Red Shawl

4.5 mm knitting needles or knitting machine
Weight: 4

Tension on knitting machine: 6

Foundation Row: cast on 100 stitches
Row 1: knit across row
Row 2: purl across row
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 for 300 rows.

Final Row: cast off and weave in all tails in three different directions to ensure that the tails don't pull out with use.

If this project is created by knitting machine the fabric will curl up on the edges. The fabric can be straightened with an iron. If an acrylic yarn was used for the fabric use a damp cloth over the fabric and a low heat iron to straighten the fabric. Use caution if the acrylic yarn was used for the project as it is very easy to burn the fabric.

This project is perfect for a starting project on a knitting machine.

A knitting machine is a device used to create knitted fabrics in a semi or fully automated fashion. There are numerous types of knitting machines, ranging from simple spool or board templates with no moving parts to highly complex mechanisms controlled by electronics. All however produce various types of knitted fabrics usually either flat or tubular and of varying degrees of complexity. Patterns and stitches can be selected by hand manipulation of the needles or with push buttons or dials, punch cards or electronic pattern reading devices and computers are used with different models as well.

This knitting machine is an ergonomic device with a flat bed of needles upon which a carriage sits and moves across the latched needles one at a time with yarn thereby creating knitted fabric. Any kind of garment, any color, most yarns and any style can be created much faster than can be created by hand knitting.

There are several techniques that can be used to do a cast on with a knitting machine. Two common ways are the crochet or closed cast on method and the e wrap method.

The crochet or closed cast on method is where the yarn is bound on to the latched needles with a slip knot then crocheted one at a time behind the latches. After moving the latches to the working position then knitting can begin.

The E-wrap method is where the yarn is bound by a slip knot then wrapped around the latched needles one at a time in the shape of a lower case 'e' behind the latches, after moving the latched needles to the working position then knitting can begin.

Knitting is a very calming activity with the benefit of being productive and creative as well.

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