What is the best yarn for machine knitting for a beginner?

So what is the best yarn to use on knitting machines?

Different yarns have different uses, but if you’re starting off, here are four things you need to know.

1. You want a yarn on a cone, so it winds off easily. A ball would dance around behind your machine and get tangled.
2. To go smoothly through the machine, the yarns need to be lubricated. Yarns designed for machine knitting are sold ‘greasy’, or you can add some wax to other yarns.
3. For thickness, the rule of thumb for beginners, is that your yarn should be roughly the same thickness or thinner than the needles on your machine. Machine knitting yarns are normally thinner than hand knit yarns. Each yarn on our website says what machines it’s suitable for.
4. And fourthly, the types of yarn. Anything specialist –  fluffy, shiny or stretchy – is usually too tricky for beginners. A great yarn for beginners is wool. If you get into a jam, the yarn will break before you break your machine. It’s very forgiving and easy to get looking professional.

In our beginners classes we use our 2/17s Lambswool yarn, which you can check out on our website!