Category: Machine or accessory?

Brother Garter carriages: thoughts and observations

… in progress as I am still learning and discovering …

I’ve spent the last two weeks fixing, disassembling, servicing, and cleaning all kinds of Garter carriages. I went through a mix of emotions: from agony of trying to identify the problem to fix to make the garter carriage work to complete awe watching the garter carriage knit a whole baby blanket just after I pressed all the necessary buttons.

In fact, it was so relaxing to watch Garter Carriage knit that my family would find me drinking coffee in front of it (instead of TV or a FaceBook page). Check out my pages with my projects, advice/notes, and patterns.

While being enthralled, I knitted swatches, hats, custom patterns, multicolor (just stripes, not using a true 2-color GC), blankets on all 200 needles…. So, below are my observations and notes.

Garter carriage is a bulky (meaning, big) carriage but unlike a main machine carriage, it knits on its own but slow. Garter arriages are temperamental. In fact, VERY! Som below I am compling a list of commonly appearing quesionts, my observations, and knowldge (acquired by making a LOT of mistakes).

The garter carriage moves too slowly.

If you want you GC to move faster, adjust the dial on its power supply. Right (“H”) is to increase the speed. If this does not change the speed, it is very likely that either the motor is malfunctioning or there is gunk in the carriage preventing it from moving faster.

The garter carriage stopped and is not moving.
  • The service manual describes some of the possible reasons:
  • Check if the power supply is actually working. My carriage stopped working literally in the middle of a project, and i could not figure out what was going on until I decided to try a different power supply. Well, the previous power supply decided to die without a warning.
  • The motor is not running. There are several reasons for that: bad motor, incorrect connection to the electrical outlet, yarn sensor is down, your row counter is at zero, a knot in the yarn feeder… Refer to the service manual for more detailed information.
What might cause garter carriage to randomly drop stitches?
  • bad (bent needle): it might have a sticky latch, be bent, misaligned or stuffed with lint. Check this first.
  • yarn is too thick. Solution: decrease tesion (increase the number on the dial) or switch the yarn. I was able to use yarns on garter carriage that a regular standard-gauge machine cant. BUt there is always a limit.
  • problematic yarn: fuzzy, or with boucle, or staticky, or stretchy yarn, or simply yarn that does not want to knit on the garter carriage (it happened to me; I put it in a bag and marked “GC cannot knit”).
  • check sponge bar: the spongy part needs to be about 1 cm above the metal sides. also: is it still spongy? is it even across the length of the retaining bar?
  • gate pegs might be bent or out of line. Check gate pegs from different angles.
  • clean the brushes from fluff and dust.
  • insufficient or too much weight

Overall, Garter carriages are quite temperamental.

Why does my garter carriage turn in the wrong place?

There are actually a lot of reasons for that, and they depend on the situation.

  • old grease and gunk. Solution: open up your carriage and clean it up.
  • if you recently disassembled your garter carriage, check if the turning cams are installed correctly
  • check the manual: it says for the automatic “turn” function, the slider needs to be moved to “G” first otherwise it causes problems.
  • make sure your needlebed DOES NOT miss any needles. It will trigger the turning cams incorrectly.
Are extension rails necessary?

It depends on the width of what you are knitting and also on your comfort level. It also depends on your machine. For example, the needlbed of the Brother KH930 is pretty wide (beyond where the needles are nested). In additional, the end cap on the right-hand side is wide too. So, even if you are moving the garter carriage past the sensor (to activate the “GC ON” light on the machine), rails are not necessarily. Thus, even if you are knitting on the full bed (like shown in this video), rails are not all that necessary.

What are good yarns to use with the garter carriage?

Gareter carraiges can handle yarns thicker than the standard machines can. Mostly because it knits one stitch at a time and pulls the yarn to form one one stitch at a time. Couple of examples: For example, I made a wonderful blanket with “we love yarn” (400 g/1312 m; 100 g/328 m) per ball) which is considered pretty thick for standard-gauge machines. This yarn creates beautiful texture and is machine washable at 104 F. I made a blanket with the cream yarn with tension 9 for the border and 10 for the main body. One skein of mega ball was enough. Two color garter carriages will need thinner yarns (for both feeders). But in both cases, knitters need to experiment with yarns and tensions. The golden rule: if the machine struggles, increase the number on the tension dial (which loosens the tension). Still struggle: the yarn is not compatible with your garter carriage.

Do I need to remove the ribber bracket to use the GC on my machine?

Just the brackets should not affect GC functioning. However, some believe that the best angle for GC to work properly is when the machine is flat. Thus, use the flat table clamps, not the S-curved ones (those that we use to attach our machines to ribbers).

Do I need to use cast-on comb?

Yes and no. Some knitters like to hang the cast-on comb on the 3rd or further rows. Some knit without it. I found that with thicker yarns and for two-color carriage, cast-on combs benefit me. Again: try and see for yourself.

Why are GC needles so expensive?

Simple answer: supply and demand.

My garter carriage is mispatterning.

Again, there are several reasons, including, gunked-up machine. But also:

  • you forgot to activate the GC light on the machine (if your machine is electronic)
  • bad garter carriage needle: replace it
  • not super fresh sponge in the retaining bar
  • bent or defective main bed needles


Studio SRP50 ribber tested on Studio by White SK740 knitting machine in my shop in August 2025

Studio SRP50 ribber fits a vast majority of standard-gauge Singer/Silver/Silver Reed/Studio/Empisal Knitmaster/Riccar knitting machines.

Read about Studio SRP50, Empisal Knitmaster SRP50, Silver SRP50 and Singer SRP50 ribbers (which are the same, just different branding) in the Knitting Machine Encyclopedia. The post below is dedicated to a specific ribber I serviced and tested in my shop.

This Studio SRP50 ribber was tested on Studio by White SK740 standard-gauge knitting machine with punchcard reading capabilities.

I performed the usual cleaning routine: took out all needles, cleaned and inspected each, replaced bent or those with sticky latches; cleaned and serviced the needlebed. I spent a lot of time making sure that the distance between the main and ribber beds is optimum for my knitting. I used very thin and medium-thin yarns. If you use slightly thicker yarns or thinner ones, you might need to adjust the distance. There are a lot of online resources on how to do it.

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The correct distance between the beds is one of the most critical aspects of successful knitting.

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I cleaned the carriage and cleaned the retaining bar (which is a plastic strip; no sponge).

The ribber will come with all major and most minor accessories.

The missing accessories are:

  • close-knit bar. It is a narrow (1 x 910 mm) piece of plastic. According to the forums and even the manual itself, it gets misplaced and lost very often. The same forums mention that it is rarely used – maybe for very fine yarns.
  • The “screw driver” did not come with this setup either. I am adding a ratchet tool instead. I used it for all adjustments of the ribber. For some adjustments, a regular flat-head screwdriver might be needed.

I recommend first swatch tests to be on every other needle and/or with a very thin yarn to get to know your machine without worrying about yarn adjustments. This is what I did when I tested this ribber. The knitted fabrics were then converted to hats, a band (made from a swatch) and a neck warmer below.

I knitted on every other needle but used two different combinations to ensure that I knit on ALL needles. Combination one was three needles on the left of the ribber not selected, and combination two was two needles on the left of the ribber not selected. See the video of those tests. The tests on a full bed are also important not only to assess how smooth the carriage runs, how well the needlebed is oiled, but also to ensure that all needles form correct stitches. Check out the video to see that all needles indeed knitted well.

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Pros and Cons of turn-knob knitting machines

So far, I’ve been able to become very familiar with the Silver/Empisal Knitmaster/Studio/Singer turn-knob knitting machines: Empisal Knitmaster mod. 305, Knitmaster ES-302, Riccar RK-601, Silver SK-301, Silver SK-302, Silver SK-303, Silver SK-305, Singer 666, Singer 888, Studio SK-301, Studio SK-303. Thus, the pros and cons below are applicable to the following models:

PROS:

  • light weight
  • compact
  • needles similar to the ribber (easy to find)
  • The carriage is very easy to remove from the needlebed if it is jammed
  • manual and pattern cards are available online for free
  • sturdy end caps
  • excellent for those who like the satisfaction of manual stitch manipulations
  • excellent for beginners
  • it is significantly faster to perform needle selection than manually and than the Brother pushbutton knitting machines (which involves the lever movement every time the needles need to be brought forward)
  • no ratchet tool is required to move the needles forward (like in Brother push-button machines)
  • needle selection pattern versus turn knob combinations is show on the front panel: no need to constantly refer to the manual
  • ribbers were available to convert the machines into double-beds

CONS:

  • bunch of knobs, buttons and levers might at first seem confusing
  • vintage row counter if mispalced is hard to find
  • somewhat limited patterning capabilities: manual needle selection is needed for complex patterns and patterns with more than 8 needle repetitions
  • colored fair isle requires manual yarn manipulation (the knitter will need to lay the yarn onto the needles with open latches; might seem tedious on larger projects, but makes it easy to knit single motif patterns)
  • limited number of add-ons: only ribber (no knit leaders, no color changers, no lace carriages, etc).

If you are new to machine knitting on flatbed machines and you just got a machine, consider the beginner-friendly projects I recommend to all my students and customers. These projects can be done on any machine with any gauge. Also, if you are unsure how to choose a knitting machine, check out an article I put together.

…stay tuned for more insights as I test other turn-knob knitting machines.

Working, mechanism, pros and cons of drums-based knitting machines (sold under the Silver Reed, Singer, Studio, Empisal model names) with punch card capabilites.

… in progress. Last update: January 2026

Knitting machines with punchcard capabilities have carriages with drums that glide on the back rail and also assist in needle selection when they are passed over a punchcard reading mechanism pegs.

Well, since these patterning drums are such a prominent feature (which also makes these machines stand out from Brother punchcard knitting machines), a lot of cons and pros are associated with them.

PROS:

  • needle selection is localized to drums/carriages, thus fewer (theoretically) things can go wrong;
  • Drums assist the carriage in sliding on the needle bed

CONS:

  • Yarn and debris can’t tangle around these drums
  • These drums often freeze up when the machine is not in use for a prolonged time due to solidified old grease/oil.

Here are my other observations/feedback so far:

Pegs on the drums pass the needles to either B position or C position.

When the patterning dial is in the fair isle position, the mani yarn goes onto the needles in C position.

I see blog posts stating that some of the clanking noise might be due to the static in the yarn. To solve this issue, attach wax to the tension mast so the yarn passes through it.

But some knitters experience that noise even when there is no yarn in the carriage. Sometimes, if the carriage was not recently serviced or the sponge in the retaining bar is old, you might hear some clanking noise. I am discussing this issue (as well as how to address/minimize it) in my video.

When the ribber connecting arm is attached (from SRP50 ribber – maybe others, still researching), the carriage cam dial does not turn from L to Stockinet freely. You will need to disconnect the connecting arm, and the problem will be solved.

Brother: anniversary edition machines machines and accessories

I found a brochure in my stash showing which knitting machines and their accessories were released as anniversary editions (which means the machines had a slightly different color combination but the same functions as their non-anniversary sisters).

Brother KH-930E knitting machine and Brother KR-850E ribbing attachment:

Brother KH-950E knitting machine.

Brother KH-892E and KH-836E knitting machines

Brother KH-260E knitting machine and Brother KR-260E ribbing attachment

Garter carriages KH-93E and KG-89II

Knit leader KL-116E and Color changers KRC-900E and KHC-820AE

Although the color combination is not seen very well in this brochure, all anniversary editions have baby-blue color: buttons, electronic panel, logo, etc.

Studio 360K serviced in my shop in May 2025 for Sabine.

Knitting machine Studio mod. 360 coupled with the Singer MemoMatic 360K carriage, was serviced and fully tested in my shop in May 2025. To read the pros and cons of the Studio mod. 360 and Singer MemoMatic 360K read the corresponding posts in the Knitting Machine Encyclopedia. The post below is dedicated strictly to this specific machine and not the model overall.

This girl was manufactured in the 1980s (45 years ago) so it comes with its own character (read below in Imperfections).

The machine was thoroughly cleaned. I removed all plastic panels and cleaned them. I removed plastic end caps and clean inside the needlebed with the brush until not more lint and dust as coming out. The needlebed was vacuumed from inside and outside. All metal parts were oiled. The punchcard reading mechanism was tuned and cleaned with oil. Same for the carriage. All needles were removed and inspected and then tested on the full bed (knitted on all needles). I identified one faulty needle (the video shows the incorrectly formed stitches) and replaced it.

In fact, tests on full bed were performed using tuck-, slip- and fair-isle stitches. All stitches formed as they are supposed to. There was no mispatterning (see the full video). The video also shows that all buttons, levers and wheels move freely on the knit leader and the paper advances accordingly. Read the manual carefully when setting the knit-leader parameters as some of the knobs move at certain settings. The video also shows that the row counter work great as well.

I replaced bent plastic heel protectors (plastic circles around each wheel with soft brushes on the under side of the sinker plate – now shown). They bent kinda easily when the yarn is tangled around the wheels on the sinker plate.

Installed new end racks. I replaced the sponge in the retaining bar. The retaining bar sits a bit tight so if it needs to be removed, initially use pliers to get the bar the first tug.

The drums on the carriage move freely (see the video). The carriage with and without sinker plate moves freely on the carriage across the needles in A and B positions. Read below about some accompanying clanking noise.

The machine will come with all major accessories.

Those that are not included are:

  • unravel cord (any smooth and strong thread or yarn will work);
  • tapestry needle (any needle will work)
  • punchcard rod (all tests i performed and shown in the video were done without it and it worked well).
  • oil (I get oil for my knitting machines on Amazon: Hopp’s gun oil)
  • punchcard set has all 20 cards and they are original Singer/Studio punchcards but some are somewhat different than in the Pattern Book
  • A hard copy of the machine instruction manual will not be included but it can be downloaded online for free. The hard copies of the knitting manual and the pattern book are included.

Despite some discloration of the plastic and metal of the main bed, the case lid, and the needle bed are in overall good shape.

Imperfections:

  1. There was some yellow discoloration, which could be potential rust spots. I covered them with a couple of protective coatings. The covered spots are not as noticeable in real life as shown in the pictures below. In fact, when I am looking at the machine right now, I can’t even see it (but I know it was there).

2. One of such spots is actually the railing itself (I needed to be 100% sure that there will be no further degradation due to rust). So I applied a thin layer of protective coating as well.

In some places, the coating comes of, which comes across as some minor debris. Just be aware of it (and not alarmed). Include cleaning the debris and carriage rail in your regular knitting machine cleaning routine.

3. It seems that either the plastic panels (including the end caps) were replaced by the previous owner, or the machine was exposed to the sunlight unevenly. Regardless, you can see that some panels show a different degree of yellowing (discoloration of the old plastic due to exposure to the UV light/rays). However, the plastic does not seem fragile (I’ve seen a LOT of weakened (due to UV) plastic parts). So the difference is only visual/aesthetic.

4. When I first started testing the machine by moving an empty carriage on the needlebed (with all needles in A, non-working, position), there was some clanking noise in some areas. I tried various carriages on this machine and they all sound like this. After troubleshooting this issue, I was able to improve it (watch this video on this issue) but due to the nature of this noise, it is not completely eliminated. This video discusses how to prevent/minimize that clanking noise. However, with regular maintenance and paying attention as well as moving the carriage in one smooth motion, this will not be an issue.

Despite all these imperfections, I enjoyed working with this machine. I made the gift bag below using various stitches shown in my test video (working on the pattern now).

Brother KR230 ribber tested on Brother KH230 knitting machine

Brother KR230 ribbing attachment works with only one knitting machine: 9 mm -gauge (bulky) Brother KH230.

This post is dedicated to the KR230 ribber I refurbished in my shop.

To learn about the overall pros and cons of Brother KR230 ribbers, refer to my other blog post in my Knitting machine Encyclopedia.

The ribber came without a lot of accessories but I was able to collect most important ones.

Thus, all major accessories will be included with the ribber with the exception of:

  • yard tension stand: since the machine I tested did not have the original (to the KH230) tension rod but a generic Brother tension rod, the yarn tension stand was unnecessary. But if you are buying JUST the ribber from me, and your Brother KH230 has the original tension mast, contact me, and I might be able to source the original yarn tension stand for you. I am actually not quite sure why the ribber came with this special yarn tension stand – maybe to create a right angle for the tension mast because it is quite unique and is unlike any other Brother knitting machine tension masts.
  • cast on thread: any silky and strong yarn will work
  • case for the needles
  • Knit leader setting plates: the machine did not come with those. Typically, new knitters new to machine knitting rarely use the knit leader and as a result, these parts get misplaced. If you advance enough to use KH230/KR230 setup with knit leader, these setting plates are available online for a reasonable cost.
  • hard copy of the ribber will not be included, but it can be found online. Keep in mind that the manual is written pretty poorly with typos.

I cleaned the needle bed, and side brackets. I cleaned and inspected all needles individually. Needles in good condition but with some minor rust were polished until they are smooth to touch (however, some discoloration might still be visible but it does not affect the needle functioning). I inspected the carriage and the connecting arm thoroughly too and replaced some broken plastic parts in it.

I included a brand new retaining bar with a brand new sponge.

I am also including new table clamps for the ribber (not shown). All tests were done with these table clamps (incorrect table clamps can create an incorrect angle between the main and the ribber beds and cause misalignment and, as a result, missed/dropped stitches).

The cast on combs that came with the ribber are in great shape.

I also sourced out completely new setting plates for KR230. Notice that the setting plates are asymmetric, unlike settings plates for all other ribbers.

One feature that I like about the KR230 ribber is that there are markings on the needle bed for the working position (position B) of the needles.

I serviced and oiled the connecting arm to ensure that the wheel inside it moved freely as it is responsible for the indicator arros as well as for lifting the pressers to assist with pushing the stitches down.

To ensure all needles knit properly as well as other are no hidden problems, I knitted on 20-30 needles as well as on all neeldees using several different yarns: acrylic sport-weight yarn, double-thread worsted-thickness acrylic-wool blend yarn, and a mohair-blend with Lurex thread in it. The machine handled all the yarns like a champ!

These tests are shown in my video. Prior to the tests, I made sure the distance between the needlebeds was adjusted to the optimum to ensure no missing stitches during the cast one and further one.

Below are the finished projects made from the panels knitted on Brother KH230/KR230 setup using the two out of three yarns I mentioned above.

Let me know what you think.

The ribber does not come with its original packaging. It will very likely be shipped in two different packages – long one for the needle bed and a smaller one (in size) for all other parts.

Below are the pros and cons of the Brother KR230 ribber I serviced in my shop (to read overall pros and cons of Brother KR230 ribber, refer to my Knitting Machine Encyclopedia):

PROS:

  • easy to set up
  • takes a variety of yarns (thickness- and texture-wise)
  • comes with all major accessories

CONS:

  • some minor accessories are missing (see above); however, their absence does not affect the functioning of the ribber.
  • The part of the side bracket that gets inserted into the machine on the left-hand side was a bit bent and I straightened it. (The top surface of that section has scratches as a result of my strainitening it). The series of pictures below shows that bracket and that area from different angles. Again, it did not affect setting up the machine but the bracket needs to be pushed in with a bit more force than the other one. Just something to keep in mind when connecting the ribber to the main bed.

As you can see, I invested a lot of both time and money into this ribber to ensure it has all accessories and that it functions well before I pass it on to other knitting machine enthusiasts.

Brother KR830 ribber serviced for Tyan

This Brother KR830 ribber was prepared (cleaned, serviced, and tested) in January 2025. This post is dedicated to this specific ribber. Refer to my Knitting Machine Encyclopedia to learn the pros and cons of Brother KR830 ribbers.

The ribber did not come with a carriage. Thus, I used a carriage from my stash. However, the carriage is from Brother KR850 ribbing attachment (which is a bit more advanced – read here): you can see “lili” buttons on the carriage picture, which are specific to KR850 ribbers only.

However, as shown in my video, KR830 needle bed, KR830 sinker plate, and KR850 carriage worked well in tandem with my Brother KH940 knitting machine. In fact, the carriage slides easily even with the yarn fed through it (as also demonstrated in my video).

Despite being not for the KR830 machine, the carriage works great and is in great shape. All levers, knobs and buttons move on both sides of the carriage.

The ribber came without some other accessories. I put together a set of accessories. All major accessories will be included.

The original cardboard box will not be included. Regardless, the machine will be packed for shipping really well.

The table clamps are exactly those used during the tests. So the angle between the ribber bed and the main bed will be the same. The needle selection ruler is new stock as well.

The aluminum claw weights are new. The rack lever is new (thus, it is lighter in color than all other plastic components).

The hard copy of the manual for the Brother KR830 will be included as well.

Refer to a free manual available online to learn about the functions of the KR850 carriage.

I cleaned the ribber, thoroughly oiled it, and removed old grease. I inspected all needles (individually and then by knitting on the full bed) and replaced the bent and faulty ones with the needles from a new stock.

I dedicated a lot of time to adjusting the distance between the main bed and the ribber. It is one of the most important parameters during knitting.

Knitting on a machine attached to a ribber is often an interplay between the yarn the knitter is using, tension, and the angle between the ribber and the main bed. The distance was adjusted for the thin yarn (boucle) and slightly thicker than the sock-yarn-thickness yarn (see my video).

During the tests, while the tension was chosen too loose for my first yarn, I was losing stitches (shown in my video – see a clip starting at 2 min 30 s). But as I adjusted the tension, the knitting became flawless.

I knitted on the full bed to demonstrate that all needles form nice stitches. If the latches did not work well or if the needles were bent, it would manifest itself as tucked or missed stitches.

Typically, it is challenging to need a full ribbing on the full bed (All needles are in working positions). Thus, I chose an every-other needle ribbing pattern and knitted on two different sets of every other needle.

I would not recommend beginners to start knitting on the full bed since there are several challenges associated with it:

  • hard to insert the side hanging weights when all (or almost all) needles are in their working positions (you can see of bit of this struggle in the video);
  • the knitter needs to pay especially more attention to the carriage position on the edges of the needle bed and to the yarn tension to avoid side floaters (I experienced them – see my video)

Pattern one (see video) had three needles NOT selected on the ribbing attachment. It used slightly thicker yarn. Pattern two had two needles not selected on the left-hand side of the ribber bed. I used thinner but boucle yarn. Both yarns produced wonderful fabrics. I made two great hats out of the knitted panels.

Imperfections:

1. The main bed has two minor rust spots underneath that I covered with the rust-stopping liquid. It is not pretty but at least it prevents further corrosion.

2. The cast-on combs, both small and long, had rust spots that I also covered with Rustoleum. I know it does not look pretty after i applied to liquid but it stops further corrosion. I did not have problems with the yarn catching on the rust spots. These are mostly cosmetic defects.

One cast-on comb side has more spots than the other (on both combs).

The yarn holder looks a bit rusted too but is relatively smooth to touch:

The plastic fine knitting bar is packed inside the ribber itself:

BTW, the hats were donated to a woman, who hand-embroiders the textiles ( as a hobby) and then donated to the women who lost hair due to the alopecia.

Overall, I am very pleased with the performance of this ribbing attachment. Hoping you will be too!

Brother KR260 ribber serviced in August 2024

Brother KR260 ribbing attachment fits bulky knitting machines Brother KH260 and Brother KH270. Read more about this ribbing attachment in my Knitting Machine Encyclopedia (…coming soon).

The article below is focused on the ribber I tested in August 2024 in my shop.

The ribber bed was thoroughly cleaned, the side brackets were cleaned and oiled, and all needles were removed and inspected individually (and then tested by knitting on the full bed).

The distance between the main bed and the ribber was easy to adjust. I almost instantly got the optimum distance and was able to knit a swatch right away. See the pictures of the first cast-on row: all distances are even and there are no missed stitches.

I left the side brackets in the machine so the next owner will not have to make too many adjustments. I knitted the swatch to several rows and made a narrow scarf out of it (see pictures below).

The retaining bar is new with the new sponge. (Typically I reuse the retaining bar (the metal part of the needle pusher) and attach a new sponge strip to it. For this ribber, I used a brand-new metal retaining bar with a brand-new sponge strip.

The machine comes with all minor and major accessories. One exception is a spare needle case: it was so old, that it crumbled as I opened it. The spare needles are inside a regular plastic bag.

Some accessories (1/2 and 2/2 needle pushers) are brand new from new stock.

The 1×1 needle pusher is also a handy tool but it is included with te main bed (Knitting machine).

All other accessories came with the machine but they are still in great shape.

Watch the tests on full bed in my video. I knitted 1×1 ribbing on every other needle on the bed and on the ribber. Thus, to check all ribber needles, I knitted two combinations of those needles to ensure I knitted in all needles. All stitches formed nicely! Thus, all needles, their latches, and the retaining/sponge bar functioned well.

The connecting arm is in great shape. All brushes are intact.

The ribber carriage is also in great shape and all buttons and levers move freely.

I will include the yarns I used to test this machine with the purchase so the next owner will start familiarizing themselves with this machine with the proven threads. These turns turned out to be pretty staticky. On the small swatch (narrow scarf, olive green color), the static was so strong that I could even feel it on my legs as I was knitting the long panel. On the large piece (olive green hat) the status was even stronger but the machine handled it very well: no grinding noise and no problems with tension. I did not use wax with the olive green yarn.

An original cardboard box for the ribber will NOT be included. I will, however, put the ribber into a cardboard box and wrap the accessories in bubble wrap.

Ribber cast-on combs are in great condition. If the wire does not go inside the holes, just rotate it a bit and it will slide in.

Brother KH260 knitting machine serviced in August 2024

Brother KH260 is a bulky (9 mm gauge) knitting machine with 114 needles. Read about this model, as well as the pros and cons, in my Knitting Machine Encyclopedia. All information below is about a specific machine service in my shop in August 2024.

I cleaned and inspected the machine. I removed, cleaned, and inspected all needles. The needles and the patterning (including the punch card reader) were inspected with various cards. All of these features were also tested on all needles and with various cards. Watch the video of these tests here. This machine was also tested with a matching ribber, Brother KR260. watch the video of those tests here. The machine behaved very well during all those tests by itself and without the ribber. It was easy to adjust the proper distance between the machine and the ribber, which implies no warping of the metal beds.

The rubber wheels on the sinker plate are in great condition. The wheels for tuck-knitting move freely.

The machine will come with all major accessories: sinker plate, cast-on combs (short and long ones, attached together by the metal clip), tension mast (not shown in the picture above – forgot to include it, sorry) and a detachable row counter.

I also replaced the retaining bar: I inserted a completely new retaining bar + sponge bar (typically, I attach a new sponge to the existing retaining bar).

The machine will come with most minor accessories, including a hard copy of the manual (which is in decent condition).

The only accessories that are included are the cast-on thread (you can use any strong, silky yarn/thread) and a punchcard holder pin (all the tests in the video were done without that pin and all worked great).

Table clamps, stitch-measure scales, punchcards, and claw weights are brand new, from the new stock.

All minor accessories fit inside the toolbox.

The carriage lock is not the original (the machine did not come with one). I attached the machine with the carriage lock from the ribber (because I left the setting plates in after testing the ribber). But I am including a white plastic replacement carriage lock in case the machine is sold in the future without the ribber.

Since the machine came without the punch cards, I had to purchase them. The punchcard set included is marked with the letter P (as it is supposed to be for the KH260 models) but it is not an original set. It is brand new but the paper/plastic is a bit thinner than the original set. However, I checked and the card corresponds to those in the manual.

The machine came with the wax and oil in decent condition. Thus, those will be included as well. The mast still contains a piece of wax I used when I tested the machine (some yarn was a bit more staticky than the other but only when tested with the ribber).

The machine originally came without the carriage. I have included a substitute carriage (which was fully serviced and tested) this is why the color is a bit different from the main bed.

When selecting needles, make sure that the needle buds are as close to the marked B position as possible otherwise the carriage might have trouble. It is true for all knitting machines but bulky machines are especially “sensitive” to misaligned needles probably because the needle buds are so much bigger.

A couple of other very individual things for this machine: if the numbers in the row counter do not get triggered reliably, two things can be done. 1. Gently shift the plastic cover on which the row counter sits towards you. Even a little bit of movement will shift the row counter enough to make it more reliable. I installed it properly but the top cover can shift during the shipping/transport a little bit, enough to increase the distance between the tripper on the carriage and the row counter lever. 2. Pass the carriage slowly next to the row counter. If the carriage is moved quickly, the row counter is still triggered but the number does not increase. I thought it was the problem with the row counter, but I tried several. The best thing that works is to slow down around the row counter. The slower motion triggers it better so the number changes.

Imperfections:

  • the end caps have minor cracks. Those are super minor – I’ve seen machines in much worse conditions.
  • the lid and the case have some staining from scotch tape. I will be washing them off with soap and water but not with strong solvents (as it might severely damage the coating). Sometimes some especially sticky residues remain.
  • The case and the lid have minor scratches. Below is an example of the biggest one. Other minor scratches are not shown.