Monday, June 2, 2008

Quick Machine Knit Tips

Tip #1 - Avoid Disasters!! Remove all dangly jewelry (necklaces, bracelets, even watches) before sitting down to your knitting machine. Needles get caught and you KNOW they'll break at the most inopportune time! Even high profile rings can be a problem. Wear short sleeved (or at the most, 3/4 sleeve) garments when knitting. Tie or clip back long hair.

Tip #2 - If your knitting machine seems to grind its way across the bed after you've knit several rows, more than likely static has built up. I keep my can of LoriLyn spray at hand and spray a soft, lint-free cloth and run it over the bed 2-3 times after the carriage has made a pass and the noise goes away! BEWARE if you use some of those static-free dryer sheets! They can disintigrate easily causing bits to get into the needle channels. They can also leave a residue on the needlebed which can build up to a real 'gunky' mess after time passes.

Tip #2 - Marking Your Seams – if you’re knitting a fairly long piece, place a marker thread on each end needle each time you move your weights up (I do it every 30 rows). When you get ready to sew up those seams, just match up those markers and pin so you can have neat seaming.

Tip #3 - Pre-Shrink Notions – I learned this tip from June Reed umpteen years (decades??) ago – If you’re using sewing notions such as bias tape, braid, ribbon, zippers etc., pre-wash and shrink it before attaching it to washed and blocked knits. Nothing worse than all your hard work puckering!! Guess I'm a skeptic, but I don't necessarily believe labels that have ' pre-shrunk'.


1 comment:

Rosebud Collection said...

Don't know how to "machine knit"..I think it is great that you give tips for people that do..The cuff looks beautiful..What a great job you did.