Well I managed to get this one working again – this may be your problem too?

I have had one of these linker accessories for years, and did, at one time, use it. However, it got put away and forgotten about, as is so often the case. It was only recently, whilst writing my latest book , Translating Between Hand and Machine Knitting, and knitting lots of samples on domestic machines that I thought, “that would save me some time!’, and it proved the perfect time to resurrect it.

Of course I had to practise, but still something wasn’t right, stitches were dropping and catching and it was driving me mad. It was jamming as well, which was purely a mechanical problem due to disuse. My son, who is very handy had a look at it, and sorted out the jamming, but it still wasn’t working properly! So it went back in the box whilst I fumed.

Then I got my second wind and decided it wasn’t going to beat me.

Careful looking – and dismantling it so I could see the action properly led me to realise that a little thin metal bar was not doing its job, so that the stitches weren’t being held down and clearing when they should.

I’ve added a few pics here to show what I found, and how I fixed the SC3 so it links a bind off beautifully now!

This is the little metal bar that was not moving.

It should flick up and down, and hold the old stitch in place whilst the next one is picked off the needle bed by the facing needle on the SC3, as shown in the photo below, taken once I freed the jam.

The culprit, that was stopping the bar moving, was a white plastic cog with prongs on it. Judicious use of gentle force, machine oil and patience freed the cog, which then activated the up and down flick of the bar, and hey presto!

The cog is shown below. The linker is turned upside down.

So if your linker is dropping stitches, have a look and make sure the old stitches are being held in place whilst the needle on the linker works.