Orion 220 Vintage Knitting Machine

Maggi Bloice
Sep 7
2 min read

Update and cleaning session

This single bed machine operates sinker based knitting ie think old Knitmaster maroon machines. What is unusual for this machine is that it is a 6 mm gauge with 220 needles. It is a lovely looking machine that is a wee bit more innovative than the old maroon Knitmasters. The bed is a gorgeous blue and the carriage a sort of bronzed colour. I was very lucky In that a kind gent sent me a load of spares for this machine such as a second carriage, and the tension stand and book plus loads of sinkers and needles so it may well last a while, so ok, its not the easiest machine to actually knit with, as it is not fixed to the table - it does however come with a very handy ball winder and this is a sturdy bit of equipment to have. Note it may be 6 mm but does not work well with anything heavier than a 4 ply.

I successfully managed to change a few sinkers but what a job, and also fill in the missing needles. The spares I received plus the instruction manual were a blessing as this is fine moveable sinker machine which once cast on knits relatively easy. The only bugbear is that if you were knitting on this constantly you would have to find a way to fix it to the table especially if you were using the whole bed. The tension stand works well once you get it set properly and like most of these machines you need a ball winder and I used a Passap cup to hold the yarn. It also has a good row counter. I imagine in its day it was quite innovative and built to last. It has a great set of tools including a screwdriver. The A5 manual is packed with good information including stitch patterns and a couple of starter patterns and it gives instructions on how to change the needles and the sinkers.