Meet Kniterate

We believe Kniterate is especially useful if you run your own business, do research or you want to provide a service to your community, because there are clear ways to monetize the product.

We ask you to read this page and the Pre-order Terms specific to your region (North America or the EU)  carefully to evaluate the risks and challenges associated with pre-ordering.

Kniterate brings the best of both worlds. It provides a compact version which a hobbyist can have at home or share with others at a local makerspace, and also the capabilities of an industrial knitting machine, to work faster and scale up production.

Kniterate can be thought of as a hybrid between industrial and domestic knitting machines. For a price and size comparable to an advanced domestic knitting machine but with most of the functionalities of a modern industrial one. For example Kniterate will do the shaping automatically for you.

You can control all the needles in the machine to knit and transfer stitches and create very intricate patterns, with a great range of types of stitches and shapes, all being automated.

You will also be able to design in our website or desktop application.

Kniterate has many of the features of an industrial knitting machine, the most important being automated knitting and transfer of stitches. This allows it to do automatic shaping (it can increase or decrease stitches, cast-on, bind-off, etc.).

Key differentiators are its size and price, which allow it to be in many more workshops.

No. We are focusing on manufacturing a 7 gauge Kniterate knitting machine and developing exceptional software and capabilities for it.

We will let you know at a time closer to delivery, but expect it to be standard customer service times.

Kniterate is going to be very easy to use, and we will provide you with free online resources to learn how to use it. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Yes, we have been generating documentation of the machine and we’ll put it together to create a manual that will guide you through Kniterate’s features and maintainence.

We will also be producing plenty of YouTube  tutorials that will range from technical advice to creative applications.

We will provide users with free online resources, like our YouTube channel.

Once we have delivered our pre-orders we will start planning workshops delivered by our team in the USA, Canada and the EU.

Join our newsletter at the bottom of this page to know when we are coming to your city.

Yes, for one year, except easy wear and tear parts like needles.

You are responsible for following the instructions issued by us to operate the machine and avoid voiding the warranty.

We are incorporated in England, UK (Kniterate Ltd) and the State of Delaware, USA (Kniterate, Inc.).

We currently have permanent offices in the UK and China. Once we have delivered our pre-orders we will open an office in the USA.

For each country in which we operate we need to be able to provide high quality customer service, and technical maintenance and repair in a cost effective way.

We also need to cover the costs of operating in that country.

We will always consider your offer, but at the moment we are not looking to expand.

Send us your formal proposal to sales@kniterate.com

For volume orders, please contact us at sales@kniterate.com

Yes, please visit our careers section for more information.

No, Kniterate is not an open source project.

Kniterate is a self-contained technology and the basic software to run it will be free, but you will need yarn.

Space to put the knitting machine (49” x 25” x 24”/125 x 64 x 60 cm) and a strong desk or support (375 lbs/170 kg).

The machine will have a cord plug that works on standard outlets.

Kniterate operates by consuming yarn and electricity.

Needles will occasionally break, and require replacement. Changing them is a quick and easy operation.

The needle beds need to be clean and lubricated appropriately.

The faster you want your piece to be produced the louder the machine is. Speed (therefore, noise) can be regulated at any time.

As with every mechanical product there is a chance this will happen. During knitting fiber fly and needles can get damaged and end up in the carriage or in the needle beds. You should aim to keep them always clean to avoid this. The machine is equipped with shock sensors to detect any collision.

In the event that yarn breaks or runs out, a knot is caught, yarn piles up in the needle bed or a collision occurs, the machine will stop and wait for your supervision, to resume or cancel the job.

The machine has an emergency stop button that will cut the electricity, stopping any operation instantly.

Yes. You can adjust the sensitivity of the sensor according to the thickness of your yarn and the knots you want to allow to go through.

It is a safe knitting machine with security features built-in, but because of its size, weight and mechanical power we recommend supervision when people, especially kids, are around it. The machine is fully enclosed and it has sensors that stop it when doors open, and also includes a fail-stop button. The knitting machine requires a strong base to support it. (FCC and CE marks in the works)

Kniterate needs to be on a solid table. If you believe the table could be affected by strong vibrations we recommend that you bolt the machine to the table and the table to the ground.

No, the knitting machine only works with the built in motor. When not running,  you can move the carriage easily from its built-in controller.

Yes, you can do that when the machine is fully stopped. You can access all the needles of the needle bed and move them freely by hand.

7 gauge, seven needles per inch.

There is a needle every 3.63 mm.

204 per needle bed, 408 needles in total.

29″ / 74 cm. The knitting width of the machine is not necessarily the width of the piece that can be knitted.

The current maximum speed is 0.4m/s. We are improving this value and we are confident the machine will be able to run faster than that.

Kniterate can be used for small to medium scale production runs.

Yes, double bed in solid steel, it’s one of the key elements to having a highly reliable automated knitting machine.

The knitting machine has 6 yarn carriers which means you can use up to 6 different yarns (different colors and/or materials) per row.

No.

Yes. It can increase, decrease, cast on and bind off stitches.

It can do short-rowing but only on the edges of the piece since that allows the rollers to pull it down.

Short-rowing in the center of the piece for more than 2 or 3 rows is not recommended. The machine has no sinkers so the garment would come up.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes. Shaping operations are limited when creating tubular structures though.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes, with limitations. The machine can’t combine tuck and knit within the same traverse movement, they have to happen in different traverse movements. That means, for example, that you can’t trap the yarn to avoid long floats, so it’s ideal to make a great variety of stitches rather color patterns.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes. To do it you would have to knit every other needle on both beds, such that you always have an empty needle in front of a loop in the opposite bed. That empty needle is used to knit the purl stitches. Knitting with every other needle means that you are working with half of the gauge (3.5 instead of 7).

Yes, but limited to short floats/strands (we recommend a maximum float length of 5-6 stitches). This is because it can’t both tuck and knit in the same traverse movement, so it can’t anchor long floats between knitted stitches.

It potentially can, we haven’t tried yet. It would be tiny, though.

Yes.

It is possible but with important constraints on the pattern. The machine can’t both tuck and knit in the same traverse movement, so it can’t anchor long floats between knitted stitches. To have a different image on both sides the pattern is limited to short floats (max recommended floats of 5-6 needles).

The knitting machine will only stop automatically if the yarn breaks, the spool runs out of yarn, a large knot is detected, yarn piles up in the knitting area or if the carriage finds mechanical resistance. In this cases, you can potentially solve the issue and resume the job.

When knitting complex structures or testing yarns for the first time you should supervise the knitting machine. If something goes wrong you can quickly pause the machine and try to fix the issue. You have access to all the needles and can move them freely.

If the machine is not being supervised and there is an issue not related to the list above, the machine will continue running until the job is done.

Not in the standard way. The knitting machine has no sinkers so when short rowing in the interior of a piece, the operation required to knit the heel for example, results in issues. Short rowing on the edges works fine.

Some of the garments we’ve produced with the machine have been assembled by hand, others with a linker, and yet some others with an overlocker.

There are many ways to complete this process and it really depends on the finish you want and the speed at which you need to produce. We would advise you to have a linking machine if you want to produce a high volume of garments with the best possible finish.

We will have Youtube tutorials to guide you through the different assembly processes.

The variables that define resolution in knitting are gauge, yarn, tension and stitch density.

Yes, in the onboard screen.

Yes.

You can use any of your yarns of the right weight, like in any other knitting machine. We will partner with yarn suppliers and build a store to offer a great selection of yarns for the knitting machine.

This really depends on the garment, its size and its pattern. The best solution is to weigh a similar garment and then find out the cost of the yarn you would like to use. We will offer information of this kind for our templates and the yarn provided in our website.

Yes.

The machine is designed to work with most of the yarn cones available in the market. Although, if you have a cone that is too big and can interfere with a neighboring one, you could put it on a table behind the machine, or even on the floor.

Each yarn requires its own parameters, so if you selected them appropriately the range of options is quite generous. We will work throughout the year to test as many yarns as possible so that we can let you know. We will also elaborate a list of parameters for the yarns we test, and select for you to minimize the sampling time.

The yarn count should be around Nm6 – Nm7 (including Nm2/12, Nm2/14 etc.). Those are ideal for a 7gg look and feel. Thicker yarn would be problematic for the machine.

You can compare this industrial used yarn count to a light fingering or 2 ply hand knitting yarn (needle size around 2mm).

Please note: Hand knitting yarn counts are quite inconsistent internationally and are not suitable for the use with our machine.

We haven’t tried working with metallic yarns yet.

Yes, please get in touch sales@kniterate.com

49” x 25” x 24” (125 x 64 x 60 cm)

It currently weighs 375 lb (170 Kg). This number is subject to change until we finish the optimization

Single-phase for use in a domestic socket (15A). Consumption around 600 W on average when actively knitting. FCC and CE compliant.

To open this technology to a broader audience we’ve had to readapt some of its features and its control system, making the machine lighter and reducing speed a bit.

Industrial grade solid steel.

Yes, the machines are going to be thoroughly tested. First we are taking four months to optimize the speed and weight of the machine. After that each machine will be quality tested in the factory, which has over 30 years of experience making industrial knitting machines.

Upgrades will be software based and will not require changes in the knitting machine, which is manufactured for years of use and will benefit from software that constantly improves. We will also provide spare parts. We can’t guarantee that as newer versions of the knitting machine come out some parts will become obsolete. Mechanical improvements may require that we eventually redesign important aspects of the knitting machine, as is the case with cars.

No. The needle bed is made of solid steel designed to last many years.

This is an industrial grade machine, so it’s built to last many years under intense daily use.

There are no critical parts made out of plastic. All the parts that receive intensive mechanical stress are made of steel. Built to last many years.

If taken care properly, the machine can work continuously for a very long period of time with basic maintenance. There are mainly two things that need to be taken care of often: making sure that the needle bed is clean and oiled and making sure that the needles are all in good shape.

Our Youtube videos will guide you through this. If operated correctly needles can last thousands of hours of operation.

Yes it will come with 50 spare needles.

We’ll have them in our online store at very competitive prices.

We will have a spare part service stocking all replaceable parts of the machine in our North American and European warehouses.

We will not be providing a list of components. Repairs will be handled by our technical service.

We have been talking with knitting machine technicians and we are creating a network in all the places we are selling to offer a quick service in case it is needed. We are constantly reaching to more technicians and the network is extending. Drop us an email if you have experience working with knitting machine our would like to be trained to be one.

We don’t recommend you try to repair the knitting machine by yourself as this will void the warranty. We will provide instructions for our users to be able to perform the basic maintance tasks required for the machine.

This will void the warranty.

For the online version, it can work on any operating system, since it’s browser based.

For the standalone version, it will be compatible with Mac and Windows.

Yes, we’ve already implemented this feature on our design app, but at a basic level. You can also use your standard design software and our app will process the file.

We are building the design app starting with templates to allow you to easily create knitwear. After this, we will develop new features that will allow you to design from scratch without the need of a template.

Our focus is to provide the best user experience possible at every step of the process.

Yes. We are currently developing this software and we expect the first version to be ready by the time the first batch of machines is delivered.

They will be the same or similar ones.

Yes. At the moment we are working on setting the foundations of the software to have basic templates for different garments so you can quickly start creating knitwear.

We are building a software development team that will work on this on a daily basis to constantly keep adding upgrades.

We will keep an open communication with our users to implement requested features.

Yes, our basic design app works with templates and is easy to use, so you will have a place from which to start designing. Otherwise, you can always select available designs from other users and easily jump into knitting.

Yes, you will be able to import images in our design app and they will be processed to the number of feeders you select (up to 6). We will provide some guidelines for an optimum result.

Yes, the basic design app is free and anyone can use it. That way a knitting machine can get all the use it deserves.

Yes, we will be developing a standalone version that you can download and install in your computer to be used offline.

You will have full control over your designs. To share you will need to opt-in. You can also keep the file in your computer, if that makes you more comfortable.

Our goal is to create a digital fashion marketplace, so we will try to make it exciting to share and monetize your designs.

K-code files with an SD card.

Yes, we will work on developing a framework that allows developers to build applications for our knitting machine.

Hacking Kniterate will void any warranty the machine has. We are developing software to make sure the machine receives correct instructions during the entire process and the hardware doesn’t get damaged. This is a powerful machine and we can’t take responsibility for the control software you may develop.

Our design app will share some of the features of an industrial machine software but it will be specially created for the Kniterate machine, streamlining all the process from start to finish.

Our app will have an easy to use UI that doesn’t require you taking a multi-week training course and years of experience.

No, this is not a service we will be providing, but we will provide a platform to reach out to owners of knitting machines who may do it.

No.

We are aware of the importance of the software and we are going to put a lot of energy into developing it to deliver the best possible experience. We started working on it in March of 2016 and we’ve gone through several iterations and tests.

We are now building it from scratch with some improvements and new features and we are eager to listen to your needs and suggestions to include features that might be important for our users and which we may be not prioritizing.

USA, Canada and the EU.

Once we are ready to start shipping, you will receive an invitation to go to our website and enter your shipping information to pay the appropriate amount.

The weight of the machine may change and shipping prices vary by location and country.

It’s simpler (and cheaper for you) to handle this separately.

This will also allow you to spread the costs of your purchase.

We are waiting to get more details about this.

The prices on this website are inclusive of taxes.

We are going to ship in containers by ocean to the USA and the UK and then use ground shipping from there.

Yes, we will deliver the knitting machine to your door. Almost ready to be used.

The size of the wooden crate is approximately 67″ x 28″ x 28″ (170 x 70 x 70cm) and the weight around 441 lbs (200 kg). This is slightly smaller than an American-style fridge freezer.

Measure the width of your doors to see if the knitting machine will fit through. It may only be possible to move it up or down stairs if you have a lift.

This will void the warranty.

The shipping crate will be made of wood, so this is technically possible, but we can’t guarantee it.

Yes, we are open to the machine being picked-up by you if we are temporarily holding it in a warehouse. Having said that, the early bird batch may be delivered straight from the container by our logistics partner.