IS THIS CHEATING?

So, I did something that die-hard hand knitters would scold me for. I bought a knitting machine!

the pink and lavender is girly, ugh | click to enlarge

I actually bought it last November, but just now have had the time to really dig in and see what it can do.

click to enlarge

I bought the machine so I can really experiment with garment design and construction. Knitwear design has been really catching my eye the past year or so. I wanted a way to design and knit quickly.

click to enlarge

It doesn't do everything since it's an introductory model. But it does knit various yarn sizes. The more expensive a machine, the smaller the range of yarn sizes it uses.

Right now I am just knitting swatch after swatch, experimenting with stripes, patterns and short rows. But I am planning on using to create some items to sell. I'll keep you updated...

Comments

[Melissa]

Woohoo! That looks so fun and the pillow looks great. I pulled out my knitting machine several months ago and played around with making swatches, but haven't done anything else since. I'm taking a weekend intensive machine knitting class in Seattle at The Knitting School (http://www.theknittingschool.com). It should be fun!

[Anne]

Hi Drew,

could you please give more information about the machine? I'd love to have one too.

Thanks!

[thorvalda]

Not cheating at all! Will be interesting to see what you can make on the machine! I very much understand your motive; knitting design is interesting and you want to experiment, but knitting takes so long - sometimes you just don't have the patience. And if you plan to sell clothes, not just patterns - you have to have a machine. Good luck:)

[anne]

So not cheating! That's awesome, and I'm looking forward to seeing where your experiments lead you.

[Mel]

Just a different means to an end. Machine knitting to me is kind of like applying a weaver's mind to your knitting.