Knit a sweater in a day, they said. It would be easy, they said.

Рет қаралды 12,491

Күн бұрын

Where I learn to knit a sweater on a flatbed knitting machine, after hand-dyeing the yarn pretty blue.
Wearing a handknit sweater is like wearing a hug, but alas, it's been over a decade since arthritis took knitting away from me. So I reclaim what I lost with the help of a vintage flatbed knitting machine.
How hard can it be?
Supplies:
Ashford NZ Triple Knit Cone
Ashford Acid Dyes
Silver Reed SK 103 knitting machine
Notes for the sweater recipe are from a class taught by Esther Anderson
00:00 - winter is cold, I need a sweater
00:58 - it reels the yarn, it makes a click, a click reel
02:28 - self-tied skein
03:55 - choosing the colour
04:50 - dye day
07:09 - swatching time!
08:33 - sweater recipe
09:19 - does a self-tied skein end in yarn barf and tears?
10:20 - casting on (finally)
14:09 - why does it hate me so?
15:05 - frogging
15:45 - a new approach
18:39 - but what do the sheep think?
18:52 - for next time
To learn more about my fibre journey, you can find me at:
Crowing Hen Farm homepage: www.crowinghen.ca/
Shop homegrown fibres on Etsy: www.etsy.com/ca/shop/crowingh...
Help me make more videos for you to enjoy: ko-fi.com/crowinghen
♫♪ Love the music? Me too! ♫♪
Sign up to epidemic sound with this link, and we both get a free month's worth of music to use in videos and other creative endeavours.
share.epidemicsound.com/gei82k
Thank you for the music:
(Unless otherwise noted, all music is from epidemicsound.com.)
Gavin Luke, Time Zones
Francis Wells, Sowing the Summer Barley
Bonnie Grace, May You Have
Spectacles Wallet and Watch, Careful Thoughts
Francis Wells, Tranquility Sphere
Bonnie Grace, A Celtic Blessing
Francis Wells, The Pendulum Clock
Peter Sandberg, Lens Flare 3
Peter Sandberg, Lens Flare 1
WAIT! What about the chickens? I keep seeing cute little felted chooks in your videos. I want one. I need one. Where do I get one?
Here you go: permies.com/t/fairy-grove-chi... (affiliate link - which let's face it, I'll probably use to buy more chickens)
#knittingmachine #dye #knitting

Пікірлер: 57

@geringergasse2 6 ай бұрын

For me as a well endowed woman "Big Girl Knit" by Jillian Moreno and Amy Singer was the game changer. There you learn how to make bust darts in knits which works really well.

@HansQuistorff 2 жыл бұрын

My grandmother knit me a black sweater that way when I was 4 . When I got to big for it my sister wore it. Served us at least 15 years of fishing and farm chores.

@CrowingHen 2 жыл бұрын

Handknit sweaters can last forever. I just retired my first handknit sweater that I knit back in 2004. I still wear the bulky Cowichan-Norse fusion style sweater my grandmother knit in the early 1960s.

@winterrain1947 Жыл бұрын

It's odd that people who don't know what a knitting machine is, seem to think it's a silver box with a mouth that takes in a bunch of skeins of yarn, and moments later poops out a garment.

@GrizzyLemming Ай бұрын

Absolutely. I even had one bright spark ask me how many I could run at one time after I got my Bond Classic🤣

@AdamLopez 2 ай бұрын

When short rowing you need to use extra claw weights so you don’t drop stitches 😊😊. Hang the weights under the edges of the active needles right next to the needles on hold.

@winterrain1947 Ай бұрын

I got annoyed trying to get the claw weights in the right spot because you have to fix them every other row. Now, the weight is my hand pulling down, readjusting for the exact right place. It's easier to feel where the weight is needed.

@raycreveling1583 11 ай бұрын

I love my knitting machines, I have 6 but, I've learned the hard way that I can't knit in a "flow state" with them. They're to mechanical and to many things can go wrong. It's like running an old letter press (My day job is in print) as soon as you trust the machine it will bite you :). That's been my experience anyway.

@suegurney4666 6 ай бұрын

This is such an honest video and your struggles very helpful . What perseverance you have !

@CrowingHen 6 ай бұрын

Thank you. It was an emotional journey. Thanks for joining me.

@n.ayisha 2 жыл бұрын

i love that retro row counter on your machine. i am also new to machine knitting. it's wonderful to find someone who is making the transition from hang-knitting to working on the machines, and who describes the process as they would if the item was being knitted by hand.

@CrowingHen 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks. The machine is from the 1960s so it's all fun retro designs.

@llafianza Жыл бұрын

Well done! This is a great era to try machine knitting as it is easy to pick up used ones, and there is vast knowledge and communities online and even in-person. A beautiful video, too.

@ingeleonora-denouden6222 2 жыл бұрын

Your yarn looks beautiful! If this is your first sweater knitted on the machine I would call it succeeded. Of course there's always room for improvement ;-)

@CrowingHen 2 жыл бұрын

Oh thank you! Yes, so much room for improvement. But I'm happy with it.

@petramaxwell1955 3 ай бұрын

Great video, keep creating mk videos, thank you

@akanmumulikatmodupe7641 6 ай бұрын

Amazing. Well-done ma

@CrowingHen 5 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@beaumdavidson 2 жыл бұрын

Beautiful sweater, great machine! Glad you are knitting again!

@CrowingHen 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! 😊

@BBMc107 Жыл бұрын

Lovely video. Soft music, lovely countryside, mellow voice with energy and inflection, beautiful hand dyed yarn. Add to this my new favorite toy, the knitting machine and I was enthralled.

@CrowingHen Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

@mandamadeit3710 2 жыл бұрын

The bowls 😂 what a great way to demonstrate! Such a labor of love, but the dye job and sweater itself look beautiful. I’ll admit I’ve never seen a knitting machine in action before and it is a lot more intensive than I was imagining. Well done!

@CrowingHen 2 жыл бұрын

I was thinking of getting watermelons but they aren't in season. Glad the bowls worked instead.

@steph_m 2 жыл бұрын

i inherited my grandmothers knitting machine and i hope to one day be able to make a sweater on it. im use to the 2 pointy sticks so keep your fingers cross for me. i really enjoyed watching your process and hearing your thoughts. keep up the amazing work!

@CrowingHen 2 жыл бұрын

Fingers crossed for you. It was quite an experience learning this machine. But worth it.

@JohannaLuisa_ 7 ай бұрын

Such a great video. I like your editing, and choice of music 🙏 Thank you!

@happygoatknits 6 ай бұрын

great job!

@CrowingHen 6 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@meadowsweetfarmfiberartsdesign Жыл бұрын

Great job!!!

@CrowingHen Жыл бұрын

Thank you!!

@skateness 10 ай бұрын

What a lovely journey! ❤

@CrowingHen 9 ай бұрын

It really is!

@petramaxwell1955 Жыл бұрын

Loving it! Keep machine knitting❤

@CrowingHen Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Will do!

@Yayonyo 7 ай бұрын

Dear Crowing Hen, I'm in the same boat as you! Rheuma has taken the ability to handknit from me and I bought myself a knitting machine (I have a Toyota KS901) I think I have gotten a broken machine though, because I keep making holes, the yarn (fingering alpaca wook) keeps tangling in the carrier and I'm not having any luck so far..but your video gave me some inspiration and strenght to go forward in this joruney! :D

@monicasmadeinmaine1114 2 жыл бұрын

An idea 💡 maybe do a corset lacing along the bust with I-cord. It seems to be the style. Then you can pull in the excess opening. Also I love the dye color. 💙

@CrowingHen 2 жыл бұрын

I like it!

@anavelaeshomestead 2 ай бұрын

Even though I'm late to the party, it looks like you needed more weights across the KM. Short rows you need heaps of weights.

@patvalenzuela5105 5 ай бұрын

Lovely color

@CrowingHen 5 ай бұрын

Thank you! Cheers!

@leightate7491 2 жыл бұрын

I've been intrigued by knitting machines, so it's interesting to see one in action. I wondered if it might be a meditative activity, but I'm pretty convinced now that it's actually pretty complicated! Very admirable how you stuck with it. I really appreciated your fit analysis at the end. It's a beautiful sweater and quite an accomplishment. You're well on the road to knitting machine mastery!

@CrowingHen 2 жыл бұрын

I think it would be more meditative if I had more experience. Thanks for watching.

@BBMc107 Жыл бұрын

I am new to it myself. I am making panels to increase the size of a wool blanket. Very relaxing, but I am not doing anything complicated, yet. I want to try short rows so I can knit the new onto the old rather than graft it later. And I definitely want to add some cables.

@divalea 3 ай бұрын

I love the video. I’m in awe of how clean and polished your machine is. Was it restored?

@PermaPen 2 жыл бұрын

Congratulations on mastering the knitting machine! i have one, too, but I've really only messed around on it doing artsy experiments. I, too, am....endowed. It's a pain in the....chest as far as clothes go. I've been thinking about making a sweater mockup using jersey so that I know the dimensions needed, then make a formula for the yarn gauge.

@CrowingHen 2 жыл бұрын

That sounds like a great idea. I would love to hear how it goes.

@PermaPen Жыл бұрын

A quick update: yes, I now have a paper sewing pattern that I can also use for knitting. Eg, my pattern shows my sleeve starts at x cm around the wrist, expanding steadily to y cm at the widest point over the course of z cm length. Therefore I know how many stitches to start with (according to my gauge), how many rows it will need and how often I must increase to achieve the required end number of stitches. Then the same approach for the sleeve head. And I know I'm on track because it fits the paper pattern as I go! I think if I purchased a knitting pattern now, I'd have to reverse-engineer it to produce a sewing pattern to check fit.

@bboice08 Жыл бұрын

Beautiful sweater light and airy!! Wonderful color and fun to watch you dye it!!! Is the yarn from your sheep? Lovely!!

@CrowingHen Жыл бұрын

Thank you. Alas, commercial yarn for this one. But now I've got the hang of it, I can use the good stuff.

@Knittedbyknadj 4 ай бұрын

Hi will you share your sweater recipe or share how you made your sweater recipe?

@CrowingHen 4 ай бұрын

Sorry, it's not my recipe to share. But the math part is almost identical to Elizabeth Zimmerman's sweater recipe.

@LaineyBug2020 Жыл бұрын

Can this machine to a jersey knit with linen? Is it manual or electric?

@CrowingHen Жыл бұрын

I don't know if it can knit linen. I've only tried more elastic yarns with it as my machine is vintage and I don't know if I can get replacement parts. It's fully manual (100% human powered)