Stitches

Anyone know where I can buy a knitting machine and sign up for knitting lessons in the Grand Rapids, Mi. area?

Looking for an electronic knitting machine with a motor.

Public Comments

1. I'm not sure about the knitting machine, but if you take classes, you probably won't want a machine after all. This is a link to an organization that offers many classes and group sessions (once you become advanced) http://www.city-knitting.com. Good Luck!
2. Knitting machines: brother passap and many others are not made any longer and can be hard to get parts for. singer/ reed are making still and have loads of patterns about there is a place in australia www.theknittingbox.com.au who sell a brand creative some of their machines come with dvds there are places all over to get help. It depends which ply yarn you are wanting to machine knit as to which one you buy. Hope this helps
3. I am not from Grand Rapids, but can answer your question about knitting machines. Although, Passap and Brother are not manufacturing any longer, you can still purchase many, very good, used machines and motors on Ebay and other sources. While there are not a lot people selling parts here in North America, they are still very readily available via the internet, from various worldwide sources (contrary to what many people think). If you keep your knitting machine in good working condition, and are careful with your tools etc., it will last you forever, and the only things you need to change occasionally are the needles, and sponge bar (only if your machine takes a sponge bar, i.e. Japanese machines). A knitting machine does not replace handknitting, it's just another form of knitting. The greatest benefit of a machine is speed of course, you can produce work, much faster than any other method (like a sweater in a day). The machine is also capable of producing many different kinds of knitted fabric, that cannot be produced by hand, and the opposite is also true, some handknitted patterns cannot be produced by machine. However, many handknitted patterns can very easily be (with some changes), adapted for the machine. Having a machine is wonderful, it gives you a whole different perspective on knitting, and many machine knitters, still enjoy handknitting very much, but love their machines just as much.