First knitting machine - recommendations?

[janeka]

Greetings, fellow knitters!

Currently I'm toying with the idea of buying a knitting machine - I am a slow knitter, unfortunately, so I'd like to make sweaters w/o having to wait a year (or even two! shame on me) to see the finished product. I did my research and found out that such machines are quite popular, though I've never heard of them before. So I don't know where to start. I was curious if anyone had any pointers? Which specs should I look for in a knitting machine?

- jane

[Char]

Hello and welcome to FiberKind! I don’t own a knitting machine myself, just wanted to take a moment to welcome you. :-)

[janeka]

Thanks for your warm welcome, Char! I really appreciate this

[rkennell]

I've looked at them different times as well, but I've never actually bought one. It will be interesting to see what others have tried!

[Majormomma]

I want to second Justin's recommendations to buy a new machine from a dealer that can give you lessons. You are highly unlikely to ever make the maximum use of your machine without lessons. There is a learning curve to master a knitting machine, just as there is a learning curve to master a new sewing machine.

[sheiskanen]

I think the first thing to consider is, what type of yarns do you want to knit with - thin or bulky - whether to choose a standard gauge, mid-gauge or a bulky machine

[sheiskanen]

I have a bulky Brother KH-270 and a mid-gauge Silver Reed LK150 - I like them both - with the bulky I can use almost any hand-knitting yarn and the LK150 is really simple to use

the KH-270 has a metal bed and an additional KR-260 ribber - the LK150 is plastic and does not have the ability to automatically knit ribbing

[Char]

What is your favorite thing to make?

[sheiskanen]

mostly I knit sweaters and the occasional skirt - I created a group MACHINE KNITTING where I hope others will share their MK projects

I'm fortunate to have MK classes in my area and like to learn more about the different features of my KM and its possibilities - there's always something new to learn