Email Enquiries

It’s the beginning of December and I thank you for your emails and have responded to those I can assist – the one thing I am unable to do is value knitting machines. There are many reasons for this and one of the most important is the condition of the machine. Please note that vintage machines are not sold for much at present and the best place to have a look at prices is Ebay UK or Ebay in the USA. This gives you an idea of what your machine may fetch.

Electronics were worth more than punchcards but even these are getting old – though I have to say none of my electronic machines has yet given up the ghost – ok they do have the occasional problem especially my Passap E6000 which in my case stem from the front locks. However, I have used them a lot or I have transported them from a long way away and perhaps some of these things could have happened during transport. With the Passap Electronics, some are sold without their original packing cases or worse than that stored up i.e. not put away and in some cases this could be for many years. Seriously if you are putting your machine away for some time then store in its original packing box, it will store happily for years this way.

A problem for folk like me who like to collect but have no idea of what is going to happen when they pass away, is the family who are left to dispose of the machines.

Normally whilst doing this they have no idea of what they have or indeed the value of what they have. Keep a note of your machines and try to keep the accessories that go with each machine together and most importantly keep a hold of the instruction manual. In fact it would do no harm to highlight what the approximate value of your machine is or where to search for it for ideas.

I have often said that the best machines to buy on a low budget are punchcard models from the mainstay of knitting machines, such as the Toyota 901, Brothers from 865 onward, or Knitmasters – most of my Knitmaster machines look tatty but still work very well and because they look so smoky, they are usually cheap. When buying a knitting machine, look for the instruction manual and check that all in there. It takes a while but it its worth it. Once you have your machine also after cleaning and oiling check the needle retaining bar or sponge bar, these are usually flat and if so will not knit. It is a simple thing to replace or repair, plenty of stuff on the web with respect to this.

If you are emailing me to ask about your knitting machine, it would be helpful to have a photo of your machine attached to the email. One recent email asked me about looking for a Japanese machine – and that was it! Seriously there are so many knitting machines out there, some I have never heard of – the American Ebay site lists machines I have never seen and so many of them.. It’s so much easier to help if you send the name of the machine and the model plus a photo. E.g. - Brother 940 Electronic.

I do not provide instruction manuals and there are some superb websites out there that do. Just do a bit of research; it’s surprising what you find. Pattern books galore are on offer plus loads of manuals, I have highlighted these sites on my website.

Another thing I have just started doing in Pinterest, its fantastic, I thought it was just a photo app, but no it has provided me with so much information re knitting machines and knitwear including patterns and books I am astounded. I can happily spend an evening just looking at what people knit on their machines. It puts me to shame!