I got a Knitting Machine!

This last Christmas was wonderful, and one of my favorite things I received was the Addi Kingsize knitting machine. As someone who hasn't hand-knitted before, I had little interest in knitting until I saw what knitting machines could do. Projects done in hours instead of days, or even weeks? Wild!

Even though I'm not the fastest crocheter out there, I still love it, but sometimes I wish I could finish projects a little faster. This is where my Addi knitting machine is the most useful. It's also helpful for when I like the look of a knit project, but can't necessarily replicate it using crochet.

I hope you enjoy viewing some of the projects I've already made on my knitting machine and my thought process along the way. Maybe you'll even consider buying one for yourself, who knows?

After watching a short, introductory video on the Addi Kingsize knitting machine, I felt brave enough to jump into making a hat. I ended up making a couple of mistakes--the yarn snagged, dropped a stitch, etc. Still, I was able to fix all the issues and it ended up being a pretty decent looking hat. I'm proud of how it turned out, especially since it's the first thing I knitted!

I also got a pom pom maker, so I was able to add one onto the hat. The pom pom adds a lot, in my opinion.

Something I forgot is that knit curls when it isn't weighted down, so that was fun to navigate. This is especially true since I also didn't follow a pattern when making my hat. That's one reason why I feel that I'm able to create my own patterns so easily; because I often "wing it" and fix mistakes later.

After my hat was completed, I got ambitious and decided I would jump straight into making a sweater. If you're wondering what my thought process was going into that, I'm not sure I could even explain it. I just felt like I needed to make a sweater.

For this project, I decided to look online for some pointers, especially towards measurements, since this would be slightly more difficult than the hat I made. Surprisingly, I didn't find much. The only information I had going into this project was that I was going to need 4 flat knit panels, 2 circular knitted sleeves, and I might have to crochet the finish. I didn't time myself or anything, but thinking back, I bet I finished all 4 body panels in under 2 hours. The sleeves probably took me 20-30 minutes each?

Hand-stitching all the pieces together was the real test of my patience. Crocheting the ribbing and hem of the sweater were also time-consuming, though this was partially due to my procrastination. Even after taking many, many breaks, I finished this sweater within two weeks. This is much faster than it would have been for me to crochet a whole sweater, and as an added bonus, the knit is more breathable. I love how large this sweater turned out, even if it was by mistake. It's super comfy and warm. There are a few things I will do differently going into this again, but I was extremely happy with my first try. I plan on making many more sweaters in the future.

I actually made this infinity scarf a few days ago! It came together in under 2 hours, even with the time I took stitching it together and taking a break to eat lunch. I used an alpaca wool and acrylic mix that's super soft, so I can definitely see myself wearing this a lot. It was really easy to make, I just put my knitting machine in circular knit mode, cast on, and cranked away! After making this scarf, I can see that I've learned a lot about the knitting machine, which I think is owed to my sweater project specifically.

If you know anything about me, you won't be surprised to know that I already have a list made up of future projects I want to make on my knitting machine. Now that I'm more familiar with using it, I'm very excited to continue making more projects! I would love to make more hats and scarves; but also new projects like vests, cardigans, and maybe even socks! Who knows? The possibilities are endless!

Don't worry, I'm planning on posting specific patterns for projects I've made on the Addi Kingsize knitting machine on this blog in due time. I'm hoping to get the hat and infinity scarf patterns up in the next month or so. If you have any suggestions on what I should learn to make with my knitting machine, or knitting machine tips, please leave a comment below!