Knitting mill

Do you have one? If so, which one? Any recommendations or feedback?

I’d like to add some color to my wire fence—the idea was to weave knitted tubes into it. I think a knitting mill would be the most efficient way to do this. 

Dear Anja,

That’s a great idea, but it will certainly take perseverance. In any case, the colorful fence would definitely stand out afterward.

I have a mechanical knitting mill with a crank by Prym. It works very well, and you can use it to make very long French-knitted cords. It’s important to use a smooth yarn, so nothing with fuzz or nubs that could get tangled. Then it runs through like a charm. You can crank through an entire 50 g ball in one go.

I’ve read before that some people use a drill, which makes the cranking even faster. But that wasn’t for me. I prefer to keep it under control. You can take a look on YouTube to see how the crank-operated French knitter works.

In my pattern “French-Knitted Rug,” I made all the colored French-knitted cords with the mechanical French knitter.

Best regards, Ina

I have the same knitting machine and can’t get the hang of it at all. Either I got a dud or I’m just too clumsy. The yarn always gets tangled and slips off the needles, no matter what yarn I use. So I’ve given up trying to work with it. 

I have one too, and I think it’s great.

The things people come up with. I’m curious—I’ll check it out tonight.

Wow, I’ve learned something new again. I didn’t know about that device before. I have an old knitting dolly, but it takes a really long time with that.

I also have the one from Prym. It’s great. With regular cotton or acrylic yarn, you can knit tubes that are meters long. In no time at all!!

I used it to make these cords for the pants. They always look great. A foundation chain would be too thin for a project like this.

This is getting more and more interesting :-) 

Ahhhh, Ina! I’d admired that rug before! Cool—then I can give that a try, too.

I’ve already watched some videos. There’s a newer model from Prym that you can attach to a table.
There’s one thing I didn’t quite understand about the blue model: is it secured to something, or do you hold it with your hands??? 

Ina has really got me hooked with her rug—the fence project is dead; the rug is the way to go.
The knitting mill (a newer model I just bought) arrives Saturday—I’m looking forward to it. 

Oh, Anja, I’m really curious to see how this turns out. I hope you’ll keep us posted on your knitting mill. I’m really looking forward to it. 

Anja, how much experience do you have with the knitting mill?

I found someone on Facebook who lent me theirs, so now I’m watching a few videos about it. The nice lady says her daughter knows how to do it—that it’s really easy… we’ll see. 

Petra, it works really well. I do it with the Catania. ♡

Great. Will you show us your progress so far?

I’m still finishing the summer hat I started, and then I’d like to make a beanie with a tie. A tie made with the knitting mill. I’m so excited.

So, my first cord made with the knitting mill is finished. It’s exciting to see how it behaves. Is it too short? Too long?

Now I’m embroidering the motif, then I’ll show you the result.