• MachineKnitting

    Superba Forma/Pattern Driver Sheets

    If you have looked around the internet for pattern driver sheets to fit the Superba forma/pattern driver device, you may have noticed there aren’t too many to be found. I have a set that I found on eBay, but because they’re vintage, the women’s sizes are pretty small for a gal of 2022 proportions. You can find the blank gridded sheets occasionally, so you can draw your own patterns, but I didn’t want to pay money for shipping what are essentially blank sheets of graph paper. The patterns, by the way, are 1/2 scale, and drawn with measurements in centimeters, although they list the kids’ sizes by height measurement rather…

  • Clothing,  MachineKnitting,  Pattern,  Tiny Clothes

    Machine Knit Elf on the Shelf Sweater

    I know it’s February, and actually almost March. Consider me very early for next Christmas, not late for this past one. I made this in December for our visiting elf, but never got around to writing up the pattern until today. Here are a couple of photos of the sweater: As you can likely see, it’s a very simple roll-neck pattern. The front and back are exactly the same, and there is no shaping anywhere. For those keeners who might want to recreate this and need no further instruction, here is the (hand-drawn, not to scale) schematic: If, however, you’d like a little more detail, you can find the full…

  • MachineKnitting,  Pattern

    Ten-Minute Dishcloth

    This is a pattern I came up with out of necessity. What do you do when all the dishcloths are dirty or have wandered away, the washing machine is full, the dryer is broken, and you just want to clean something? Well in my case, you make a dishcloth. OK that, plus I have a lot of worsted weight cotton I want to use up. For me a dishcloth has to have some specific requirements: It has to hang over my tap or sink nicely, without dangling too much. Too big and it hangs all in the way of the handle, too small and it falls off into the sink.…

  • MachineKnitting,  Vintage/Retro

    RetroBrite – Again!

    You aren’t experiencing déjà vu, I have actually blogged about this very topic before. But I needed to do some of the pieces on my new Brother machines, and since I always get a lot of questions about the process, figured I might as well make a video. It still works amazingly well. Case in point: It’s a simple, inexpensive process that yields quick, dramatic results, and takes years off your knitting machines. (I should sell face cream.) If you are curious about the process, check out my YouTube video here: Check it out, and let me know if you try it, I’d love to see your before and afters!

  • The Bellinky Linker
    MachineKnitting,  Sewing

    New Toy: The Bellinky Linker

    Have you heard of a linker/linking machine? Some of the hardcore knitters probably have, and probably use one. Maybe you’ve seen the Hague style – a big cylinder type thing with spikes all around the outside? Looks like a torture device or something for making sausage? Anyway, linkers are machines that are used for linking or seaming together pieces of knitting with a chain stitch instead of hand sewing. There are different things referred to as linkers – some which operate on the knitting machine and move along the bed, linking together open stitches, like the SC-3 carriage for Silver Reed type machines, or the Hague cylinder style linker (although…

  • MachineKnitting

    So I picked up two Brothers the other day…

    Look at that capital B doing a LOT of heavy lifting. If you follow my Instagram you already know I am talking about knitting machines and not anything more salacious. A Brother KH940 standard gauge and a Brother KH260 chunky/bulky gauge machine both came to live with me recently. I wasn’t looking for more machines, but the ad came up for me on F*ce*ook Marketplace, and with a price so good I initially thought it was a scam, or the machines were smashed to pieces. Not a scam, just a really, really good deal, and it HAD to be mine. I received: The Brother 260 main bed, including all parts,…

  • Reversible Jacquard
    MachineKnitting

    How to Knit Reversible Jacquard

    I figured it was high time I posted another video, and since this topic is what got me interested in the Superba knitting machines in the first place, I thought we should take a look at exactly how to knit reversible jacquard. First of all – it’s easy! If you can knit fair isle, you can knit this. There’s no need for a colour changer or a jacquard claw, or any colour switching. All you need is two thin (very thin, I suggest lace weight, 2/14 or thinner) yarns, the second yarn guide, and your patterning input device such as SuperbaKnit, and you can be knitting something that looks like…

  • MachineKnitting,  Pattern

    Mini Santa Hat Knitting Pattern for the Superba with GLTC

    Hello! It’s been a hot minute since I posted here, but I have a new pattern for you today, just in time for the holiday season. This pattern is for mini Santa hats, in two sizes, knit circular on the Superba double bed machine. It has garter stitch trim, so you’ll want the GLTC or regular transfer carriage to make it easier. Download the free PDF from here or my Ravelry store, (Username: HeatherMakesStuff) and give them a whirl! Cheers! Heather

  • MachineKnitting

    Adjusting Sensors and Cursor Timing if SuperbaKnit is Mispatterning

    Hello again everyone! I didn’t get much knitting done over the summer (funny how I don’t want to be locked away in a basement making winter clothes when the sun is shining, birds singing, etc.) but some of you may know from my Instagram that our basement overhaul was finally completed, and I moved my beloved Superba knitting machine back downstairs. Because I wasn’t using it very much, and hadn’t tried to knit fair isle at all, I didn’t realize that I was having a problem with SuperbaKnit mispatterning, until a month or two later when I went to knit a couple of hats. I took the first one off…

  • Clothing,  MachineKnitting,  Pattern

    Knitting with the Superba Forma

    If you saw my last post, about installing the Forma, this post is probably not coming as a shock to you 😉 This video is a bit longer than my others have been, and I swear it’s cursed, because it took me about ten tries to film each chunk. However, I think it covers most of what you need to know to start knitting using your Superba Forma. I will upload another video if I ever finish the garment – maybe I’ll cover how to knit the front and back, because I STILL can’t figure out how you’re meant to do it. As always with new equipment, the best place…