# Machine Knitting Yarns



## LindaM (May 7, 2011)

Hello Everyone.. Would anyone tell me what kind of yarn should I get when trying to knit a baby sweater. I have been looking at some baby yarn but there all sorts out there. First I have to say that I have a standard studio 4.5mm. And I want to be able to order some machine knitting yarn. But there is so much out there to choose and that is where I am lost at. I see cones, skeins. Some have told me about a product called Tamm yarn which of course I never heard of. So what do all of you use for your machine knitting projects baby items such as cardigans, leggins, hats etc...... Oh and most importantly, Where can I buy this. Is there a particular website that I can go to. I am looking for just basic white yarn. Any help is appreciated, thank you


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## susieknitter (Jul 14, 2011)

Living in Leicester, if I were you, I would go to Uppingham yarns in, North Street East, Uppingham, Rutland, LE15 9QL.
They have a good selection at reasonable prices. You can see/feel what you are buying and don't have to pay postal charges. It's a nice little village where you can get a meal and browse in the other shops while you are there.


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## LindaM (May 7, 2011)

susieknitter said:


> Living in Leicester, if I were you, I would go to Uppingham yarns in, North Street East, Uppingham, Rutland, LE15 9QL.
> They have a good selection at reasonable prices. You can see/feel what you are buying and don't have to pay postal charges. It's a nice little village where you can get a meal and browse in the other shops while you are there.


Susie, I live in Leicester, Massachusetts USA not in England my dear.. But I thank you though. I would love to see that village some day and get that meal.


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## Entity (Sep 13, 2011)

Linda, since we knit quite fast in machine knitting, cone yarns is the way to go. Cone yarns are usually coated in wax to help run through the machine smoothly. Plus cone yarns are much cheaper.

You can purchase cone yarns on eBay and various online stores if there isn't one locally. Here are some online vendors:

http://www.knitknackshop.com/ (Tamm Yarns on cone)

http://www.knititnow.com/knititnow/Store/Catalog.cfm

http://www.discontinuedbrandnameyarn.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3065

http://www.mypollywogs.com/pollycone.html

http://thewooleryguy.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/coned-yarns-and-their-crazy-numbers-new-videos/


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## Carol L (Aug 28, 2012)

I do a lot of knitting for babies and have used Tamm 3ply yarn to great success! It is washable and very soft, yet very durable. And it comes in many colors and the price is reasonable. 
There are two online stores that I know of for purchases of it: www.knitknackshop.com (they are in Peru, Indiana) and www.knititnow.com (Ohio).
Good luck! I think you will enjoy machine knitting! Carol


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## apette (Mar 15, 2012)

Give Cotton Clouds a try too. They have lots of cotton and cotton blends on cone. Located in Arizona I believe.


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## delite163 (Mar 13, 2012)

Hi,
I totally agree about the Tamm cone yarn. Really is great to work with, washes up great. Nice finished look. Cone yarn is great.


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## euvid (Apr 2, 2011)

great info. Thanks.


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## NETeri (Dec 9, 2011)

Thank you for all the great links. Frustrated with learning how to use my LK150 but not ready to give up yet.


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## susieknitter (Jul 14, 2011)

LindaM said:


> susieknitter said:
> 
> 
> > Living in Leicester, if I were you, I would go to Uppingham yarns in, North Street East, Uppingham, Rutland, LE15 9QL.
> ...


Whoops, I never noticed the MA.  Funny thing is I have been to Massachusetts and when I saw a sign for Leicester said "hey we are not that far from home... look" You will have to come here just to get the yarn, it's a good enough excuse, you only live once. :thumbup:


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## Entity (Sep 13, 2011)

Keep in mind, when you make a swatch with cone yarn that was coated in wax, make sure you wash it per instruction of the yarn before calculating your garment or project. The wax coating doesn't relax the fabric as well and can be misleading. The wash will remove the wax and the swatch will show true representation of the gauge you'd need.


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## LindaM (May 7, 2011)

Wow, thank you all for your help. I really appreciate all the info I got from all of you and will order some cone yarns. I love my machine but the skeins even though I do wind up are not really made for machine knitting. That is why I said to me..""Me, its time to venture and get some cone yarns like the all the machine knitters use"" And then I thought what better way to get any information but to my KP family here because they know where I can find it. So, thank you all


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## Entity (Sep 13, 2011)

Linda, sometime I buy skeins and yarns from local stores too. What you need to do is wind them up into a ball or cone with a yarn winder. Then, you can use it easily with your knitting machine.

Cone winder tends to be a bit expensive and hard to find. However, a regular ball yarn winder should work just as well. Below is my recommendation. This is a heavy duty yarn winder, mostly made of metal which will last longer than a plasic made one. There is 2 similar models of these, the one below is the _high speed_ model. One crank will make 13 turns. It's fast! I have 2 of these.

http://www.amazon.com/U-nitt-Metal-winder-operated-capacity/dp/B002N4B2AI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1346623650&sr=8-3&keywords=U-nitt+yarn+winder


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## LindaM (May 7, 2011)

Entity said:


> Linda, sometime I buy skeins and yarns from local stores too. What you need to do is wind them up into a ball or cone with a yarn winder. Then, you can use it easily with your knitting machine.
> 
> Cone winder tends to be a bit expensive and hard to find. However, a regular ball yarn winder should work just as well. Below is my recommendation. This is a heavy duty yarn winder, mostly made of metal which will last longer than a plasic made one. There is 2 similar models of these, the one below is the _high speed_ model. One crank will make 13 turns. It's fast! I have 2 of these.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/U-nitt-Metal-winder-operated-capacity/dp/B002N4B2AI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1346623650&sr=8-3&keywords=U-nitt+yarn+winder


I guess that is fast....yikes.. but I have a winder. so I am all set in that department. I just was looking at the sites that was posted on here.. SO much to choose..Where do I go..Ok.. well, I think I'm going to go with the knickknackshope one and order me some tamm yarn in 3ply.. Lets see how that goes.


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## LindaM (May 7, 2011)

apette said:


> Give Cotton Clouds a try too. They have lots of cotton and cotton blends on cone. Located in Arizona I believe.


ok. I will look into that also, thanks


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## delite163 (Mar 13, 2012)

LindaM said:


> Entity said:
> 
> 
> > Linda, sometime I buy skeins and yarns from local stores too. What you need to do is wind them up into a ball or cone with a yarn winder. Then, you can use it easily with your knitting machine.
> ...


Man, good choice on the yarn..I have a standard Singer/Studio machine that I just finished a Peasant blouse on, using the Tamm yarn. I didn't re-wind it, I just put the full cone behind the machine, threaded it and cast on and knit. The result just blew me away. I think money well spent as I have to be very frugal.


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## 30Knitter (Apr 9, 2012)

Most any acrylic yarn can be used for baby yarn. You can also use any cotton or cotton blend. Tamm yarns are made from acrylic, that's why the are such nice yarns to work with. Bramwell is another acrylic that makes up into nice baby and toddler garments. I have even used 4 Seasons - a Yarn Country yarn for children's outfits. There is a lot of choice out there. Have fun looking!


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## Entity (Sep 13, 2011)

delite163 said:


> Man, good choice on the yarn..I have a standard Singer/Studio machine that I just finished a Peasant blouse on, using the Tamm yarn. I didn't re-wind it, I just put the full cone behind the machine, threaded it and cast on and knit. The result just blew me away. I think money well spent as I have to be very frugal.


Ok, just to make sure there's no misunderstanding, cone yarns do not need to be rewind unless you're trying to combine 2 or more yarns or devide them. Rewinding yarn for machine knitting is for those that come in skein or hank.

*LindaM,* if you're still a beginner with machine knitting, it's best to chose acrylic yarn to practice with. Acrylic yarn tends to cooperate well with knitting machine. If desire, you can chose a cotton/acrylic blend but delay in using 100% cotton for now. Cotton tends not to be as elastic as other fibers. It may disappoint the result if you're not familiar with it.

Plus, acrylic and cotton/acrylic blend are easier to care (washing) for busy new moms. Avoid using wool since it may be rough on baby's skin, and it's hard to care for.

Best wishes.


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## LindaM (May 7, 2011)

You all are wonderful..I do like working with acrylic yarns when HK but I thought also since I am just a beginner at this it would be my first choice also. So many MK yarns out there that I have never heard of but I am a good student and take advice from you all since you all know better than I. I make a lot of baby items yes and I do want it soft for them. I agree wool is to harsh for there skin. I never used acrylic/cotton blend before, in time I will though but one step at a time as they say.


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## Elis (Nov 1, 2011)

Bramwell's 4ply fine acrylic has long been a favourite for babies and children when a synthetic is required. If you prefer a pure wool, Metropolitan has a reasonable selection. It might be a good idea to give Uppinham Yarns a ring (01572 823747) -as well as the many fancy lines they also deal in commercial surplus cones and all that I've bought from them over the years (more than 30) has been of excellent quality. If they still have it their 2ply lambswool is excellent.


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## susieknitter (Jul 14, 2011)

Elis said:


> Bramwell's 4ply fine acrylic has long been a favourite for babies and children when a synthetic is required. If you prefer a pure wool, Metropolitan has a reasonable selection. It might be a good idea to give Uppinham Yarns a ring (01572 823747) -as well as the many fancy lines they also deal in commercial surplus cones and all that I've bought from them over the years (more than 30) has been of excellent quality. If they still have it their 2ply lambswool is excellent.


Elis, I think that you have made the same mistake that I have. Have you noticed the MA after Leicester, standing for Massachusetts. I didn't and told Linda to go to Uppingham Yarns. I think that she should come over for a holiday, we can help her find the yarns she needs then. :thumbup: :lol: :lol:


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## LindaM (May 7, 2011)

susieknitter said:


> Elis said:
> 
> 
> > Bramwell's 4ply fine acrylic has long been a favourite for babies and children when a synthetic is required. If you prefer a pure wool, Metropolitan has a reasonable selection. It might be a good idea to give Uppinham Yarns a ring (01572 823747) -as well as the many fancy lines they also deal in commercial surplus cones and all that I've bought from them over the years (more than 30) has been of excellent quality. If they still have it their 2ply lambswool is excellent.
> ...


Its an easy mistake that I just took care of now.. if you see it now says Massachusetts ....lol


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## Daeanarah (May 7, 2012)

I googled your area and this is what came up. Apparently there maybe several yarn shops near you. Also, look in a phone book yellow pages, or white pages for knitting machines. Sometimes there is someone listed.

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Leicester,+Masachusetts,+USA+yarn+shops&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8


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## xenaknits (Aug 12, 2012)

hi we sell yarns suitable for knitting machines, what I do before selling them I test all yarns to see what is machine suitable I use two knitmaster machines to test on, any questions I am more than happy to answer.

thx


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## LindaM (May 7, 2011)

Daeanarah said:


> I googled your area and this is what came up. Apparently there maybe several yarn shops near you. Also, look in a phone book yellow pages, or white pages for knitting machines. Sometimes there is someone listed.
> 
> http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Leicester,+Masachusetts,+USA+yarn+shops&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8


I have called almost all in this area but seems they don't carry knitting machine yarns that I was looking for though. Oh, they have yarn and lots of it but I wanted machine knitting yarn and not weaving yarn. Was just at one yarn shop last friday and that is what they seem to carry. Asked the girl at the desk and she said.. Oh, I'm sorry we don't carry machine yarn just weaving yarn.... See what I mean. But I will keep on looking in my area though. I love to feel the yarn before I buy but if I can't then I can't.


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## xenaknits (Aug 12, 2012)

have just received delivery of an amazing soft cotton will be testing it this week on knitting machines  cant wait not sure what to make with it, but it is amazingly soft


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## Entity (Sep 13, 2011)

xenaknits said:


> have just received delivery of an amazing soft cotton will be testing it this week on knitting machines  cant wait not sure what to make with it, but it is amazingly soft


Oooh, that is exciting. Please do let us know how the cotton behaves and how much it will shrink if any. Is it in a cone?

Maybe, you can make a nice lace scarf or sweater. When I think of lace, I always think of cotton yarn since it's a type of stitch that usually do not requires much elasticity.


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