Alright, so I’ve been meaning to talk about this for a while. I got my hands on the Bond America Ultimate Sweater Knitting Machine Deluxe. Sounds pretty grand, doesn’t it? Like you just press a button and out pops a perfect sweater. Well, let me walk you through my little adventure with this thing.
Getting Started and That “Deluxe” Feeling
I remember unboxing it. The box itself was kinda promising, you know? Big, with pictures of lovely knitted stuff. I spread all the pieces out on my kitchen table. There were a lot of plastic bits. Needles, carriage, clamps… the whole shebang. I thought, “Okay, this is it. I’m gonna be a knitting whiz.” That “deluxe” word on the box, I guess it set my expectations pretty high.
The Setup Struggle is Real
First things first, putting it together. The instruction booklet… let’s just say it wasn’t the clearest thing I’ve ever read. It felt like one of those “some assembly required” situations where you end up with extra screws and no idea why. I spent a good chunk of time just figuring out how to clamp it to the table properly so it wouldn’t wobble all over the place. Then came threading the yarn and casting on. Oh boy.
- Fiddling with the needle retainer bar.
- Trying to get the tension right from the get-go.
- Realizing I’d missed a step about five times.
My first attempts to cast on were, frankly, a disaster. Stitches dropping like it was their job. Yarn getting tangled in places I didn’t even know yarn could reach. I probably spent a whole evening just getting a few measly rows that looked like a spider had a fight with a ball of wool.
Learning the Ropes (and the Yarn)
I’m not one to give up easily, though. So, I pushed through. I re-read the manual, squinted at the diagrams, and then, like most folks these days, I looked up some videos. Seeing someone else do it helped a ton more than those static drawings. Slowly, very slowly, things started to click. The whirring sound of the carriage going back and forth actually started to sound productive, not like a cry for help.
I learned that tension is everything. Seriously. Too loose, and it’s a mess. Too tight, and the carriage jams or you snap the yarn. And the weights! You gotta use those claw weights to pull the knitting down as it comes off the needles. Getting the hang of moving those up evenly was another little battle.
My First “Creations”
After a lot of practice swatches, and I mean a lot, I finally managed to knit something that resembled a piece of fabric. My first real project was meant to be a simple scarf. It came out… well, it was long and narrow. A bit wobbly on the edges, and definitely had a few character-building dropped stitches I’d tried to hide. But hey, I made it!
Then I got a bit more ambitious. I tried making panels for a simple vest. This is where the “sweater machine” part came in. It can definitely churn out flat panels faster than I could ever hand knit. But joining them up? That’s still on you, of course. And making sure your panels are the same size and tension takes focus.
What I Really Think About It
So, this Bond America Ultimate Sweater Knitting Machine Deluxe… it’s a tool. It’s not magic. It’s got a learning curve, a steep one at times. It’s mostly plastic, so you gotta be a bit gentle with it. Don’t go yanking that carriage like you’re starting a lawnmower. It can be frustrating, especially when you drop a bunch of stitches halfway through a big piece. I’ve had my moments of wanting to pack it all back in the box and forget about it.
But, when it works, and you get into a rhythm, it’s pretty satisfying to see fabric forming quickly. It’s definitely opened up a different way of working with yarn for me. You won’t be making intricate Aran sweaters on this thing without a ton of manual manipulation, but for plain stockinette fabric, or simple stripes, it does the job once you’ve tamed it.
Would I say it’s “ultimate” or “deluxe”? Eh, those are marketing words. It’s a fairly basic, entry-level flatbed knitting machine. It’s a good way to dip your toes into machine knitting without spending a fortune. Just be prepared to invest time and patience. Lots of patience. And maybe keep a crochet hook handy for picking up all those dropped stitches. You’ll need it.
