The Passap Duo 80
The good news - I decided four months was long enough to avoid knitting on a Passap. My last experience with an original Pink Duomatic ended in jammed locks and frustration, no matter what I tried. The Pinkie remains in exile on the top shelf of my closet.
Rather than walking past her bigger and newer sister for the hundredth time yesterday, I pulled up a chair to the Duo 80, sat down, opened the instruction manual, and knit some beginner swatches.
And it worked!
The locks went across without freezing. They’re still a bit stiff compared to what I’m familiar with on a Brother standard gauge, but some oil should help.
The not so good news - I knit cardboard. This sample can literally stand all by itself.
I don’t have a feel yet for what tension settings are best for different size yarns. When I tried knitting at higher settings, the fabric kept sproinging up towards the locks and making a difficult pass nearly impossible. I’ll have to experiment with hanging weights, though I thought with a Passap they weren’t needed.
I am impressed that even with the consistency of lumber, the Passap still knit the sample. I doubt the Brother would have been as forgiving.
It’s hard to see, but this sample includes Fisherman’s Rib, Half-Fisherman’s Rib, Full Needle Rib, and Long Stitch.
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March 8, 2007
5 comments
Thanks for this amusing story about your first Duo attempt (loved the cardboard description!). I bought a DM8O a few days ago and have to now (following your instructions!) deep clean it. Then - I’ll be ready for my first attempt - and if my initial experience is like yours - I may well start up a business in ‘knitted shipping boxes’.
You will be amazed a what the Duo 80 can do without a punch card just by using the pushers, racking handle, and changing the lock settings. Hopefully you got the instruction book pictured above. It packs a ton of basic information into a small number of pages.
Could someone help me please, ive just got a passap duo 8O, and im having problems casting on, everytime i pull the carriage across it selects some needles one minuite then when i try again it doesnt pick hardly any of them up. Does the machine need a good oil??
I am so glad to have read your comments! I purchased a passap duo 80 a month ago. I have people asking for socks and sweaters everyday! So far I can make scarves. Everyone has a scarf. I have no where even remotely close by to buy yarn from. I ordered some sock yarn from custom woolen mills, it is beautiful yarn. Once I figure out the tensions and stitch length, I will be laughing. Until then frustration is on going…and nobody has socks.
I love this site, so much information and a good read.
Could someone please help me out, I want to buy a Duo 80 and will need to have it sent by Courier. I first have to find out the weight (most important) and packed dimensions. I would be most grateful for an answer as I want to get started on some knitting - that’s after I have done the “deep clean” etc etc.
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