Yarns for Brother knitting machine: tips and reasons

Yarns for Brother knitting machines

When working with domestic knitting machines like Brother or similar, the choice of yarn is crucial for achieving good results. Below, I'll explain which yarn to choose, how to use it correctly, and why making the right choice is important.

🎯 Which yarn to choose

1. Yarn count (thickness)

• Brother machines (like KH-840, KH-910, KH-260) are available in fine gauge, standard gauge, and bulky gauge:

  • Standard gauge (4.5 mm) → fine yarn: Nm 2/30, Nm 2/28, Nm 2/20, Nm 1/15 (cashmere, wool, blends) – often used doubled or tripled. Nm 2/13, Nm. 2/16 to be used with a single strand

  • Bulky gauge (9 mm) → thicker yarns: Nm 2/10, Nm 2/8, Nm 3/7, Nm 1/4, – can also be used as a single strand.

  • Fine gauge (3.6 mm or less) → very thin yarns: Nm 2/48, Nm 2/60 – used with low tension or multiple strands.

2. Yarn type

🧵 Recycled and regenerated cashmere

Recycled cashmere is one of Hircus Filati's gems. It is a fine yarn, made from used garments regenerated in Tuscany. It has a soft feel, an elegant drape, and above all, an ethical and sustainable soul.
Recommended counts for Brother standard (4.5 mm):

• Nm 2/28 or Nm 2/30 to be used with two or three strands.
  Perfect for making light sweaters, scarves, accessories, and baby knitwear.

• Nm 2/13 or 2/14 or 2/15 to be used with a single strand
• These are full, substantial yarns, perfect for use as a single strand to achieve a compact and soft hand.

🐑 Extra-fine merino wool

Superfine merino is selected for its softness and yarn regularity. It is elastic, warm, and runs smoothly through Brother carriages, making it ideal even for beginners with knitting machines.
Suggested counts:

• Nm 2/30 or Nm 2/28, also to be used doubled for a fuller result.
  Ideal for winter garments, sweaters, cardigans, and wool underwear.

🦙 Baby alpaca

The baby alpaca is a natural fiber that is extraordinarily soft, light, and thermally insulating. It is perfect for making warm, weightless garments and works well on Brother machines if the yarn is consistent.
Recommended count:

• Nm 2/28, also doubled or with combined yarns (e.g., alpaca + silk).
  Excellent for oversized sweaters, large scarves, and capes.

• Nm 2/16, to be used with a single strand.
  Excellent for oversized sweaters, large scarves, and capes.

🐛 Pure or blended silk

Silk – both pure and blended with wool or cashmere – adds brilliance, lightness, and a precious touch to knitting. Hircus offers natural silk yarns that run well in Brother machines if properly tensioned and balanced.
To be used in summer or for refined and light garments.
Tip: pair it with a second strand of wool or alpaca for a balanced and smooth blend.

✅ Natural yarns for your Brother, Run better in the carriage if well-prepared, Offer more valuable final results, breathable and durable, Are sustainable and safe for the skin, perfect also for newborns and intimate apparel, Allow you to fully exploit the potential of Brother machines.

🔧 Practical tips:

• Always prepare the yarn with paraffin or pass it through a uniform tension guide.

• Make a test swatch to check tension, feel, and outcome.

• Prefer spools or cones: the unwinding will be smooth and continuous.

Working with natural yarns on a Brother knitting machine means combining the precision of technology with the beauty of nature's noblest fibers. With Hircus Filati's proposals – 100% natural, selected, and produced in Italy – every project becomes a unique, durable, and refined garment.

Happy knitting!