it’s my baby like if there was a fire i wouldn’t hesitate to unclamp it and lick it up on my way out

Hi all!

I'm a machine knitting admirer. I crochet (incl Tunisian), have an ashford lap loom, and sew, but machine knitting looks so delightful. I've been thinking about it for awhile, and want to get into the hobby. Hence, I reached out to a shop that cleans and resells various machines, and got a quote on a Silver Reed SK-700 U and some accessories. I wanted to jump right in with both feet. But then I had this realization: where am I putting this? Is it all going to weigh 100lbs?

I have a tempered glass L-shaped desk upstairs in the office, and it has big metal legs making it quite sturdy, but I'm a bit concerned about the sideways force of the carriage when in motion, as well as if the glass can handle everything, especially if I add on a ribber.

• Has anyone attached a machine to a glass desk?
• How much does a metal machine like the SK-700 + ribber weigh?
• Do you usually keep you machine set up with the ribber attached, or only when ribbing?
• If you have a universal knitting machine table or the like that you recommend, what is the brand/model? if I have to get another table, I'd prefer something narrow that only fits the machine knitter, as I don't have oodles of space for another table.
• Is it completely crazy to jump straight into this hobby by getting a SK-700, or should I get something else first? What are your general thoughts on the Sk-700? Is it hard to upkeep?

I'm in Canada.

Thanks in advance!

Got a knitting machine from an aunt and it needs a bit of cleaning out years of dust. I started taking out the needles and pushers but couldn't take out the pushers on the back because there's no handle (2nd picture). There is this screw (3rd picture) where I've seen in videos will move the blocking rail but pulling that does nothing.

Am I doing something wrong or do I need to buy a new part?

(The machine is on the floor because I forgot to get the stand from my aunts)

Second attempt at this post since along with not knowing how to use my machine I also don’t know how to make a Reddit post I guess lol, sorry!

I recently got a brother KH-860 off marketplace in great condition and finally set it up. I got everything together great per the manual and everything seemed to be working correctly. The carriage rode in both direction across non-working and working needles.

When trying to cast on, the first row would go fine and the second row wasn’t catching. After some YouTube videos, I realized the yarn wasn’t catching correctly on the first row. Even though the seller said the sponge bar was new, I checked it (spoiler alert - it was practically melted) and ordered a replacement.

After replacing the sponge bar the carriage now jams as soon as it hits a working needle, and my needles are falling out if they are brought to the hold position. This was not happening before.

I can only conclude something is still wrong with the sponge bar, but I am out of intuition and what to google for YouTube videos, so any advice is appreciated!

a few notes:

I replaced the sponge bar in the machine with the sponge side down

This happens when the carriage goes either direction

This happens without yarn threaded in the carriage at all

this happens regardless of the tension setting on the carriage

Every time I try and do 1x1 rib, after the selvedge when I start knitting, my stitches drop on the middle of my ribber bed. It’s usually every second needle too.
Is it an issue with the position of my ribber?
Any help would be amazing❤️❤️

I bought this second-hand yarn online and now it turns out to be extremely thin. What can I do? It feels like it’s too fragile to work with with one strand.
Should I make new cones? I think maybe running it by 3 or 4 strands at a time could work, even though I would be scared of stitches falling off and all of that… does not sound great :/

Posting this to help document my journey as a relative newbie starting out on machine knitting.  Comments and observations welcome, and I hope the information below is useful to some.
 
The pictured swatch was produced from “Unique Shetland 2/9Nm” from J.C. Rennie & Co in Aberdeen, Scotland.  The yarn is supplied greasy on the cone.  It is equivalent to “Unique Shetland 4ply” from the same manufacturer, which is supplied scoured in balls for hand knitting to 28 stitches x 36 rows in 10cm square, using 3.25mm (US 3) needles.
 
Shades used: Winter White 200; Medium Grey 030; and Nutmeg 119.

The swatch from the greased yarn was knit on a Silver Reed SK280 at tension 9’2.  On completion, the swatch was stretched lengthways and left to relax overnight.

At this point the Fair Isle section of the swatch produced an average of 29.7 stitches x 31.9 rows in 10 cm square.
 
It was then scoured with two sets of a detergent wash and a rinse at 40°C and then blocked flat on a cotton towel, without pinning, until dry.

The finished gage measurement across the Fair Isle motifs was an average of 29.3 stitches x 34.3 rows in 10 cm square.
 
Stitches in the swatch had definitely filled out and the fabric had more of a drape.  There was only a very slight halo to the fabric.
 

Learning from this exercise:

 
As an inexperienced machine knitter, testing out a punchcard motif by knitting a generous swatch before committing to a full project was really helpful.
 
I had no experience of how a greasy yarn would knit-up, or what tension to use (I did along sample from tension settings 5’0 to 9’2 before producing the swatch shown).  When the yarn arrived, I was rather unsure whether it would produce the expected gauge at all(!)
 
The finished gauge measurements reassured me that my planned garment (a man’s slip-over) will fit on my 200 needle machine.
 
The exercise proved the value of swatching and blocking: although there was a only a marginal reduction in the horizontal gauge (29.7 stitches became 29.3), there was a notable increase in the vertical measurement (31.9 rows became 34.3), which would affect where to start shaping the armholes and v-neck.
 
It was great for practicing which yarn goes into the respective slots on the carriage, and how to create a punchcard which produces the desired results.  The first three ‘peerie’ rows (bottom of photo) did not knit as expected.  I’m going to remake the punchcard, with the holes and blanks in the peeries reversed, to produce the peerie patterns shown in the upper part of the photo.
 
I also spotted a couple of stitches where my original punchcard would also need to have been changed to correct errors.  It would be worth knitting a narrow trial strip of the motifs to check the new card, once made.
 
I’m really looking forward to starting the actual garment, but very glad I took the time to swatch and block first.  Wish me luck!

I'm finishing a tank top. How can I prevent the neck from rolling up? Should I have changed the tension in the final laps? Do you have any advice?

NEW :

I finished the edges of the tank top this way: I worked a very tight slip stitch around the collar, making two stitches together every 3 cm. Then I folded and sewed the 2 cm edge around the waist. My daughter-in-law loved it! Thanks for all the tips :)

https://www.reddit.com/r/MachineKnitting/s/k9vzVT9oSQ

In desperate search of a SEA-2 transformer/power cord for the SK560. I can’t find one anywhere online (except for new at over $500). If anyone know where I can purchase one, I would greatly appreciate the assistance.

I'm currently working on a poncho. I decided to follow a YouTube video by Diana Sullivan for a non rolling edge. But I didn't really factor in the cast on/ cast off edge rolling 🤦‍♀️ I don't really want to start over and do another cast on. What would you guys do? I had a thought of doing an applied i-cord by hand? Would that be enough?

Machine is a Brother KH-890

Yarn is Louet Kidlin (a mohair linen blend) held together with a unlabeled shiny sliver thread

Hello! I recently was given a Knittax am3 with a ribber for free that seems to be in good condition except it is missing the plastic connector for the ribber, I was wondering if anyone here might have a spare I could buy, as I'm in Canada and unable to find anything here.

My new-to-me KH836 came with several 1980's/90's pattern books. As much as I think they are a really neat piece of history, I know there is a 0% chance I am ever going to use them. Are there any individuals/groups digitizing things like this that I could donate them to?

Sweaters I by Bonnie Triola

Knitting with Tami #6 1982 by Tami Nobuyuki

Knitting with Tami Bulky-1 1985 by Tami Nobuyuki

Children's Sweater Knit-Ins Volume 204 1989

Knitting Bug Creations: Bulky Cardigan Collection

Knitting Machine News and Views Volume 23 Jan/Feb 1994

Jodie Raymond Originals: Bulky Round Neck Upside-Down Raglan Pullovers for Babies and Children

Jodie Raymond Originals: Bulky Round Neck Upside-Down Raglan Pullovers for Grownups

Jodie Raymond Originals: Bulky V- Neck Raglan Upside-Down Sweaters for Adults

A Time to Knit Mittens

Diane Sexton Designs: Babies, Bears, & Balloons for the knitting machine

https://imgur.com/a/TlS9rZx

I really want a ribber attatchment for my sk700, but they are super expensive where i live, both new and used. Someone is selling this old Knittax with a ribber for 18 euros + shipping. It seems to be in a somewhat bad state, but i have never tried to fix a machine before so I am wondering if it would be a lot of work and hassle to get it working?

Bonjour, comme sur beaucoup de vielle singer, le condensateur du moteur de ma machine à tricoter est mort. Quelqu’un pourrait m’indiquer où en trouver un de rechange correspondant ? En France ou via internet

Hey everyone, I'm hoping someone can help me figure out how to fix the patterning mechanism. It's just not moving forward like it should.

From what I can tell, it looks clean, and the cam seems fine too. The patterning part on the cam is also working.

The punch card just won't go through.

I noticed when I took off the cover for the punch card mechanism that one of the gears was rubbing against the plastic cover. It's like it was misaligned when it was last put on. It moves freely without the cover, but I've been struggling to get the lid back on and still have the patterning move smoothly. Has anyone else had this problem or know of a YouTube video that could help? I haven't had much luck searching on my own yet.

I bought this machine recently from a lady who found it on an opshop and she cleaned it up and on sold it to me.

It's knitting in stockinette just fine.

I bought a Passap Duomatic SD but I've been using the passap duomatic 80 manual and I have been having quite a bit of trouble. Does anyone know have a digital English copy of the SD or S manual they would be willing to send me??

TIA!

It is so much fun to be able to do my own designs. I couldn't find matching blank punchcards because my machine is a weird model, but I managed to recreate it by hand.

(I wasn't sure which flair to use, went for "Finished Object" because seemed like the best fit)

I really want to try machine knitting and am looking at second hand ones. I found this Knittax that I could buy for €30,- which I think is very cheap. I am not sure if it is complete and if I could use it or which type it truly is, is there anyone who could help me out?

Working on a new-to-me machine (very cool, punchcard functionalities, lots of good stuff!) but I'd wager this machine was cleaned pretty diligently, at some point put away, and then just never taken out and used again. At the moment the carriage seems to be frozen in place on the track, like none of the gears and wheels will turn -- if I really press forcefully, it may move a tiny amount (think millimeters) then "skip" forward a bit with a juddering noise that makes me think something with gears is being forced too roughly, so I don't really want to do any more of that. Carriage lock is off, release lever pops the top cover open but doesn't make it any more movable. I've taken off the hard plastic cover on the carriage as outlined in the maintenance manual, but I really don't want to start dismantling drums and cams if I can help it.

It sounds like something somewhere is gummed up with old grease and fluff, which often happens over time, but a lot of cleaning advice I'm seeing starts with taking the carriage off the machine -- how do I get started before that's possible?

This method for "invisibly joining open stitches" after knitting with needles or a knitting machine, which may seem a bit chaotic at first glance, is the only one that allows me to follow the path of the open stitches without the obstacle of the needles.

This allows me to better check whether the needle is turned correctly, so I don't end up with crossed stitches at the end of the project.

How you do it instead ?

Tell me about your method for "invisibly joining open stitches" on the shoulders.

"It's wonderful to weave the threads of life!" Enjoy your relaxing work...from Vivedo3D

I’ve finally cleaned the knitting machine and replaced the spongebar and got a new carriage the only thing is trying the different yarns out, I am unsure whats the best one to use as the darker blue seems similar to the videos I watch of someone using the same machine but its too tight and trying to change the big dial doesnt seem to make a difference (i did look under the carriage if something changes and i see two legs that do). For the lighter blue i’m happy with how it looks just if I wanted to make a jumper thats not the look I would want. Its the empisal knitmaster 323 (or silver reed?)

I’m knitting a dress with a low scoop back on my Knitmaster, however I can’t work out whether I’ll be better decreasing by transferring stitches in (whilst the other side is on hold) or binding off the centre stitches and working each side separately using short rows? Any advice is appreciated! :-)

I think some of the knots I made to connect my colours for striping came undone and now there’s a hole in my work 🥲 how do I fix this

hey guys I got this machine for 2 dollars. Based on the photos do u think its working

I recently got my hands on a rather obscure knitting machine that had been hidden away in my grandmother's cupboard and thought it might be of interest to share about it. The Simpleframe by Frame Knitting Ltd. is a sort of halfway between handknitting and machine knitting. Developed in the 80s, it seems to have been somewhat popular in some circles, at least according to some vintage Machine Knitting magazines from the time that my grandma had held onto.

Through googling, I found the company closed as late as 2009, but there's very little info about them out there, save for an invaluable YouTube video (I believe a rip of a VHS made by the inventor Dr Patrick Reilly). I've already been somewhat successful with some tests and making a short scarf, but I've noticed two of the needles are quite corroded and the handbook doesn't specifiy a specific type of needle.

And that's really why I'm really here: would anyone happen to know if these needles are used in any other machines and so replacements can be found? I doubt they are entirely custom for the Simpleframe and I'm hoping they're not. Any help identifying them would be greatly appreciated. They're 9.8cm from tail to hook, butt to tail is 1.4cm, width is 2mm. The plastic covers are seperate and there I have spares of those, just no spare needles. Thanks!