…this post is a constant work in progress (last updated December 2025). But I hope several solutions/problems outlined in here are still useful.
The most important aspect of attaching the ribber to your knitting machine is the distance between the main and the ribber needle beds. An incorrect distance between the ribber and the main bed can manifest itself as:
- dropped stitches
- poorly formed stitches
- grinding noise (which can be heard only when moving the carriage from one side and not the other way)
Thus, spend a decent time learning how to setup the correct distance before attempting to knit. There is a separate article on how to set up Brother ribbers as well as Studio/Silver Reed/Singer ribbers. There are a lot of online resources how to do it as well.
The second most important aspect is to correctly attach the connecting arm. An incorrectly attached connecting arm to the ribber can manifest itself as:
- grinding noise
- lots of damaged needles or bent latches
- poorly formed or dropped stitches
- ribber carriage comes out of the connecting arm pin during knitting
Some older models do not have such a connecting arm, which makes this step redundant but then the knitter needs to move the two carriages separately, one after another.
There is a separate article on how to attach the connecting arm for Brother as well as Singer/Silver Reed/Studio knitting machines. There are a lot of online (including video) resources as well.
There are several other problems, such as:
- static
