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Machine Knitting Wool


Jazzer
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  • 2 months later...

Hi Jazzer

I  use and collect knitting machines, and like your wife had problems with yarn stocks, to be honest I found the best and cheapest way to get yarn was to visit the uk via car and buy from knitting machine shows like Bournemouth in Feb/March.

Recently I struck lucky -  via the local charity place in Morlaix  ie Emmaus, I noticed in their window a large amount of industrial cones of yarn - I raced in and was enthusiastically raking through when the old guy beckoned me to come with him and he then showed me a more  yarn through the back of the place (obviously some factory outlet had donated the yarn) and offered me the lot for the princely sum of 70 euroes,  it took me all of 2 seconds to say yes, then my poor old other half had to go back home to get the trailer - it filled all the back of our hatchback and the trailer with tall sides on and was a mix of wool, cotton, linen and   industrial   acrylics which suit me fine, as I have every make of machine known to man. 

I love machine knitting and spend most of my time, keeping my substantial collection of vintage and modern knitting machines and gadgets in working order, besides knitting - I did advertise for like minded people here in on the border of dept 29/ ie dept 22  (Brittany) but only received a small response.  I think of machine knitting as an art - and spend everyday working on them.  Many people do not appreciate just what knitting machines can do, ie lace, weaving, tuck, slip, pile, intarsia, rib to name but a few techniques and  they can operate and download through computers via designaknit.

Seriously though, I maintain the very best way to buy yarn is to arrange a trip to the knitting show in Bournemouth and stockpile - the price of yarn in France is very high.  I thankfully now have enough to keep me going for many years to come.  I did intiially send for around 15 cones of the good old Acrylic from a company in the uk but boy was it expensive and I can no longer afford to do that now.

Kind regards, Maggi 

 

 

.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have several old knitting machine and ribbers that were my mothers. I wrote for MKN and MKM for a while in the 80s and 90s and although want to keep my newer machines, can not find anywhere to take my old machine off my hands.

I know MKN has deceased, but as you are a current knitter do you know where I can sell or give to a good home the older machines - one is a Turmix and the others are old green Empisals (Knitmaster).

Thank you

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  • 2 weeks later...

HI Keni

I do have a collection of old knitting machines including a couple of Turmix ones, the same goes for the green knitmasters,  as far as selling them, I think you have probably tried the ususal route ie Ebay.  I still occassionally find machines I do not have, but its getting harder, the larger my collection gets. 

Its interesting that you used to write for MKN and MKM - you must be an accomplished machine knitter.  I wonder have you tried ebay france or are the machines still in the UK.

 

 

 

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Sorry Shamjac,
I have not been at the computer this week,
Yes, I wrote for the mags for a few years and did various knitting exhibition tours and lectures etc. I was known mainly for picture or
intarsia knitting.
I was looking for an old friend of mine in the industry, a guy called Dennis Wright, but i think he might have passed on by now. He was looking to open a machine knitting museum. I thought with my Edwardian sock machine and a few others I could off-load them before I made it to France.
I know I will most probably take just the knitmaster chunky and standard gauge to France when we move and get rid of the rest somehow. I sell knitting wool in my shop in the Uk and i know Bergere do give machine knitting instructions on their yanrs, the ones suitable for machine knitting. They also run mail order throughout France. Try the internet for that if you need to.
Bramwell were the largest supplier of machine or coned acrylic yarn in the UK, failing that I used to get my Shetland from the yarn brokers in Galashiels.
Nice to see someone else out there understand machine knitting as well.
I gather the weather is a bit wet, so great for knitting!
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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Keni

One machine that will be of interest to most is your sock machine as they are going for serious money nowadays thanks to the utube videos on how to operate them, the other consequence of this is that you can now purchase needles for these old machines - tho for the life of me I cannot understand why such large amounts of money are paid for them as its so much easier to knit socks on the normal kniting machines, especially the passaps.  (I own a sock machine and find it a tedious way to make socks as I can knit a pair in an hour on the Passap, however that being the case, they are an important part of knitting machine history and I would not part with it).   Funny thing is that everytime I meet someone who wants a bit of tuition and taking into account how cheap socks are, its the one thing that they want to know how to knit.  I must admit it dismays me to hear of the amount of knitting machines that are landing on skips everywhere and personally, I think they will become rarer to find - most of the golden oldie ones still knit beautifully, as I found out the other day when I took out an old knitmaster 321 to give it to an interested party and believe it or not, it knitted like a dream.

I have plenty of is yarn, I made sure of that before I came over here and  have two filing cabinets full of every knitting machine magazine known to mankind.   I still try to promote machine knitting as much as possible by giving tuition and perhaps lending my machines to interested parties.

Sorry this reponse has taken so long, I just decided to take a look at the craft forum and was surprised to see that this thread is still running.  Please feel free to email me directly should you wish to do so.

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

Hi again Shamjac

Had a bug on the computer system, so took time to get cleared,

Yes, I am looking to offload the sock/circular knitting machine in the near future plus the two knitmaster/empisal machines (green) with ribbers. I am going to keep the standard and chunky gauge of the two newer machines, so that leaves ooh, about only another three or four to find homes for!

I think I wil phone the Cheltenham Sale Rooms and see if they have any special sales for these old machines-the green ones must be 50 years old now! I know the one stil has its plastic knitting ball for knitting from balls of yarn, those things used to be the first thing that broke!

I also have a Bond (Sorry), but I think I have a home for that.

Sorry again for delay, hopefully the system will now behave.

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  • 11 months later...
Hi, I plan to get the above machine but don't know anything about it. Can you tell me more about it? Does it have pattern mechanism? Is it suitable for a beginner? What is the difference between this & M201? I don't like Brother & Singer Punchcards machines. I used to own these. I have a Corona CH1500 which I like very much. Any information is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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I believe it is quite an old machine - Passap is not a really popular machine in the Uk - many though seem to have had the old 'pink Passaps'. I don't think it had a patterning mechanism and if it has all its instruction books as with all machines, would be ok for a beginner - you just need to remember that usually any mistake is not the machines' fault! Suggest you try googling the name and see what comes uk - sorry have Knitmasters myself.
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  • 3 years later...
  • 6 years later...
Hello,
I live in Germany and I`m British, a keen knitter and on the look out for a circular sock knitting machine.  I never heard of it until last week when I was in the Black Forest where a german woman made me a paar of Socks,
I was hooked and now Im trying to find one.  It would be very much appreciated if anyone could help me.  I know the whole story behind them (I have been busy doing some background reading).  Actually my husbands granny had one but that was in hungary in 1946, but they were german and had to leave their homes and with a few belongings were put on a cattle carriage from Budapest to Germany.  It means a lot to me to find one of these machines still in working order.

Thank you to anyone who reads this and is able to assist me in any way.
Kelly

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