You want to buy a sock knitting machine this year but have no idea what to look for, how to operate it effectively, or how to make the most of your knitting resources. This manual will show you a variety of knitting machines and provide some background knowledge on how they work.
Knitting By Hand vs. Knitting Machines
Machine knitting is the first thing that comes to mind when you mention fast knitting. If you’re a knitter who wishes she could produce more items in less time, you’ve probably considered investing in a knitting machine.
The same holds for knitters who wish to put their skills to good use and knit for a good cause. Maybe you wanted to knit for profit because you found a ready market for your handiwork.
Since, even if you have many years of hand knitting expertise, you wouldn’t be an immediate expert in making knits with a knitting machine, any knitter can perform best with a knitting machine IF they have properly looked into every part of it.
Knitting Yarns for Various Knitting Machines
Depending on the yarn size, you’ll need a different-sized knitting needle or crochet hook while working by hand. Generally speaking, knitters work with just four different gauges on their knitting machines. The range of yarns here spans from lace weight to chunky. Different gauges result in a wide variety of knitting machines.
- Lace weight yarn: the lightest yarn, ideal for delicate projects like lace doilies and shawls. The novice knitter should avoid this.
- Super fine, fine, light yarn: Use this yarn for baby hats, stockings, mittens, and tiny outfits.
- Medium yarn: worsted or Aran weight.
- Bulky and super bulky: This yarn is knitted with thicker needles. Knitting projects such as large blankets, comforters are ideal for this yarn.
Remembering the standard yarn sizes will make selecting the appropriate yarn for your knitting machine a breeze. Knitting machines may be used with various yarns, including sport weight, fingering weight, bulky weight, and worsted weight, to create a wide variety of knitted goods.
Gauge Selection For Knitting Machines
Indicating needle size in hand knitting and machine knitting, a gauge is used to describe the level of fineness. There are two methods to quantify it. The gauge is determined by the number of stitches knitted when knitting by hand. It is done by measuring the width of a sample knitted on a knitting machine and dividing that number by the number of needles across that area.
Circular vs. Flat-Bed Knitting Machines
Flat Bed Knitting Machines or Circular Knitting Machines are two home knitting machines that even a complete knitting novice can master quickly. In flat knitting, the stitch always is knitted from the same side, but in circular knitting, the stitch can come from any side. Since the same stitch is created by distinct motions when knitted from the right and wrong sides, using a Flat Bed knitting machine might be more difficult than using a Circular knitting machine.
