My Knitting Machine Journey with the Halu Sweater, ep. 1

ep. 1 Letting It Be Good Enough

Another Halu Sweater, a Knitting Machine, and Letting Go

I can hear you saying, "What is this mess of a sweater hanging here?!" You know we are all about "good enough" - if the blip in your project isn't going to annoy you or keep you from wearing it we say it's good enough and there's so many more things to knit or crochet. So when I was turning my attention back to our LK150 knitting machine, I brought that philosophy with me. 

Our most surprising find at our spring market trip was Knitting Machines! We learned there are only two companies still making knitting machines. And even those machines made by former companies are still out there working at 50 years old. We talked at length with the vendor and got the names of other shops we could talk to about their experience. The real cherry on the sundae was when we were with our friends Sweet Georgia Yarns, and after picking MANY different bases and colors, we asked Felicia if her color swatches were knit on a knitting machine. Oh my gosh, she is SO enthusiastic about knitting machines! She has a lot of tutorials (that we will be relying on).  We liked the idea of being able to knit  the beautiful, fun yoke of our sweaters and then use the machine for the less exciting bottom part. If Melissa was on board, then maybe we would give it a go! 

When the LK150 arrived at the shop in early summer, I learned how to set it up and knit swatches. Then I had to take time off for my hip upgrade, and when I was back at the shop, all sorts of events and holiday planning took over. But, when I got started on my 2nd Halu by Caitlin Hunter, I knew this would be the project I would finish on our knitting machine! So even though we were a week away from Black Goat Friday, I cleared a spot and without a lot of prep, hooked my sweater yoke on! (Do you ever have that experience when you just know you have to grab that creative opportunity!)

Over the next days, I will share my journey in a few blog posts. The headline being, I am super excited and ready for my next project on the LK150!

FROM ROUND TO FLAT

One of your big questions may be: the knitting machine we have creates flat fabric, how would that work for yoked sweater knit in the round? Sweet Georgia Yarns' Felicia reassured us that you divide the front from the back, then hook half of your yoke to the machine toknit. I'll need to seam up the sides, but with the time saved, I didn't think that was so bad! Spoiler: it took me 10 minutes per side to knit the stockinette once I got it hooked on the machine!

Knitting on a machine feels a bit like learning to drive again—your hands know what knitting should feel like, but the machine has its own ideas. And so we begin where all big knitting adventures start: GAUGE.

We tell every knitter who walks into Fuzzy Goat with a garment pattern to swatch. And yet, there I was, thinking my few rows of machine swatching was probably fine. Spoiler: it was not fine (though it was good enough for the opportunity to seize the time jump on board now). To match my hand-knit gauge in my sweater, machine knitting needs bigger gauge swatches, written-down settings, and at least one cup of something encouraging (for me it is my oat milk flat white lavender latte)

Then came YARN. I quickly learned that machine and yarn have opinions about one another. My Halu is made from yarn from our summer's Twice a Year Clear Out Sale, and I love the color (one can never have enough green sweaters 💚). It blocks out beautifully with its many, many plies of yarn. Though I quickly learned that the machine wants smooth roundness; some of those plies got caught on the machine hooks. 

But the heart of this stage? Being okay with not producing my finest work. Not yet. Not on Knitting Machine Project One. Not while my hands and the machine learn each other’s language. I love that we can learn something new with each new project.

And yes, I still really want the sweater. I can't wait to wear this "holiday" green sweater 🎄💚

Where we’re heading next:
In my next post, I’ll tell you what dropped stitches taught me about humility—and how oversized sweaters forgive more than we think.

Curious about the machine I’m using? You can meet the LK150 here: