#machine knitting

The trade off is that they are not very fast. The finishing work takes longer than the actual knitting (i meant to take photos, but alas. Maybe next time). Basically I am knitting with waste yarn at the beginning and end, and then once its off the machine i crochet each end together, then remove the scrap yarn. I think its a similar process to steeking using crochet to secure the steeked edges ?

At that point I have a square that is 2 layers thick. Then I fold that over and sew the sides together to form a tube with a hole for the thumb. Then I do a second pass of sewing because otherwise it looks like shit and isnt warm. Then sew in ends and its done.

That part is about 20 minutes. The knitting (including the setup) is maybe 10, if im going slow.

But the fact that they stretch so well is HUGE. Ive made a fair few donation mitts and both manual knitting and crochet had big problems with fits--basically anyone who asked for gloves needed to try on several pairs until they found one that worked well. Additionally, none of them were that warm. They were certainly better than nothing, but the pink mitts especially are nice and toasty.

So the knitting machine is a good success for both hats and gloves !

Socks we already have covered due to bombas donating many boxes to us, although only in men's xl, which is not ideal at all. Sometimes I buy cheap packs of womens socks to leave in that drawer as well. I do not think hand knitting donation socks is a good idea because the elastic is the only reason they are one size fits many.

We dont have scarves, but nobody really asks for those. Im not sure why... I find them vital to not getting sick but nobody else around here seems to wear them. Obviously I could do some tube cowls or just normal tube scarves on this if that changes though.

So I think ive got all bases covered ?