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Silver Reed SK840 Knitting Machine

=== Last updated on 14 October 2023 ===

This is the Standard Operating Procedure for the Machine Agency Silver Reed SK840 Knitting Machine. For questions about this machine, contact the machine manager.

  • Author: Hannah Twigg-Smith
  • PI: Nadya Peek
  • Shop Safety Coordinator: Nadya Peek
#1 Process (if applicable) See instructions detailed below.
#2 Equipment SK840 Standard Gauge Knitting Machine, YC6 Automatic Yarn changer, SRP60N Ribber.
#3 Personal Protective Equipment PPE) Tie back long hair
#4 Environmental/Ventilation controls N/A
#5 Required training or approval Must be trained by machine manager.
#6 Inspection requirements before use Inspect for excess fuzz on the bed and inside the carriage. Check the needles to make sure none are bent
#7 Safe operating procedures or precautions Do NOT use excessive force on the carriage.
#8 Chemicals/ spill procedures/waste disposal Dispose of any yarn scraps in the trash.

General Information

Machine Manager: Hannah Twigg-Smith, htwigg (at) uw (dot) edu

Description: The Silver Reed SK840 is a Standard Gauge Knitting Machine. It has modular attachments, which we have two of: The YC6 Automatic Yarn changer and the SRP60N Ribber.

Who can use the machine: People who have been trained by the machine manager and are documented in the machine training spreadsheet.

How to get access: Contact Hannah via email or discord

How to get your access revoked: Repeatedly breaking the rules.

Rules

  1. NEVER use excessive force on the carriage. If you are struggling to push the carriage, it means that something is wrong. You can use the release switch on the carriage to pop it up and move it over the needles without knitting them. If you cannot diagnose the problem yourself, ask the machine manager.
  2. Only use the oil next to the machine (MP Metal Protector) to oil the machine.

Important Information and Safety

As the knitting machine is human powered, it's harder to hurt yourself than other machines we have in the shop. However, here are a few best practices:

  • Tie back long hair.
  • Try to maintain good posture when working on the machine. It is easy to hunch, which will hurt your back (speaking from experience). We are going to get a standing desk, which should help with this.
  • Be careful what clothes you wear - if you wear a chunky knit with long sleeves, the needles have a tendency to snag on your sleeves as you work on the machine (again, speaking from experience).
  • It's easy to get oil from the machine on your hands and clothes - it is best to wear clothes where this will not be an issue.

Materials

Buying yarn for machine knitting can be a bit confusing. First, it needs to be the right weight, which is finer than the yarn sold in most craft stores. Second, yarn moves very quickly through the machine (much faster than you may think), so it needs to be wound so that it pulls quickly without tangling. This means it must be coned or caked. We have a cake winder in the shop for you to wind yarn that comes in hanks or skeins.

We have a large supply of Tamm's Astracryl (3/14) and Kitty (2/14) yarns, which are both acrylic. These work well on the machine and are sold on cones from Knit Knack. If you want to buy your own yarn, by the american system 0 (lace weight), 1 (super fine/fingering), and 2 (fine/sport weight) yarns are generally appropriate. You can do 3 (DK/light weight) with some finagling. If you are unsure whether your yarn will work or want pointers on ordering yarns, ask the machine manager. Otherwise, the only way to know for sure is to try it out!

Other notes on yarn:

  • You can "ply up" very thin yarns by running two ends of yarn together.
  • Very fuzzy yarns may benefit from mast wax to help them run smoothly, although I personally have not felt the need to do this.

Starter Project: Tension Swatch

Figuring out the stitch and row gauge of a particular yarn and pattern is a crucial step to acheiving the right measurements in a final piece. This tension swatch pattern is very similar to the one described in the SK840 Knitting Manual, which should live next to the machine and you can consult at any time. I strongly recommend adding pointelle holes to notate the current machine tension in the swatch - which is very helpful as you will NOT remember (I promise).

  1. Thread the yarn you wish to test through the yarn mast tensioning system. Also thread another yarn of similar weight in a contrasting color.
  2. Push out 70 needles to D position (35 on each side).
  3. Cast on with your main yarn. I recommend using the e-wrap method (demonstrated in this video). As a right handed person, I find it easiest to cast on from left to right. Just ensure that the carriage is on the same side you will finish on.
  4. Set the stitch dial to the tension you are testing.
  5. Thread the main yarn into the carriage and knit across one row. Go slow. This may be tight if your e-wrap was tight.
  6. Use the needle pusher to push out all the needles back to D position, ensuring the loops travel over the latch.
  7. Knit across again. Repeat this (pushing out needles and knitting across) three or four times, until you have enough rows to hang weights.
  8. Hang a few claw weights (three is probably enough) across the bottom of the swatch, ensuring they are low enough to not hit the sinker plate.
  9. Knit five rows.
  10. Use the single transfer tool to create eyelets corresponding to the tension you are testing. To create an eyelet, transfer a stitch to the adjacent needle. Working from right to left, repeat this on every other needle to create the same number of eyelets as the number on the stitch dial. Then, skip a few stitches and add eyelets corresponding to the number of clicks in between numbers on the stitch dial.
  11. Knit five or six more rows, ending with the carriage on the left.
  12. Thread the contrast color and knit two rows.
  13. Switch back to the main yarn.
  14. Set the row counter to 0. (RC000)
  15. Knit in pattern until RC030.
  16. On needles -21 and 21, manually knit one stitch using a small length of contrast yarn.
  17. Continue knitting until RC060.
  18. Knit two rows of contrast yarn.
  19. Knit an inch or so of main yarn.
  20. Latch-tool bind off around gate pegs. (demonstrated in this video)
  21. Wash and dry your swatch the same way the final piece will be cared for. For the acrylic in the shop, you can just throw it in your normal household wash and dry cycle. Steaming will also help it lie flat.
  22. Use your finished swatch to calculate the stitch and row gauge for your pattern.

Before using the machine

  • Brush off any fuzz from your yarn using the little brush with black bristles. It tends to collect on the vinyl strip with the needle numbers.
  • Take the carriage off and pull out visible bits of fuzz using tweezers.

While using the machine

  • Keep an eye on your yarn to make sure that it is being pulled smoothly from the cone or cake, and not tangling with other yarns.

After using the machine

  • Clean off any fuzz from the machine and carriage. If you were using a very fuzzy yarn, you can also vaccuum up the fuzz.
  • Remove your yarn from the tension mast. If using Machine Agency yarn, wrap it neatly around the cone and put it back with the other cones.
  • If using SilverKnit for patterning, log out of the laptop and unplug the Silverknit box from power.
  • Clean up any tools and weights you used, and put them in the various organizers on the table.
  • If the machine will not be used for a long time (which is unlikely), we should remove the sponge bar. Ask the machine keeper about this.

Maintenance

Please, take care of the machine. There are not many parts distributors, and it would be best to avoid needing replacement parts. Metal flatbed machines like the Silver Reed can last for decades if cared for. It seems like the best place to get replacement parts for the machine (like internal components for the carriage) is sewknit.ca. The hand tools and sponge bars are more widely available. I have included a parts diagram PDF for the SK840 so you can identify components if they break.

The machine should be oiled regularly. There is oil and a cloth on the table next to the machine. It is best to oil before or after a project, as oiling mid-project will leave a streak of oil in the knitting.

Additional Information and Resources

Here are some resources for machine knitting techniques. They're all different and will vary from what I may have demoed for you; try them and find which ones work for you. A lot of YouTube channels will choose to demo on bulky machines as they are easier to film, but the same concepts are applicable to standard gauge machines like the SK840.

General Resources

  • Machineknittingetc - Fantastic resource with a huge collection of digitized knitting machine and accessory manuals, Brother and Passap fashion magazines from the 80s, pattern and stitch pattern books, punchcards, and more. I love looking through the knitwear fashion magazines - they almost all include full patterns.
  • Claudia Scarpa's knitting machine spreadsheet - Very interesting list of machines, accessories, manufacturers, with dates, etc.
  • Knitting Machine Museum - a virtual museum of knitting machines

Yarn

  • Knit Knack - sells the Tamm yarns we have in the shop
  • Colourmart - A huge variety of mill ends specifically made for machine knitting
  • Hobbii - Mostly not on cones so you'll need to cake them, but their yarns are very nice, consistent, and well-priced.
  • Peter Patchis Yarns - I have not ordered from them yet, but they come highly recommended by Gabrielle Ohlson from the CMU textiles lab
  • Angelika's Yarn Store - They sell machines as well as a range of yarn.

People to Follow

YouTube Channels

Instagram

Blogs/Personal Sites

Resource Databases

Specific Topics

Troubleshooting and Maintenance

Casting on

Binding off

Weaving in ends