Hi knitters! I have a Toyota k747 with ribbing attachment. Finally set it up and loving playing around.
Just looking for a community of machine knitters to learn/share and support! There wasn’t a specific category for machine knitters, maybe we can create one?
Anyone else here machine knitting? What machine have you got and how long have you been knitting? I have no experience even hand knitting but I’m hoping to learn heaps through the machine.
One problem I am having so far is that the machine knits seamlessly with a very fine acrylic yarn, but when I use 3 ply wool it’s soooo tight and the carriage seems to struggle over the needles and also some of the needles don’t hook onto the wool. Even if I increase the gauge dial. It’s not a thick weight yarn so even on the 8-10 dial it’s super tight. Any thoughts?
Hello! I’m a relatively basic machine knitter in that I have an LK150 which is a mid gauge plastic bed machine with 150 needles and there’s no ribbing attachment for this model.
Having said that, I totally recognise the tension issue - it was my biggest problem when I first started. For me, it was the ease with which the yarn spooled off the cake. Even the slightest pull affected tightness. Are you finding that the metal tension spring / arm dips low during the pass? I now wind the cake twice - the second wind makes a real difference to how easily it pools off. A second approach was to pull a length of yarn free from the skein before each pass - time consuming but easier than undoing a row. Another trick if you’re using sticky yarn is to help the machine by pushing all the needles forward and then half back before each pass - this does half the work of the carriage so that it has to labour less. Again, time consuming - still quicker than hand knitting reams of stocking stitch! BUT by far the biggest difference for me was oiling the machine!! I read that you should do it every project. As my machine was plastic, I felt it could be less important, but not so!! It was smooth as silk afterwards and I could stop a couple of the hacks. So in summary, the most important for me was oil the machine and pay a lot of attention to preparing your skein and watching the tension spring! It’s a lot of fun - definitely a steep learning curve even for an experienced hand knitter!!
Hi Mel thanks so much for your reply, I can already see this will be a huuuge help for me and I should definitely rewind. I never considered the oiling because another lovely machine knitter helper told me the Toyota machines don’t like a lot of oil. Seems counter intuitive to the service manual but when I acquired this machine all the oil was so saturated through all the little nooks and crannies I had to spend hours pulling things apart to clean and put back together. Mines a punchcard machine and the lever wouldn’t even turn because of the oil that was in between all the plates and cogs etc, completely ceased. So I’m a little apprehensive to do this again!
You have given me so much to work with, thanks so much! 🫶😊
Another thought - so much in the steep learning curve! - make sure you have enough weight on the project. My machine only came with 3 weights and heavier projects definitely need more than this. These help to keep the stitches on the needle open and help the carriage pass.
Yes another great pathway!! I have only 2 weights, and the cast on comb is weighty enough for the fine acrylic but definitely isn’t for the 3 ply. I’m super excited to try again with all this in mind
That does sound like a lot of oil! I only oiled the needle buttons ( the ones at the back that run through the carriage channels) and the carriage channels themselves. Mine is a very basic model - definitely not as complex as yours!!
And again a thought!! It sounds like you bought your machine second hand? I know that the sponge bar can be an issue after lots of use and it may be worth replacing this. I think it’s relatively straightforward to do
Good Morning Cjongkind welcome to this community which is a treasure house of knowledge for crafters and welcome to machine knitting.
My machine is an older basic version compatible with yours. Over the years I have made many mistakes and given up on ever using the machine. I have found Patients is needed in large quantities. I strongly recommend creating a yarn guide chart for yourself for example I use a yarn comparable to a slightly thicker DK yarn in NZ depending on the tension I want I can use between 3 and 6 on the dial. for a regular Stocking Stitch 5sts/6row to 1" I set the dial to 4. and make swatches with different tensions let them sit for at least 12 hrs to shrink before recording the measurements. Your 3ply yarn is quite fine so start low and work up 1 setting at a time. I have the tension wheel on the mast set in the middle I find my yarn needs to flow freely over this wheel. On my website http://lindabutler.net/knitting-machine/ I have a yarn dispenser I designed and some links I have found helpful.
Mel61 makes a very important comment about weight. I have a stock of S hooks and fishing weights to hang on my comb or directly on my work. Small binder clips work well on the edges to hang weights.
Mel61 also mentions the sponge bar it took me quite a while to find out my machine did not have one and this was causing a lot of my issues.
She also questions the oil I too would advocate cleaning as much oil as possible I find Silicone Lubricant in a can sprayed on the underside of my carriage and across the front section of needles works fine it also washes out of the fabric. Good Luck, keep in touch, don’t give up it can be very rewarding.
There’s a Facebook group of machine knitters. There are lots of videos on YouTube. I looked up your machine and it is a standard gauge. Three plies doesn’t tell us the thickness of the yarn. My standard gauge will handle DK or sport weight yarn, but no thicker. In addition to the stitch dial on the carriage, there may be one on the yarn mast which regulates how easily the yarn passes through the dials on the mast.
Hi all. Im sad to see it, Susan Gagliumi’s site has been taken down. 8t was such a wealth of informations, especially for midgauge machines. One less machine knitter’s site.
