Knitting Machine Tricks & Tips
A knitting machine is not as intimidating as one may think. For novice hobbyists trying out their new equipment, here are a few tricks and tips that can help you save time when creating exquisite machine-knitted pieces.
To keep your buttons from falling off machine knitted garments, use a dental floss or fishing line instead of thread to fasten them to your garments. Conceal the line or floss by knitting yarn over it. Fishing line and dental floss are also great for making ravel cords.
Pins tend to get in the way when you are running a garment through the knitting machine. When working with zippers, set them in place using fabric glue instead of pins. Whenevr the glue dries out completely, you may sew the zipper on the fabric smoothly. Before applying glue, treat the fabric with anti-shrinking chemical to maintain its form during washing.
Fairisle refers to a stitch of two yarn colors knitted on a single row. Most knitting machines can do single fairisle stitches, with slip stitch options to accommodate three to four more colors. On the other hand, Intarsia lets you knit as many colors as you want on the same row as long as you use the right needles.
To make fancy picot edging on a knitting machine, pull out alternate needles to the farthest position. Apply an e-wrap cast. Place machine knitting carriage to the right and knit 10 rows. Place carriage again on the right while pulling in the needles you did not use earlier and knit 12 rows. Pick up the hem and hang it on every needle.
Don’t measure your garment against a tension square that you did not knit yourself on your knitting machine. You must knit the test swatch square of every machine knitted garment you will create.
A bleach test can help you determine if your yarn is synthetic or naturally made from animal or plant. If you dip a length of yarn in bleach, animal yarn will form bubbles and melt in less than one hour. If the yarn does not melt but fades to white, it is made from plant fiber. Synthetic yarns are capable of resisting bleach.
When working with custom patterns, you don’t want to make a wrong estimation and end up with so much leftover yarn. Do a trial run of 100 stitches (width) and 100 rows on your knitting machine using the same yarn and stitch you will be using for your project.
Organize your swatches according to yarn type, needle size, and washing instructions. Store them neatly in your machine knitting work area for future reference.
I hope you have found these knitting machine tricks and tips useful for your own knitting!
About The Author:
Emily Watson loves knitting of any kind and in particular machine knitting. She regularly writes articles about knitting, machine knitting and how to make money from knitting or crochet.
Emily started a comprehensive blog on the topic of machine knitting because she was asked so many questions about machine knitting and what is the best knitting machine to use. Visit her blog www.machineknittingadvice.comwhere you will find her advice, ideas and reviews on knitting machines.
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Knitting Machine Tricks %26 Tips
Understanding Your Knitting Needles
By Sam Russell
In this brief article we aim to just give a basic understanding of knitting needles, their sizing and what you need to look out for.
Size IS important…………….
Knitting needles come in different sizes. It is important to know the size of your knitting needles because their size is related to the size of your stitches and, implicitly, to the appearance of the finished work.
Knitting needles are given different numbers according to their measure. Do not think of their length! It is important how big round the needles are. However, these numbers can differ from one country to another. For example, a knitting needle of 3.75 mm is number 5 in American measurement and number 9 in British measurement, or you may see on the bag of the knitting needles you buy it is simply written as a 3.75 mm needle.
Notice that the American measurement has low numbers for needles with smaller diameters, and the numbers can go up to 50 for a larger diameter like 25 mm, while the British measurement has high numbers for low diameters and the numbers decrease when it comes to high diameters like, for example, 000 for knitting needles of 10 mm, Therefore, you need to look up a knitting needle conversion chart to ensure you end up with the correct needle size.
To confuse you still further if you have a 4.5 mm knitting needle, in that case the size number coincides; with both countries calling it size 7.
Understanding Gauge …………
In knitting, there is the concept of gauge and it means the number of stitches in a given length. This concept is related to the pattern you have and, if in your pattern it says there are supposed to be, for example, 5 stitches to an inch and you can make only 3, than you should and need to change the size of your knitting needles. Each pattern requires that you knit a certain number of stitches using a particular yarn and a specified needle.
However, it is not necessary to stick to the yarn or the needles specified in the pattern, but it is important to get the correct number of stitches per inch in order to have the right size, length and other characteristics of the pattern.
Different Kinds ……….
You can also choose between circular needles and straight needles. Some people prefer circular needles because they are more comfortable to use and you can knit both in the round and back and forth like straight needles. You can find circular knitting needles, double point knitting needles and also single pointed knitting needles made of different materials such as steel, wood or bamboo. There are also different types of knitting needles like Addi knitting needles, Clover knitting needles, Misc knitting needles, Crystal Palace, Rosewood and HiyaHiya
To find out more pay a visit to a good knitting or haberdashery store & ask for advice.Discover knitting now – it requires some skill most of which you can pick up as you go along. Its not expensive and its easy to start small on a simple project building as your experience and aptitude develops to enable you to create some truly memorable projects including clothes for the family and household items that friends and family will admire for many years to come.Learn to knit now and Visit my site for information, tips and hints on how to get started. My beginners guide book and audio guide is a perfect companion to accelerate your learning process.
We are all beginners at some stage and when I decided I wanted to learn how to knit I started searching for a manual to inform and teach me. Fortunately I found clubs and other knitters who generously helped me, thats when I decided to compile my own manual to help and encourage others to get knitting.
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