Okay, so, today I want to talk about my little adventure with my knitting machine and the yarn I’ve been using. I got this knitting machine a while back, and I was super excited to start making all kinds of stuff. I had these grand plans of making scarves, blankets, and maybe even some clothes.
I started by gathering all the yarn I had lying around. I’ve got quite the collection, you know, different colors, different textures. I grabbed a bunch of them and went straight to work. I was thinking, “The thicker the yarn, the faster this will go!” Right? Wrong.
I picked this really thick, bulky yarn first. It looked so cozy and warm. I threaded it through the machine, following the instructions I had found somewhere, and started cranking away. At first, it seemed fine. But then, the machine started to struggle. The yarn was just too thick for it to handle smoothly. I noticed the stitches were getting all wonky, some were skipped, and the tension was all over the place. It was a mess!
So, I stopped and did a little digging. Turns out, knitting machines are kind of picky about the yarn they can handle. They don’t just take any yarn you throw at them. After reading some stuff, I realized that the best types of yarn for these machines are what they call worsted or DK-weight yarns.
Next, I grabbed a DK-weight yarn from my stash. It was thinner than the bulky one but still felt pretty good. I threaded it through, adjusted the machine settings, and tried again. This time, it was much smoother. The machine was cranking like a dream, the stitches were even, and the tension was perfect. I was so relieved!
I spent the next few hours just experimenting. I tried a few different colors and even a couple of different stitch patterns. I made a small swatch, just to see how it would look. It turned out pretty nice, actually. Not perfect, but way better than my first attempt with the bulky yarn.
Here’s what I learned from this whole experience:
- First, don’t just use any yarn with a knitting machine.
- Second, bulky yarn is generally a no-go. It’s just too thick and can cause all sorts of problems.
- Third, worsted or DK-weight yarns are the way to go. They’re the right thickness for the machine to handle properly.
- Also, I found out that using a yarn that’s too thin can also be a problem. Your project might end up smaller than you intended.
My main take away?
You gotta test things out and see what works best for your machine and your project. Don’t be afraid to experiment a little. If you choose a suitable yarn for your machine, you can use it to make scarves and some blankets!
I’m still learning, but I’m having a lot of fun with it. I’m planning to make a scarf next, and maybe even a small blanket if I get ambitious. I’ll keep you guys posted on how it goes!
