False Starts

I have had some false starts getting to know my circular sock machine (csm).  There is a huge learning curve and I actually think it is harder than hand-knitting a sock with double pointed needles.  One little misstep, and you have to start over.  I have had a lot of little missteps, but as always, learning from your mistakes and trying to fix them is the best way to learn.  I am really understanding the process now, I can pick up dropped stitches on the machine like a champ and have been able to crank out a complete short sock with a good heel and toe that fits.  It won’t be a pair, since I am working on sampling yarns and techniques right now.

I got the tension right to get a sock that fits well around the foot without being too loose and learned how many rows to crank for my foot size.  I even felt good enough about itto graft the toe closed. Many CSM knitters Kitchener from the inside (purl side) with the waste yarn in place, and it worked like a charm.  Maybe I will break out the good sock yarn in a day or two to try to make a complete pair.  Hopefully I can start reliably knitting socks for sale by June 1 and offering a service to knit sock with your yarn.

short csm sock

Crankin’ Away

I went to Cape Girardeau, Missouri this past week to pick up my circular sock knitting machine and participate in the Annual Open House and crank-in that is sponsored by the Erlbacher Gearhart Knitting Machine Company.  They make reproductions of the antique Gearhart sock knitting machines that I have mentioned previously.  I love to hand knit socks, but cannot keep up with my family’s demand much less make enough to sell.  Socks also take long enough to knit that a pair would cost over $100 to make it worth my while to sell them.  Since one of my goals is sales, I wanted a hand cranked machine that worked correctly right at the start.  I also wanted one that I could easily get extra cylinders and ribbers for so I can make different sizes. For those reasons, I chose to buy a new one instead of an antique.

Their usual models of the machine come in green and yellow (think John Deere colors) or red. I got one of their last Pink Lady machines, a special paint job on 25 of them.  Part of the profits went to support a fundraiser in honor of a friend of the Erlbacher family who died of breast cancer.  The money would be used to help fund mammograms and support breast cancer patients in need. A woman in Chicago had purchased the machine, but after 2 or 3 weeks decided she did not like knitting on a machine and preferred to knit her socks by hand after all.  (The Erlbachers refer to this as “stick knitting”.)  So I got it at a good price with some extras.

machine

I had a great time there and learned the basics of how to use the machine.  In fact, I even learned how to use the ribber which is something they don’t recommend learning until you have knit a few sock with a turned hem and stockinette or mock rib leg.  I decided to make sure I knew how to use it while I had someone by my side to help and to make sure my machine worked correctly with the ribber dial on.  I am currently working on the matching sock to the one I knit at the crank-in.

Here is a little movie of it in action.

Crankin’ away at home.

A video posted by Nancy (@measuredthreads) on

 

Sock Knitting Wins the War

wwi knit poster

In WWI our soldiers were suffering trench foot due to spending most of their time in the wet trenches on the front lines.  Often, it caused gangrene and resulted in amputation. They needed to change socks several times a day to avoid this.  An all out effort was made by the Red Cross to get people to knit all kinds of wool garments for the soldiers, especially socks. Wool is a miracle fiber, a fantastic insulator, naturally repels water for a time, can absorb up to 30% of its weight in moisture and still feel dry.  It can keep you warm even when wet.

 

Multiple songs were written about knitting for the soldiers. Here is one example that is specific about how important the socks were to these men.

Knit, Knit, Knit Sister Sue

“A soldier who was fighting with the enemy in back,
With bullets buzzin’ ’round his ears, took down his old knapsack.
He wrote a letter, on a shirt front Sister Susie sent
And then he went and got it signed by all his regiment.
He said ‘Dear Sue, we’re stong for you, you sew those shirts so neat.
But how are we to beat the foe when we’ve all got cold feet?     So—”

“Knit, knit, knit a little Susie,
For what good is a shirt
when all our ‘Tootsies’ hurt?
My poor big toe sticks out,
You know it doesn’t like the snow.
Oh my left foot is red white and blue.
‘Pon my sole, there’s a big blister too.
The soldiers toes are froze to bits,
‘Holy Hoses’ Susie,
It’s a long tramp, tramp to Tipperary
So knit, knit, knit Sister Sue.”

“Don’t knit them white,dear Sister Sue, ’cause white will be no use.
While hanging on the firing line, they’ll look like flags of truce.
Don’t knit the kind that’s itchy, Sister knit them nice and thick.
We’ll put on two pairs at a time and charge them double quick.
The socks we wore before the war are full of darn old darns.
They won’t be hard to make; the daily papers full of yarns.     So—”

Music: Raymond Walker, words: Chas. McCarron, 1914, Broadway Music Corp., NY.

groupcsm

People would knit every where, even school children learned to knit socks and knit during breaks at school. People who couldn’t knit were urged to buy wool for the knitters and children were urged to do the housework for mom so she could spend her time knitting. The knitters could not keep up with the demand for socks since even a fast knitter could take up to a week to knit a pair. So, the International Red Cross gave people hand cranked circular sock knitting machines and wool if they promised to knit at least 30 pairs of socks for the war effort.  Knitting rooms were set up and production increased enough to help with the goal of knitting almost 400,000 pairs in 3 months that was set.  These Circular Sock Machines (CSMs) produced socks quickly and as high a quality (or better depending on the knitter) as those made by hand.

Antique CSMRecently there has been an interest developing in restoring and using these cranky old machines to knit with modern sock yarns. People love handknit wool socks, but again, they take so long to knit, that hand knitters can’t keep their own families in socks, much less knit them to make for gifts or to sell. To make it worthwhile to sell a pair, you would have to charge more than $100 if you wanted more than $2 an hour for your time.  (High quality sock yarn alone retails for $18-$25.) Finding parts to repair and cylinders to change the sock sizes in these antique machines has been a challenge. Enter PeeWee Erlbacher and the Erlbacher Gearhart Knitting Machine Company!

 

User Error

1 thread in dent

Yes the auto reed hook kept me from skipping a dent yesterday, but it didn’t prevent user error. You can see in the picture above slightly left of center what the problem is.  I got my whole warp sleyed and tied on, then it was time to check for issues. I treadled some plain weave sheds and I examined the sheds from the front of the loom. Each dent should have two threads and when treadling the plain weave shed, one in each should move up and the other stay down. But, I saw an empty dent when I treadled the sheds. With the shed closed and flat, I hadn’t noticed it, but two of the dents only had one thread in each instead of two. When I raised a shed, the thread in one of the dents that only had one thread stayed down and there was a one dent gap. Fortunately the dents with one thread each were right next to each other. I contemplated leaving it, but it could leave a reed mark in the finished cloth. Since it was only about 4 inches away from the left selvedge, I fixed it and  resleyed those 4 inches.  If it had been in the middle, I probably still would have fixed it and resleyed 11 inches of warp.

I also looked into the sheds from the side and found 2 threads in the middle of the shed. I had twisted them between the heddles and reed. So I marked the threads with a piece of red string from a thrum and located the bout and untied it. I traced the threads back and sorted them out, resleyed them and retied the bout.

I  always look for problems before I start weaving.  That is the best time to fix things.  I don’t want to go through all the work that it takes to weave something only to have a flaw in the finished product that I was too lazy to fix.

I am like this with my knitting too. If I can fix it, I do.  I have been know to rip out almost completed knitting projects.  My philosoply is that if the mistake will bother me, I won’t want to wear it or give it to the person it is intended for.  I like knitting and I like weaving so ripping out or unweaving may take me a little longer to get that particular project finished, but I still get to knit or weave and will like the sock or the towel better.

DownhillSee this sock , it was a project I started last year during the winter Olympics. Shortly after this picture was taken, I ripped it out even though there were no errors in the knitting. I tried it on, and it was really tight. I didn’t take into consideration how the twisted stitches would affect the stretch of finished sock leg and they were intended for me. My daughter who has thinner legs said she probably would not wear them. I still had one sock to go, so I ripped. I want something that fits.

I will restart them on dpns (2.25 mm) for the leg with the same number of stitches. That will give a little more stretch. Then when I get to the foot, I will switch to two circular needles, one for the top of the foot in size 2.5 mm needles and stick with my usual 2 mm(US size 0) for the bottom of the foot. That should do the trick.

Meanwhile, I do have other socks on the needles.  I am trying to weave during the day and knit in the evenings, but have instead been working on weaving into the evenings since my days have been interrupted here and there by normal life.

Well, now its back to the loom to finish the last inch of resleying and hopefully to start weaving.