KNITTING MACHINES - BROTHER ACCESSORIES EXPLAINED

About this Guide:
I have written this guide to help you when choosing the correct and most useful Brother gadget or accessory to fit your Brother Knitting Machine. I have not listed all the gadgets but as time goes by I may expand this guide.  I intend to bring these guides up to date from time to time, so please bookmark this page. I hope you find it useful.

Disclaimer:
I must make it clear I have written this guide from my memory, it may not be 100% accurate. I am giving you my opinion, I accept that others may not agree. I accept no responsibility for any mistakes what so ever. The age of these machines given is very approximate and is based from the date of writing this article 16th November, 2006.

About me:
I have been a machine knitter for over twenty five years. I have been selling & servicing machine knitting since 1985 when I started my first shop. My husband is a Brother trained Knitting Machine engineer and does all of our repairs & servicing. Now I specialize in supplying and servicing the range of Brother Knitting Machines. I have probably the largest range of spares and second hand refurbished Brother Machines in the UK. I have designed and published nineteen pattern books for machine knitting.

BROTHER MAJOR ACCESSORIES TO FIT STANDARD & CHUNKY GAUGE MACHINES,
NOT THE KH588 OR THE KH710, THESE USE THEIR OWN GADGETS & WILL NOT WORK WITH THE WRONG MACHINE.

BROTHER KA-8210 INTARSIA CARRIAGE:

• FITS THE FOLLOWING:
  KH830, KH836, KH840, KH860, KH881, KH890, KH891, KH864 , KH900 & KH910. The electronics machines, KH940, KH950, KH950i, KH965 & KH965i (these machines have their own built in Intarsia carriage but you can use this accessory as well if you wish)

• FUNCTION:
  The carriage is designed to allow you to hand select as many colours in a single row as you like.

• CONCLUSION:
  It is slow to use but the end results are very worthwhile and satisfying to produce. No floats to worry about, ideal for picture knitting. This is a very reliable gadget, not a lot to go wrong & not very expensive item to buy.

BROTHER RIBBERS KR830 & KR850:

• FITS THE FOLLOWING:
  KH830, KH836, KH840, KH860, KH881, KH890, KH891, KH864, KH900, KH910, KH940, KH950, KH950i, KH965, KH965i & KH970

• FUNCTION:
  These ribbers are used as the name suggests to primarily knit the ribs, collars, cuffs or welts but they can do so much more. You are able to do all rib stitch garments such as Fisherman’s rib, English rib, Racking stitches, & Tuck Rib. With the correct main bed and the appropriate accessories the KR850 will be able to produce plated rib. Using a double bed colour changer such as the KRC-900 or the earlier model KRC-830 you can produce Jacquard stitches, birds eye and stripes (no floats) to produce that professionally finished garments.

• CONCLUSION:
  Probably the most important gadget of them all, it must be set up correctly to get top quality work, you need a sound bed of needles both top and bottom and a good sponge bar in the top bed.

BROTHER RIBBER KR260

• FITS THE FOLLOWING CHUNKY MACHINES:
  KH260 & KH270

• FUNCTION:
  This ribber is used as the name suggests to primarily knit the ribs, collars, cuffs or welts but they can do so much more. You are able to do all rib stitch garments such as Fisherman’s rib, English rib, Racking stitches, & Tuck Rib. With the correct main bed and the appropriate accessories Using a double bed colour changer such as the KRC-900 you can produce Jacquard stitches, birds eye and stripes (no floats) to produce that professionally finished garments. PLEASE NOTE THE KRC-830 WILL NOT WORK WITH THE KR260

• CONCLUSION:
  Same as the standard gauge machines this is probably the most important gadget of them all, it must be set up correctly to get top quality work, you need a sound bed of needles both top and bottom and a good sponge bar in the top bed.

BROTHER KRC-900 & KRC-830 DOUBLE BED COLOUR CHANGER

• FITS THE FOLLOWING:
  KH830, KH836, KH840, KH860, KH881, KH890, KH891, KH864,KH900, KH910, KH940, KH950, KH950i, KH965, KH965i & KH970, working in conjunction with a KR830 or KR850 ribber.

• FUNCTION:
  Please see details given with the KR850 & KR830 ribber above.One extra thing with the KRC-900 DBCC only is that it will also work with the KH260 or KH270 and the KR260 ribber.

• CONCLUSION:
  A really good gadget, it is best to start using this accessory once you have accomplished the basics with your machine and ribber. It will give you a professional look to your garments. The KRC-900 is the later model.

BROTHER KA8300 RIBBER TRANSFER CARRIAGE:

• FITS THE FOLLOWING:
  KH830, KH836, KH840, KH860, KH881, KH890, KH891, KH864,KH900. KH910, KH940, KH950, KH950i, KH965, KH965i & KH970, In conjunction with either of the Brother Ribbers, KR850 or KR830.

• FUNCTION:
  It’s sole purpose is to transfer the stitches from the ribber up to the top bed. It has no real moving parts  apart from one small lever, the gadget itself is very reliable BUT both beds of needles must be sound, the top bed must have a good sponge bar and the two beds must be properly aligned for it to work without trouble.

• CONCLUSION:
  A brilliant gadget and a real time saver, easy to use but you need a sound bed of needles both top and bottom and a good sponge bar in the top bed.

BROTHER KHC-820 SINGLE BED COLOUR CHANGER:

• FITS THE FOLLOWING:
  KH830, KH836, KH840, KH860, KH881, KH890, KH891, KH864,KH900, KH910, KH940, KH950, KH950i, KH965, KH965i & KH970.

• FUNCTION:
  It is designed to allow you to knit up to four different colours automatically. It does not knit in the floats and should not be confused with the double bed colour changer.

•  CONCLUSION:
  A useful gadget a time saver but you need to pick your patterns carefully to minimize the floats.

 BROTHER KA-8310 LINKER:

• FITS THE FOLLOWING:
  KH830, KH836, KH840, KH860, KH881, KH890, KH891, KH864,KH900, KH910, KH940, KH950, KH950i, KH965, KH965i & KH970.

• FUNCTION:
  This gadget is designed to cast off your finished work automatically & it can also be used for sewing up the garment.

• CONCLUSION:
  A word of warning this gadget is very easy to break, if you are heavy handed or impatient don’t buy one of these, you will probably break it within the first ten minutes. Now if you take your time, use the correct technique, have a sound bed of needles & a good sponge bar it is a real time saver.

BROTHER KL-116 KNIT-LEADER:

• FITS THE FOLLOWING:
  KH830, KH836, KH840, KH860, KH890, KH864,KH900, KH910, KH940, KH950, KH950i, KH965, KH965i, KH230 Chunky, KH260 Chunky & KH270 Chunky. It can also fit the KH230 but you must get ther special brackets for the KH230 or it will not work.

• FUNCTION:
  This gadget is a full size shaping device, you lay out the shape of your garment and then follow the moving chart row by row increasing or decreasing stitches to make the end shape your garment requires. The KH881 & KH891 have a built in version of this device but half size.

• CONCLUSION:
  Some people take to this device like a duck to water others prefer to work from a written pattern. Personally I swear by this device, it is well worth the time to learn to use it.

ALL BROTHER GARTER CARRIAGES:

• FITTING:
  There are basically two types of Garter Carriage, both types are for standard gauge machines only, Not Chunky.
  1. The older type KG88/89 KG88 mark2 these had to have a set of three rails that were laid over the rear rail of the needle bed on the machine. The set comprised of a Left, Middle & Right section. These machines were used on the older style of knitting machine that had a plain rear needle bed rail such as the KH881, KH860 & KH836. They would run on the KH910 electronic machine if fitted with a set of magnets. There were a number of older knitting machines that would not take a Garter Carriage such as the KH830 & KH840. So you need to make sure that if you are buying one of these Garter Carriages that everything is there, your machine will work with the model you are buying and the machine is in working order.
  2. All the other Garter Carriages must work on the later machines with the built in garter carriage rear rail. This is a serrated rail at the rear of the needle bed as fitted to machines like the KH890, KH891 & KH864. The Electronics KH900, KH940, KH950 & 950i, KH965 & 965i, need two magnets at the rear.
   

• FUNCTION:
  The Brother Garter Carriages are an electronic machine which will work with ether the appropriate Brother Electronic machine or the Brother Punch Card machine. You must make sure that you have the correct model to fit your machine & that your machine will take a Garter Carriage. Basically the machine moves backwards and forwards over your machine, knitting each stitch. It has the ability to do a knit and pearl in one row the only other way this can be achieved when using a knitting machine is by hand tooling. The machine has the advantage of working on it’s own, you setup the number of rows required, make sure that the pattern is setup and away it will go. Obviously you have to stop to increase or decrees stitches. The machines if working correctly and setup correctly has an automatic cut-out for safety. Not the fastest way to knit a garment but brilliant results can be achieved.

• CONCLUSION:
  The Brother range of garter carriages are now some years old and like any piece of electrical or mechanical equipment they need to be properly serviced on a regular basis by a Brother trained engineer. The garter carriage is not a simple piece of equipment, you should not confuse a cleanup with a proper service. These were brilliant gadgets but they are all getting old. I have stopped repairing them because I can’t get NEW spares & trying to use second hand spares is not satisfactory. I only sell garter carriages now for spare parts for those people who are determined to try and keep their machine working. Even the consumable parts such as the needle and the brush foot (sinker plate) are becoming difficult to get.

• WARNING:
  I recommend for safety that you should never leave electronic equipment unattended. You should also be very cautious when children and pets are around with the machine working.

We sell a wide range of fully refurbished Brother knitting machines, ribbers, accessories, books & spares.

Why not take the gamble out of purchasing a knitting machine from an auction. If you want a knitting machine or ribber that works, is complete, comes with a guarantee arrives properly packed & has after sales telephone support then buy from us. Unless otherwise stated in the listing all of our machines have been fully refurbished & tested by our resident Brother trained knitting machine engineer. Take the worry & disappointment out of the purchase, we have the expertise to look after you with a reputation for good after sales service.

Please phone me to find out what machines are going through my workshops and will soon be available for sale. Most of my refurbished machines are booked for sale before they have gone through the workshops, hence I do not sell many via my eBay shop or my website.