A few years ago I made the most awesome purchase, I bought a knitting machine. I wasn’t even sure it was going to be worth it, but I needed a way to knit some items faster. At the time, I wasn’t really even sure how the device worked. So, this post isn’t a tutorial, per se, but I thought I would share a little info about what a knitting machine is and how it works.
First off, the word “machine” automatically makes people think its something that I can plug in and leave it to knit things automatically. No. I still have to operate it by hand, but it does cut knitting time down drastically. To use an analogy, the knitting machine is to knitting needles what the spinning wheel is to the drop spindle.
Each time you slide the carriage across the work, you have knit one row.
The machine can only knit stockinette stitch, but you can pretty much do anything by manipulating the stitches by hand. And although you can do just about anything on the machine, some stitches just aren’t worth it. Seed stitch and cables are faster on straight needles.
There are several ways to bind off, but I find it easier to slip the stitches onto a regular knitting needle and bind off like I would any other knitted piece.
Yay! Done! The finished cup sleeve took about 5 minutes. It would have taken me about an hour to do it on needles. The machine is definitely a time saver!
Well, I hope my little pic-torial was able to give a little insight :)
I am saving for a knitting machine. May I ask which make and model you chose? Thanks for sharing!
I got the Bond Ultimate Sweater Machine. It’s low grade. Apparently there are much better ones out there, but I only have experience with this one. I choose it because its the cheapest. I bought mine from Hobby Lobby and used a 40% off coupon so it was only like $80. I would like to get a better one for bulkier yarn one day, but this one serves my purpose, and I recommend it for the first time buyer.
Annia – I’m also considering the Ultimate Sweater Machine, and I thought this looked like an USM. Thanks for the review and the recommendation – reading comments around the web, people seem to either love it or hate it, and I think it is just a matter of being patient when learning how to use it. I’m also very glad I found your blog here, I am following you on FB and Twitter.
Yes! Patience is key! I loved my machine from day one. It doesnt take a little bit of patience to really understand it and learn its quirks, but its well worth it. If you ever end up getting one and you have any questions, feel free to send me a message :)