16, 2008
Knitting Machines - Friend or Foe?
I've never quite gotten into the swing of knitting machines. Mind you, I've never had a really great, professional style one, so my attempts have been frustrating. It does seems to be a great way of actually using up some of the stash to create a useful item. Sweaters, blankets, felted items all easy to finish in record time on a knitting machine. When friends and family hint that they would actually like to receive something, it can be a real drag to give away that lace shawl you spent months slaving over. And actually getting to wear something new is always a treat and much easier to whip up with a machine.
But on the other hand, it kind of defeats the delight of the process of knitting. For many of us, that is what it is all about. Tactile meditation. Prayer almost.
So Knitting Machine - Friend or Foe?
Adrienne from Perl Grey says friend. While machine knitting does look different from hand knitting, it has a place. She has had great success using machines for large felted rugs, something where the machine knit look doesn't show up anyway.
This post was prompted by a shawl by Jo, owner of Crafty Cottage in the UK. Look at what she made on her knitting machine.
She writes:
"I made this scarf/shawl yesterday on the knitting machine – it would have taken forever doing it by hand and I wanted to get it done for today as it’s a present for my mum – so I did 111 stitches and 480 rows with 2 hanks of Sea Silk in Paris. Then undid every 11 stitch et voila (I got that idea from the Clapotis scarf on Knitty). It took an hour and a half from start to finish, no idea how long by hand (I started and finished it on tension 6 and then moved up to tension 10 for the rest, so it would be similar to 3mm needles). "
ahh. It kinda seems pointless to do anything like this by hand doesn't it? I've just never had much luck getting these machines to run smoothly. I'll get a couple of rows done, then it skips some stitches well, you get the picture. I always end up feeling that it would be less of a pain to just knit it by hand, even though I know it will take far longer.
Maybe I just tame my knitting machine, stroke it and get to know it a bit better? hum.
Comments
Hi, I'm not sure if I would try machine knitting it looks to complicated for me, but I can appreciate the skill used to produce any garment. The shawl by Jo at Crafty Cottage is lovely, and I guess using your stash on the machine is worth a thought.
Posted by: Julie Cartwright | 18, 2008 06:05
I have a very basic bulky knitting machine that is about 15 years old. When knitting with it you lay the yarn across the needle bed and then move the shuttle across - you still get the tactile pleasure of the yarn running across your hands, but also the speed of the machine.
I use it to quickly do sweater sleeves and plain parts so I can then have the fun of doing a cable-y front or a lace patch etc.
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That's the ticket. A bit of booth - but do you feel like you're cheating?
HM
Posted by: Cheryl O'Donnell | 12, 2008 07:01
Hi, I've been machine knitting for over 30 years and yes, a good machine will be your friend, not your foe! I just bought four skeins of sea silk to try out on my standard gauge machines and I think they will work very well together. I've also knitted some of the mohair boucle and it works very well in my mid-gauge. It is a skill that requires patience, but its well worth it in the end, I can make a plain raglan and link it together in less than a day in a gauge of 28/42! Love the yarns.....
Posted by: Stephanie | 26, 2008 04:56
Gah if I can finish a huge project like that in just a couple hours.... I need to look into a machine!
Posted by: Monica | 27, 2008 09:33