The vintage pushbutton knitting machine developed a set of sticky buttons shortly after it came home with me, which was annoying but not terribly surprising for a 55 year old mechanical object.

I tried to see if I could fix it without taking it apart, but that didn't work. It wasn't actually the buttons that were the problem, it was the sliding needle selector plates which are controlled by the buttons. They're supposed to slide, but they were sticking to each other.

So with great apprehension I took the machine out of its case without breaking a single plastic rivet (there's a trick to it!), removed the pushbutton set, took the needle selector plate assembly apart and cleaned each plate with simple green, then put it back together. Now the buttons are all nicely clicky again and I'm so very pleased with myself.

(I bet this is the same thing I'm going to have to do with the punchcard machine... which is "only" 47 years old. If only the 38-year-old electronic machine could be fixed so easily!)

#KnittingPirate #KnittingMachine

I dag skifter jeg strikkemaskine.

Min foretrukne er elektronisk (Brother kh940), men jeg er ved at tage et online-kursus, hvor instruktøren underviser på en hulkortmaskine (Silver Reed 280) og jeg synes det er for svært lige nu, at omsætte det hun fortæller, til min elektroniske maskine.

Så er det helt utroligt heldigt, at jeg har en maskine helt mage til den der bruges i undervisningen. Jeg er en heldig kartoffel.

#strikkemaskine #knittingmachine

Okay so... I picked up another electronic knitting machine, because the one I already had *won't stop beeping*, and there's no way to make it shut up short of de-soldering the beeper from the circuit board (tempting, but I'm not sure it's fully functioning if something's making it beep like that).

I thought I'd test out the new one by making a hat. Hats are always nice, and if they're a little big or small - well, they'll fit somebody.

And check out this historic artifact that I found in the section of its memory for user uploads!

Blogpost about the new-old machine, if you're interested: https://www.knittingpirate.com/2026/04/10/in-which-the-pirate-acquires-another-knitting-machine-2/

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200 clean(ish) standard gauge knitting machine needles after being soaked in 91% isopropyl alcohol and a few drops of oil. I think the pattern of schmutz they made on the cloth is kind of neat.

#KnittingPirate #KnittingMachine

I'm looking through one of the pattern books from the vintage knitting machine, and in my head it sounds like a very prim lady from a girls prep school is reading it in a perfect British Educational Filmreel accent.

I don't usually hear words in my head in specific accents as I'm reading them, but this? oh yeah.

Anyway I think maybe I'm gonna try a lace pattern? This one looks pretty.

#KnittingPirate #knitting #LaceKnitting #KnittingMachine

Jeg har jo købt mig til det her online strikkemaskinekursus fra tkso (the knitting school online), og jeg tager det bare fra punkt et, og kører slavisk frem.

Noget er kendt, men der er også ting det er nye.

Det her var første komplette strikkeopgave.
Det er bare et tørklæde, men farveskiftteknikkerne var sjove.

Det har taget en formiddag at strikke lige over halvanden meter tørklæde, i tyndt bomuldsgarn, 200 masker bredt.

Det er pænt hurtigt.

#strikkemaskine #knittingmachine