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 these come in many brand names, the one I’ve seen most often is Hague), and the Bellinky, this little flatbed style. I don’t know if there are other brands of this style, as I’ve only ever heard of the Bellinky.

This was one of the items thrown in with my recent Machine Knitting Haul of Good Stuff™. Was I looking for one? No. Was I about to turn it down? Absolutely not! Truthfully I have thought about getting a linker before, but they’re fairly expensive, even used, and it’s a lot when you consider I have two free pieces of equipment at the end of my my wrists that do a pretty good job with mattress stitch. But “tossed in for free” is about as good a deal as you’re likely to find, ha. Even if I hated it, I had nothing to lose.

According to the manual, it can be used for all kinds of things, such as sewing up your side seams, linking open stitches together, attaching bands or sleeves, even pintucks! I mean I am fairly confident I’ll never make pintucks, but you never know.

For now, I can tell you it works, makes a decent little chain stitch, and it’s a fun little piece of equipment. I will have to try it out on an actual garment, whenever I get around to making something besides a swatch, but I like the results thus far.

Here’s a little video of the Bellinky in action:

An interesting little machine!