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A Brother knitting machine's tension mast assembly showing a white wax ring positioned to coat yarn as it feeds through the system

Waxing Knitting Yarn

accessory tip troubleshooting yarn

Do you wax your the yarn you use for your machine?

Yarn on cones that was wound to be used in a factory is often waxed. This allows for the speed of industrial knitting.

Many machine knitters wax their yarn either as they knit or as they rewind balls/skeins/hangs into cakes. Some knitting machines come with a small bit of wax and ledge on the mast to position it for ease of waxing as you knit.

Waxing yarn is a matter of personal preference.

You may use wax for every knitting project. Some knitters (including me) rarely think about waxing.

My 2 Cents:

If you are using old, vintage yarn that has been around for years and is dry and full of static, consider wax.
If your machine is not knit knitting well, the yarn is breaking, tangling or stitches are not forming correctly, consider wax.
If you are stuggling with static, consider wax.

You don't need anything fancy for wax, just a chunk of paraffin or a white candle works.

What is your experience with waxing?
Please take the poll below, reply to this post and share:

Your opinion matters: Your 2¢

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More Comments:

1	Marsha	All if the yarn I use is old. Waxing helps yarn knit more smoothly. I wax while winding cakes and I put it on the waxing stand of my knitting machine.
2	Danielle	i don't use it but know i think about it wax can protect your sweater from getting dirty easily
3	Sandra	I expect the knitting to go better. I feel it’s an insurance.
4	Rhonda	I don't use it because I don't want to clog up my knitting machine and have more cleaning.
5	Terri	I think it would gum up my carriages, and not worth that . Also knitted piece would be harder to block
6	Carolyn	If the yarn gives me trouble, I wax it.
7	Diane	Ignorance is bliss!!
8	James	Haven't really thought about it.
9	Doreen	Some yarns it helps move a bit more quickly.
10	Lyn	Never thought about it. Just doing what I was taught 40 years ago. Won't be so fussy about it in the future.
11	Ruth	Always use it. Sometimes wax twice.
12	Nancy	Can't hurt.
13	Dawn	Never have used, probably won't ever.
14	Heather	sounds interesting but with todays yarns is this really necessary
15	Mary Ann	I think it allows the yarn to go through the machine easily.
16	Desiree	gets in the way
17	Nara	I understand WHY you would use it but as I tend to knit with high end yarns (silk, alpaca) that don’t have naturally occurring lanolin I would worry that wax would damage the final product.
18	Doris	I don’t know about it
19	Pia	I use paraffin, but i think much of it fall off, an then i have it all over the machine.
20	Lynda	Knits better. Always wax my yarn.
21	Machteld	I'd never tried it... but maybe, I have some old yarn, I can try it...
22	Sherry	It’s a last resort, when I can’t figure out what else might be wrong.
23	Sue	I only use it if required, if the owner is not eating properly, or a five and something to reuse the yard
24	Ruthanne (Annie)	was taught-to use was.but if I can not find my wax I do bit use it
25	carolyn	I am not sure.
26	Judy	It helps at times.
27	Cherie	Wanting to learn more to help me make an informed choice. I have not used it before, but if I know more about why it might be useful, I will give it a try.
28	Penny	I use it to help with yarn flow some yarns need it others not so much. It is a "It depends" whether I use it or not.
29	Erin	I've noticed that the yarn does not flow as smoothly when I don't use wax.
30	Emma	I think it helps care for the machine.. I just hold a bit of wax in my hand and let the yarn run over it when winding into a cone. Easy as....
31	Barbara	I have a lot of old yarn upstairs. I might try it but its not planned for anything wearable but lap afghans where gauge may not be so crucial. It might be more pleasant to use. Little cat afghans for the shelter to.
32	Alexandra	Hard to do on a Singer machine.
33	Kathy	Not even sure where to buy the wax.
34	Joan	Waxing makes a huge difference to some yards, particularly going through the ribber. I have found with cotton it lessens the headache of checking that every stitch has knitted through; end stitches are particularly vulnerable and it looks unsightly if you miss them.
35	Sharon	If knitting is more of a wrestling match than an enjoyable or at least satisfying experience, then I'd consider waxing the yarn.
36	Gail	I haven’t experienced a need. I use 100% Alpaca from my herd. Our State Alpaca organization has a newly formed Fiber Pool so I also use 100% from multiple herds. Finally I import from Peru large cones without issue.
37	Jilly	New to machine knitting and have never tried it.
38	Lynne	It rarely needs it. But hand-knitting yarns sometimes do.
39	Melody	i really have no opinion because i have never used it.
40	Jared	Always use, especially if the yarn is hairy!
41	Teresa	I mainly use cone yarn for machine knitting so don't feel the need to add additional wax. Also the Silver Reed yarn masts doesn't have the same facility as Brother to hold the wax in place so it could be fiddly.
42	amrie	Never noticed a difference between no wax and wax.
43	Carolyn	I think it would eventually coat the needles and yarn feeders, so seems like potential trouble.
44	Susanne	It is so much easier to knit! If knitting without waxing it sounds „metallic“ and pushing the carriage is harder.
45	Suzanne	Could wax if the yarn is troublesome. I'm aware of how to do it.
46	Margaret	There’s a place for wax on the tension and I don’t like leaving it empty It really doesn’t seem to make a difference with how smoothly the yarn runs into the machine but I use it anyway
47	Ann	I would consider it in problem yarn circumstances. So far I have not had any problems without wax.
48	Jan	I recently knitted a half fishermans rib in merino. It did go better when I waxed.
49	Hope	I didn't know about it. It is good to know that it might help with a difficult yarn.
50	Janet	I was using a cotton yarn and it was giving me a fit. The supplier told me to spray it with furniture wax. I did that, and it ran through the machine very easily. Most of the time I use a small cake of wax on the wax holder.
51	Paula	I find it knits smoothly
52	Jenny M	It can be necessary with some non-coned yarns if static proves to be a problem but I only use it very rarely nowadays.
53	Venita	Even with humidifiers and standing water, our home is very dry and static electricity is always there. Consequently, I use wax on every project. I also periodically use static guard in my yarn bowl. Witihout waxing the yarn tangles and wads. Waxing keeps my knitting sane.
54	Iris	There is only one wax holder on my tension mast which I never take out. I put the main colour there but a second colour without the wax does not knit any differently that I've noticed.
55	Kathy	I was taught to use it so I do. I also thought it helped with static if that is a problem in your area.
56	Jean	I actually prefer spray silicon
57	Cathie	I wish I could remember to do it when I make my yarn cakes. I am quite interested in the 3D printed wax holder for mk. I need to know where to source the wax cylinders though.
58	Else-Karin	good
59	Marianne	If using cones, never If using hand knitting balls, wax when winding it up when I don't forget
60	LESLEY	I don't wax coned yarn. I wax some hand knitting yarn for the machine and some sock yarns before rewinding for knitting the knitting machine.
61	Hélène	I don't know what happens if I don't sax ! I was instructed to wax, so I sax !
62	Ellen	use for handknitting yarns
63	tamzyn	I only use it when I am having issues with the yarn.
64	Angela	I prefer to use natural fibres whenever possible and don’t want wax on the garments. Hence I never wax. Thanks for inviting my 2cents! Angela
65	Carolyn	I always notice it make the yarn run smoother, easier.
66	Sharon	If the yarn is old or feels dry i will rewind it using wax as I wind. Also if it is causing as lot of static and not knitting well, I rewind it using wax
67	Donna	I believe it moves through the tension areas much easier. I also believe it reduces any tangling while working with it. My theory is that the miniscule amount of wax coats the fibers and add just a bit more 'body' to the strand. I know it keeps the halo that some yarns have under control - less flying bits of fluff around. I use a professional yarn manufacturing 'wax' spray which is applied slightly to the cone/cake of yarn before using. One spritz and it's good!
68	Juliet	Only for fuzzy yarns and some handspun yarns that are misbehaving.
69	Lara	I'll occasionally forget & set up wax to try it but it never seems like it makes any difference.
70	Henna	Many cones are allready waxed, the knitting seems a bit more relaxed. But not very different. I like your 2 cents, they seem a good guideline for yarns that come in unwaxed.
71	Linda	hard to find wax that fits on my wax post
72	Silvana	I find that it does help with making it easier to knit, but it does depend on the yarn as well.
73	Lorraine	I'm not industrial knitting. I don't speed through and often my yarns have nubs or slubs or eyelashes or sequins - so I wouldn't want them 'coated' to mar the finish. I tried it on a passap and it was just an extra step that didn't seem necessary. However, having said that - it all depends on what you knit and how fast - one size does NOT fit ALL!
74	Mary	It definitely helps the knitting go smoothly, especially in winter and takes so little extra effort, so why not?
75	Tina	I tried it once, while knitting and had wax-grease all over the table and machine. It was a mess. Did it knit better? I did not se the difference.
76	Marjorie	Uncharted . I have started using a spray treatment when I have static problems. Trying to remove wax from garments or table cloths that have had waxed dripped on them, makes me scared to intentionally put wax on a garment. I can't see how it would just soak out.
77	Yanna	I have Standard Brother machine, and prefer to work with cons. Waxing helps a lot. Knitting is smoother. It is easy to work with thick yarn. There are less possibilities to broke needles or got the carriage stuck. I think working with balls or hanks requires extra waxing.
78	An	I’m afraid to dirty the machine with too much paraffin
79	Jane	Necessary when using hand knit yarns on the machine and never hurts to run machine knit yarns under a wax disc.
80	Sue J	I've never seen the need for wax

9 COMMENTS

Cherie S
Feb 9, 2023

For t those that know about using and have used wax, does it help prevent the yarn from untwisting?

nosub n
Feb 8, 2023

Check the list above for more comments

Rebecca H
Feb 8, 2023

And a side note fun observation...So far all replies are from users with a last name starting with H.

Rebecca H
Feb 8, 2023

I have never used wax but am new to machine knitting. I'm interested in what experienced knitters have to say about using wax.

Lynda M
Feb 8, 2023

Interesting to learn.

Cherie S
Feb 7, 2023

I'd like to learn more so that I fully understand the pros and cons.

Carolyn B
Feb 7, 2023

I do notice the difference...when I've felt things weren't smoothly running I notice I haven't put the yarn over any wax. I do notice the difference and this is with quality Merino yarn.

Sharon G
Feb 7, 2023

It's good to know

Henna B
Feb 7, 2023

It is good to know that in some instances it might help

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