The Sentro Knitting Machine is a crank-powered knitting machine that allows you to make tubes and flat panels using worsted weight and lighter yarn.
It’s easy to set up — you just have to add the feet and the tension guide to the device out of the box — and easy to get started using it to make Stockinette stitch fabric in a flash.
The machine has 48 hooks, one of which is a different color so you know where your round starts and ends.
To “cast on” the machine, you stick the tail end of the yarn down the middle of the machine, leaving a long tail. Guide the yarn in front of the first hook and behind the second second, alternating as you slowly turn the crank around.
For the second round, slowly turn the crank so that the yarn goes under each hook. Once you’ve done those two rounds, you can slide the yarn into the tension guide and begin to crank faster.
The first time I tried the machine I dropped a few stitches at the beginning, which I don’t know if that was because I did the cast on wrong or just wasn’t paying enough attention and accidentally skipped some hooks.
The second time I was a little more careful and it was smooth knitting.
My first project I used some of the yarn that came with the machine and a little bit of baby yarn I had lying around just to practice with.
My second project is a hat, which is what these kinds of machines are known for. I’ll share a pattern as soon as I finish it, but it’s just a tube that you close up tight at the end.
The machine comes with a pair of knitting needles, sewing needles and other accessories. The knitting needles (or your own) could be used to add ribbing to the bottom of a hat, or to pick up the loops off the machine so you can do a knit bind off (I just sewed through the loops when I finished my tube project but I’m sure there’s a better way).
The other project I really want to make is a scrappy tube scarf, so I’ll keep you posted on that as well.
It’s also possible to knit flat panels on this machine. To do that you flip a switch and crank one direction and then the other to make a flat panel instead of a tube. In both tube and flat knitting the size of the project is fixed for using all 48 hooks.
I haven’t done a project with panels yet but I’m sure I’ll send you an update when I do.
I think the Sentro Knitting Machine is a nice entry level machine. It’s easy to set up and use, makes quick work of tubes and panels, and is a great way to quickly use stash if you like to make simple hats and tube scarves especially.
If you want to try the Sentro Knitting Machine yourself, you can grab one from our Shopify shop.
