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Collection of colorful knitted soap sacks displayed together, showcasing different patterns and yarns used in this charity knitting project
Knitting Machine Projects | Patterns
Charity Knitting

Join the Movement: Knit Soap Sacks for a Worthy Cause!

Calling all knitters! Join our exciting Soap Sack Challenge and experience the joy of creating something both fun and practical. Knitting soap sacks is a satisfying endeavor that combines creativity with usefulness. Put your machine (and yarn stash) to good use.

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A colorful collection of hand-knitted winter hats arranged together, showcasing various patterns and styles for donation to those in need
Knitting Machine Projects | Patterns
community knitting hat machine knitting

Get Creative and Spread Joy: Donate Hats for Winter

Join the Country Knitting of Maine hat contest to bring warmth, comfort, and joy to children and needy adults. Knit a hat, make a difference, and spread happiness this winter.

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Two end stitch presser plates for a Brother ribbing attachment, showing the metal accessories that help control edge stitches during machine knitting
Machine Knitting Tips
accessory brother LK-150

End Stitch Presser Plate

When knitting with the ribber, sometimes the end stitches can be problematic. Some machines have End stitch presser plates to help the end stitches knit cleanly.
Shown are the presser plates for a Brother KR-850 standard gauge machine. Your machine may not have this accessory or it may look differently.

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A metal sub-take-up spring attached to a Brother knitting machine's tension mast, used for adding tension during Fairisle and Thread Lace knitting
Machine Knitting Tips
mast take-up spring take up spring

What's this wire?

This "mystery" wire does have a purpose. Don't worry if you don't have one.

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A die cut crafting machine with an overlaid image of a knitting machine punchcard, showing how the machine can be used to create precise pattern cards
Machine Knitting Tips
punchcard

Perfect Punchcards: Use a Die Cut Machine!

Did you know you can create punchcards for your knitting machine with the popular Die cut machines? Cricut, Silhouette, etc?

Imagine - no more tedious punching hole-by-hole

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A bowl containing ripped-out yarn from a knitting project, curled in characteristic ripples from being previously knitted
Machine Knitting Tips
frogging mistakes ripping yarn

Keep on Track When Ripping

Mistakes happen! It's easy to lose track of the number of rows you've ripped. Here's a quick tip to keep things straight.

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Close-up view of a knitting machine's needle bed, showing the basic mechanical components of a knitting machine.
Machine Knitting Tips
tip

Are You Still a Beginner After 20 Years?

If you've been knitting for a while but still consider yourself a beginner, don't worry - you're not alone.

Many people who have been knitting for years feel like they haven't progressed much beyond the basics.

The good news is that there are plenty of ways to push past the beginner stage and unlock your full knitting potential.

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A sheet of specialized graph paper showing the rectangular grid pattern used for charting knitting designs, with squares proportioned to match knitting gauge
Knitwear Design
drafting tip

Knitters Graph Paper

Knitters graph paper is essential in charting shapes (necklines, sleeves) and for creating stitch patterns "to scale".

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A yarn twister device with two spindles, designed to combine two fine yarns into a marled effect yarn for knitting
Machine Knitting Tips
accessory marled knits yarn

Yarn Twister for marled knitting

Mix 2 fine yarns with a yarn twister to create a marled look knitted fabric.

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A knitting machine ribber attachment protected by a custom cover, with knitted fabric draped safely over it, demonstrating proper needle bed protection
Machine Knitting Tips
accessory ribber

Ribber Cover

It can take a while to get used to how the needlebed is tilted when you first start using a ribber. It's also easy to catch your knitting, sleeves or fingers on the ribber needles or gate pegs.  Here are some tips for covering your ribber.

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Screenshot of the Knit it Now glossary page showing machine knitting terms and their definitions, organized alphabetically
Machine Knitting Tips
abbreviations mk terms

The Secret Language of Machine Knitting

Machine Knitting has it's own unique set of terms and abbreviations that can be confusing. Use the Knit it Now Glossary to translate.

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A flat lay arrangement of various machine knitting weights, showing different sizes and styles of claw weights and ribber weights used for tension control
Machine Knitting Tips
claw weights weights

Using weights when Machine Knitting

By using weights when machine knitting, you can achieve success even with those "difficult" yarns and stitch patterns and ensure that your stitches form more cleanly.

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