When knitting hand knitting yarns on my SR 860 I have found that using wax makes all the difference in how well they knit up. Years ago I bought wax holders for my machines. I still have them, but wax for knitting machines is no longer produced, so I decided to make my own.
I bought a mold from a Candle supply store. It is the size to make tea candles. It worked out to be a perfect fit for my wax holders. Then, I bought some canning wax at the grocery store. I used a screwdriver & small hammer to break off pieces of wax & melted it in the microwave using a small Pyrex container. (be careful, wax does have a flash point) When it was completely melted I poured it into the mold & put in a small metal rod for the hole. Then I let it sit over night. The hole wasn't quite big enough for the wax holder so I used a Phillips screwdriver to enlarge it. It has worked out perfectly.
Wax Holder for knitting machine.
I knitted up this scrappie yesterday while the repairman was here. He was fascinated by my knitting machines. & He only charged me $50 to repair the dryer. LOL
4 comments:
Great idea! I was thinking of doing the same to make my own wax thingies. Where do you attach to the 860?
Hi Mar, It goes on the yarn tension unit & the yarn runs across it as you knit. I bought the holder from an online dealer, but I don't remember which one. I'm adding a picture to this post so you can see what it looks like. Sheryl
I'm not familiar with the term :canning wax. Is this different from tea-light wax? I usually thread the yarn through a tea light when using the yarn winder, but often wondered if it was the correct type of wax?
Candle wax is fine. The kind of wax I am talking about is for pouring over your jams & jellys to seal them, when you make them up yourself. Canning wax costs much less than candles. But using a tea candle is fine. I like making them in the mold because I can re-melt them to use over when they need it. Sheryl
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