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Welcome to Knit it Now

Are you new here? The site has grown to serve our machine knitting community worldwide.
Explore Knit it Now and discover how we can help you be a better machine knitter.

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Knitting Machines

Vintage machine database, machine-specific info, manuals and listing of machines from around the world

Fairisle (Stranded Knitting)

Hand knitters should be jealous of how quickly and neatly we can work Fairisle (stranded knitting) on our machines.
Automatic patterning (punchcard and electronic) machines make quick work of knitting with multiple colors. With manual machines, you can also work fairisle more quickly than by hand.

Scarves

Warm scarves are always a welcome addition to anyone's wardrobe.

As machine knitters, it's easy for us to quickly finish beautiful scarves. At the same time we build confidence and knowledge of our machines.

Practice Makes Progress

Instead of jumping in with an adult size project, try new-to-you techniques with practice patterns

Socks on your Machine

Knitting socks on a flatbed machine shouldn't be intimidating. Master short row shaping and you can knit lots of variations.
Toe up, cuff down, yoga socks, socks for kids and adults ... the sky's the limit!

Stripes

Jazz up your knitting with stripes. Add color, horizontal stitch patterns, eyelets, garter ridges ... the sky's the limit!

Bind off Methods

There are many bind off methods. Explore different techniques and expand your finishing skills.

Mitten Magic

Mittens and gloves can be quick projects to use up small amounts of yarn ... and keep hands warm!

You can make them as complicated as you like, or down-and-dirty, quick-n-easy ... it's your choice!

Short Row Shaping (partial knitting)

Short Row Shaping (AKA Partial Knitting) is an essential skill for all machine knitters.
Instead of knitting just squares and rectangles, short row shaping is used to shape your knitting.

Hand Manipulation

Expand the possibilities of your machine with hand manipulation. Reform, move, twist stitches. Knit them out of order. Create beautiful stitch patterns by taking time to hand manipulate.

Knitweave

Weaving on the knitting machine is an often overlooked technique that has lots of possibilities. The idea is to carry strands of yarn across the purl side of the knitting, creating decorative floats.

Babies and Kids

Knitting for babies and kids is a fast and fun way to polish your knitting skills.
Imagining a little cherub in your creation makes it even sweeter!
From simple all-in-one designs to traditional construction, use our baby and kids inspiration as a canvas for your creativity.

Cast on Methods

So many options to get our knitting started. Do you have a "go-to" favorite? Maybe it's time to try something new!

Circles on the Machine

As machine knitters, we spend a lot of time knitting rectangles and squares. Knitting circles opens up a world of design possibilities.
Let's explore some circular inspiration!

Hems and Edges

Hems are the finishing touch for any knitted item. Sure you can add ribbing or just let the edges roll. But ...adding a hem creates a stable edge, adds interest and gives your item a designer touch.

Here's a challenge: Plan and knit a hem on your next project!

How Much Yarn do I Need?

If you are substituting yarns or creating your own patterns, you need to know how much yarn you'll need to complete your project.
There are a number of ways to estimate how much yarn you'll need.

Pockets for Machine Knitters

Practical, useful and fun, pockets can add a designer touch to any sweater.

Sideways Knitting

Knitting Sideways offers design possibilities

Skirts on the Machine

Knitted skirts are so flattering, feminine and comfortable to wear. Plain or fancy, with our knitting machines we can make quick work of skirts.

Curved Hems

Shaping hems can add a designer touch as well as improve fit. Explore different methods of adding curved hems to your sweaters, from charting to knitting.

Ribber Fabric

Use Automatic Patterning on the main bed, combined with ribber needles in work to create texture

Hats for Everyone

One of the more rewarding projects for machine knitters is hats.
Keep your loved ones warm and polish your knitting skills without a huge time investment.

Ribbing without a Ribber

No Ribber? No Problem
From hand knitting to hand manipulation to mock ribbing, you have options for creating ribbing on your machine.

Intarsia

The ability to knit multiple colors across a row without long floats make intarsia a very versatile technique. Some knitting machines have built in intarsia capabilities, but most require an intarsia carriage accessory.

Machine Knitting Patterns

Although we no longer have glossy magazines and hard back books published just for us, machine knitters have many options for patterns for our knitting.

Shawls and Ponchos

Whether it's an extravagant shawl in a luxury yarn or a prayer shawl for someone in need, knitting machines make fast work of shawl knitting.

No matter what your experience or skill level you can enjoy success with Shawls! Knit it Now offers a number of different design ideas, from knitting a plain 'ol rectangle to triangles and amazing shapes.

Yarn for Knitting Machines

Cones, balls, hanks, skeins ... you don't need special yarn to use on your knitting machine.
BUT you must understand what yarns work with YOUR machine.

Neck Bands

Neckbands add the finishing touch to your sweaters. No part of the sweater is more visible, so it's important to master the ART of knitting bands. There are many methods and techniques. Gain confidence by taking time to practice BEFORE you start your special one-of-a-kind masterpiece ... you'll be glad you did!

Stash Busters

If you've been knitting for any length of time, you have some "left-overs" or yarn that hasn't been used (AKA "Yarn Stash").

Pillows

Practice your machine knitting skills and try new techniques with pillows. The simple shapes encourage your creativity and they are great stash-busters!

Buttonholes

Knitters often get overwhelmed with the thought of adding buttonholes to their knits. Although there are many tricks for professional buttonholes, remember they are just holes.

Fixing Mistakes - (We all make em!)

You are not alone. EVERY machine knitter makes mistakes. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Dry your tears, and explore some tips for fixing things, picking up stitches and preventing boo-boos!

DesignaKnit | DAK

DesignaKnit is a stand-alone software for designing garments, creating stitch patterns and communicating with our knitting machines. No matter what type of machine you use (manual or automatic patterning), you can use the power of DesignaKnit (DAK).

Diagonals | Magic Formula

Learning about shaping your knitting is essential for all knitters. Diagonal shaping is the basis for most knitting patterns. Explore tips for making it easy to calculate and knit angles.

Not Enough Needles?

The width of our knitting is limited to the number of needles on the needlebed. There are a number of "work-arounds" to our needlebed limitations.

Increase / Decrease

Unless you only want to knit scarves and blankets, you will use increases and decreases to shape your knitting. There are many, many methods. Take time to learn multiple techniques for different results.

Sleeves

From easy to couture ... sleeves are an essential part of any sweater. If you are knitting for kids, fast 'n easy may be the way to go. For adults you may choose raglan or set-in sleeves or any of the many alternatives available.

Collars for Machine Knitters

Adding collars to knits isn't hard. It takes a little planning and an understanding of collar construction for machine knitters.

Let's examine 3 collar styles: KIIS, Turtleneck and Cowl Necks
Design a collar for your next project

Ribber Part 2

There's no reason to be intimidated by the ribber.
If you've mastered the main bed, now is the time to expand your knitting horizons.
Explore amazing fabrics you can create, beautiful trims and edges ... the possibilities are endless!

Ribber

Adding a ribber to your machine knitting setup adds a world of possibilities to your knitting.

If you haven't mastered your ribber, or even taken it out from under the bed ... dust it off and get knitting!

You'll be glad you did!

Lace on the machine

Lace knitting on the machine comes in all flavors. Think of "organized holes" - random or structured, adding eyelet holes to your knitting opens a world of possibilities.

From automatic patterning with a lace carriage on a standard machine, to manually transferring stitches, to knitting with xtra fine yarn on any machine ... YOU CAN KNIT LACE!

Brother 970 Tips

The Brother 970 CB-1 Box is unique in the machine knitting world. Although the technology was advanced for it's time, today it's dated. But it isn't hard to use if you take things step by step.

Cut 'n Sew

As machine knitters we can create raw knitted "fabric" fairly quickly. Thinking of our knitting as fabric opens new possibilities for creating garments.

Hoods

Hoods add a decorative and practical touch to any sweater. Knit your own hoodie with any knitting pattern.

LK-150

You can do so much with the Silver Reed LK-150 machine. This manual machine has so much going for it, that many experienced machine knitters are giving their metal bed, automatic patterning machines a rest and using the LK for fast, fun projects.

Seaming Perfection

Unless you only knit scarves, you are going to join the edges of your knitted pieces. Choosing the right technique will elevate your knitting from "home made" to "hand made"

Punchcards

Automatic patterning with punchcards (or electronics) can seem mysterious. Understanding how they work is critical to successful knitting in pattern.

Slip Stitch

Slip Stitch is a very versatile stitch pattern available on any knitting machine.

Garter Stitch on the Machine

Be default, knitting machines knit stockinette stitch. Stockinette has a smooth side (knit) side and a bumpy side (purl side)
In hand knitting terms this is knit 1 row purl 1 row.
Hand knitters can easily knit garter stitch by knitting every row. The "purl bumps" are visible on both sides of the knitting.

As machine knitters we have to take steps to show the purl bumps on the opposite side of our knitting.

Blankets

One of the more rewarding projects for machine knitters are blankets. Call them afghans, throws ... whatever ... they add color and texture to your home and keep loved ones warm and toasty!

Instead of hand knitting for weeks (or months) machine knitters can finish FAST!

I-Cord on the Knitting Machine

I-cord (or slip cord) can be used in many ways to embellish your knitting.
It can be used as shoulder straps for girls dresses, belts and decorative ties … the list is endless!
Machine knitters can quickly make I-cord and
it is an essential technique for beginners to learn.

Tuck Talk

Tuck is one of the most versatile stitch patterns available to machine knitters.
Once you understand how tuck stitch is created on your machine, the sky's the limit!

Swatching is not Optional!

No matter what you want to knit, making gauge swatch is NOT OPTIONAL!