Any machine knitters willing to give a technical opinion?

[politicat]

I bought a mid-80's KH930 at an estate sale; I've been looking for a knitting machine because I'm primarily a sewist, and have become increasingly frustrated with the quality and availability of sweater knits. I don't knit at all (leftie in a family full of impatient hard-wired righties).

I've figured out most of the machine, I'm good mechanically, so have taken it apart and serviced it. I have a good grasp now of stockinette and the tuck stitch settings, so I know the machine is working well and the timing belt is functioning correctly, but my first attempt at jacquard (fair isle?) patterning looks... wrong.

[surrealAmerican]

1. I'm sorry I can't answer your specific concerns ...

... but I will recommend checking Ravelry. There are groups specifically for machine knitting, which may be well suited to this line of inquiry. Other than that, there's some chance of finding videos on youTube for machines of this vintage.

[dem in texas]

2. Old hand knitter

I don't knit anymore but I did knit for many years, even worn ribbons at the fair for my sweater. I have seen the knitting machines, but never used one. But it would seem to me that it would be easier to first make a sweater in stockinette stitch to learn the machine and the tension of the stitch. Controlling your the tension of your knit is important for the sweater to look right. Get some experience on toing on new yarn, increasing and decreasing, getting the size right, these things that all take practice and a simpler stitch would make it easier for you to learn how the machine works.

You tube videos are a good idea. I took a plate off my old 1960 Singer sewing machine and could not get it to slide back in, there was a trick to it. I looked on you tube and found a video that showed how to do it. I think there is a video for just about anything.

[Warpy]

3. I played around with a cheapo machine that would do stockinette and that's it.

While it was easy to set tension and fun to see 13 inches of stockinette appear in an hour or so, I found the noise is what put me off. I sold it years ago because of that. I've seen expensive machines with ribbers and other attachments and they're noisy, too, so I pick up my circs and do it the old fashioned way, although temporarily not at all since my hands are all swollen and sore with RA.

Besides, you can't take a knitting machine to a doctor's waiting room but my circs go everywhere.

[ellnthomp]

4. Specifically ? How wrong?

I've been machine knitting for years. Perhaps I can be of some help. If it's a matter of patterning, I can absolutely assist. Need additional details of what the problem looks like .