I’d almost given up. Almost. Futile attempts to score a 1970s Barbie knitting machine on eBay — rumor had it the older machines were better made than the current crop of plastic versions — had me annoyed. And I was craving some Ana Voog-style tubes to play with, but didn’t have the time to knit them by hand.
Then I saw the Addi Express knitting machine at January TNNA (made by Skacel, the same people who bring you the fabulous Addi Turbo needles). I had to test it out.
Although I had a brief demo in their booth, I hadn’t set one up from scratch, so I was pleased to find a detailed instructional booklet in the box. However, my bilingualism definitely came in handy, as the German instructions are better than the English! You shouldn’t have any problems, though, the directions don’t reach Japanese-VCR-manual instructions by a long shot, and the quality of the product makes it all worthwhile.
(Partner in wool crime) Heather and I cranked out an entire skein of Lion Fisherman’s Wool — a full 465 yards — then dyed the tube in a progression of colors. We unraveled it, and pow! variegated yarn. Not the least labor-intensive method in the world, but something we’d been wanting to try.
Although the cranking gets tedious if you do it too long, and it helps to have someone to chase after the yarn ball, the Addi Express is my new favorite tool, second only to my i-cord maker (oh! I love my i-cord maker, you have no idea how much), but much easier to use.
If you’re making sleeves for very small sweaters, this’ll cut hours off your knitting time. I don’t think you could do adult-sized tubular sleeves without dropping some stitches to add width, though. That’s something I still need to test. You can also go back and forth to make swatches (shop owners in particular will love how fast a sample swatch comes out). Afghan people? Have at it! Tubular scarves like the one in AlterKnits? You could make one in less than an hour.
Highly recommended for adults and children alike — give the Addi Express a try!
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi, Shannon:
Thanks so much for checking out my new blog! I’m looking forward to meeting you!
How funny that you mention the “Barbie Knitting Machine!” My brother and I were recently reminiscing about the one I had as a child. It was miles of knitted tubes and hours of fun all rolled into one. May need to get the Addi…
Hi Shannon
Thanks for your review of Addi Express.
Knowing little about knitting, I am curious about the size of tubes possible with this machine…
For example, how would you go about making tubes for children’s socks as opposed to adult socks? Is there a mechanical adjustment or is the “threading” set up differently…?
Given its retail price, and that it appears to have lots of plastic in its construction, do you feel that it is indeed well constructed?
I love the idea of a reliable tube knitter. I have a collecton of tube knitters from the Mattel’s, Barbies, Sew Easy and even a real sock knitting machine
The pics suggest a better yarn carrier with some sort of yarn mast(?) as the yarn appears to be feeding from the top. Is this so?
Can you take the needles out of work or have a way to put them on hold (not knitting) to do some short rowing as in socks heels/toes???
I can’t find one to demo anywhere and since I live in SE, am not in area that has fiber fairs. LYS shun knitting devices so seeing one of these is difficult for me. Given the price tag, I was so glad to see your review…thnaks
Barbara
Hi, Shannon. I know absolutely NOTHING about knitting, or knitting machines for that matter and need help. The Addi machine looks interesting, but for the price, so does the one at http://www.marymaxim.com which is about $100 cheaper. Would I be better off buying a cheaper model to learn on and then buying the real thing when I actually learn how to use one? Thanks.
Vickie
Shannon have you tried knitting a flat panel yet? How do you avoid the dropped stitches at the end?
I haven’t yet, Linda… I could give it a try when I have a sec!
Hi! I just got the Addi Express and am trying to get started with it – I don’t know German and I didn’t get a hands on demo like you did so I am really struggling – I bought it online so I don’t have a LYS to handhold – any advice? If I called you would you be willing to talk me through it? The website I bought from hasn’t had experience using it yet – arrgh
you can find a demo video at this address :
http://www.addi.de/pages_english/index_en.html
look at the end of page.
They’re mute – that means no problem to understand !
Can you turn a heel with this little machine? The older metal machines could turn short row heels. Or are you limited to flat and tubes?
Thanks.
To avoid having to chase after the ball of yarn, put it in a bowl.
Hi Shannon,
I am enquiring about the I-cord maker that you say you Love so much. Can you share what type you are using. I make felted handbags and I have a lot of I-cord to knit. Is this a sturdy hand turn machine?
Also where did you purchase your I-cord machine?
Thank You
Phyllis
Not sure if anyone is still reading this, but I just got the Addi King Size machine. LOVE the IDEA of the machine but I can’t seem to make it more than four inches into a circular piece without dropping stitches. THEN, I screw up the whole thing trying to fix them. HELP? Suggestions?
The addi-Express machine does not work well at all. I have read the instructions multiple times and even watched a video I found online and no matter what I do (including trying different yarn weights) the machine drops stitches. When I try to fix it, it gets worse and you can’t fix it. the only thing you can do is start over. I am really not happy with this purchase. I am a good hand knitter but was hoping to get some scarves done in time for the holiday’s.
The trick I’ve found, Sara, is that you just can’t worry about the first few inches of stitches, it takes a while for the machine to get its groove on, so to say. Then when you’re done, you tear out the first few rows til you’re at nice even stitches, and finish it off by hand.
Hi
Is it possible to knit an adult sock on this machine? The antique sock machines are sooooo expensive and I have a huge stash.
Best wishes
Susan
After using it for one evening and making two tubes fairly quickly, I found that the trick to using this machine (I have the express size) is watching the first row very carefully and pulling the front needle stitches back over the needle, as they do come off on the first round. After that, no problem whatsoever. The first row is difficult, however, and I was a little frustrated at first.