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In my last post, I talked about wanting to learn the art of making knots only to get distracted by the idea of making rope or cord. Now I want to share that process starting with making the cord and then scaling that same process up. It is all a work in progress and mistakes are welcome! It doesn't matter how long I have been knitting, I still have hiccups.
First, lets see the yarn. Because we are using an i-cord machine that has a mid gauge (roughly 7gg) needle size, we can't use yarn that is too thin or too thick. If the yarn is too thin, the knitting will be very loose and hard to control. When I say "too thin", I am referring to sewing thread or thin embroidery thread. You can always experiment and use those materials, but you might run into some issues. When I say "too thick", I mean to stay away from super bulky yarns. If the yarn is too thick it may bend the latch or the hook of the needle. I used a 5 ply cotton yarn from my stash.
Next lets look at the toy! The i-cord machine is a small hand crank knitting machine. There are 4 latch hook needles that move around in a circle. For those unfamiliar with the way a latch hook needle works, see the below photo.
I-Cord Knitting Machine
Weight
Inserting the yarn
Attaching the weight
Creating the first loops
Crank Away!
See above for the set up of the machine and the beginning results (Starting with the top left photo). It is ok if as you crank, some loops miss and fall off. It takes a minute to find a groove. It's a human operated machine so remember it is fallible. As you crank, make sure to apply some pressure to the yarn. I like to slightly press the yarn against the side as I hold the body of the machine. Also, remember to let the weight hang a bit. By applying both weight to the bottom yarn and tension to the top yarn, the loops have the ability to clear the needle and create new loops. Without that tension, the loops might pop of the needles or the the needles might not even catch the incoming yarn. Watch me!
Notice how I keep steady and adjust the weight upward as I go. Don't be fooled by my serious expression, I am enjoying myself! The clicking of the needles and the crank can get a little annoying, so I turned up some music to drown out the sound. I prefer to listen to the Harold and Maude soundtrack, Cat Stevens warming my soul while I make some knit cord.
After a bit of cranking, you will have a meager ball of cord. This is called slow making, a bit like churning butter, though faster than hand knitting. Once you have either called it quits or come to the end of your yarn, you can cast off by pulling the end of the yarn through all of the loops. I find this easier if the loops are off the needles.
And Voila! We have a ball of cord! There are any number of things to do with this cord. One can knit it with thick needles or in my case, I decided to scale the same circular knitting process up.
As I called out in my last post, I took a note from the book Making Things, by Erin Boyle and Rose Pearlman. It is such a cool book and makes me want to play all day. Flip to the section on Knitting a "Simple String Bag" and you will find a make shift circular knitting loom not unlike the i-cord machine. Where the i-cord machine has a crank, this loom is entirely hand operated with some of our best tools, fingers. See my process below:
Embroidery Hoop
Use only the inner hoop
use clothes pins as "needles"
Attach the desired number of clothes pins
Create the first loops
On each of the clothes pins
Start creating the new loops
By lifting the bottle loop over the second loop
and around the clothes pin
Repeat this process
And see the knitting
Start to grow...
Flip the hoop upside down to see
Remove knitting from needles and pull the cord through all loops
Voila!
One can create bottle holders, little bags, lamp shades, arm warmers, jewelry, you name it. The scale could get even bigger if you wish. I have some ideas...
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