Alright, so check it out, I finally got my hands on some flatbed knitting machines and I’ve been messing around with them for the past few weeks. Let me tell you, it’s been a ride.
First off, I had to actually find the darn things. Scouring online marketplaces, you know the drill. Ended up snagging two used ones – an older manual one and a slightly newer, but still pretty vintage, electronic one. Figured it’d be good to have a mix to play with.
The manual one was a beast to get working. It was all gunked up with old oil and who knows what else. Spent a whole afternoon just cleaning it. Seriously, every little nook and cranny. Then came the fun part – figuring out how the heck it actually works. Watched a ton of YouTube videos, read some ancient-looking manuals I found online. Eventually, I got the hang of it. Threading the yarn was the biggest pain at first. Kept dropping stitches left and right. But after a few hours of struggling, I finally managed to knit a semi-decent swatch. It was ugly, but it was mine.
The electronic one was a little easier, thankfully. Still needed a good cleaning, but the mechanics were in better shape. The challenge here was figuring out the programming. It uses these old punch cards for patterns. Punch cards! I felt like I was back in the freaking 80s. Found a few pre-made cards online, but they were all super basic. So, I decided to try and make my own. I used some software I found (after a lot of searching, naturally) to design a simple pattern, printed it out, and then painstakingly punched the holes in the card. It took forever. But when I finally loaded it into the machine and hit the button, it actually worked! It wasn’t perfect, mind you. There were a few skipped stitches and the tension was a bit off, but it was a pattern! On a machine I programmed! I was pretty stoked.
- Learned how to clean and maintain a flatbed knitting machine.
- Figured out the basics of manual knitting techniques (casting on, knitting, purling, casting off).
- Learned how to program a vintage electronic knitting machine using punch cards.
- Experimented with different yarns and stitch patterns.
Next, I want to try and create more complex patterns, maybe even try to knit a whole garment. I need to find some better software for designing the patterns, and I definitely need to get better at troubleshooting the machines when they inevitably break down. It’s a learning process, that’s for sure. But I’m hooked. There’s something really satisfying about taking a pile of yarn and turning it into something useful (or at least interesting) with these machines.
So, yeah, that’s my flatbed knitting machine adventure so far. I’ll keep you posted on my progress. Wish me luck!
