List of pros and cons of various machines I personally tested

Singer/Studio

Needle selection mechanism

Max pattern

Tuck?

Slip?

Fair Isle?

Weaving/weaving brushes?

Built-in Knit leader?

Row counter

# of needles

Carriage removal mechanism: if carriage is stuck during knitting…

Toolbox?

Main bed material?

End rails?

Comments

Singer

210

Punch card

24 stitches

yes

yes

yes

200

Unscrew the sinker plate

no

metal

Standard set include only 10 punch cards. No hard lid. All parts are inside a sterofoam mold/packing

Singer

321 English

yes

yes

yes

Yes/yes

no

detachable

200

Yes

metal

Built-in metallic

Comes with Spanish and English version (words on the carriage and manual)

Singer

321 Spanish

yes

yes

yes

Yes/yes

no

detachable

200

yes

metal

Rubber

Singer

326

yes

yes

yes

Yes/yes

yes

200

Yes, free standing

metal

Rubber

Singer

360

Yes

Built in

Release lever

Built-in

metal

Rubber

Studio

360

Punch card

yes

yes

yes

Yes/yes

yes

200

Release lever

Built-in

metal

Rubber

Studio

700

Punch card

yes

yes

yes

200

metal

Patterning mechanism

Tuck?

Slip?

Fair Isle?

Weaving/weaving brushes?

Built-in Knit leader?

Brother

KH551

4 push buttons

Yes, manually

No

Brother

KX350

Manual needle selection

Yes, manually

No

Brother

KH930

Electronic

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No (but there might be an option to program it in the machine memory)

Model

When obtained/restored

What has been done…

Opinion

Miscellaneous machines

Own?

Addi King 46 needles

2019

Knitted sweater, scarves, hats, neck warmers

(+) Excellent circular machine, very reliable, fast to knit

(-) can knit limited items – hats might be too small for some, lots of hand-manipulation of finished garments required for more advanced items

Yes

Add 22 needles

2019

Knitted gloves, socks, toys for dogs

yes

Brother

Brother KX350

Fall 2020

Cleaned, changed sponge bar, replaced all needles, knitted two sweaters with cables

(+) Nice, light, reliable, easy to maintain, parts easily available, takes bulkier yarns

(-) too much hand manipulation for patterning. Limiting for those who want to do more advanced knitting

SOLD, January 2022

Brother KH551

October 2021

Deeply cleaned, refurbished, cleaned needle selection mechanism, full tested, knitted a sweater and neck warmers/scarves

(+) Excellent for beginners, lighter than other metal bed machines, easy semi-automatic needle selection

(+) Very robust almost failure-proof patterning mechanism

(-) still requires a lot of manual manipulation (but with the ratchet tool), manual might be confusing for some

SOLD, December 2021

Brother KH551

November 2021

Cleaned, replaced sponge bar, extensively tested, knitted two blankets

SOLD, January 2022

Brother KH930

August 2022

Cleaned, tested electronics, tested pattern transfer from DAK, knitted single motif, fair isle, tuck, slip

(+) easy patterning

(+) spare parts are available online, many of them are interchangible with other 700 and up Brother machines

(-) electronic might go bad with time but electronic parts are still easy to find to replace

To be posted on Etsy in September 2022

Singer/Studio

Studio/Singer 360K Memomatic

September 2021

Cleaned, fully tested, knitted a sweater for mom (light burgundy) using tuck punch card

(+) very reliable, easy manual, would keep it for sure for myself

(+) All manuals and brochures are available online.

(+) Easy-to find replacement needles

(+) Built-in row counter

(+) Built in knit leader

(-) not electronic (which might be good – nothing will go bad with time)

(-) rubber end rails (but easy to manage without them even if knitting on a full bed)

SOLD, October 2021

Studio 360K memomatic

February 2022

Cleaned, fully tested, replaced sponge bar, check and cleaned all needles

SOLD, April 2022

Studio 360 memomatic

July 2022

Cleaned, fully tested, replaced sponge bar, check and cleaned all needles, replaced ends on the machine side

SOLD, July 2022

Studio 360K memomatic

August 2022

Cleaned, fully tested, replaced sponge bar, check and cleaned all needles. Replaced two large plastic parts of the top console: left where the built in box as and

Currently cleaning/testing

Singer MemoMatic 210

November 2021

Cleaned, changed sponge bar, tested on full bed (made a blanket on all 200 needles).

(+) very reliable, easy manual, would keep it for sure for myself

(+) looks less overwhelming than 360K

(+) light weight…

(+) Easy-to find replacement needles

(-) does not have a hard case cover

(-) not electronic and has limitation

SOLD, December 2021

Singer/Studio 700

November 2021

Changed the sponge bar, tested Knitted a patterned blanket.

Knitted fair isle socks/leg warmers

(+) The patterning drums make it very easy to move the carriage.

(+) The manual is very well-written

(+) All tools fit nicely into a built-in storage box, the cover of which actually shows how to arrange them.

(+) The tools are pretty standard and interchangible with other models.

(+) built-in knit-leader

(+) putting this machine to storage and opening and closing is very easy

(+) built-in row counter

(+) All parts fit into a case. The schematics on the case lid shows how to put away the machine and it is very easy to follow (much easier than on Brother).

(+) Easy-to-learn patterning. The knobs on the carriage are straightforward – just follow the steps in the manual.

(-) drums often get stuck if not oiled regularly.

(-) setup does not contain cast-on bars

SOLD, March 2022

Studio 321

Spanish

May 2022

Replaced sponge bar, cleaned needles, covered rust spots on cover, cleaned punch card mechanism from rust

Knitted neck warmer, shawl

(+) very reliable, easy manual, would keep it for sure for myself

(+) the manuals is available online.

(+) Easy-to find replacement needles

(+) The tools are pretty standard and interchangible with other models.

(+) built-in metallic end rails, not rubber – will not decompose and fall off

(-) not electronic (which might be good – nothing will go bad with time)

Posted on Etsy

Singer 321

English

May 2022

(+) very reliable, easy manual

(+) the manuals is available online.

(+) Easy-to find replacement needles

(+) The tools are pretty standard and interchangible with other models.

(-) not electronic (which might be good – nothing will go bad with time)

(-) rubber end rails like most studio/singer machines

SOLD August 2022

Singer 326

May 2022

(+) very reliable, easy manual, would keep it for sure for myself

(+) The manuals is available online (but the scan quality is not that great).

(+) Easy-to find replacement needles

(+) The tools are pretty standard and interchangible with other models.

(-) not electronic (which might be good – nothing will go bad with time)

Posted on Etsy

Soon to refurbish/test/clean

Brother KH260

Yes, started

Brother KR260

yes

Brother KH840

yes

Brother KH930

Currently tested, posted soon

Brother KH910

yes

Brother KH860

yes

Brother KH890

yes

Brother KR810

yes

Brother KR850

Toyota 747

yes

Toyota 901

Yes

Toyota 610

Yes

Singer 666

yes

Studio 327

yes

Singer/Studio 360

Studio by White

Yes

Studio SK740

yes

Singer HK100

yes

SR50

yes

Mitsubishi

yes

Garter carriages (88, 89, 93)

yes

Color changer, Brother

yes

Knit Leader, KL116, KL113, KL111

yes