Look Again at Machine Knitting
Machine Knitting Can Benefit Todays Knitters, We Investigate Further
It is time to take another look at Machine Knitting and how it can bring something different to the Craft of Knitting and benefit the Contemporary Hand Knitter.
If there was ever a craft or skill ripe for a comeback then machine knitting is it! Forget the nasty acrylics, the awful punch lace or the dreadful patterns of the ‘80’s, and instead think of a knitting machine as a tool to help with the creation of wonderful fabrics which can be transformed into fantastic items.
A knitting machine need not be used to create a whole garment, it can be used for the ‘boring bits’ leaving time for the knitter to concentrate on the more interesting or detailed parts. Why spend hours (or days) working a large panel of knitting for, say, a wrap, when this could be created in minutes on a knitting machine and the time instead put into creating beautiful hand-knitted fancy edgings. Machine knitting also makes working with lace weight yarns feasible for those with limited time as the body of a garment can be made and then highly intricate lace panels knitted or crocheted by hand.
Felted Knitting
The knitting machine also lends itself to the current trend in felted knitting. The knitting machine can be used to make fabrics in pure wool, which are then fulled and felted easily in a washing machine, and ‘cut and sewn’ into garments or items. More excitingly, fabric can be knitted with a combination of wool and a non-shrinking fiber (for instance silk) and the wool will shrink as it felts, the silk not and a highly textured textile created – unlike anything you will buy in the shop. Different patterns, perhaps stripes or blocks of different yarns will create varying effects. Fibers that felt are any wool or hair from an animal including many luxury fibers such as angora, cashmere, alpaca; as well as merino wool, mohair etc. Non-felting fibers are silk, cotton and basically all man-made yarns. Watch out for ‘Superwash’ wool or any wool which is sold suitable for machine washing as this is likely to have been prepared to stop it from felting. This is great in many instances – but not when trying to create unusual textures in felted knitting!
Many people have knitting machines hidden away, and they often crop up in yard sales, charity shops, jumble sales and, of course, Ebay. They are not expensive to buy new and a basic version would be fine for the sort of work we’ve described in this article.
So take another look at machine knitting – and with all yarn crafts, experiment and have fun!
Further reading: For a list of free knitting patterns for felted items take a look at Knitting Pattern Central. Whilst these are for handknitted items, hopefully they will act as inspiration.
Some examples of the more unusual use of machine knitting can be seen at the Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting exhibition, more information can be seen on their website, including more information about the artists.
