Article By: Diane Palmer

Do you love to knit?.. love to create?… but maybe its too hard on the hands?.. then why not try investing in a knitting machine?

Knitting, like any creating, is good for the soul, but can be hard for some people to do, and they end up with half finished projects laying around, and feeling stressed about it, which is the opposite of what crafting is suppose to do for the heart and soul!

There are some great machines out on the market now, and there are a lot more patterns that are dedicated to machine knitting. The machines have been around for a while, but were basically reserved for scarves and blankets, but now there are some great machines with lots of features and you can make garments, sweaters, crafts and more.

You need to get a good brand name machine, that is heavy duty if you plan on machine knitting a lot, and search out some machine knitting patterns, they are popping up everywhere now as knitting becomes more popular, just make sure the pattern says for machine knitting and you should be fine..

With the advance of the internet, it is now easier to find machines and supplies. If you love crafting and especially knitted garments, then why not check out knitting machines as an alternative to hand knitting. I personally would not totally replace hand knitting, as its a stress reliever for me!… but for those larger garments like dresses, knitted coats etc, you don’t want to be knitting for so long, you miss the seasons!.. Knitting has made a return as a great winter hobby, and there are so many great wools and supplies on the market now, especially the internet, that you don’t even have to leave home to get your supplies anymore! If you knit for your craft business, this would speed things up.

Get knitting, by hand or machine, and get creating!

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

So, to (hopefully) help first timers buy a knitting machine that does mostly what they want, I am putting together a small sample of common (available 2nd hand) knitting machines with pro’s and con’s on each. Oh, and if you already have one of these, maybe you need a different one as well when you find out what they can do

Stay tuned…

Firstly, I found that once I removed the folding legs, they themselves were quite ok. Only a little surface rust and scuffing from the occasional boot (when things weren’t going well).

A light sanding with some fine grit sandpaper to smooth it all out was all that was required.

A quick look around the shed found some spray paint with rust inhibitor built in, in a nice neutral grey matt finish.

TIP: when applying spray paint, follow the directions on the can, they always say apply light coats. It works, you get a much better finish from many fine coats than from one thick, running coat.

Next was the table top. Being chipboard or partical board, and probably from the Dark Ages, it had swollen, flaked, desintegrated, broken, lifted etc. if you knocked on it, more fell off, if it weren’t for the structurally sound floral wallpaper on the top surface, the knitting machine would have ended up in someones lap years ago. To the garbage pile it went!

From previous “DIY handy person” projects of mine, I had some Melamine sheet left over. Maybe called something different in other countries, the white, laminated on each side stuff they make kitchen cupboards out of.

Anywho, after checking out a different table with a knitting machine still attached (there are a few to look at in mums house) I decided improvements could be made.

For one thing, seeing someone, crawling under a table to get something that has fallen off the back, is well, disturbing The fact that knitting machines are a very narrow item, means the typical table for them is also narrow. Obviously someone way back in time said “just make me a narrow table for my knitting machine to go on” and no more planning was done.

Idea No. 1 More table space for those handy items you like to have close by. As you can see, plenty of space for a yarn cone winder thingy or that G-Carriage you aren’t using at the moment.  Also if the table is pushed up against a wall or mountains of balls of wool and yarn, you can sit the cones of wool you are working with on top of the table, although apparently on the floor is a better spot for them, I’m just saying you could.

Idea No. 2 Why not put a small rail along the back so things can’t fall off? I chose a piece of pine timber which, when lacquered, gives it a bit of a feature, rather than a table-made-out-of-that-kitchen-stuff look.

Idea No. 3 Rounded front corners might be a little more friendly too. Ironing the edge stripping on the curved surface tested my ironing skills, but I was pretty pleased with the result. Be sure the make the radius a decent size so when ironing the edging around it, you don’t crack or break the edge stripping stuff. Its a laminate as well so it just snaps if bent too far.

Tip : When mounting a larger top than normal, on existing legs designed for a knitting machine table, set the legs forward or closer to the knitter. The weight of the knitting machine is more than the counter weight of the back of the table top. You can’t see the other holes under the table in the photo, but I had to move the legs from their initial position after one “experiment” suggested the whole table, (knitting machine included) “would” fall forward.

Finished Product!

Or so I thought… The day I took the photos I was informed of some marvellous invention that allows you to move the whole setup around easily, knitting machine and all. What was it again? Wheels maybe? Yeah I can do it… Next time…