Duct Tape Among Other Things

To fix your sponge bar you will need:
Foam to fit your sponge bar (3/8" Wide x 1/4" Thick Weatherstripping works well)
Strong double sided tape or Glue
Satin Ribbon the width of your foam (3/8" works well)
Goo Gone
Flathead Screwdriver
Paper Towels
Toothpicks
Q-Tips

1. Remove sponge bar if you look at the side of your machine at the front of the bed there is a white tab on either side of the machine push out with the screwdriver and pull from the other side
2. Remove old foam. If your foam is really old this is where you will need the screwdriver to scrape out the old foam, you might also need goo gone, paper towels, toothpicks, and q-tips to get all the gunk out. You want it as clean as possible so that the new foam sticks
3. If using weatherstripping cut a piece the length of the bar and stick it to the bar using the adhesive that is already there. (If using foam cut to the right size then use double sided tape or glue to affix it to the bar)
4. Tape or glue the satin ribbon to the sponge bar.
5. If using glue allow to dry overnight-24 hours before replacing in machine
6. Put sponge bar back in machine, to do so use the needle pusher to press your needles flat against the bottom of the bed and push the sponge bar in. Continue the process across until the entire sponge bar is in the machine.
7. Enjoy your newly repaired sponge bar

Note: Your machine will not function properly without a sponge bar, do not attempt to use your machine without one or one in poor repair. If you do so it is likely you will bend needles and create some serious problems.

Banging My Head Against a Wall...

So try as I might the knitting machine seemed just a bit off there is something that doesn't seem like it is calibrated quite right, and on a knitting machine that is like tossing a handful of scrap metal into a running engine, in other words not pretty. The yarn was tangling the automatic cast-ons weren't working and the machine was not behaving like any of the machines shown online in what videos and such I could find. I could not figure out what could possibly be wrong, I didn't remember it having these issues the very first time I set it up so what could possibly have changed.

There is a saying that my family likes to use when repairing things (which unfortunately we seem to have to do a lot): You only need two things, duct tape and WD-40. If it moves and it shouldn't duct tape it, if it should move and it doesn't hit it with the WD-40. And if you can't fix it with a hammer it is an electrical problem. About 99% of the time this philosophy works (and when it doesn't it is doubtful it is worth fixing anyhow). So I decided that this should probably work on the knitting machine with a few modifications.

(Note: Only use knitting machine lube on your knitting machine. Other oils and lubricants may degrade the many plastic parts within the knitting machine)

After some online research the knitting machine equivalent of duct tape seemed to be replacing the sponge bar. The sponge bar is this nifty little metal bar with a sponge in it that sits on top of all the needles at the front of the machine (inside the bed) and applies pressure. This wondrous little gadget is the answer to all your knitting machine troubles. In order to remove/replace needles you need to remove this and if it is in poor condition the whole machine will pretty much go haywire. 

If those lovely hooks (aka needles) sticking out of your machine are even kind of springy (move up and down vertically) your sponge bar probably needs some serious replacement. The good news? This is another fix it yourself project!

Electronic Machine, without electronics?

So what if you are missing that seemingly small piece the power cord? Well all is not lost. An electronic knitting machine will work without the power but all of those really nifty features like color changing and pattern knitting and such will have to be done manually or not at all. As you will soon find out when working with your knitting machine, if you can't do the fancy stuff you might just be better off buying some fabric and sewing whatever it is you are going to knit.

So you need the power cord and you don't have one, now what? Well if you are rich then just putter on over to Ebay and find yourself a replacement. If however you, like me are using a 20+ year old machine for a reason then I have a solution that will cost you a lot less than the $30 replacement. This cord will likely only work with Brother KH-930e machines (or machines that share the same cord).

You will need:
2 Pairs of Pliers
1 2 Prong Extension Cord
2 .187 Female Quick Disconnect Terminals
1 Long piece of heat shrink tubing
1 Electrical Stripper/Crimper
1 Heat Gun

If you do any home improvement/repair projects you probably have the pliers, electrical stripper/crimper, and heat gun already. If you don't they are probably good investments although you might try a hair dryer to replace the heat gun if you are going for cheap. The extension cord and quick disconnects you should be able to find at the local hardware store they should each cost about $3. A package of heat shrink tubing should also be at your local hardware store and shouldn't set you back that much.

Once you have all your materials take your extension cord and cut off the end where you plug things in. Split and strip the wire (far enough down to attach the quick disconnects and not much further) and slip the heat shrink tubing (large enough to fit over the ends of your quick disconnects) over the wire and slide it down below the stripped part of the wire. Take the quick disconnects and bend the curled parts outward so you have sort of a rectangular slot that fits tightly over the prongs of your knitting machine (found on the right side of your machine). Now take your newly configured quick disconnects and put them on the end of your newly stripped wire. Crimp your quick disconnects on to your wire, slide the heat shrink up to cover the connection between the quick disconnect and the wire and shrink it with the heat gun. Fit the quick disconnects around both prongs of your knitting machine plug then plug it in to the outlet.

Congratulations you have just made a knitting machine cord for less than $10!

Pieces and Parts Everywhere!

So my father decided to buy the whole kit when he bought the knitting machine so my machine has all the bells and whistles. I have the Brother KH-930e machine, a G-carriage, a ribber attachment, and a knit leader. At some point in the life of all these pieces and parts they were all together and so it seemed at the time a good idea to keep all their instruction books together. In hindsight this was a very poor decision. So as a result I do not have any of the instruction manuals for my machine or accessories.

If you are currently wondering if you need a manual for your knitting machine I will tell you right now, YES you absolutely need the manual for your knitting machine especially if it is electronic.

If you are cheap like me you will find yourself on google thinking that someone somewhere must have digitalized these manuals. You would be right, unfortunately the quality of some of this digitalization is so poor that you would be better off trying to figure it out on your own. However you might want to check some of these locations in your search for a knitting machine manual:

Free Sources:

Machine Knitters Treasure Chest http://needlesofsteel.org.uk/

Daisy Knits http://daisyknits.com/

Some of the companies provide free PDF versions, but the Brother scans for the KH-930e are absolutely terrible they are slanted and all jumbled up.

Places to Purchase:

Ebay (remember to try a number of different keyword searches)

http://www.tphuktrading.com/knitting-machine-manuals-1-c.asp (this website has a ton of knitting machine books)

So now you have a manual, ready to rock right? Wrong, now you need to make sure you have all the necessary pieces and parts. You will need a tension mast, claw weights, yarn wax, latch hook tools, transfer tools, cast on combs, K-carriage, L-carriage, the sinker plate, the needle pusher, table clamps, cone yarn, scissors, crochet hooks (rather small ones), clothes pins (quite a few), and a power cord (electronic machines).

Foolish me I again thought all of the pieces would be together, wrong again. As it turns out you can however do without or rig up your own in several of these instances.

What exactly was I thinking?

So my mother has owned a brother KH-930e electronic knitting machine since we were very young. She had it out for a while but at some point it just wasn't getting used so it got packed up and like most things in our house shuffled around aimlessly for the next oh say 15 years.

Several years ago I got this wonderful idea to get out the knitting machine. Mind you at this time I didn't knit at all which really didn't help the process. So I pulled it all out and set it all up and by some small miracle got it working without a manual or much help. By yet another miracle during this time setting it up and playing with it I didn't manage to break anything, which as I am learning now really is incredibly easy to do. But after only being able to produce rectangular pieces of fabric and those without proper cast offs my interest in the machine dwindled and it got packed up and shuffled about a bit more.

After these adventures I have since picked up hand knitting in ernest and was at some point struck by one of those ideas that seems brilliant right up until the point of execution. I was going to resurrect the knitting machine. So I hauled out all the pieces I could find and once more started trying to tame the beast that is the knitting machine without a manual (which mind you makes it about a thousand times more difficult). At the recommendation of my sisters, here you will find my adventures with the knitting machine. Here you will find what works, what doesn't, and exactly how frustrating and cool these machines can be.