How to Knit a Drawstring Skirt on a Sentro Knitting Machine: A Complete Step-by-Step Tutorial

If you’ve been circling the world of circular knitting machines lately, you’ve probably already fallen a little bit in love with your Sentro. These compact, affordable machines have completely changed the game for hobby knitters who want to create garments without spending hundreds of hours on hand knitting. And one of the most satisfying projects you can make on a Sentro? A drawstring skirt.

A drawstring skirt is the perfect beginner-to-intermediate Sentro project. It’s forgiving in terms of fit, endlessly customizable, and genuinely wearable once you’re finished. Whether you want a cozy chunky skirt in a neutral wool blend or a lightweight, flowy piece in cotton or bamboo yarn, the Sentro knitting machine can get you there faster than you might think.

In this tutorial, we’re going to walk through everything: the yarn you’ll need, how to set up your machine, how to knit the body of the skirt, how to create the waistband and drawstring channel, how to finish the hem, and some tips for customizing the look to make it completely your own.

What Is a Sentro Knitting Machine?

Before we dive into the project itself, let’s quickly talk about the machine you’ll be using. The Sentro knitting machine (also sold under similar brand names like Addi Express or generic versions on Amazon) is a circular knitting machine with a ring of small plastic needles. Depending on the model, it typically comes in 22-needle, 40-needle, or 48-needle versions.

For a skirt, you’ll want the 40-needle or 48-needle version. These give you a wider tube of fabric, which is essential for a wearable garment. If you only have a 22-needle machine, you can still make a skirt, but you’ll need to seam panels together — which is doable, just a different process.

The Sentro works by rotating a handle (or using a motorized attachment) while the yarn feeds through the needles, creating a continuous knit tube. It’s satisfying, fast, and once you get the rhythm going, almost meditative.

Materials You’ll Need

Getting your materials together before you start will make the whole process smoother. Here’s what to have on hand.

Yarn: For a beginner-friendly drawstring skirt, look for a worsted weight or DK weight yarn. You’ll need approximately 400–700 yards depending on the desired length and your machine’s stitch gauge. Acrylic yarns are great for washability and come in beautiful colors. Cotton blends work well for a skirt you want to wear in warmer months. Avoid anything too slippery or too thick at first — fine silk or bulky roving can be tricky on the Sentro.

The Sentro Knitting Machine: 40 or 48 needles. Make sure all your needles are in good working order before you start. A bent or missing needle will cause dropped stitches.

Elastic or ribbon for the drawstring: You’ll want either a half-inch wide elastic band cut to fit your waist, or a length of ribbon, cord, or even a strip of self-made i-cord to use as the actual drawstring.

Yarn needle: For weaving in ends and seaming if necessary.

Scissors.

Stitch markers or safety pins.

A tape measure.

Optional — a crochet hook: Useful for picking up dropped stitches or helping with the cast-on.

Understanding Gauge on the Sentro

Gauge matters more than people initially realize. Before you dive into your full skirt, spend fifteen minutes doing a small gauge swatch. Knit about 20–30 rows on your machine, remove the swatch, and let it relax. Then measure: how many stitches per inch? How many rows per inch?

A typical Sentro with worsted weight yarn runs at about 3–4 stitches per inch in the round. But this varies based on your yarn weight, yarn fiber, and even the tension dial setting on your machine.

Once you know your gauge, you can calculate exactly how long you need to knit to reach your target skirt length. For example, if your gauge is 4 rows per inch and you want a skirt that’s 20 inches long (excluding the waistband), you’ll need to knit approximately 80 rows for the body.

Calculating Skirt Length and Circumference

Here’s one of the beautiful things about a drawstring skirt: the circumference of the tube coming off the Sentro doesn’t need to perfectly match your hip measurement. The drawstring waistband gathers the fabric, which means your skirt can be wider at the hip and gathered at the waist.

A 40-needle Sentro at worsted gauge will typically produce a tube with a circumference of about 20–24 inches unstretched. When you fold the waistband over and use a drawstring, you can gather it down to fit almost any waist size. This is one of the reasons the drawstring skirt is such a smart first garment project.

For skirt length, a mini skirt runs about 14–16 inches from waistband to hem. A knee-length skirt runs 22–26 inches. A midi skirt can go up to 30–38 inches. Add about 2–3 inches to your desired finished length to account for the folded waistband at the top.

Setting Up Your Sentro Knitting Machine

Start by making sure your machine is securely clamped to a table. The Sentro can walk around while you’re cranking if it’s not properly anchored, and that leads to tension inconsistencies and frustration.

Check every single needle before you begin. Run your finger gently around the needle ring to feel for any bent hooks. Replace any damaged needles — most Sentro machines come with extras, and spares are inexpensive to order.

Thread your yarn through the tension arm and the feeder guide as directed in your machine’s manual. Leave a tail of about 8–10 inches hanging down through the center of the machine. This tail will be used to weight your cast-on and help prevent the first rows from slipping off.

Casting On

Casting on the Sentro is one of those things that feels awkward the first time and then becomes second nature. Here’s the basic method:

Hold your yarn tail through the center hole of the machine and turn the handle slowly — usually clockwise — while guiding the working yarn gently into the needle hooks. Go around the full circle once to place the yarn onto all 40 (or 48) needles. This is your cast-on row.

After your first pass, pull the yarn tail gently downward through the center to add tension. Some knitters attach a small weight to the tail at this point. This downward tension is critical for the first several rows — without it, the stitches won’t form properly.

Continue cranking, slowly and evenly, for the first 5–10 rows. These initial rows are the trickiest. The fabric is short, the tension is uncertain, and dropped stitches are most likely here. Keep your speed consistent and don’t rush.

Once you have about 10 rows of fabric hanging down inside the machine, you’ll feel the process stabilize. The weight of the fabric itself helps maintain tension, and the stitches will start forming more reliably.

Knitting the Waistband Channel

The waistband drawstring channel is what makes this skirt functional and adjustable. There are a few ways to create it, and here’s a clean approach that works well on the Sentro.

After your cast-on stabilizes, knit approximately 20–25 rows in your main color. This creates a tube at the top of the skirt. When you fold this tube over (turning it inside on itself), it forms a casing for your elastic or drawstring cord.

Before you fold it, you’ll need to create the drawstring opening. This is done off the machine — after you’ve completed the skirt and removed it. We’ll come back to this in the finishing section. For now, just know that those first 20–25 rows will become your waistband, and you should keep them fairly neat and even.

If you want a more defined waistband with visible structure, you can knit 10 rows, drop all stitches from the machine, pick them back up for a fold-over point, then continue. This creates an actual fold line. This technique takes a little more confidence with the machine but gives a neater result.

Knitting the Body of the Skirt

With your waistband rows done, continue cranking to build the body of the skirt. This is the long, satisfying middle section where you can relax into the rhythm of the machine.

If you’re knitting a solid color skirt, there’s not much to think about here. Just keep your tension consistent, check periodically that no stitches have dropped, and count your rows.

If you want stripes, color changes on the Sentro are simple. When you want to switch colors, stop cranking, cut your current yarn (leaving a tail), and tie your new yarn to the old tail near the feeder. Pull the new yarn through the tension arm and feeder guide, and continue cranking. After a few rows, the color change will appear clearly in the fabric. Weave in your ends later.

For a textured effect, some knitters alternate between two strands held together for sections, then switch to a single strand. This creates interesting thick-and-thin banding in the skirt body. You can also experiment with different yarn weights for subtle texture shifts.

Keep knitting until your skirt body is the length you planned, minus the waistband rows you’ve already done. Check your length by carefully removing the fabric from the machine (without casting off yet) and holding it against your body or measuring it flat.

Casting Off

When you’ve reached your desired length, it’s time to cast off. The basic bind-off on a Sentro involves knitting one more slow row, then carefully lifting each stitch off its needle and passing it over the next.

A neater method that many Sentro knitters love is the latch-hook bind-off. You’ll go around the needle ring with a latch hook tool (or a crochet hook), lifting each stitch off its needle and pulling the next stitch through it. This creates a stretchy, clean edge that looks professional.

Work slowly here. Rushing the bind-off leads to uneven tension. When you’ve worked all the way around and removed all stitches from the machine, pull your yarn tail through the final loop to secure it.

Finishing the Hem

The hem of a knitted tube naturally wants to curl (especially in stockinette, which is what the Sentro produces by default). For a skirt, you have a few options.

You can leave the curl as a design feature — a slightly rolled hem looks intentional and casual on a short mini skirt style.

You can fold the hem up about an inch, pin it, and use a yarn needle to whipstitch or mattress stitch it in place. This creates a clean, flat hem.

You can also crochet a border around the hem — a few rows of single crochet will add structure and stop the curl entirely, and it’s a nice opportunity to add a contrasting color detail.

For a slightly flared hem, try wet blocking the finished skirt. Soak it in lukewarm water, gently press out the water (don’t wring), and lay it flat. You can gently stretch the bottom edge outward as it dries to encourage a flared shape.

Creating the Drawstring Opening and Inserting the Cord

Once your skirt is off the machine and the hem is finished, go back to the waistband section. You’re going to fold those top 20–25 rows over to the inside of the skirt, creating the drawstring casing. Before you fold and sew, use a seam ripper or scissors to carefully open a small horizontal gap in the fabric at the fold point — just large enough to thread your cord or elastic through. Open one stitch or cut one yarn loop at the seam point, reinforcing the edges with a tiny bit of whipstitching so it doesn’t unravel.

Fold the waistband tube over and pin it to the inside of the skirt. Using your yarn needle and a length of matching yarn, stitch the folded edge down all the way around, leaving your drawstring opening accessible.

Thread your elastic or ribbon through the casing using a safety pin attached to one end. Work it all the way around. If you’re using elastic, overlap the ends by about an inch and sew them together securely. If you’re using a ribbon or cord, bring both ends out through the opening, tie them into a bow or knot, and you’re done.

Tips for Customizing Your Sentro Drawstring Skirt

The basic pattern above gives you a clean, classic silhouette, but there are so many ways to personalize it.

Add a ruffle at the hem. After binding off the main skirt body, pick up stitches around the hem and knit additional rows that increase gradually. On the Sentro, you can achieve this by adding yarn overs or using a larger needle machine for the ruffle section.

Try a colorblock design. Divide your skirt length into thirds or halves and use different colors for each section. This looks bold and intentional and is very much on-trend.

Add pockets. Off-machine, you can knit two small rectangular pocket pouches and hand-stitch them to the inside of the skirt at hip level. Slide them inside the tube and stitch them to the interior fabric. Hidden pockets in a handmade skirt feel like a luxury.

Experiment with yarn texture. A boucle yarn adds immediate visual interest. A self-striping or gradient yarn does all the color work for you automatically as you crank.

Vary the length seasonally. Knit the same basic pattern in a cotton-linen blend at mini length for summer and in a chunky wool at midi length for winter. You’ll have a capsule wardrobe piece that works year-round.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Dropped stitches: The most common Sentro problem. If you see a ladder forming in your fabric, stop immediately. Use a crochet hook to pick the dropped stitch back up through the ladder rungs before continuing.

Uneven tension: Usually caused by cranking at inconsistent speeds or holding the yarn too tightly as it feeds. Practice a steady, smooth cranking rhythm.

The knitting won’t come off the machine cleanly: Make sure you’ve completed a full bind-off row. If stitches are sticking, the needles may need a tiny amount of machine oil applied with a cotton swab.

The skirt is too short: It’s easier to add length before binding off than to add it after, so measure periodically as you go. If you’ve already bound off, you can pick up stitches along the hem and knit additional rows flat or seam on an extra panel.

The waistband channel is too narrow for the elastic: Simply sew the casing edge lower down on the skirt, giving yourself more fabric height for a wider channel.

Final Thoughts

Making a drawstring skirt on your Sentro knitting machine is one of those projects that genuinely delivers on its promise. It’s achievable in a weekend, it teaches you skills that apply to nearly every other garment you’ll want to make, and the finished piece is something you’ll actually wear.

The Sentro is a tool that rewards patience and consistency. The more you use it, the more intuitive the tension becomes, the faster your hands move, and the more ambitious your project ideas grow. A drawstring skirt is a wonderful foundation — once you’ve made one, you’ll see clearly how to modify the basic tube-knitting principle into everything from dresses to bags to sweater bodies.

So gather your yarn, clamp down your machine, and start cranking. Your handmade drawstring skirt is closer than you think.