Some yarn on cones is produced specifically for industrial knitting machines.  The yarn is treated  so it will pass easily through the mechanisms of the machines.

For machine knitters, this means 2 things.

1. 1. You should ALWAYS dress your swatch. Wash and dry the swatch as you you will be caring for your finished garment.   This will not only give you a true gauge, it will remove any finish that may have been applied to the yarn in the manufacturing process. (If your yarn requires dry cleaning, I suggest hand washing a swatch in cold water.)
   2. If you are working with cotton, linen or vintage (old) yarn, wax the working yarn as you knit. Many knitters find this helpful in working with diffficult yarns.  At one time there were yarn sprays that also helped with static and dry yarn, but adding more chemicals to your environment is not the best choice.

Brother machines came with a ring of wax that fit around a post on the mast.

A small bit of wax will transfer to the yarn and may make knitting easier.

Do you wax the yarn as you knit? Comment below to share your thoughts.

• Have you ever knit something that didn’t fit? (you aren’t alone)
• Do you worry about running out of yarn before you finish a project?
• Match gauge – every time!
• Establish YOUR gauge so your sweaters fit!

Critical tips for machine knitting accurate gauge swatches.

The whole point of a swatch is to accurately determine how many stitches and rows you are getting with YOUR yarn on YOUR machine. For accuracy, you don’t measure a swatch from edge to edge, you measure in the center of the swatch.

1. It’s important to knit a swatch that is large enough to measure AT LEAST 4″ square in the middle.
2. To prevent errors, knit the same number of stitches and rows on every swatch you knit on a specific machine.
3. Use contrasting color yarn of a similar weight to your garment weight to mark the center area of your swatch
4. Permanently record your tension setting on your swatch (eyelets or tag)
5. Let your swatch rest before measuring
6. Dress your swatch as you will treat your finished knitting.
7. Measure accurately – both flat and hanging
8. Swatch for every stitch pattern you will be knitting

BOTTOM LINE:

1. Unless you are using a gauge ruler, knit a swatch AT LEAST 5″ square. (Just guess … don’t get hung up with rules) You want to measure the stitches within the middle of the swatch.  Don’t try to measure from edge to edge, you WON’T get an accurate measurement.
2. Mark a section at least an inch from each edge of your swatch.  Use a contrasting color yarn and baste a quick square.
3. Measure the square and count the number of stitches and rows within the square.
   Divide the number of stitches by the width measurement (24 sts / 4″  = 6 stitches per inch)
   Divide the number of rows by the length measurement (30 sts / 4″ = 7.5 rows per inch)

When creating a sweater using Standard Garment Styling, the default design includes squared shoulders.

With just 3 clicks, you can create a more flattering and better fitting sweater shape.

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When knitting pullover sweaters for babies and kids, it’s important to make sure the neck opening will fit over the head.  Looking at sizing charts, 3 month heads are 15″. Neck openings are 4.5″.  Yes, knitting stretches, but leaving one shoulder open is the answer for a sweater that will be worn.

Knitters have 2 choices: Continue reading

What could be more fun than knitting a dress for a little one? Our knitting machines can make quick work of the boring parts and leave us time to have fun with color, embroidery, and other embellishments.

With the Knit it Now Dynamic Baby Pinafore pattern you can use any yarn, any stitch pattern(s) and ANY MACHINE to create your own, one-of-a-kind pinafore.

Get the pattern

Play with color and stitches

A confession … I’m not very good with color. I’m a “plain jane” knitter. If it’s not a single color, I tend to choose 3 shades of blue to be safe.

With that being said, our most recent pillow project (Make it Your Way Diagonal Pillow) cried for some color. I went to my stash and found a few cones of Yeoman Tibet. But what colors worked?

Many years ago, at a seminar, I remember the demonstrator (I think it was Michael Becker) suggested the following method to choose colors.

Yeoman Tibet – 3 ply – Wool, Silk and Nylon

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Don’t just watch videos, take action and GET KNITTING!

The 2 Hour Baby Cardigan is an

INTERACTIVE MACHINE KNITTING COURSE  for advanced beginners to help you build your knitting muscles and help you gain confidence in your machine knitting skills.

Start to finish instruction for a 1 piece baby cardigan. The unusual construction will help you polish your skills and create a cute-as-can-be sweater. … get knitting!

• Start-to-finish videos
• “Think-outside-the-box” techniques
• Custom, personalized pattern included

You’re the designer – you choose the stitch pattern, number of buttons and finishing techniques … Use any yarn and any machine …. we do all the math!

Don’t just watch …. follow the practice exercises .. .customize your pattern and get knitting!