Fixing Knitting Errors

When I first got my knitting machines I wanted so much to produce the type of products that I saw others making all over the web. I had to remember that errors when learning a new skill of any kind will result, simply because that skill is new to me. I had to remind myself that I didn’t learn to walk, tie my shoes or drive a car the first time I did them. There’s this misconception in the circular knitting world that I found myself in that you can just buy the machine and in under a half hour you will have a perfect hat/scarf, etc. It took perseverance and repetition to become good at it and eventually master those skills. Well lets get serious, I’m no master knitter 😒.

All joking aside, dropped stitches and tucked stitches are two of the biggest problems I had when I started to knit both by hand and on the machine. I learned there are different ways to fix those errors and one of the easiest was to curse at it and then tear it apart and start over. That was not fun nor practical. My machine for some reason didn’t seem to care that I was angry and frustrated. Short of throwing it out the window I felt at a loss. Sometimes I wouldn’t even notice an error until I was half way or completely though with the project. This still happens after knitting countless hats, scarves, etc. So, finally tired of tearing things apart or trying my best to stitch them back together and having an end project that looked like a cat decided to use it as a scratching pad; I learned to fix my problems or at very least hide them.

Dropped stitches are by far the biggest problem most new machine knitters have. Usually it is caused by one of a couple of things: Improper cast on or using the wrong yarn tension (either too tight or too loose).

I want to show you how I learned to fix those errors easily and painlessly. Below are the sites I found that helped me and I hope they help you as well.

Dropped stitches:

This video is from Yay for Yarn. She does a wonderful job of showing us how to fix dropped stitches.

Tucked Stitches

Another problem we find is the “tucked” stitch. This happens when two stitches, unintentionally are knit together. And again I will turn to Yay for Yarn for answers. below she will show you how to fix tucked stitches on a circular knitting machine.

Another person that does a good job of showing us how to fix some circular knitting machine errors is Whitney Betz. She shows us how to fix both dropped stitches and tucked stitches in this video.

Fixing errors when work is off the machine

When I finally finished my first hat I had numerous mistakes. One that continued to plague me long after figuring out how to fix a caught error on the machine was finding a dropped stitch or hole in my work or other problem once the knitting was off the machine. My first question was now what? Continue to shrug and cross my fingers and hope for the best 🤷‍♀️ 🤞? Instead I did some online research and found this extremely helpful video by a Roxanne Richardson.

Yarn Tension

Another problem is yarn tension. When I started out I heard often during my search to find answers that all knitting machines, seem to prefer certain yarns and hate other yarns. I have learned for the most part it’s not the machine causing the error but it’s the user unknowingly causing the error. Different yarns require different yarn tension. I found when I adjusted my tension the majority of my problems disappeared. You will probably notice that for problems I tend to go to Yay for Yarn for answers. 😊 Following is a great video that might help you as much as it helped me.

I hope that this article and these videos helped you fix your problems using a circular knitting machine. Thank you for taking the time to check out my blog and I look forward to your comments and suggestions as always, cozyneedlecrafts.com.

Yarn Weights and Yarn Ply’s

Yarn Weight

Lets start with a brief review of yarn weights. If you have worked with yarn at all you know that there are many different kinds of yarn. Most patterns will suggest a certain type of yarn and weight of yarn. However, what if the pattern doesn’t give any specifics? How can we know what weight yarn to use? Thankfully, the Craft Yarn Council has helped with just that problem.

According to the Craft Yarn Council; “the publishers, fiber, needle and hook manufacturers, and yarn members of the Craft Yarn Council have worked together to set up a series of guidelines and symbols to bring uniformity to yarn, needle and hook labeling, and to patterns, whether they appear in books, magazines, leaflets or on yarn labels.” Their goal is to make it not only the industry standard but easier for all to select the right yarn for the right project. They go on to say that they urge “manufacturers, publishers, and designers to adopt these guidelines.” This tremendously helps out us knitters and crocheters. By making the labeling standardized it helps us know what size yarn to pick for what project as well as what size knitting needles or crochet hooks to use. Below is a graphic illustration of the American yarn weights available today.

You can find out more about the Yarn Craft Council at www.YarnStandards.com.

What size is the gauge for your knitting machine?

Your machine should tell you what gauge it is when you purchase it. I know for the Addi knitting machines that the gauge is set for DK or worsted medium weight yarn.  You can run lighter weight yarn through the machine. The gauge remains the same, so with a lighter weight yarn the result will have a more open weave to the fabric. If you want a tighter weave and still want to use a lighter weight yarn you could use double or triple strands of a lighter weight yarn. As long as the strands fit under the hook of needle and the machine will catch the threads it should work. Some novelty yarns work well as well (Eyelash, ribbon, etc.). Bulky weight yarns such as #5 can be used but it is hard on the machine and the person would need to go slowly and make sure all needles are catching the yarn. Bulky yarns tend to leave a more fiber residue and may result in the machine needing more frequent cleaning. Very thick chunky yarns #6 or above are not suggested and should not be used.

What is Yarn Ply?

Yarn Ply is different from yarn weight. Yarn ply is related to the thickness or layers of strands woven together to create yarn. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary the word ply in relation to yarn means; “yarn made by twisting together two or more strands that are often different in fiber and color.”

In theory, two-ply yarn, for example, is composed of two single strands while three-ply yarn is composed of three single strands. The purpose of plying yarn was to increase strength and stability of not only the yarn but the finished product. Below is an image that might make this clearer.

I always have many scraps of yarn laying around. Sometimes they are old and I can’t remember what I used them for or where I bought them. There are many ways to remedy this and the easiest is to keep the original packaging with the yarn. But this isn’t always practical or easy because I may have just a tiny bit left or a small ball of yarn left. Trying to figure out what weight/ply the yarn is can be difficult by feel alone. I came across a web site called Love Crafts (https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-us/c/article/how-to-figure-out-yarn-weight). The article was on how to figure yarn weights. It stated that the “yarns per wrap” method could be used to figure out the yarn weight. Basically you wrap your unknown yarn around a pencil making sure that the strands are touching, but not overlapping. Then count the number of wraps per inch and compare to the following:

  • Lace or 2 ply: 35 or more
  • Light fingering, sock, or 2 ply: 22 – 34
  • Fingering or 4 ply: 19 – 22
  • Sport: 15 – 18
  • DK: 12 – 17
  • Worsted or Aran: 9 – 11
  • Bulky or Chunky: 8 – 10
  • Super Bulky or Super Chunky: Anything that has 7 or less wraps per inch

Well that sums up yarn weights and ply. I hope this topic was helpful and interesting. As always I appreciate your feedback and look forward to your comments.

Are you new to circular machine knitting?

You might wonder what can be made on circular knitting machines. There are many different brands of circular knitting machines on the market today and they all come with various numbers of needles which influences the size/diameter of the finished tube. Most also allow flat panel knitting. Many have row counters as well either digital or manual. Personally I like the manual counters as the digital counters are affected by the static caused by the yarn. One drawback to circular knitting machines over hand knitting is it is limited to mainly knit stitches (although with some manipulation and experience purl stitches are possible). That being said almost any pattern that has a knit pattern can be made (with some alterations) on circular knitting machines. For example some of the items that can be made on a larger 46 to 48 needle machine include garments such as

  • Headbands or ear warmers
  • Neck warmers
  • Leg warmers
  • Gloves
  • Hats
  • Scarves
  • Bonfire beanies
  • Sweaters
  • Skirts
  • Afghans or blankets

Below are pictures I have found of products made on the larger knitting machines for sale today.

What about the smaller circular knitting machines such as the the Addi Pro? It seems so small and only has 22 needles. You might ask what can possibly be made on that? The Addi Pro as well as other 20 to 24 needle machines are the perfect size for smaller children sized items.

  • Socks
  • Mittens
  • Scarves
  • Headbands or ear warmers
  • Neck warmers
  • Leg warmers
  • Amigurumi dolls/animals
  • Coffee Cozies

There are so many things that can be made on these machines and every time I look on the internet I find more and more patterns that are soft, warm and overall cozy. Basically we are only bound by our imagination and creativity. The best place to find ideas, patterns and inspiration is to follow online groups such as Facebook or Instagram. An example would be to join the facebook group called Addi King Loomers and Knits or Addi Circular Knitting Machines. Following are some other websites that helped me when I was first starting and they continue to give me new inspiration daily.

https://yayforyarn.com/

https://sheepishlysharing.com/

https://littlejohnsyarn.com/

https://taylor-lynn.com/category/tutorials/

Who wants to learn to knit?

I did, but I never had the time to sit and really learn how nor the patience to actually complete a project. Then I found circular knitting machines. They are absolutely the best way to knit for someone like me.

Why do I think these machines are great?

1. Small learning curve: still a learning curve but not as great as learning hand knitting

2. Fast production: produce a hat/scarf in less than 30 minutes start to finish

3. Quality products: although all knitting machines as well as hand knitters will occasionally drop stitches or find tucked stitches, there are fewer with this product.

There are many different types of circular knitting machines. What would I suggest to start learning circular machine knitting on?

My suggestion would be a fairly inexpensive machine. There are many “toy” machines on the market aimed towards children. I personally have never used them. I did some research and then after a few months of pondering the different models available, I bought the Addi King and the Addi Pro. Many would argue the point that these are inexpensive but I couldn’t see spending money on something that would only break or fall apart within the first month or two. Below are pictures of the models of machine I purchased.

Other Circular Knitting Machines Available

There are a variety of brands available. Following are a few that I found on Amazon. Michaels has one as well under the their brand called Knit Quick.

Why did I chose the Addi model over others?

The Addi knitting products are made in Germany. They are well made although I did have qualms about the fact they are made of plastic. My qualms were unfounded. They are great and work just as described. They not only do circular knitting but are able to do flat panel knitting as well. One thing to mention is that due to there being made in Germany and housed there, it took approximately 3 weeks to receive them and this was with Amazon Prime. When they finally arrived, I was so excited. When I got them I put them together right away and dug out some yarn.

My first project?

I started by making a hat. It didn’t turn out quite like I wanted but I had something completed. This gave me confidence and encouragement to keep going. Fast forward to now and I have made many hats/scarves/fingerless gloves/stuffed animals, blankets and more.

Why a blog?

This blog will be about my adventures in using and learning all the items that can be made on circular knitting machines and sharing that knowledge with others that may be interested in learning circular machine knitting too. In future posts, I will address these machines, the related pros and cons, how to fix or solve potential problems, the best type of yarns to use for each and what items can be made on the individual machines.

Questions or Concerns

If you have questions, comments, ideas or thoughts about things you would like me to address please leave me a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.