There are two main types of knitting machines for you to consider in the market but before you decide which machine to buy you really need to think first about which yarns you are most likely to be knitting.
Once you have decided this, you can then make sure you buy a machine that has the right gauge for your knitting.
The two most common knitting machines are:
Punchcard Electronic
Punchcard machines use a plastic punched card to read the pattern. The punchcard repeat is usually limited to 24 stitches but you can vary the pattern by reversing or turning the card around.
Electronic machines either use a computer connection to a computer to create the pattern or they use a mylar sheet. The benefit of an electronic machine is you can have patterns up to 200 stitches wide, depending on the machine.
Most machines will allow you to knit the following stitches:
Tuck Slip Fair-isle Lace Knitweave
The most common machine gauge that people buy is standard gauge machine (4.5mm) because they typically work well with all the most common yarn thicknesses available.
If you like to knit lace effects, most of the standard gauge machines have a lace carriage that fits onto the machine (if it doesn’t come with the machine, you can however buy an attachment).
If you want to be able to create purl and plain stitches in the same row, Garter carriages can also be purchased to fit on your standard gauge machines.
