Product Review; KB Sock Loom

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In today’s post I will be reviewing;

KB Sock Loom

Product Details

• Manufacturer/Brand; Authentic Knitting Board
• Item number
• RRP at time of writing: £24.99 from C&C

Reason For Buying

I’ve always wanted to knit my own socks but due to limited dexterity cannot knit on 4 pins and struggle on circular and regular needles. When this was demo’d on C&C by the makers it looked easier so I wanted to try, and I quickly bought it.

Content

Sock loom, Instructional DVD, printed instructions for determining size to create your sock.

Pros/Cons

Pros

Quality materials used throughout, fairly easy to hold not too heavy in the hand. The results shown on the site and on demos look fantastic and just like socks you would buy from a store. There is an adjustable bar in the loom which allows you to make anything from a baby sock to a man size sock on the one board. If you feel lost, follow the link to the manufacturers site shown on the DVD and from there, you can download free patterns to get you going and there is also a forum on there for support.

The DVD has clear instructions and make it easy to understand what to do. You can put the project down at any time and come back to it, without getting lost where you are in the pattern or loosing stitches. It is also very portable.

Cons

The instructions give you the calculations to make your own pattern, but it is a bit confusing when you first start. By heading to the makers website, there are actual sock patterns to download, which are easier to follow rather than having to do the maths for your first go 😉

The DVD shows the process well but after 4 rounds and a restart to see if it was something I was doing wrong, my stitches were tight and getting tighter, which made them very difficult to move. You need to hook up a stitch and leapfrog it over the pin to create a new stitch. Now I have poor dexterity, so I gave it to DH to try. DH struggled too and after 5 minutes effort gave the loom back to me with the hand tool in two pieces! The metal section had pulled out of the handle, due to the effort needed to try to move the stitches!

Hand tool from KB Sock Loom (Broken)

After 8 rows one of the pins in the base of the board had pulled out of the loom too!

Build Quality

Good quality, wooden loom, beautifully finished. Super smooth pegs, the hand tool could be more ergonomic and let the rest of the package down as it looked a bit of an afterthought and basic compaired to the quality of the rest of the package.

Value for Money

If you can use it, then it would pay for itself very quickly. Makes superb finished results that would sell well at fetes or for gifts.

Would I buy it Again?

No, perhaps if my dexterity was better but with my ‘issues’ it is just beyond my dexterity.

Summing up

Proceed with caution with this tool if you are getting this for someone with limited/poor dexterity and especially for those with repetitive strain type injuries. You need to be able to grip well, with a smooth hand tool the diameter of a pencil and rotate your hand/wrist while gripping the hand tool in one hand and the board in the other.

I went to the makers forum and read up on their suggestions for remedies for the tight stitches, none of the suggestions worked for me. It seems it is a classic beginner issue and different yarns and practice will make a difference but I don’t have the dexterity to work through the tight stitches stage so I returned my broken tool. (C&C were fab and gave me a full refund).

In fairness to the KB company, they seem excellent and helpful, the forum was friendly and informative. There are tutorial videos on the site which are well worth checking out before you order the tool, to see if you would be able to use it.

If I had normal dexterity I would have joined the forum and given this tool more practice time as the finished results were very impressive, but the pain was too much for me. If the company intend to promote this tool for people with dexterity problems (as they frequently mentioned on the demos it used by people with carpal tunnel or arthritis) then the hand tool needs work! If the handle was thicker so you had a bit more to get hold of with a stop at the end or had a more grippy surface, then those of us with poor grip may find it easier.

A great pity I couldn’t use this, as the results it produces are fantastic. If you are strong or have no dexterity problems and time to practice the finished results look very professional and shop bought. If you have dexterity problems, proceed with caution, check with Dr that it won’t upset existing issues, particularly if it is a repetitive type injury. Do your research first 😉

With ‘normal’ dexterity and practice, this makes beautiful socks for yourself or for gifts.

Links

Here is a list of the makers websites to help you do some independent research.

• Authentic Knitting Boards Manufacturers website
• Authentic Knitting Board Blog
• Authentic Knitting Board Forum. Online discussion group for the Knitting loom.
• Authentic knitting board tutorials

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie 🙂

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