# Chicago Passap Knitters



## kittykitty (Dec 31, 2011)

Hi, I am looking to connect (online and in person) with Chicago area Passap knitters. I would like to start (or join) a Passap study group so that we can all improve our Passap knitting skills. If you are interested, please reply on the list OR PM me.

Thank you.

-kittykitty


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## Christi (Feb 3, 2011)

It may seem like a stupid question, but what is "Passap"?


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## Chrissy (May 3, 2011)

Christi said:


> It may seem like a stupid question, but what is "Passap"?


Its a brand of km, like Bond, Brother.


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## kittykitty (Dec 31, 2011)

Hi,

The only stupid question is the one not asked!

Passap is a brand name of no longer manufactured Swiss made knitting machines. FYI, many of the brands home knitting machines that are currently used in the USA are unfortunately no longer manufactured. 

Anyway, at one time Passaps were considered to be the Rolls Royce of home knitting machines because some of the more popular models of Passaps such as the DM-80 (a.k.a. Duo 80) and E6000 were the only true double bed machines available to home machine knitters. Of course, they can also be used for single bed patterns. 

Other brands of knitting machines may use two beds - with the second one being called a "ribber" - but they are NOT really true double bed machines. Of course, these ribber based machines can also produce beautiful fabric but they can not do all of the things that a Passap can. To be fair, some of these non-Passap brand machine excel at a few things that can be done on a Passap but not as easily - such as certain types of lace knitting.

There are a few models of Passaps still in use, such as:

1) An older model of Passaps often shows up at garage sales, it is the M-201 - it is a metal single bed machine.

2) The DM-5 (usually known as "The Pink Passap) is a heavy weight (5.0 gauge but some thinks its 4.5mm gauge) true double bed machine that has mostly manual based patterning available but does have some card based patterning with the Jac40. This machine is really a work horse and unbeknownst to most people, THIS is the machine that Marie Gray used to make the first ever St. John Knits. Of course since that time, they have moved on to other models and brands of machines

3) The Goldy (a.k.a. Swisskitter) - which is an inexpensive 5.0 gauge single bed machine.

4) The Vario (and Vario Big) - which is a duo gauge (5.0mm and 10.0mm) single bed machine that is great for intarsia and using hand and bulky gauge yarns as well as finer gauge yarns. Some designers love this machine because it is so easy to use and uses so many different types of yarn.

5) The Duo 80 (DM-80) which is a heavy weight 5.0mm gauge true double bed machine with card based patterning available that can be used with a motor. A shaping program (the Form Computer) is also available as an accessory. The DM-80 is a work horse machine that some prefer because it is NOT electronic or computerized so the only things that go wrong with it are either due to OE (Operator Error) or mechanical problems.

6) The E6000 with is a heavy weight 5.0mm gauge true double bed machine with card and computer based patterning available that can be used with a motor. It has a built in shaping program and specialized design software such as: a) Creation 6; b) WinCrea; and c)Journal Six; but it can also be used with other software programs such as Design A Knit. Among other things, the E6000 knits lovely tuck and jacquard patterns and you can also knit patterns on both sides of the fabric.

7) The E8000 which is a super duper semi-industrial heavy weight 3.5mm gauge true double bed knitting computerized and motorized machine that is designed to be used for production (business) knitting. In addition to doing everything that the E6000 does (albeit in 3.5mm gauge instead of 5.0mm gauge) - on the E8000 it is very easy to knit fabric that has designs on both sides.

I hope that the above info gives you more insight about Passaps.

Happy knitting

-kittykitty


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