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How I got interested in Circular Sock Knitting...
In 1996, I saw an ad in an old Red Cross magazine for sock knitter machines. I decided to put an ad in
Yankee Magazine looking to swop a sock knitter for my yellow ware pottery. Back then, Sock Knitters were going through
a spell of unrecognition. People didn't know how to use them, and they showed up in attics and barns, discarded
tools from the past.
A sweet little old lady from Rhode Island was the only answer to my ad. She did
not want yellow ware but offered to sell me the machine her father had used in 1955 to make socks to sell. We couldn't
decide on a price. I didn't know anything about them and the Auto Knitters made in Canada was no longer in business.
She thought $75 would be a good price. I was divorced and had two girls in high school and so I did not get back to her until
1998 when my oldest daughter started college at Roger Williams in Rhode Island.
I was excited to spend the $75
and pick up the long awaited machine. I got boxes of rusty and dusty parts home only to find that the main cranking
cylinder was missing. Another phone call was placed to Rhode Island. The kind women regretted that she had no more parts,
but she would return my money.
Meanwhile my sister was GIVEN a machine, so I kept the parts, thinking she
could use them. Two weeks later and the woman called to say she found the rest of the knitter. I found that I
now had 3 complete sock knitters, extra cams, needles and a variety of parts and equipment, the original receipts and instruction
book!
A good cleanup and some trial and error I now can make a pair of socks in one hour. My sister and I
soon learned of a club in Pennsylvania, seems like one of the first to be followed by many that now run throughout the US
and Europe. Men and women join and swap parts, skill, tips and have fun sharing this revival of another old machine.
Reggie
Where Can You Find a Circular Sock Knitter to buy?
Auction Sites, Antique Shops, Circular Sock Knitter Clubs, Place ads. They are
getting expensive, I saw some recently selling for $1,000. Be careful to make sure they work if you are spending a lot of
money for one. Some can be cleaned and repaired, but many are chipped, warped and broken, so beware. Harmony Auto
Knitters were made in Maine up until the 1980s.
A new machine is being manufactured in New Zealand. "NZAK"
machines (New Zealand Auto Knitter). However, the price on these seem to be around $1,700.
So if you are
really interested, I suggest finding a club and do some research.. then try to find an old one.
Good
Luck!
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