So, I’ve been seeing these automatic crochet machines popping up all over my social media feeds lately. They look pretty neat, and I’m always up for a new crafting adventure. I got this wild idea to try one out and see if it could actually make my life easier.
First off, I did some digging around online to see what was even available. Found a bunch of different brands, but the Sentro and Addi ones kept coming up as popular choices. They’re these circular knitting machines with a bunch of needles, 48 for the Sentro I think, and you just crank a handle to make them go. There’s also this Silver Reed LK150, it handles the medium size yarns, like sport, DK, and worsted weight. For finer yarns, there is the SK280 for lace and fingering weight. And there is the SK155 for worsted and bulky weight yarns. The Addi is said to be more durable and built for long-term use, which seems pretty great. They even have row counters, which is a nice touch, I guess.
I decided to go for a cheaper one off of Amazon to start. I mean, what if this whole thing turned out to be a total flop? No point in dropping a ton of cash on something I might not even use, right? The one I ended up with was around 37 bucks. Not too shabby.
When it arrived, I was like a kid on Christmas morning. Ripped open that box and started messing around with it. Honestly, the instructions were kind of garbage. Pictures and some broken English that didn’t make a whole lot of sense. But hey, I’m a resourceful guy. I figured it out eventually.
- Wound some yarn onto it – that took a few tries to get the tension right.
- Started cranking the handle. It was kind of awkward at first, but I got the hang of it.
- Watched as the machine magically transformed the yarn into a knitted tube. Kind of mesmerizing, not gonna lie.
My First Project
I decided to try making a hat. Seemed simple enough, right? Well, it was a bit of a learning curve. The machine knitted the main part of the hat just fine, but then I had to figure out how to actually finish the darn thing. Turns out, you still have to do some manual knitting to close it up. So much for “automatic,” huh?
It took a few attempts, and I definitely messed up a few times. Dropped stitches, weird tension issues, the whole nine yards. But eventually, I managed to wrangle it into something resembling a hat. It wasn’t perfect, a little wonky in places, but hey, I made it!
Final Thoughts
Honestly, it’s kind of a mixed bag. These machines are definitely faster than hand knitting, but they’re not exactly “set it and forget it.” You still need to know a bit about knitting, and there’s a learning curve. Plus, you can only really make tubes, so your project options are limited unless you want to get into some serious sewing action. But for simple stuff like hats, scarves, or maybe even blankets if you’re feeling ambitious, it’s not bad. I’m still on the fence about whether it was worth the money, but it was a fun experiment. I’ll probably keep messing around with it and see what else I can come up with.
