Dropped stitches

Tension

• When the tension is too low on the side yarn tensioner, this can result in dropped stitches at the right edge of your knit.

Broken yarn or needle

• If there are holes in the middle of your knit, you might have a problem with either a needle, the tension or the yarn. 
• When the holes mostly occur in the same place, check if all needles that knitted that area are in good condition (broken, bent or the latch got stuck - see 'Finding a broken needle' to check the differences)
• If they seem good, there might be a problem with the tension.
• Release a bit of tension in the top yarn control unit, or decrease the pressure from the brake discs a little.
• If none of this works, the problem could be with the yarn you’re using.
• Perhaps it is too brittle or stiff to be knitted, please check with your supplier to find out more.
• The stitch length could be too tight or too large (that depends on the pattern) so the yarn breaks (too small stitch length) in some parts or the stitch gets dropped (too large). Every stitch and yarn type requires a different stitch length which needs to be adjusted in the software.

Adjusting feeder height and position

• Another cause to be having dropped stitches could be an incorrect feeder height. To adjust the feeders we use the needle bed plate as a guide.
• The correct height is with the feeder's tip slightly touching the plate.
• If a feeder needs adjusting, loosen the indicated screw and lower the feeder carefully to the desired position.
• If the centeredness of the yarn carrier is not aligned appropriately it should be adjusted. This is approximately how they should be:

Brushes

• A wrong position of brushes can also cause stitches to drop. Brushes should be set parallel to the carriage and around 1mm (max 2mm) between the end of the brush and the needle bed, as is in the picture below. We call this, position A.

• It is also important how brushes are placed regarding the needles coming out. One way to adjust this is by placing the brush just so the heads of the needles stick out through the other side of the brush, as seen in the pictures below. We call this, position B.

• You can adjust these two positions by loosening the black screws slightly: For position A, a 3mm hex key is required. For position B, a 4mm hex key is required. Note that to adjust position A, it is necessary to remove the brush to be able to access the screws.

• Check the state of your brushes. As they age, the brittles in the middle get shorter, which can cause knit failures, particularly transfers. Brushes will need to be replaced approximately once a year, depending on how intense your machine use is.