Brother KH-552 / KH-588 Knitting Machines Repair Manual OEM

• Primary coverage is the KH-588, with an explicit KH-552 applicability note: the weaving and automatic-lace chapters do not apply to the KH-552. The accessory inventory is identified as KH-588-only, while individual captions distinguish 580, 585, and 588 hardware.
• Walks through table clamping, carrying-case unpacking, carriage and sinker-plate installation, row-counter mounting, accessory-tray fitment, automatic yarn-tension unit assembly, yarn winding, waxing, and threading.
• Explains needle positions and the carriage's Holding Cam Levers, PLAIN/PART/TUCK buttons, and model-specific change controls, then connects them to the pattern center, needle-selector buttons, reverse lever, slide dial, set lever, and weaving settings.
• Covers open, automatic, and hand cast-ons; plain, elastic, picot, double-rib, and 2 x 1 rib hems; casting off; waste-yarn removal; dropped-stitch pickup; and transfer to hand-knitting needles.
• Details edge and center increases and decreases, fully fashioned shaping, short rows, V-neck, round-neck, and square-neck construction, small, medium, and vertical buttonholes, pockets, and transfer-tool techniques.
• Provides chart-reading guidance and worked control settings for holding patterns, one-color texture, two-color Fair Isle, weaving, and automatic lace, including L-carriage fitting and jam recovery.
• Includes main-carriage jam recovery, cleaning and oiling points, bent or broken needle replacement, weaving-brush removal, packing instructions, and worked patterns for a child's twin set and a man's fully fashioned polo-neck sweater.

Model Coverage and Machine Setup

This 66-page PDF is an illustrated operating and knitting-technique manual rather than a full workshop repair manual. The illustrations use the KH-588 as the reference machine. For the KH-552, the title page specifically excludes the “How to Weave on Your Machine” and “Automatic Lace Patterns” material on manual pages 45-55. Other model callouts separate the 580/585 weaving levers from the KH-588 change knob and identify the L carriage for 585/588 Lacemaker machines. Those distinctions are useful when the controls on the machine do not match the main photographs exactly.

The opening parts plate labels the machine, carriage, pattern center, needle bed, row counter, automatic yarn-tension unit, auxiliary rail, cast-on combs, transfer tools, needle pushers, L carriage, color weights, and routine maintenance items. Since the manual states that this accessory inventory is for the 588 only, it should not be treated as a guaranteed checklist for a KH-552.

Pattern Control and Garment Construction

The pattern-center section does more than show finished fabric. It explains how the chart columns correspond to carriage direction, row repeats, yarn color, tension, left and right H.C.L. positions, carriage buttons, change-knob or change-lever position, needle selection, weaving settings, and the slide dial. Worked charts cover holding designs, a one-color diamond stitch, Fair Isle, woven effects, and lace.

Useful reference illustrations include the labeled machine-and-accessory plate, the five-position needle-alignment diagram, the stitch-formation sequence, the pattern-chart-to-control map, the Fair-Isle latch diagram, and the L-carriage needle-spacing and jam drawings. The garment sections then apply the same controls to hems, shaping, raglan work, necklines, pockets, buttonholes, sleeves, and final assembly.

The manual contains sample pattern charts and two worked garments, but the large book advertised as containing more than 1,200 pattern stitches is a separate publication and is not part of this PDF.

Maintenance, Repair Scope, and Operating Cautions

Owner-level repair coverage centers on clearing a stopped main carriage or L carriage, replacing a bent or broken needle, removing the weaving brushes, and keeping the needle bed and carriage rails clean and lightly oiled. It does not provide internal carriage repair, needle-bed rebuilding, component torque tables, mechanical tolerances, or other workshop-overhaul data. A separate service leaflet is referenced for minor adjustments and service information, but that leaflet is not included here.

Two setup cautions are especially important. The raised studs must engage the sinker-plate holes correctly before the carriage is run, and the carriage should not cross the bed unless the needles are aligned in one of the indexed positions. The lace section also warns against bringing adjacent needles forward together. These checks are intended to avoid carriage jams, bent needles, failed transfers, and dropped stitches. Do not force a jammed carriage; use the manual's dedicated recovery section for the carriage involved.