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First off, I own many knitting machines, including Brother electronic and Passap machines. Yet still, the manual plastic bed Brother KX-395 (and its stable mate, the mid-gauge KX350) are probably my favourite machines to knit with. The KX-395 is a convertible machine that knits as both a 'standard bed (4.5mm)' and a 'chunky bed (9mm)'. For the knitter, this means being able to use any thickness of yarn, from industrial ultra fine 1 ply to chunky worsted 16ply, and everything inbetween on just one machine! One of the downsides about the standard metal bed machines is that they are quite limited to certain yarn types. Many times I have purchased a standard 4 ply yarn and found even that was too thick to use on the Brother standard metal bed machine. I do own a Brother chunky metal bed machine too, but I don't have the room to have every machine I own set up at all times - I live in a standard 3 bed house - between the machines and the yarn stash, there just isn't much room. That's where the KX395 comes in. First off, it's very compact and lightweight. You can take it out of the box and be knitting within minutes, and then just as quickly put it away again to keep your house tidy. If you're going somewhere and would like to take a machine with you, this one ticks all the boxes! The knitting carriage itself also has Intarsia (picture knitting) built in - just flick a switch, and it also has the 'plaiting' feature (2 colour reversible knitting) built in too, as well as the standard 'tuck stitch', 'slip stitch', 'short row/partial knitting' etc. Parts are very easy to come by - the only parts that ever need replacing are the needles and the sponge strip. The carriage and the bed are made of hard wearing plastic, so they're very easy to clean and oil. There really isn't much to go wrong with this machine. If you also purchase a KX-350 (mid-gauge version of this machine) you can use the carriage from your KX-395 on the KX-350 bed, and then you truly can knit anything you like, as you have all 3 gauges covered, as well as the features of the KX-395 carriage on your KX-350 machine! If you already own standard metal bed machines, and you're wondering if you would use the 'standard bed' features of this machine - let me tell you something - you know that DK yarn that's just slightly too thick to use on your existing machine? This one solves it by using mid-gauge needle sizes at a standard bed spacing, plus allows a larger stitch size to really allow you the freedom to create in whichever gauge you like with whatever yarn you like! One final word of advice - there is a similar model to this known as the KX-390. It is exactly the same, but it doesn't have the intarsia feature built in to the carriage. So make sure you go for the KX-395 and not the KX-390, otherwise you'll be missing an essential feature in your finished works of art! Have fun knitting, and thanks for reading. Chris :)Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This is the best you can buy if you are a knitter, its nicely made metal and plastic bed knitting machine. A great starter machine and you can change gauge on the 400 as it can convert from 4.5mm to 9mm and visa versa, its great, it's very compact and lightweight. The knitting carriage itself also has intarsia, also has the 'plaiting' feature built in too, as well as the standard 'tuck stitch', 'slip stitch', 'short row/partial knitting'. You will need to change de sponge after you buy it, if you dont change it the needles will stuck in the carriage, its very easy and inexpensive to change, you can buy the sponge online, the carriage and the bed are made of hard wearing plastic, so they're very easy to clean and oil. The one I bought had a misplaced piece in the carriage, I fixed myself easily with a screwdriver. There is a similar model to this known as the KX-390. It is exactly the same, but it doesn't have the intarsia feature built in to the carriage. So make sure you go for the KX-395 and not the KX-390.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned