

Knitcraft

Have you ever had a bed warp from storing it latch side up? Please let me know! I’ve read the warnings but not seen any actual accounts or pictures of warping from side storage.

If you are concerned about any potential warping, store your machine laying flat as if it were in use. I have traveled with my machines with the latch and handle facing up, but I place them flat for long-term storage. That rumor did make me worry even though those at Knitcraft have not heard of any warping actually happening.

What Improper Storage Can Do

I have a Brother KH 260 knitting machine with a warped bed. It was passed along to me in that condition since I’m teaching myself to fix machines, but that is one of many things I don’t yet know how to address in machine repair.

I don’t know what caused that machine to warp, but I do know it was stored in an attic for many years after its original owner passed away. You can see my attempt to clean it in this post from a couple years ago. I ended up deciding to keep the machine for parts instead of continuing with a restoration.

That machine could still knit stockinette stitch, but I do a lot more than that in my knitting. The punch card unit is cracked and doesn’t function, so I couldn’t test how it worked. Hand selected patterning kind of worked, but only after I removed a lot of oil residue from the carriage and reinstalled some missing springs.

So that’s it-a knitting machine might still function fine with a warped bed, but I never got past stockinette due to other damaged parts. It’s a shame to see a once-loved machine become scrap due to storage, especially a vintage machine that isn’t in production anymore. Some vintage machine brands have dupes so you can buy brand new parts that will work, but the parts aren’t necessarily the same quality as the originals. That lovely Brother KH260 is just back up scrap parts due to improper storage.

Protect your vintage knitting machines by storing them properly in a climate controlled place!

How do you store your knitting machine? Let me know in the comments, especially if you have any experience with a bed warping over time!

Thoughts and suggestions for what you’d like to see articles on can go down in the comments or through the contact form!

Thanks for coming on this machine knitting journey with me! If you like what you see and want to help me bring more machine knitting content, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi.

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Accessories, Knitting Machines

The EEW Cone Winder- Unboxing and Initial Thoughts

elyknits

If you’re familiar with the Electric Eel Spinning Wheel, you might know that Maurice Ribble of Dreaming Robots, the mind behind the magic, recently released an electric cone winder! 

I backed the project on Kickstarter in 2022. I have only backed three or four Kickstarter projects, but I have to say, Dreaming Robots was great about keeping backers in the know about the state of the project and allowing input. I forgot to fill out the address form when it came out, so my winder arrived in December, but that’s all on me! (Facepalm) I paid the Kickstarter backer price of $189 plus shipping. The cone winder now retails at $259 and is in stock as of the time of writing.

each block is ~1 inch for size reference

The winder was packaged securely and nothing was damaged in shipping. I opted for 10 cones with my winder.

The manual is straightforward and comes with a template to show you how to lay out the tension unit and winder unit. I love that. I’m not great at eyeing measurements, and even though my blocking board lays things out by square inches, I can still measure things incorrectly. It’s a skill.

The cones are 27 grams according to my scale, and I like that they come in different colors. It’s fun. They look pretty cool on the inside once they hold yarn, too.

Assembly was straightforward and well laid out in the manual. There are excellent videos and written instructions on how to use the EEW Cone Winder on the Kickstarter page and FAQs on the product page. I avoided watching anything or reading anything but the initial Kickstarter campaign and the user manual before testing the winder for this post.

Initial Test-Winding Yarn from a Hank

I decided to cone up some of my friend Suzy’s yarn, Woolyboogers Felts. She works out of a studio next door to Get Stitchin’ and exclusively sells at craft shows and Get Stitchin’, so she’s just another great reason to stop by if you’re in the Tulsa area.
(You can sign up for one of my classes while you’re there! Standing classes the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays and Saturdays of the month!)

I used knitting machine clamps and the included tension unit clamp to hold the units in place on my counter, and I initially had my yarn swift (this thing) on the counter next to the winder. That meant the yarn was coming down from the swift to the counter level tension unit.

Using speeds 1 and 2 with the loosest, straight tension setting, I wound the 438 yards of sparkly goodness onto the cone. Well, the winder did all of the work. I supervised.

“professional” placement! haha

On the lowest settings and loosest tension, it took a few minutes to wind, but I wanted to be cautious learning the winder. I had a couple of issues with feeding into the tension unit from the swift when I had it sitting so much higher than the tension unit intake. It worked much better when I moved the swift to sit on a chair and the yarn intake was more level with the tension unit as it fed yarn in. The yarn winder had plenty of power to wind from the swift, but I found on the lowest tension it had to work a bit harder if the hank on the swift was held too tightly or the yarn was caught underneath itself.

After the slow speed test run with Woolyboogers, I decided to cone up four skeins of Berroco Modern Cotton DK. (I’ll be reviewing it soon, so be on the lookout for that post in the future!) 

warm light | cool light

I wound each skein at a higher speed than the last, with the final at speed setting #5. I was catching a breeze from the swift at that point! I used the higher tension winding setup as shown in the manual for this yarn. 

It looks great coned up! The cone has two small holes at the top for you to attach the yarn label and then store in the center of the cone.

I prefer a more tightly wound cone of yarn, especially for fibers like cotton. The looser tension setting is probably more ideal for delicate yarns. I didn’t experience any yarn breakage, and I did “jam” the winder a couple times. More on that in a bit.

Turn up your audio to hear what the EEW Cone Winder sounds like at speed #5 in my Instagram video below. My pictured setup isn’t ideal, but what I had worked just fine!

I wouldn’t say the cone winder is loud, but it definitely isn’t silent. You can hear it working rhythmically, but I didn’t find it unpleasant. 

If you’ve wound a lot of yarn into cakes before, you’ll appreciate the electric cone winder doing the hard work for you. Your arms can get tired after a thousand yards, but with the winder, you’re just turning a dial after a little yarn threading. Easy peasy!

Experimenting and User Error

Ah, the aforementioned jam.

The only issues I ran into using the electric cone winder stemmed from user error and experimentation with yarn swift placement for intake through the tension unit.

At one point, I was pulling additional yarn lengths from the swift because the winder seemed to struggle with pulling directly from the swift.

I shouldn’t have been pulling additional yarn out. The winder didn’t need my help. It operated fine, albeit slowly, when I stopped feeding it yarn myself at low settings as well as after I increased the speed dial setting.

While I was pulling that additional yarn from the swift, knots and loops developed in the yarn and happened to hook themselves around the metal guide spiral. The winder kept going for a tiny bit (of course, it is set to ON and rotating) BUT then it stopped.

When I read the FAQs on the product page, I found the motor stopping is by design, and I appreciate that it stopped and didn’t break my yarn!

This is by design. It is bad for the motor to continue trying to spin when it is not spinning. At low power this can happen when it’s trying to spin slowly but there isn’t enough motor to actually spin the drum. In this case the motor will turn itself off until it sees no attempts to spin for 3 seconds. To work around this turn the speed dial to off and then wait three seconds and it will resume normal operations.

from the FAQs at https://www.dreamingrobots.com/eew-cone-winder/

This is one of the reasons why you don’t set the winder and leave it. If something happens, that delay gives you time to fix things.

I’ll say it again: winder does have enough power to be able to pull yarn off of a swift through the tensioner unit, but at low speed settings with looser tension it seemed more likely to knot up or loop around the metal guide spirals on the tension unit, especially if the yarn wasn’t feeding in quite even with the tension unit (that pesky user messing with it…). It may seem counterintuitive, but I didn’t experience the same looping when I upped the tension and the winder speed (and left well enough alone). Pulling extra yarn from the swift to feed into the tension unit just gave the yarn opportunities to form knots and loops and catch on the tensioner.

Yarn placement is important, and getting it right makes your experience with the cone winder much smoother.

Why Buy a Cone Winder

As someone with hand and arm issues, I am so excited to have a way to wind that doesn’t depend on my arms functioning well that day. And, since cones are the most ideal yarn put-up for machine knitting, I can say goodbye to my awkward cake yarn winder. It served me well, but I’m happy to move on, and I won’t miss the occasional loops across the top and bottom that sent my yarn rolling.

At $259, the electric eel cone winder is not cheap. That’s a chunk of change for anyone, but if you want to use hand knitting yarns by machine and your ball winder isn’t cutting it, I think it’s worth the investment, especially if you have years of knitting in front of you, or if you are like me and have issues with your hands, wrists, and arms in general. Cutting out the winding motion lets me use my body’s limited energy to work on actual knitting.

All opinions are honest and my own. Purchases are made with my own money. Links may be affiliate links. If you choose to purchase something using my Amazon affiliate link, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you. If you don’t have somewhere local to purchase your machine knitting needs, please consider using my links to support the site! 

Thank you for joining me on my machine knitting journey! How do you prepare your yarn for machine knitting? Will you invest in a cone winder? Let me know in the comments! 

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Book Review, Knitting Machines

Machine Knitting Techniques: Texture and 3D Effects

elyknits

If you have a little bit of Christmas Cash and you feel like investing in yourself for the New Year, pick up the newly-released Texture and 3D Effects Machine Knitting Techniques book. Amber Hards teaches texture and playfulness in her essential addition to the series.

“[Hards] encourages you to explore and experiment with confidence to produce exciting, tactile knitwear.”

publisher’s blurb

Find it here on Amazon.

The Details

Published: January 1, 2024 (US/NA)Publisher: The Crowood Press
Format: PaperbackPages: 144
MSRP: $24.99Canada: $32.99

Chapters

Materials and StripesManual Tucks
PunchcardsWeaving
I-cords, Strips of Knit, & 3D EmbellishmentPartial Knit: Frills, Bobbles, Loops, 3D Scales
Lace Holes & LaddersPattern Collection

Overview

Amber Hards is a UK-based knitwear designer and maker who has been teaching machine knitting since 2016. Her website showcases years of her work, and I encourage you to give it a look. I especially recommend viewing her “Loving Love” show. You can see why those behind the Machine Knitting Techniques series enlisted her aid with tactile knitting!

The Crowood Press set a high standard for photographic instruction with their Machine Knitting Techniques series, and Hards meets that here. Instructions are clear with illustrative photos. Hards uses color contrast strategically to illustrate steps and movement of textures, but the generally monochromatic palette helps you visualize the textures of the stitches.

The “Pattern Collection” at the end of the book is a bit underwhelming with only two patterns, but remember that this is a technique book. The focus is, as it should be, on technique instruction.

Practicality

“When I show students more textured skills, they often express feeling overwhelmed by the process. As different techniques are often presented as all-over swatches where the stitch or technique is packed together throughout the swatch, many of these textured effects often feel too “runway” or high fashion for a beginner or casual machine knitter. “Where on earth would you actually wear that?” is a common question.

You don’t have to use these techniques all over! A large shawl completely done in one technique can be stunning, but remember that small, pinpointed uses of these details can add to an otherwise simple garment.

This partial knitting shawl I made in 2019 looks like a myriad of connected i-cords or winding snakes of stockinette stitch. It was created by moving groups of needles in and out of work.

Designer Linda Jensen uses the same technique for the bodice of this Ripple Top. Confining it to one part of a garment doesn’t diminish the visual interest this stitch generates. It just refines it.

Pintucks in the shoulder area add interest to an otherwise simple October Cardigan by Jesie Ostermiller. Using them over an entire cardigan could be interesting, but confining the texture to one area created a way to draw the eye upwards.

This October Cardigan was knitted on my Passap Bulky Eight and was one of the first machine knitted projects I created.

It’s not perfect, but I learned so much making it!

Why don’t you try choosing a technique from Texture and 3D Effects and place it in a similar location as the pintucks in this cardigan?

Buy or Bypass?

Of the Machine Knitting Technique books released so far, I suppose you could skip this one, but I think that would be a mistake. Developing skills like these can help you in your other works. Paying attention to how textured stitches are weighted while you knit them, for example, helps you become more aware of your work as it sits on the machine.

Texture and 3D Effects might feel like it is written more for the aspiring designer than your everyday machine knitter, but let’s face it- if you are a machine knitter, you need to learn to be comfortable being the designer yourself because of the lack of available patterns.

Hards encourages playfulness in machine knitting, and I applaud that.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

I hope you’ll explore your creativity on the knitting machine even more this year and realize that you might just already be a designer.

Happy 2024!

Thank you for joining me on this machine knitting journey! What texture technique from the book will you try first? Let me know in the comments!

Disclaimer: Links on this site may be Amazon Affiliate links. If you choose to purchase an item using my affiliate link, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you.

If you don’t have a local shop to support, please consider using my link and supporting the site!

I purchased this book with my own money. All opinions are honest and my own.

If you would like to submit a book, yarn, accessory, or other idea for review, please contact me through my contact form.

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Book Review

Machine Knitting Techniques: Cables

elyknits

The Crowood Press has released quite the handful of machine knitting books recently, and you won’t want to miss them. Bill King, someone you might recognize from his regular contributions to Machine Knitting Monthly, shares his wealth of knowledge in this Cables edition of Machine Knitting Techniques.

Once a few basic techniques have been mastered, the number of cable designs available is virtually endless.

The Crowood Press

The Details

Published: 2023Publisher: The Crowood Press
Format: PaperbackPages: 112
MSRP: $21.99Canada: $28.99

Chapters

The Basics of Cable Knitting on the MachinePress Off Relief
One Tool Cables on the Single BedSuper-sized Grafted Cables
Racked Cables on the RibberCables and Fisherman’s Rib
Deflected or Moved Ribs3×1 Mock Rib Cables
Partial Knit CablesCable Miscellany
Pattern Collection

Overview

Bill King is a freelance knitwear designer and technician who has worked extensively for the knitwear industry in the UK and overseas. His designs have sold to Calvin Klein, DKNY, Anthropology, amongst others. With 40 years of knitting experience, Bill holds regular knit workshops and seminars in the UK and has written the Masterclass feature in Machine Knitting Monthly for the past ten years.

Vogue Knitting Live

Machine Knitting Techniques: Cables is a skill book and focuses on instruction rather than patterns, though it does offer four patterns with instruction for three sizes each at the end of the book.

Examples are shown on a standard 4.5mm gauge machine, and most use a ribber bed, so you will need a ribber bed to get the most out of the book.

Instead of schematics, it has needle layout diagrams. If you are new to this type of diagram, it might take you a bit to get used it, but they are straightforward. Over a grid where each square represents one needle, a “|” symbol denotes a needle in work while an “o” denotes a needle out of work. You might sometimes encounter this type of diagram without the grid, as well.

Each new skill has an accompanying exercise with step-by-step instructions so you can practice. From intarsia to plating to tuck stitches, almost every type of cable combination you can think of is in this book.

☼ Project Idea! Keep your exercise swatches and make a patchwork sweater! ☼

Bill King Has Me Thinking More Like a Machine Knitter

The vast majority of my yarn friends are hand knitters or crocheters, and Ravelry is still my go-to for pattern browsing and inspiration. I’ve hand knitted so many cabled things and designed a few of my own, so I’d say I’m at least an intermediate cable knitter. Well, hand knitter.

I never thought about things like Press Off Relief or Mock Ribs. I didn’t need to think of things like that in hand knitting since I could simply knit a few stitches a little bit looser or perform a purl stitch to make a rib. The confines of my hand knitting didn’t need that sort of experimentation or modification. If I wanted to experiment with cables and crossing stitches, I just picked up my needles and started knitting.

Bill King doesn’t shy away from the limitations of the knitting machine. I feel like he leans into them. By making sure the reader understands what things that don’t work well, he reminds the knitter that there are possibilities in the workarounds. Because I spent a decade hand knitting before approaching machine knitting, I found myself thinking “that just doesn’t work well on the machine, so I’ll do it by hand.” King has not only proved that notion wrong, but has inspired me to experiment more with what is actually possible on the machine.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I appreciate the years of industry knowledge King shares in the Cables technique book. If you’re looking for an extensive look into cabling on the knitting machine, you need to pick up a copy.

Where to Buy

If you don’t have a local shop to support, please consider using my amazon affiliate link to purchase your book. I may earn a small commission at no cost to you, and it helps support the site.

Thank you for joining me on my machine knitting journey! Do you have Machine Knitting Techniques: Cables by Bill King? What is your favorite new cable technique? Let me know in the comments!

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Book Review, Knitting Machines

Discovering Machine Knitting by Kandy Diamond

elyknits

I love my vintage machine knitting book collection, but new machine knitting books just make my day. They’re proof that machine knitting isn’t dying — it’s still evolving, and dare I say, growing.

Discovering Machine Knitting by Kandy Diamond releases in North America on October 10, 2023.

It’s more than just an eye-catching cover. Here are my thoughts:

Perfect for beginners, it starts with how the machine works and how stitches are formed, all the way through to shaping garment panels to your desired size and fit. Each chapter focuses on different skills that build throughout the book, with lots of projects so you can put the skills into practice and make some knits for yourself.

If you work through the step-by-step instructions and projects in this book, by the end of it you will be designing and knitting your own garments!

Excerpts from the publisher’s blurb

The Details

Published: 2023Publisher: The Crowood Press
Format: PaperbackPages: 160
MSRP: $24.00Canada: $32.99

Chapters

Chapter 1: Before You StartChapter 2: Getting Started
Chapter 3: Pattern and Garment ConstructionChapter 4: Simple Shaping
Chapter 5: Colour and DesignChapter 6: Level Up – Ribber
Chapter 7: Design Your Own

What I’m Looking For

If you missed my last book review on Alison Dupernex’s Creative Machine Knitting, here’s the rundown on what I look for in a machine knitting book.

Schematics are the first thing I look for in a knitting book of any kind. Schematics make it possible to change yarns and still have a correctly sized finished garment. For plus-size knitters like myself, they make it much easier to adjust sizing. It’s non-negotiable for me– a “good” book requires schematics.

I want to see what makes up the designer’s perspective. What makes them unique? How do they work with the classics? What do they bring to the crafting community, and what do they think of that community?

If a book touts itself as a skill book, I want to see pictures and detailed how-to’s throughout. Machine knitting can become intuitive, but setup often includes multiple steps that are easy to miss if someone becomes overwhelmed during the learning process.

Overview

Discovering Machine Knitting by Kandy Diamond is a start from scratch course based on using a standard gauge (4.5mm) domestic knitting machine, but that doesn’t mean users with other gauge machines won’t find it useful. Basic skills translate between machines, and while mid-gauge users (6.5-7mm) will need to learn to hand select needles for colorwork, the skill-building projects are still worthwhile.

Diamond begins the book teaching readers about the knitting machine itself–parts and accessories; stitch formation; fiber considerations; basic cleaning, maintenance, and troubleshooting.

Chapters each teach a different set of skills and are further divided into sections with detailed written instructions accompanied by step-by-step photos and colorful diagrams. Example pictures use bright and easy to see colors with contrasting colors illustrating notable instances in the knitting process.

Designer profiles throughout the book introduce readers to artists across the industry, offering more perspectives to beginners along with showing the possibilities of what they, too, can do after they have completed the book’s course.

Thoughts

I greatly appreciate those with decades long machine knitting careers who have shared their work with us, but I often feel a generational disconnect because, well, we are from different generations, and sometimes machine knitting patterns and the craft itself just feel… old. I want my peers to look at my work and not think I’m just doing granny things.

Discovering Machine Knitting makes machine knitting look approachable, fun, and current. The book echoes the bright and fun vibe that Kandy Diamond curates on her Instagram account through her brand Knit and Destroy, and the beginner-appropriate projects feel updated and wearable.

The book is instructional without feeling sterile. The designer profiles and Diamond’s own designs offer inspiration and remind the reader that this is only the beginning. This combined with the well thought out photos and use of color to illustrate separation in steps keeps the book engaging and the messaging clear. There is so much attention to detail in this book, and I feel Diamond’s enthusiasm through the pages

Diamond walks you through the knitting design process from yarn selection and swatch to finishing and makes the math involved feel like just another step in the knitting process as opposed to the “intimidating barrier” many students I’ve encountered consider it. The book is worth a buy for the design math alone.

There aren’t a ton of projects in this book, but each is customizable, skill-building, and wearable, so I think you’ll find yourself making them more than once.

I made an autumn-themed version of Diamond’s Sweet and Simple Block Jumper using Brown Sheep Company’s NatureSpun Sport 100% wool.

This is a great project that will help beginners get a good feel for the machine and gain confidence in their design abilities. More on this yarn and project in a future post.

drying swatch
purl side view
true-to-life colors
KitKat approved
having a soak

Schematics? Where appropriate
Perspective? Explorative and focused on contemporary design
How To’s? Detailed and well thought out

This book makes me excited. After reading my copy from Blackwell’s UK, I asked the shop owner where I teach to order a few copies for the North American release so I could recommend it to my students. One of my students even mentioned its upcoming release to me at a lesson to make sure I knew of it!

If you’re a beginner or someone who needs a skill refresh after years away, this book is for you. If you’re not a beginner but you want to learn more about machine knitting designers of today and support their work, this book is for you. If you’re just looking for project inspiration, this book is for you.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Where to Buy

If you don’t have a local yarn shop or bookstore who can order this for you, please consider using my Amazon affiliate link when you purchase your copy of Kandy Diamond’s Discovering Machine Knitting. I may earn a small commission at no cost to you that helps me continue providing free content.

Discovering Machine Knitting releases in the United States on October 10, 2023.

Thanks for joining me on my machine knitting journey! If you have an idea for a yarn, book, or product for me to review, please let me know through my contact page.

Did I miss something? Disagree? Let me know in the comments!

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Book Review, colorwork

Confronting Color

elyknits

In case you missed it, I recently reviewed Alison Dupernex’s Creative Machine Knitting.

And boy can I say I was excited but also nervous when I noticed she replied to my Instagram post about the review.

…I threw all my designs in and my ‘colour madness’ to encourage and inspire knitters to go and make for themselves.

Alison Dupernex

Click on the post to view the entire comment.

Her color stories are sometimes very “out there” to me, as in “there’s no way I’d personally choose that,” but her comment on my review got me thinking. 

I decided to pick up Designing with Colour, another book Dupernex wrote in 2020. (I’ll fully review that one soon, but it’s another nice one).

Somehow her color choices didn’t feel as wild to me as they did in Creative Machine Knitting, the most recently published one, but Dupernex’s design theory and point of view remain consistent.

I’ve changed. 

I started to ruminate on how I use color in my own work. 

My default want is to add texture. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Texture is lovely. But I ran into the thought

… am I afraid of color work? 

I adore hand dyed yarns from indie dyers. I love to let the yarn do the work for me color-wise. I like to see how the colors pool, stripe, or blend together. I know what I’m working with, but I don’t know exactly how the garment will turn out, and each skein is unique. 

Does letting the yarn do the work for me make me a lazy knitter? I don’t think so. 

Does that make me a lazy designer? Not necessarily…

But I think it does make me a bit complacent.

It’s easy to rely on beautiful hand dyes to catch eyes and bring people to your work. 

It’s not at all a bad thing to use the gorgeous colors others have curated in your work. 

But I’m not really growing or building skills as a knitter or designer that way. 

Starting Out Small

I initially felt drawn to Dupernex’s color blocked designs the most. I decided to start with her Blocked Sweater from Creative Machine Knitting that featured textured striping on the sleeves and borders of the garment since texture is my favorite thing in knitting.

The design features nine colors. 

Until recently, I didn’t even own nine colors in the same yarn. I think six is my maximum, and that’s if you count Silk City Fibers Cotton Bamboo and Lion Brand CoBoo as the same yarn in different put-ups. 

I found some new old stock vintage Millor Trenzado Industrial cone yarn through a Facebook post (read some tips on finding cone yarn in this post), so I finally have enough colors in the same weight of yarn to experiment.

Sorting through this was overwhelming

After looking through the cones, I had no clue where to start choosing colors. I googled “color palettes” and ended up at Coolers.co narrowing down their existing color palettes to those with nine colors. From there, I tried to see which ones 1) I liked and 2) actually existed in my new cone stash. 

I landed me with this one. I took a screenshot, but I’ve been unable to locate it again. I’ll update with a direct link if I find it.

This palette gives me a southwestern US vibe, and I like that. Holding vacation thoughts in my head, I matched the colors as best as I could from the existing pile and buckled down to knit. 

This photo is rather heavily filtered to make the yarn as close to in-person color as possible.

Actually Knitting

Trenzado Industrial is probably a little bit large for this project, but I decided to continue with the fabric at the pattern’s prescribed tension because it knit well on my Brother KH890 and blocked out nicely. 

After knitting the back right, I quickly realized I needed to dig out a color changer so I could avoid having to get up every few rows to change colors. Just a note: If you decide to get a color changer, there is a difference in models for Brother machines at least, and some will not work with the ribber bed attached while others will. 

The garment itself wasn’t difficult to knit, but I made it a bit harder on myself by reversing the shaping on one front while I was listening to a podcast. 

I didn’t realize until I went to pin the piece onto my dress form, so I had to rehang the stitches and unravel a few inches so I could fix the neck and shoulders. It wasn’t a big deal, but I felt a bit silly. 

I’ve always admitted to being a lazy knitter, so I didn’t enjoy knitting the sleeves. Changing yarns so often was annoying, and I didn’t feel like I could get in the groove with so many quick sections and color changes alongside the decreases. That’s on me, but it is harder to knit something when you don’t enjoy the process.

I do like the overall color palette that the coolers app presented, but in addition to being a lazy knitter by nature, I think I must be a second-guesser, especially since I opted for some tans instead of oranges due to supply. 

I questioned my color choices the entire time I was knitting. Is this orange too bright for the southwest feel? Why did I think this needed a green? That’s too minty, why did I think it was a light sage? 

I had to keep telling myself to trust the process. 

Trust the process. Trust the process…

What do you think? 

It looks pretty okay, right? I’ve been telling myself, “Look here, overthinking second-guesser. It turned out great and now you have a color palette ready for the next one!”

But let me overthink some more…

Since I already liked color blocked items, just doing one with striped sleeves and calling it a day doesn’t really mean I’ve done much “Confronting Color,” now, does it?

Here’s to the next one with less anxiety over the color palette and even more use of color!

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Book Review

Creative Machine Knitting by Alison Dupernex

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Here in the USA, recent Machine Knitting books seem few and far between. That’s not the case across the pond, and I’ve been able to find quite a few wonderful skill and pattern books published within the past five years from the UK.

Here’s my review of Creative Machine Knitting: A Voyage of Discovery into Colour, Shape and Stitches by Alison Dupernex.

Creative Machine Knitting is simply a treasure trove for machine knitters overflowing with inspiration and design know-how. Expand your creative vocabulary, knit with an open mind and be prepared to have a go, make changes and look to improvise—push yourself out of your comfort zone.

[T]he book features over 100 patterns, all of which can be adapted and form the basis of new designs.

Jacket Blurb

The Details

Published: 2022Publisher: The Crowood Press
Format: HardbackPages: 256
MSRP: £35.00~$44.00 as of this post

Chapters

An Introduction to Design SourcesWaistcoats
Sustainable Options for Knitwear DesignersChildren’s Knitwear
Design BasicsAccessories
Classic Jackets and CardigansInteriors
Painting with YarnCable Directory
Designing with Panels and BordersStitch Pattern Directory
Shawl Collar Cardigans
Diagonal Knitting

What I’m Looking For

If it’s a machine knitting book in print today, you can bet I’m going to get my hands on it. If it’s a good book, I’m recommending it to my friends. If it’s a great book, I’m recommending it to my students, too.

But what am I looking for? What makes a book good or great?

Schematics
Pictures, illustrations, and diagrams are vital to any skill book. Knitting books, hand or machine, must have pattern schematics to be “good.” Schematics are the first thing I look for in a book.
I like to play around with yarns and rarely, if ever, use the recommended yarn for a pattern. Schematics make it easy to change yarns and still have the correct finished garment.  

Perspective
I look for eye-catching designs and unique pattern elements, twists on familiar classics, and sections sharing the writer’s design thoughts and philosophy along with thoughtful commentary on the crafting community.

How To’s
If a book is geared towards building new skills, I look for step-by-step tutorials with plenty of photos, but I don’t think every book needs to spend chapters dedicated to starting from scratch. I appreciate books for those of us who have made it past the beginner stage and don’t need our hands held.

Overview

Creative Machine Knitting is aimed at the experienced machine knitter who wants to explore knitwear design. Dupernex begins with a section on culture, books and patterns, and key considerations on originality. She emphasizes adapting elements you like and using your own skills to create designs rather than copying someone else’s work. She encourages you to experiment with your style, research the market, and make production choices based on feasibility, but what I appreciated most was the chapter called Sustainable Options for Knitwear Designers. That section includes fiber analysis, types of sustainability, and commentary on the Slow Fashion movement.
Dupernex includes a brief history of classic cardigans before diving in to her patterns. Building onto those classics, she includes punchcards and color instructions for customization and explains her design process and inspiration. There is a wealth of punchcard information in this book that mainly focuses on using fair isle techniques.

Thoughts

Schematics? Check!
Each pattern features schematics, but most patterns are one size.
I don’t know Ms. Dupernex’s measurements, but I’m 5’8″ with a 48″ bust, and some of the measurements don’t hit me in the same places they did her. Since many of these patterns are knit sideways, adding length could pose a problem. Tall and plus size ladies like myself will need to do the math to knit these patterns and be willing to rework a few things if needed.

Perspective? Lovely, but overwhelming…
I appreciate that Dupernex took the time and space in this book to focus on what the industry can be moving forward and choices designers can make to help it become sustainable and more focused on small, local businesses and creators. As knitters, we aren’t pumping out cheap tees with fun slogans that wither in the wash after a few wears. We should strive to create quality when we knit, and I think responsible material choices are included in that.

As for her designs themselves, I have very mixed feelings on Dupernex’s work. I love her use of classic shapes, but I prefer texture over colorwork any day. Dupernex relies on colorwork for the majority of patterns in this book, and I cannot see myself making the same color choices she has.

Stripes, stripes, and more stripes in every color under the sun often lead to the eye being drawn to random places on the body–places the wearer might or might not wish to emphasize. The busyness of the colors is often overwhelming to me, and I find myself drawn to her color blocked, earth toned patterns over the majority that use color-changing fair isle stripes.

Because of the focus on color, the cable directory feels a little out of place, but I love that Dupernex made sure to include texture in her book. We definitely do not agree on color usage, but I think seeing this (what feels to me) extreme color usage will help me grow as a knitter and designer.

How To’s
Dupernex gives precise color instructions down to the row on how to recreate her color madness, but since she included sections on blending yarn and choosing inspiration, you don’t have to feel tied to the pattern or her color choices.

Overall…

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Should you buy Creative Machine Knitting? For me, it’s a resounding “YES” despite my color and stripe issues. The chapters on sustainability and design considerations from someone who has long been in the machine knitting industry are worth it. The tips on finding inspiration plus the fair isle colorwork experience, as wild as I found it, will help you solidify your own design perspectives. It may be too much for brand new beginners, but the step-by-step color instructions could help the more confident beginner knit their own technicolor dreamcoat.

Where to Buy

I bought my copy during a sale from Blackwell’s UK along with other machine knitting books that haven’t had their US release yet.

I’m a bit of a hypocrite here because I didn’t wait for US release to shop local, but I hope you’ll consider asking your local yarn shop or bookstore to order the book for you.

If you don’t have a local shop that can order the book, please consider using my Amazon Affiliate link to order. It doesn’t cost you any extra, and I may receive a small commission that will help me continue bringing you free content.

Thank you for joining me on my machine knitting journey. Do you have Creative Machine Knitting by Alison Dupernex? What do you think? If you don’t, do you plan on buying it? Let me know in the comments below.

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Knitting Machines, tutorial

Yarn Plating and the SilverReed LK150

elyknits

Have you heard of plating? Not metal plating- yarn plating on the knitting machine!

Most knitting machines can plate with an attachment or interchangeable carriage piece, but plating is a built-in carriage capability on the Silver Reed LK150 6.5mm mid-gauge machine.

It’s described in the manual as two different yarns knitted together where

one yarn appears on the knit side while the second yarn appears on the purl side of the knitting

SilverReed LK150 Instruction Manual p22

The yarns are usually different weights and fibers with one giving additional support to the construction of the fabric and/or adding special visuals like the swatch below.

(If you really want to dive into the technicalities, check out section 6.8.3 Plating in Knitting Technology by David J. Spencer. I thought it was a fascinating read!)

rainbow rayon thread plated on the knit side over a wool dress yarn purl side

Adding Structure – My AHA! Moment

The swatch above uses a very thin, thread weight rainbow rayon yarn over a wool dress yarn of about fingering weight to create a fabric that couldn’t exist without utilizing plating. But how did I get there?

When I was a machine knitting beginner, my friend gifted me THREE CONES of thread weight rainbow rayon yarn. It’s lovely. I adore the colors.

But…

The yarn is so thin that I found it difficult to work with on a standard 4.5mm gauge knitting machine. It’s just too small, and I had no clue what I could make with it. Perhaps a light shawl, but I didn’t think that would work.

Plus… rayon isn’t known as “the poor man’s silk” for nothing. It has a smooth texture and a lovely drape. But that drape comes with drop sometimes. Rayon knits can stretch in length under their own weight, and that can create some fit issues like armholes dropping or skirts falling to an undesired length.

So rayon isn’t always a good choice for some projects unless you combine it with another fiber and use it in a blended yarn, but I already had yarn that was 100% rayon with no clue what to do with it…

That’s when my teacher and mentor Pamela Carrico of CMO Designer Knits introduced me to plating. She gave me the wool dress yarn and suggested plating my rainbow rayon yarn on top of it.

It’s. Perfect.

The wool yarn grants elasticity and memory to the fabric and gives it structure due to the way wool fiber clings to itself at the microscopic level with tiny scales. That wool yarn basically negated rayon’s inherent issues.

The wool is about fingering weight and was much more manageable than thread for me as a beginner. The fabric it created was still nice and lightweight, so that meant it was still wearable while being wool, which matters in Oklahoma.

A “what the heck” yarn turned into “this works perfectly” in an instant.

Visual Appeal

The wool yarn has a blush pinkish grey appearance that doesn’t photograph well and didn’t stand out much on its own. As someone attracted to color, I would have passed it up if Pamela hadn’t suggested it.

She knew that rayon needed structure, and she knew my particular rayon didn’t need more color.

Adding the rayon to the wool took it from slightly boring to amazing. The wool didn’t really need anything, but the rainbow colors helped it make a complete fabric.

You won’t always have yarn features or issues to work around like I did, but you might find yourself wanting something more from your yarn, and plating offers that, too.

Lurex metallic yarns are easy to find on sites like Etsy, but sparkle isn’t all you can add to your work. Bouclé yarns add both visual interest and texture to your fabric. The possibilities are nearly endless.

So if you find yourself with a yarn that just doesn’t work on its own, try plating with it!

Plating Issues

Perfect plating places the yarn on the correct side every time, but for me on my standard gauge machine, that meant very careful carriage pushing and checking every row after it was knit. Even then, it didn’t always come out as planned.

rayon rainbow thread yarn on fingering wool dress yarn

If you look closely, you can see plenty of rows where the wool came through on the purl side and the rainbow rayon came through on the knit side. I wanted the rainbow on the purl side and the wool on the knit side for this swatch, but that just didn’t happen.

So where does the LK150 come in?

So far I’ve only discussed my experience with plating on a standard 4.5mm machine, but that’s not what the title said this post was about!

In my personal experience, I have not had the issues with yarns visiting the incorrect side of the fabric when I use the LK150 for plating. Instead of using an interchangeable part, the plating feature is built into the carriage, and I believe this is what makes it a more “stable” plating option.

For the smaller “top” yarn, I’ve used the thread rayon yarn, lace weight yarns, and even sock weight yarns on top of fingering and DK weight yarns. I even attempted plating two fingering weight yarns, which worked, but it wasn’t quite as nice of a fabric as the other combinations.

While preparing this post, I tried running the carriage across the needle bed very quickly, and I still did not experience yarns hitting the incorrect side of the work. This may not be universal and my machine’s younger age (about 3-4 years) might matter. I’m not complaining!

Plating takes yarns that might not be suitable on their own for your machine and makes working with them possible.

How to Plate on the LK150

Thread one yarn into slot 1, thread a second yarn into slot 2 and knit the night away!

That’s all it takes, but you should also make sure the yarns are not close to each other where they might twist or static cling to each other as they feed through the tension unit and carriage. Twisting two yarns together can make an interesting fabric, but that is not what we want in plating.

I can never remember which slot places yarn on the knit side and the purl side, so the first row of my swatches is often opposite of what I intended.

I’ve written it all out here so you won’t have the same problem! I’ll refer to the smaller yarn as the plating yarn.

slots 1 and 2 from the top
slots 1 and 2 from the front, angled upward

If you want your plating yarn to show on the purl side, thread it into slot 2 of the carriage.

If you want the plating yarn to show on the knit side, thread it into slot 1 of the carriage.

Once your carriage is set, swatch for tension and knit as usual!

I really do mean “knit as usual.” You can short row, cable, increase, decrease, and transfer stitches as you normally would while yarn plating.

You will want to be careful about where each yarn sits on the needle with any laddering and latching up to form purls for ribbing or texture stitches. The yarns need to stay on their respective sides of the knit fabric.

The same goes for stitch transferring and fixing dropped stitches. Make sure you catch both loops of yarn and re-hang them in the right orientation.

What do you think? Have you tried plating yarn before? Do you think you’ll try it now on the Silver Reed LK150? Let me know in the comments!

As always, thank you for reading and coming along on my machine knitting journey!

Knitting Machines, resources

Resource Roundup- YouTube Edition

elyknits

Do you have a favorite machine knitting YouTuber? You will after this post!

Each channel name links to the channel, so check them out!

Anna Haferman

Anna has a tutorial about using a KnitLeader with the LK 150! How awesome is that?

She also has project videos with really clever ways to work fair isle among other things. I’ve been watching her channel a lot lately, and she might be my favorite machine knitting YouTuber!

Diana Sullivan

Diana’s channel features beginner lessons along with cast-on, cast-off, and edging videos.

This pinwheel baby blanket was one of my very first machine knitting projects. (Her channel doesn’t allow embedding videos, so there won’t be a preview for this one.)

Creative Tien

Creative Tien features machine knitting, crochet, and sewing tutorials. I found the channel very recently but have really been enjoying it.

I really like the scalloped edges from this video:

Knitology 1×1

Channel owner Elena works in London as a knitted textiles designer and shares stitch and project tutorials.

The braided cable in this tutorial makes a lovely tank top strap that I can’t wait to try:

Claire Newberry

Although she only has a few videos, they’re worth the watch. Plus, she wears gorgeous sweaters as she films!

I particularly enjoyed her bead knitting video. The swatches she displays at the beginning are gorgeous!

Carole’s Country Knits at Rocking Horse Farm

I believe they might be more active on Instagram, but the Rocking Horse Farm channel is still worth a visit!

My brain isn’t quite happy with the 90 degree rotation from flatbed to circular sock machine, so this short rowing video has been helpful:

The Answer Lady

You may know the channel from the Ask Jack machine maintenance videos, but channel also includes pattern tutorials, tips, and tricks. I’ve seen Circular Sock Machine tutorials recently, too!

The Knitting School Online

TKSO offers more classes on their website than their channel, but you can get a good idea about their paid content through their YouTube content.

This double bed jacquard video made me excited to try out my color changer attachment.

Roberta Rose Meads (previously Roberta Rose Kelly)

Some videos may be “old” by YouTube standards, but the channel is a wealth of knowledge.

I’m obsessed with short rows, so learning you can do intarsia using short rows was amazing! Check it out:

Susan Guagliumi

In addition to her books, Susan Guagliumi has Craftsy videos! Not all of them are on uploaded to YouTube, but if you’re looking to see if her Craftsy content is worth it, and I’ve had many people tell me it definitely is, check out her channel!

Knit It NOW

Sue at Knit It NOW has a wonderful website with a yearly subscription that she introduces on her channel. You can have a free membership with access to some of her content on her website, but YouTube is still a good way to browse some of what you can find at her main site. (Her channel doesn’t allow embedding videos, so there won’t be a preview for this one.)

While in-person learning will always be my learning preference, I love finding new machine knitting video resources!

Who am I missing? I’d love to watch your favorite machine knitting YouTubers.

Thanks for tagging along with me on my machine knitting journey!

Knitting Machines, Patterns

Free Step-by-Step Wristwarmer Pattern

elyknits

Happy New Year, everyone!

You might recognize this stitch from my Using The Needle Beetle with Bonus Baby Blanket Recipe post.

I received a few requests for a step-by-step tutorial (a few of which were tied up in spam filters, so my apologies to those of you who haven’t received a reply yet) so here it is!

This is a nice introduction to tuck/textured stitches for beginners since needle selection and carriage changes are isolated to the first and fourth row of this four-row repeat.

Check the notes after the pattern if you’re interested in modifications! The abbreviation key also follows the pattern.

Solid vs Multicolor in this textured tuck stitch

Materials

Silver Reed LK 150 6.5mm Mid-Gauge Knitting Machine & Accessories
1 ball Cascade 220 Superwash (or any in the 220 family)
-or-
100g worsted weight yarn

Pattern Instructions

Set carriage to Tension 6 or number needed to achieve desired fabric

Initial Setup:
1) E-wrap CO 32 stitches from left to right (16L to 16R). COR
2) Knit 1 row. COL
3) Hang cast on comb and weights. COL
4) Knit 1 row. COR. Reset RC to 000.

Pattern Repeat:
Pattern row setup:
RC 000. COR.
Set Carriage to HOLD.
Place EON in hold beginning with the second needle (16R in WP, 15R in HOLD, etc). Last needle on the left (16L) should NOT be in HOLD. You should have two stitches in WP at the left edge.

Knit 3 rows.

RC 003. COL.

Set Carriage to KNIT.
Knit 1 row.

RC 004. COR

All needles are now in WP ready for selection for the next repeat.

Repeat from pattern row setup 18 times until RC 072.

Finishing:
Knit 1 row. RC 0073.

Perform the Backstitch Bind Off. This can be found in the LK 150 manual on page 38.

Choose whether you wish to use the purl side (the side that faces you during knitting and the side pictured at the top of the post) or the knit side (looks like a wonky stockinette stitch, pictured just above) as the public/outward facing side of your wristwarmers.

Wrap the rectangle around your hand to determine how much room to leave for your thumb and sew up with a tapestry needle using your stitch of choice.

Repeat for second wristwarmer.

Step-by-Step in Pictures

Setup:
RC 000. E-wrap CO from left to right.
Knit 1 row.
Hang cast on comb and weights, being careful not to catch working yarn in the cast on comb.

If you have trouble catching stitches, try pulling the e-wrap forward into the small dip in the needles. Do not pass the latches. (Click to enlarge pictures)


Reset to RC 000. Place EON in HOLD with Carriage set to HOLD before knitting. COR.
Knit across.

RC 001. One row knitted. COL
EON in HOLD should have a strand of yarn over it.

Knit across.

RC 002. Second row knitted. COR.

EON in HOLD now has two strands of yarn over it.

Knit across.

RC 003. Third row knitted. COL.

*RC 003. Set carriage to KNIT. COL.*

Knit across.

RC 004. Fourth row knitted. COR. Needles are in WP ready to be selected for pattern repeat.

Front view of setup rows plus one pattern repeat

Pattern Notes and Modification Tips

This pattern repeat will work with any machine and appropriately-sized yarn.

Stitch count must be a multiple of 2 + 2. The +2 stitches are seaming allowance.

If you change CO and BO types, make sure to use something stretchy. Tuck is a very horizontally stretchy stitch, and hands are active!

Remember to consider the finished project’s purpose when considering changes to a pattern!

Please consider making a tension swatch before you knit.
If you feel like walking on the wild side, note that tuck stitch patterns tend to be shorter and wider than stockinette, so plan on doubling your stockinette row count to reach your desired length.

Weights are very important when knitting tucked stitches. Weight helps the strands over needles in HOLD knit off properly. If you are having issues where stitches aren’t knitting off, try adding weight.

Abbreviations

COCast On
BOBind Off
WPWorking Position
CORCarriage on Right
COLCarriage on Left
EONEvery Other Needle
RC ###Row Count ###, i.e. Row Count 023

Did you make wristwarmers using this step-by-step pattern tutorial? Please consider sharing your projects on ravelry so I can see what you made! I love seeing project pictures!

If you’d like to help support the site, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi.

As always, thank you for joining me on my machine knitting journey! Let me know what you think in the comments! I’m also happy to hear from you via my contact form or on Instagram. I believe I’ve fixed the comment/contact spam filter issue, so please don’t let that stop you!