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What’s the Stitch About Knitting Machines?
Knitting Machines; Origins, Evolution, and How They Work
The history of the knitting machine is interesting. The knitting machine was initially invented in 1589 by William Lee. Stories about his motivations range from being driven to impress a woman he was infatuated with to helping his wife knit faster to simply wanting to invent something that would be profitable.
Lee’s design involved hooked needles to catch the threads or yarn set into a large frame, nearly the size of a floor loom for weaving. A knitting machine is, generally speaking, a device that creates a knitted fabric in an automated or semi-automated way.
The functionality that Lee invented has remained the same, but designs have evolved over time. The way a knitting machine works is, basically, stitches (loops) are set up with barbed needles that look similar to a latch hook poking through them. The thread or yarn used is fed to the device under tension, with the needles catching the loose thread or yarn, pulling it through those existing stitches and then popping up to catch the thread or yarn again on the next pass. This process can happen very quickly, allowing knit fabric to be produced much faster than knit by hand.
The design remained nearly unchanged for over 200 years. At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, improvements began to show up. Jedediah Strutt and William Woolatt worked together to design an upgrade that allowed stocking frames (knitting machines at that point in time) to produce ribbing which was patented in 1759. Innovations and improvements continued and now knitting machines are available in much smaller sizes, flat work, and in a wide price range depending on size and quality.
Do Knitting Machine Produce Handmade or Not?
When we talk about machines, it often evokes some ideas that there isn’t still work being done. However, knitting machines do still require a lot of work – from set up, design, tension control, monitoring, and finishing a piece produced on one. The most relatable example of this that I’ve seen is on a sock making machine – involving tensioning by weight, manually changing the hooks that catch the yarn, and some visual thinking or math to make the correct shape!
I have seen debate amongst knitters about whether or not crafting with a knitting machine ‘counts’ as handmade or homemade or not. To be honest, I’ve been in some of those debates. The more I learn about knitting machines, though – the more I think the answer isn’t so simple as whether a machine is involved or not. After all, a sweater made on a machine and a sweater made by hand are both sweaters!
There are such things as automated knitting machines – where the machine supplies, moves, and shapes the threads or yarn involved. Even with this kind of knitting machine, an operator must have experience and skill! Setting the tension on the machine wrong can lead to breaks and messes, and the machine still requires monitoring and fine adjustments as it creates.
Other sorts of knitting machines include ones that are for home use (I mean…. Homemade doesn’t get more specific than made at home, right?) and can involve a lot of manual labor and even strength to run. Moving heavy pieces back and forth to feed thread or yarn in can be a surprising physical exertion.
But I’ve buried the lead – a huge benefit to knitting machines is accessibility! For our crafty friends that struggle with fine motor functions, whether that is caused by arthritis, neurological conditions, injury, or any number of things – knitting machines can help them be part of our Fiber Arts community! It seems silly to discount fiber arts that are produced with care and attention just because the tools used are a little different than what someone else might use.
Do Knitting Machines Save Time? Common Myths and Misconceptions
Folks who have not knit and want to learn, but also want to produce pretty things right away might think a knitting machine is the way to go – I’ll just get one and be able to make sweaters and hats and scarves and socks just like that! I’m afraid it’s not so simple, like mentioned above, there’s still learning and skill involved in operating a knitting machine.
To work a knitting machine, there is still manual work in casting on (getting the project started), setting the tension (how tight is the yarn or thread, and how much resistance is there for the yarn or thread feeding into the machine), making adjustments as you go along, shaping the project, and finishing it! Not to mention – just like any complex tool, there is maintenance and upkeep to keep a knitting machine running smoothly. Perhaps a good analogy is that experienced sewers know that a sewing machine needs to be serviced sometimes to keep the parts of it clean and in good working order.
Learning to use a machine to knit is just different than learning to knit with knitting needles. And there are certainly some overlaps! For example, no matter what tool you choose, you’ll also need to learn about the materials you use. When I first started knitting, I couldn’t have told you why cotton yarns were a better choice for some projects and wool would be preferred for others – I had to learn that along the way. There’s also learning about preference. We have folks who come into the shop and want to use Icelandic wool yarns and others who prefer Merino, and still others who don’t want wool at all! What you like to work with is something you learn with experimentation and experience.
Hand Knit vs Machine Knit: Which is Right for You?
All in all – try new things that you are interested in is my advice! If you want to try a knitting machine out – go for it! If you want to stick to working by hand, that’s a-okay too. Remember along your crafting journey to be patient with yourself; learning takes time.
If you struggle with mobility or dexterity in your hands, a knitting machine could be an excellent option for you. The crafting community should be accessible to all who are interested, and if the knitting machine helps facilitate that, I’m all for it!
I’ve spent time reflecting on the debate, and I think I’d like to separate the idea of time spent on a project from the functionality of the final product. When I craft, the time I spend on a project is part of what I enjoy about doing what I am doing. But there are plenty of people out there who knit faster than I do – and people who are learning and knit slower. When someone compliments a sweater or scarf or hat that I made, I get to smile and tell them, “Thanks! I made it myself!”
So, find joy in the craft you choose! Whether you follow patterns to get a finished piece that you love, or you experiment to see what happens, I think all of us fiber arts crafters do what we do because we enjoy it.
Do you use a knitting machine? Please share your thoughts and experiences by commenting below!
