Trouble Shooting Stitches
If you are getting holes
or dropped stitches there are a couple things to look at :
The machine will 'talk' to you, when you see these things
occurring, stop and look at latches, weights, weight placement,
tension. Your machine is trying to tell you something is not
setup correct.
Most times you can look where the error is occurring and find you
do not have weight there, or the needle is bad. The key is
knowing when the machine is 'talking' to you, to stop
knitting, and look. Did you change yarn weights and not adjust
your tension ?
| Click on photos to see larger images |
|
| Picture coming soon |
Are you dropping 5 or
more stitches when you start to crank ?
This can be caused by
turning the crank backwards or counter clockwise when you start to
crank. This is often hard for the new sock knitter to see
happen, if possible have someone watch you and see if you are doing
this.
It is caused by trying to get momentum going as you
start to turn the crank. Practice stopping and starting to
turn the crank till you can start turning the crank without the
backwards motion. If the crank is hard to turn, it might
mean you have to much tension on the machine and need to loosen it.
The crank should always turn freely.
|
 |
Missing stitches or large loops of yarn not knitting is caused by the sock or tube not having enough
weight on it. You want to have the stitches pulled down so
they are resting on the cylinder. They should not be riding up
on the needles. |
|
 |
Is the yarn riding up on
the needles ? Watch the front of the cylinder not inside, it
makes it very easy to see stitches riding up if you watch the
outside or front.
This can be caused by 2
things, one, not enough weight, or your tension is too tight.
I use 3 - 4 pounds of
weight on all socks I make.
The first thing to check is your weights, are they hitting the
floor, your chair, a brace on your work table. Adjust your
weight so it is not hitting anything and crank again.
|
|
 |
To much tension on the
yarn. If the stitches riding up on the needles, or is the last
row of stitches not able to come off the needle ? Loosen the tension dial a half
a turn and crank again, if it is still hard to turn loosen it some
more.
|
 |
Is the same needle
not knitting each time you go around?
If you see this
happening, replace the needle with a new needle. The needle latches
can get bent and if they are bent they will cause these type of
problems.
Sometimes depending on how bad the latches are bent
you can take a pair of needle nose pliers and band the latch back.
You can see it the photos
the latch on this needle is bent, this is not allowing the new
stitch to be formed.
|
 |
Skipped or Missed stitches can occur if
there is not an even amount of weight being applied to the
sock. If you see this occurring and you are hand holding
the sock adjust your hand position so there is a more even
weight.
If you are using a buckle or clip to hold your sock with
a weight. You may not have the buckle or clip placed
on the sock even.
When you are doing heels or toes and using weights
this can occur also it is due to the forks not being
evenly placed. |
|
