Yarn

Yarn is the primary raw material used in machine knitting. While hand-knitting yarn is sold in hanks, skeins, or balls, yarn for machine knitting is typically prepared and packaged differently. Due to the high speed and mechanical nature of knitting machines, yarn selection, preparation, and tension mast feeding are critical to preventing jams, needle damage, and dropped stitches.

Yarn Packaging: Cones vs. Skeins

The gold standard for machine knitting is coned yarn. Yarn wound onto cones is back-wound under constant tension and often pre-waxed by the manufacturer.

• Smooth Feeding: Coned yarn sits on the floor or behind the machine and feeds vertically upward into the tension mast. It unwinds from the top of the cone without rotating, eliminating snags or sudden tension spikes.
• Cake Winding: If using skeins, hanks, or balls of hand-knitting yarn, it must be wound into center-pull yarn cakes using a Yarn Winder before knitting. Pulling directly from a skein causes drag, which leads to tighter tension and eventual carriage jams or dropped stitches.

Yarn Preparation & Waxing

Waxing is a process of lubricating dry or fuzzy yarns to reduce friction and static electricity as the yarn travels through the needles and tension mast.

• Wax Disks: Plain paraffin wax disks are placed on the tension mast peg. As the yarn passes through, it rubs against the wax, leaving a microscopic layer of lubrication.
• Manual Waxing: Knitters can also run yarn over a solid block of paraffin wax (such as a plain white paraffin candle) while winding the yarn onto cones or cakes.
• Suitability: Waxing is highly recommended for dry wools, cotton, linen, acrylic, and mohair. It should not be used on highly elastic yarns (such as Lycra/spandex) or fibers that will melt under steam pressing. The wax washes out completely during the first laundering.

Yarn Weights and Machine Gauge

Knitting machines are built for specific gauge ranges. Using yarn that is too thick will jam the carriage and bend needles, while yarn that is too thin results in loose, holey fabric.

• Fine Gauge (3.6mm): Designed for lace-weight, cobweb, and fine industrial coned yarns (such as 2/28 or 2/30 count).
• Standard Gauge (4.5mm): Fingering weight, sock yarn, lace weight, and coned yarns (like 3/15, 2/18, or 2/24 count).
• Mid-Gauge (6.5mm or 7.0mm): Sport weight, double knitting (DK), and light worsted yarns.
• Bulky Gauge (9.0mm): Worsted weight, Aran, and chunky/bulky yarns.

Tension Dial Adjustments

The carriage features a tension dial (typically numbered from 0 to 10) that regulates stitch size. A swatch must always be knitted to find the correct dial setting for the yarn weight.

• Tension Mast: The overhead mast has tension wires (tension guide spring) that pull up slack when the carriage reverses direction. Adjust the tension dial on the mast so the yarn wire forms a smooth, gentle curve.
• Wax and Friction: Waxed yarn can sometimes be knit at a slightly tighter tension setting than unwaxed yarn due to the reduced drag.