All About Knitting Machines

This article covers in very broad terms someneedles is 9 mm and the hook is large enough and
background info on knitting machines and thethere is no risk of splitting the yarn.For machine
various models available.knitting with lace the machine needs to be used
A knitting machine is used to produce knittedas manual or semi-manual.
fabrics and clothes on a fixed bed of hookedThe smallest yarns you can use when knitting
needles. A knitting machine is made of a needlewith this machine are Sport and DK weight yarns
bed, a carriage and yarn guides but it may have. Some of the techniques you can undertake on
other attachments as well. Latchet hooks hold thethis machine are: tuck, slip, intarsia, weaving, and
stitches.many others.
Domestic & Industrial -On the standard bed machine you can make
They can be hand powered or motor assisted.knitted suits and lace curtains. The distance
There are also domestic and industrial models ofbetween the needles is 4.5 mm and the hook
knitting machines. The domestic knitting machineslatches are much smaller. The lace is automatic.
produce a fabric that looks handmade becauseYou can do fair isle, tuck, slip, manual cables and
they use the weft knitting method. It is obviouslyothers. Baby weight is the most popular weight
easier to knit using a knitting machine and a lotused for this machine. DK weight is the largest
faster because knitting machines make an entireyarn that can be knit with this knitting machine.
row of loops in a single movement. AnotherThe Standard 200 can knit very fine yarns , up
reason for using knitting machines is that theto a sport weight.
fabric made with a machine looks better in manyThe Silver Reed Gauge SK830(3.6 mm) is a
instances than the hand-knitted fabric, the lattermachine used for fine yarns. It is perfect when
having large areas of plain stocking stitch. Finallyknitted in an open and loose fabric and light and
,you do not have to be a professional knitter toairy fabric. Knit at tension 5 or 7 and use 2 or 3
make wonderful clothes because many machinesstrands together.
are fairly simple to operate and it can be a greatFor the Hand Knitted Look -
way to begin to knit .If you want to have garments that look and feel
However, you must not confuse knitting machinesmore like the hand-knitted garments you should
with sewing machines. A knitting machine is morebuy a mid-gauge knitting machine.
complicated- it has springs, buttons, wires andKnitting with a machine is straightforward but you
hooksand most Importantly you need to realizeneed to consider when using a machine the
you have to use machine-knitting books to getpatterns, many are not easily inter-changeable
the pattern you want because hand knittingbetween machines, some are but It is hard but
books can't be used with a machine as they arenot impossible, but is probably best left until
not compatible.you've had a little experience of using a knitting
Different Machines -machine as you have to spend a lot of time
A Bulky size machine is used for making heavycalculating, multiplying and dividing to modify the
sweaters because the distance between thepattern.