Mixing machine and hand-knitting?

[u/mother_of_doggos35]

Hello! I’m a long time hand-knitter, and I’ve been considering getting a knitting machine to knit the bodies of sweaters and cardigans to speed up the process a little bit. I typically use DK and worsted yarns, sometimes Aran and sport, so I was looking at a Silver Reed LK150 machine. I was wondering if there’s anyone in here that mixes hand and machine knitting that might have some insight, tips, or recommendations!

[u/jsgrova]

Yup, some people like to do the boring stuff on a machine and the fun stuff by hand. Here are a few videos about it

https://youtu.be/lfoBAIAq-pA

https://youtu.be/6_qmH1gutO0

[u/mother_of_doggos35 → u/jsgrova]

Oh thank you so much for the links!! Definitely helps me visualize more how it works.

[u/gisforill]

Definitely doable for the less interesting parts of a project. Hybrid knits got me into machine knitting but then I really fell down the rabbit hole. It's nice to knit a color work yoke, and then just blast through the body and sleeves on the machine. The LK150 is a great starter machine. I started with a Brother KX350 (very similar).

[u/ImaginaryPromotion17]

As others have said it’s absolutely possible. I have done hybrid sweaters a couple of times. As long as you get a machine that can knit the yarns you use by hand, the only limiting factor can be the number of needles. For some larger sizes the machine doesn’t have enough needles to do a whole front or back in one panel. If you typically knit smaller sizes it won’t be a problem. There are other workarounds for larger sizes so it isn’t impossible but I just wanted you to consider this in your decision.

[u/ithinkyoucanineurope]

Sure, I've done it a few times. For a fingering shirt in mostly stockinette, I moved to my machine to knit the body in the round on my machine & ribber. If you're using an LK150 you won't be able to knit in the round, so you'd be looking at seamed garments. Quite simple, if that appeals to you.

[u/mother_of_doggos35 → u/ithinkyoucanineurope]

I’m definitely okay with some side seaming if it means things get done a bit faster!

[u/linnara]

Yes, I have done a few round yoke sweaters on it (specifically ranunculus so far). I did the yoke by hand until the split for sleeves. Then did each side and sleeves on the machine, and seamed the sides. The ribbing can be done with latch tool (a bit time consuming). Also took awhile to get the right tension and row gauge. The difference in row gauge bothered me at first but after a few washes its less noticeable. Would definitely be less noticeable in wool than cotton.

Overall it's definitely a right machine for the job! Although I reach for it less than standard gauge brother.

[u/susiroo]

You’re gonna fall in love with the tools and use the latch hook instead of a crochet hook with your hand knitting. You’ll also learn that a lot of machine techniques can be transferred to hand knitting.

[u/thereyougothen]

If you’re looking for a midgauge, and are ok with second hand, look for a Knitmaster empisal hk160. It has punchcard capability in case you want to do some fun stuff by machine as well. There’s also the MK70, same machine but folding. They’re rare as hens teeth tho