Meet Jan, your Machine Knitting Hub host.
Knitting has always been part of Jan's world. Her mum knitted, her mum's mum knitted — it's simply what they did. That deep-rooted connection to craft and heritage shapes everything she creates, inspired by joyful memories and the landscapes of the rural and remote places she's called home.
In the 1980s, Jan discovered machine knitting — falling so in love with it that she went on every course she could find, until she became the one doing the teaching. In the 1990s she launched her original knitwear business and runs her on. knitwear business today. Jan knows intimately what it takes to build something real from a creative skill.
Now she brings that experience and passion for sharing to Makers Growth Hub — a community built to help makers like you grow the business behind your craft. Machine Knitting Hub exists because Jan believes every knitter deserves the tools, knowledge, and community to take their craft further than they ever imagined possible.
Stuck with your knitting machine? Machine Knitting Hub is here to
You bought a knitting machine with the best intentions. Maybe it's gathering dust in the spare room. Maybe you've watched videos, tried to follow along, and still can't get it to work reliably. Or maybe you've got the basics, but you've hit a wall — and no matter what you try, you can't seem to move forward.
You're not alone. And you're not doing it wrong. You just haven't had the right support yet.
Machine Knitting Hub is an online community for domestic machine knitters at every stage — from complete beginners who've never cast on, to experienced knitters who've lost their way. It's the one place where you can get clear, jargon-free guidance on everything from which yarn works on your machine, to tension problems, pattern reading, and the techniques that take your knitting from frustrating to genuinely satisfying.
Behind MKH is me — Jan Appleton. I've been machine knitting for over 30 years, and for the past decade I've been designing and making original knitwear collections as Elizabeth Larsen Knitwear. I design, write the patterns, and run the business — so when I talk about solving the problems that come up on a knitting machine, I'm speaking from real-world experience, not theory.
I built MKH because I kept meeting knitters just like you — talented, enthusiastic people with perfectly good machines they weren't using, simply because they'd never had the right guidance. That felt like something worth fixing.
Inside you'll find step-by-step video tutorials, a resource library covering yarn, gauge, tension and troubleshooting, and a warm community of machine knitters who've been exactly where you are.
Stop guessing. Start making. Join Machine Knitting Hub today.