Silver SC3 cast-off or linking carriage is a cute accessory for the Silver/Silver Reed/Singer/Elna/Studio/Empisal/Empisal Knitmaster/Knitmaster/Riccar. I recently had a pleasure to use one for my projects and I loved it (watch a video here; pictures are coming soon).
This carriage allows to bind-off the last row on your knitted panel on most machines (according to some resources only SK210, 260, 280, 360, 560, 580, 600, 700, 740, 840 models). The way it does it by inserting an empty needle (on the SC3 carriage) into a stich on a needle on the machine and combining them. This linking carriage needs to be operated manually but it still much faster than doing an all-manual bind-off.
The earlier counter part of this Silver SC3 linking carriage is SC1. Stay tuned as I am researching their differences. SC1 fits SK321-4/326-9, SK500 models.
Prior to this, I only had experience with Brother KA8310 linking carriage and after struggling with two of those, I was very frustrated. Working with the SC3 carriage was a very pleasant experience overall and literally took my only five minutes to setup up (including opening the manual and getting the carriage out of the box).
Pros and Cons:
PROS:
- the manual is straightforward
- light and compact
- less finicky (in fact, not finicky at all based on my experience).
- can be converted for fine-gauge machines
CONS:
- the hem (cast-off, bind-off) is somewhat tight. So, I recommend knitting the last row before the find-off looser than all the previous rows.
- only fits machines with carriages containing drums (although according to some of the resources, another linking carriage, SC1, should be used for machines with model numbers SK321-4/326-9,SK500): I wish I could use it on my turn-knob machines but the problem is not only the rails on the back of the needlebed but also the narrower needlebed of the older machines.
Couple of general advises:
- an obvious one: practice on a swatch before using it for cast-off on an important fabric
- if using the SC3 carriage while the machine is attached to the ribber and your panel spreads to all (or almost all) 200 needles, cast-off the first 5-10 stitches manually and then use the carriage. Sometimes the setting plates for the ribber can interfere with the smooth movement and appropriate attachment of the SC3 carriage.