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#1
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new to group
Hello:
This is my first message after having bought the Ultimate Sweater Machine. I decided to try machine knitting again and I could not resist the 1/2 off price offer I found. It is a new machine. I had two Singer machines years ago and decided to return to hand knitting and sold them both. Now I want to hand knit and machine knit, but I didn't want to spend as much as I would have to on a sophisticated machine. The Sweater machine seems to be perfect for my needs. I am just now setting it up and the directions and instructions for knitting are familiar to me after having refreshed my memory from viewing the video. I am glad there is a group like this so I can clarify if I need to do so. So I will be off and knitting. Even if I only use it for the bulk of the sweater, other items. I don't mind finishing off collars and ribbings by hand. Yeah...the best of both worlds, I would say. Pauline |
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#2
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Hi Pauline, I have a sweater machine too..Haven't made any thing on it
yet.. What I have tried, has ended up on the floor... I hand knit and crochet.. judy |
#4
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Leah
From a Knitting Newbe too, I certainly appreciated your "ultra" assistance with your response to Pauline. However, I have two questions that I have searched everywhere for. I purchased an "almost new" machine and am curious regarding needles, about every fifth needle is sorta stiff, or, not as loose as the rest; although this does not seem to affect movement of the carriage. Nothing in the manual mentions this, which makes me wonder if it is normal to others. Should all the needles move in the same smoothness? A circle of Wax was included, and directions show where to apply it. But, I don't know how to get the wax where the needles go into and through the KP. The hunk of wax is too large to rub it into the small canal. I've sort of shaved it into the particular areas of concern. Thanks for any assistance. "Leah" wrote in message ... On Sat, 7 Oct 2006 22:38:28 -0400, (Judy P) wrote: Hi Pauline, I have a sweater machine too..Haven't made any thing on it yet.. What I have tried, has ended up on the floor... I hand knit and crochet.. Judy It sounds to me like you might be in too much of a hurry when using your machine. I've had an ISM for over 10 years, and the USM carriage for 3-4 years now. New knitters I've helped with their ISM/USM have dropped work most often because they were in too much of a hurry to get the row done and end up with dropped stitches because pushing the carriage too fast makes needles jump out of alignment ahead of it, so they don't knit right, and the work can drop as a result. If your work drops really early after you cast on, it could be that your hem didn't drop down properly after the first row, causing the knitting to bunch up and then drop. Try tugging very gently on the hem after you knit the first row to make sure it's hanging freely under the machine, especially if you did a closed edge cast on, because R1 tends to be quite tight when doing an E wrap. Another problem Bond newbies have is that they either pull the yarn up too tight at the beginning of the row or not tight enough, so side edge stitches don't knit right and can drop. You want it snug, but don't yank the yarn too hard. Another issue that Bond claims with their new higher tech plastic is that the USM no longer needs to be waxed for use. I don't know if they've even put that into their instructions, but as a seasoned ISM user, I can tell you that when trying out my USM KP and carriage, I found that it definitely needed to be waxed. Get an unscented 100% paraffin white wax candle. It should be unscented because essential oils used to scent them can stain your yarn, same with a dyes to make a colored candle. You can find the little white unscented tea lights in almost any store. Pull it out of the metal tray and wax the area where the needles go into and through the KP. If your carriage is jamming on the retaining bar rail at the front, wax those joints before beginning each large project (say after each sweater). I also wax the back of the machine where the carriage hooks in on the top of the joints and at the backs of the joints to help the carriage slide more freely. With continued use, your bed and carriage will loosen up a little bit and be overall easier to use, but if you find it getting stiff to work again (and noisier than you remembered it being), try waxing it again, especially if you let the machine sit a couple of months between projects. Another issue new Bonders have is they are either holding the carriage to the bed too tightly or not tightly enough. You want the carriage to glide freely, but not bounce. It's also very important to make sure there is no tension on the yarn. Pull out enough yarn to complete your carriage pass, and if you run out, stop the carriage and pull out enough. I usually pull out enough for 2 rows, then repeat. Some Bonders use a fishing tool called a line stripper to quickly pull lengths of yarn for knitting out and have it shot into a basket before working, so they don't have to stop and pull out more yarn while knitting. If you try and use it straight out of a center pull skein, it results in tight rows, which can result in dropped work. If you are dropping stitches on the same 1-2 needles, then it's quite possible that in man handling your machine, you bent one or more needles, so it's not knitting properly, and the work will drop in approximately the same place consistently, so check for bent needles if you're dropping in the same area. Also, check your hem. If you don't have a ravel cord and are just using the thin elastic that comes with the machine, you might have nicked your hem, which can cause dropped stitches, as can outright cutting through it. Also check to make sure your weights are distributed evenly in the hem. If the hem leans down on one side, it can cause stitches to lift on the other side of the bed and eventually fall off. Also, and I've done this myself, check the instructions to see you are putting the hem on right. Until I got used to it, I dropped my work, because the hem wasn't hung on the machine right. For more hints and tips using the ISM/USM, you can visit Steph Thornton's page he http://www.stephthornton.co.uk/knitt...t/listhint.htm It has a lot of goofy patterns offered for free (and one quite annoying poster who is obsessed with using multiple dots instead of proper punctuation), but there is also a ton of helpful hints and tips, like using a crochet hook to "latch up" the rib instead of that really annoying hooked "latchet" tool. I use a G or H hook to do up worsted weight rib, I or J for bulky, and E or F for baby/sport/DK. Another terrific site for Bond techniques and tools you can make yourself is found at Heidi's Knitting Room, just don't let the glaring RED background get to you LOL: http://www.heidisknittingroom.ourfamily.com/ I hope that helps, because once you get used to your machine, it really cuts down on the boring stocking stitch sections of knitting. FWIW, I made 3 adult hats very slowly with my USM carriage before it loosened up, meaning the sharp edges of the plastic started to wear down from use so the carriage moves more smoothly across the bed, so working the back of an adult sweater should do it, or do several experimental swatches 50 stitches by 50 rows with stripes, lace, fair isle, intarsia, and cables, which can be made into pillows or sewn together into an afghan, which might be easier for you to handle than the frustration of dropping half of the back of an adult sweater off the machine. Leah |
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On Mon, 09 Oct 2006 00:13:12 GMT, "Russ Gordon"
wrote: Hi Russ, Should all the needles move in the same smoothness? I have some needles that are stiffer than others and sometimes squeek while I'm knitting, but not with the frequency you describe. I'd check to make sure none of the needles are bent, because those who give up their machines quite often state they never got it to work for them, and it could be they bent some needles by trying to force the carriage across the machine. Other things to check include seeing that the table the machine is on is as level as you can get it. Check the seams at the back of the machine where the parts fit together to see they are relatively close in alignment. Also check the needle retaining bars at the front to make sure they are relatively flat, as it could be a matter of how closely fit the machine is after assembly. Very unlikely is the possibility of a problem with your KP if it's a green USM KP. The old ISM KP were a different plastic, and pieces would sometimes chip off them; I had to replace my #3 ISM KP due to a chip, so if it's a clear plastic ISM KP, there could be a chip or crack causing needles to stick, but my carriage stuck more frequently than the needles did when going across the row than what you've described. A circle of Wax was included, and directions show where to apply it. But, I don't know how to get the wax where the needles go into and through the KP. The hunk of wax is too large to rub it into the small canal. I've sort of shaved it into the particular areas of concern. I apply wax to more areas than the ISM book stated, as my personal experience with the USM carriage upgrade I got dictated that it was necessary for me to lube additional parts on the machine to help the USM carriage glide more freely. I'm glad to hear Bond is including wax with the USM; when I got the USM carriage upgrade kit, they specified I would never need to wax the KP again! You also should check the needle channels themselves, because if the machine sat before you got it, there could be yarn bits, dust or maybe even some wax build up from prior use. If it's not a waxy buildup, you can use canned air that's used to clean computer equipment to blow the gunk out of the channels. A Q-Tip might work, but if there's wax, then cotton from it might get stuck in the channels. I have to admit I'm not sure what to recommend if you've got wax jammed in the channels. I'd probably use a plastic tapestry needle tip to loosen it up, and then canned air to blow it out. If the problem is really bad, you may need to take the needle retaining bars off one at a time and wipe the needles themselves clean as you clean the channels and check all the needles to see if they're bent. Rather than shaving your wax and possibly gumming up the needle channels, there are 2 other options you can look into to lube the needle channels. Most KM companies recommend a machine oil to lube up your machine. I would not recommend the ones used on metal machines, but there is a machine by Silver Reed (AKA Studio and Singer in the past) that's also a hobby plastic machine called the LK-150. It comes with it's own machine oil. You can see about purchasing a bottle of that and putting it on a Q-Tip and applying to the affected channels, but faster to apply and probably less messy would be the silicone spray lubricant you can find that's used on the ISM/USM quite often. There are a couple of names recommended: Lori Lin Knitting Machine Lube (they also make a yarn spray which goes on the yarn and not the bed) and Bond America's Easy Knit Spray. To purchase any of the above, just type in the names, LK-150 machine oil, etc., to find where you can purchase it. I've had good service from many places on the web, so I can't really recommend one over the other, and you may actually need to shop several places if you want more than one of the items I mentioned to lube your machine to see if that solves the problem. I'd try the silicone spray first if wax wasn't working for me and no needles are bent. I've used the LK oil on my LK-150 and had to knit a throw away swatch to get the excess oil off the machine before continuing to knit with it and will probably switch to the silicone spray next time I'm going to lube my LK. Thanks for any assistance. NP. I remember being new and frustrated with my machine, but I stuck with it, and I hope others do, too, because it really is a joy to use once you get used to the quirks and learn some maintenance tricks. Leah |
#6
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Leah, Thanks..I am sure I was going to fast..I have had my machine 10
years too. But is has been in the box, waiting for me to retire..I haven't messed with it this year..Been hand knitting and crocheting..But I haven't given up.. Thanks again, judy |
#7
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Hi again Judy,
Leah, Thanks..I am sure I was going to fast..I have had my machine 10 years too. But is has been in the box, waiting for me to retire..I haven't messed with it this year..Been hand knitting and crocheting..But I haven't given up.. Thanks again, NP! I just hope I gave some useful advice. I really do enjoy my machine now that I've learned some maintenance tricks and hope that others do the same. You will be able to knit faster with it once the carriage gets a little wear on the sticky spots. I know exactly where my USM carriage sticks now and why, and I was considering using an emery board to lightly file that edge, but just working it across the bed has made that part loosen up enough I don't think it will be necessary now. I did use the emery board on the mold spots on a set of cheap Luxite crochet hooks because they were catching on the yarn, and I didn't have any sandpaper available, so I used the rough side of the nail file then the fine to smooth all those hooks, which I use when going out in public, so I don't risk losing any of my better hooks. I also hand knit (flat and circular) and crochet, and I think each method of crafting has it's own charms and uses. Leah |
#8
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http://www.worldknit.com/Merchant2/m...e= bond_02005
Try this "dooney" wrote in message ups.com... Hello: This is my first message after having bought the Ultimate Sweater Machine. I decided to try machine knitting again and I could not resist the 1/2 off price offer I found. It is a new machine. I had two Singer machines years ago and decided to return to hand knitting and sold them both. Now I want to hand knit and machine knit, but I didn't want to spend as much as I would have to on a sophisticated machine. The Sweater machine seems to be perfect for my needs. I am just now setting it up and the directions and instructions for knitting are familiar to me after having refreshed my memory from viewing the video. I am glad there is a group like this so I can clarify if I need to do so. So I will be off and knitting. Even if I only use it for the bulk of the sweater, other items. I don't mind finishing off collars and ribbings by hand. Yeah...the best of both worlds, I would say. Pauline |
#9
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Autumn wrote:
http://www.worldknit.com/Merchant2/m...e= bond_02005 Try this "dooney" wrote in message ups.com... Hello: This is my first message after having bought the Ultimate Sweater Machine. I decided to try machine knitting again and I could not resist the 1/2 off price offer I found. It is a new machine. I had two Singer machines years ago and decided to return to hand knitting and sold them both. Now I want to hand knit and machine knit, but I didn't want to spend as much as I would have to on a sophisticated machine. The Sweater machine seems to be perfect for my needs. I am just now setting it up and the directions and instructions for knitting are familiar to me after having refreshed my memory from viewing the video. I am glad there is a group like this so I can clarify if I need to do so. So I will be off and knitting. Even if I only use it for the bulk of the sweater, other items. I don't mind finishing off collars and ribbings by hand. Yeah...the best of both worlds, I would say. Pauline Thank you. I have the usm and it works well. It just came today and it makes it slick Dennis |
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