Machine Knitting – Flash from the Past!

In the 1960s through to the 1980s crafty ladies with disposable income often purchased knitting machines from companies like Brother, Singer and Toyota. Yes, that Toyota; they used to fabricate the most amazing knitting machines for home use complete with charting systems that are an engineering marvel to behold. I found my first Toyota knitting machine at a yard sale about ten years ago; over the years I’ve added another one, a four color changer for Fair Isle knitting, a lace carriage, etc. etc.

I can’t say I’ve outgrown my beloved Toyota, but eventually I did want to branch out and explore knitting at a gauge larger than the standard gauge of the Toyota machines. So I bought a Singer LK100 which produces a knitted fabric that’s a cross between standard and chunky gauge knitting. Of course, all my precious machines and their accoutrements are sitting happily in a storage facility in Seattle awaiting my return.

Well, I love creating fabrics knitted or otherwise and could not resist bidding on an LK 100 Singer on eBay a few weeks ago. Yep, I am the proud owner of yet another ultra cool retro-looking knitting machine. Yeah, baby!