Here is a fast, double-thick hat done on my larger circular knitting machine. It is a Loops and Threads brand with 40 needles. It makes tubes or, with the flip of a switch, flat panels. It only knits plain stockinette stitch automatically, so it takes some thought to get neat edges. By making the hat double-layer, the bottom of the hat is a fold and the edges are gathered together to close the top. This makes a reversible hat. One can also knit ribbing by hand after transfering the work from machine to needles.
On the smaller machine, I removed the handle so I could see all my stitches clearly. I flipped the switch to panel mode and am knitting a sample in lightweight sport yarn to see how it looks. So far, so good. No dropped stitches yet.
The edges of flat knitted panels curl toward the purl side of the work. Panels are finished by sewing a seam or adding a knitted or crocheted border.
So far I am just enjoying learning to use a new tool and using up my stash of odd balls of yarn left over from finished projects I will have an assortment of warm hats and mitts to give away soon.
No plans yet to get a big flatbed knitting machine, but I have looked at a few on eBay, just for fun. Those machines will knit sweater or skirt panels, but they take up a lot of table space. I'm not ready to commit to that. I like my knitting to be more portable. I would have to give up my sewing machine space to make room for a flatbed knitting machine, which is not going to happen!
