There are a ton of knitting machines for sale online, but most of them are kind of sketchy, if you believe the user reviews lamenting yarn jams, snapped hooks, broken row counters, and immovable cranks. I was first captivated by knitting machines after seeing a video of one in action on TikTok, and how someone was able to make a seemingly perfect hat in under 30 minutes. It’s more mechanical than skill-oriented, but the resulting apparel is still technically made by you! These machines are great if you are knitting items for a business or in bulk (ding ding ding!) as you can do it really fast, or if you want to make homemade hats (or scarves), but you don’t want to actually learn how to knit. If you want to make baby-sized hats, you go for the 20-needle machine, but if you want a hat that’ll fit an adult, you’ll need the 40- or 48-needle machine-the needles indicate the number of stitches that go into creating the diameter of the hat. The circular ones are best for hats, which is why I sought one of those out. Knitting machines come in different shapes, styles, and sizes for making different types of projects. More technically speaking, you feed it yarn, crank a lever, and it does the action of knitting using its many hooks for you in a much speedier and efficient way. What is a knitting machine?Ī knitting machine is basically what it sounds like: a machine that knits for you. That’s when I discovered knitting machines. I was frustrated … there had to be a faster way to make hats. And that hat might have some skipped stitches in it and just look bad, so I’d want to undo it and try again. My only issue: With my beginner’s skill level, it would take me days, sometimes even a full week, to make just one hat. Hats are relatively easy to make, don’t require too much yarn, and would help keep someone nice and warm. With the homelessness crisis in America getting worse, I decided I wanted to make hats for people who might be stuck out in the cold during the winter. I knew I didn’t have the skills or tools necessary to partake, but I had a ton of yarn and wanted to use my newfound love of knitting to help out the community. Throughout 2020, many of the members in it were working on sewing masks for local nonprofits and mutual aid groups to hand out. I even joined a local fiber arts group that meets online every month to chat and work on our individual projects over Zoom. Crocheting, knitting, embroidering, and so on-fiber arts are my jam. If you don’t want to deal with canning, try this freezer jam recipe (no cooking required!).Like everyone else during quarantine, I’ve picked up a few hobbies. You can use this technique with any of your favorite berries. If you’re interested in making your own jam at home, Ree Drummond has been known to dabble in canning-check out her tutorial for homemade strawberry jam and how to can it. Or, put some on crostini, bake sweet oatmeal bars with a thin layer in the mix, or use a little bit for a savory application, like this pork tenderloin. Use a jar of any of the three varieties along with some strawberry butter on your morning toast. Whatever you’re using, jelly, jam, and preserves are all delicious. preserves: the amount of actual fruit used in the mixture! There's really just one major difference between jelly vs. Sometimes, powdered pectin is added to thicken the mixture even more, but the process of making these jars of fruity goodness is very similar. You may not have paid much attention to that jar of fruit spread that you slather on your peanut butter sandwich, but check the label: Is it jelly, jam, or preserves? All three contain fruit and sugar that has been cooked down until pectin, which is naturally found in fruit, helps to thicken it.
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