Tuck lace trims and fabrics 3

The term lace is often used in publications to refer to fabrics created with techniques other than the familiar hand or machine stitch transfers. In turn, the ribber may be added to working most of the fabrics with varying degrees of complexity. Some variations are possible only on specific machine brands, at times possible in others with adaptation and addition of other techniques. Many combination fabrics may be achieved, mixing carriage settings or adding hand techniques. A list of common terms applied to “lace” that include tuck patterning:
Hand transfers: used to create eyelets, possibly in combination with pattern stitches out of work, and moving stitches singly or in groups
Tuck and lace: transfers combined with tuck stitch patterning
“Lace like patterns”: possible in machines such as Brother and Passap, which allow for the same stitches tucking in one direction, slipping on the return of the knit carriage to its starting side. It matters which function leads in the pattern
Tuck lace: tuck setting in both directions with specific needles out of work
Ladder Lace: worked with columns created by needles left out of work, tuck being an option in the knit portions
Punch tuck rib: every needle rib combined with tucking pattern on the knit bed Drive/ drop stitch lace: stitches start on either of the 2 beds, loops are picked up and dropped on the opposite bed
A list of the headings for most of the tuck stitch variants covered in my posts is now added to the start of my blog index

Once a stitch has been tested,  unusual yarns, including wire may be used Getting back to basics: a punchcard sometimes supplied in factory packs provided with machine purchases, is shown here in 1/3 of the minimum 36-row card repeat, while the minimum electronic repeat is outlined in red, measures 4 stitches by 4 rows Adding needles out of work by simply choosing to cast on and working on every other needle it does not matter whether even or odd needles are in use, the pattern will be identical but simply shifted over by one needle. For frequent color changes, make the first preselection row toward the color changer to start with, keep notes as to where the repeat color selections happen as experiments are expanded, evaluate color choice as a third or even fourth color are introduced Though casting on and binding off both need to be considered for extra width, having sections of the repeat knitting in plain knit will help sort the needle arrangement and loop structures when tucked knits appear similar-looking    The repeat on any tuck row can help test the number of rows a particular yarn will allow before the number of loops in the needle hooks become too many to knit off well. The added texture, or elimination of any, could be used in borders or occasional horizontal portions of the knit Some of the concepts in the visualization of more deliberate color placement through charting was discussed in the post: Single bed tuck and slip stitch fabrics 2: adding color
A starting repeat from a Pinterest image inspiration: the blue yarn will knit on every needle the third tuck row on the machine the fourth tuck row with needle preselection for the first all knit blue row one blue row knit Accommodating those blocks of knit stitches in the pin also changes the repeat to six stitches by 6 rows, making it usable on punchcard machines as well Two from one: the same tuck repeat was altered by changing the needle out of work arrangements. Slub yarn may be used but changes the value of the lines formed by the floats created in the needles out of work gaps. In my classes, I encouraged students to create long swatches testing out their patterns in a variety of stitch types with color changes as well. Thet can serve as a visual reference to duplicate effects when time has passed. Here the tuck pattern, not suitable for FI at all, is tested as DBJ, followed by needle transfers between beds and adding the tuck setting. There is a dramatic difference in width, the wool yarn has a lot of “spring”, wanting to narrow when at rest The self-designed stitch structures may be further changed visually and complicated in terms of execution by adding changes to the ribber setting so that it does not knit every rowPublications for electronic machines do not always include pertinent instructions, but they will include out of work needle diagrams below each appropriate repeat. The gray cells represent white squares, which correspond to non-selected needles but also in this case to out-of-work needle position areas where open spaces are created. The 4, 6, 8 stitch repeats are also usable in punchcard machines. These are from the Stitchworld pattern book, all with the exception of 282 are to be used with needles out of work

“Crochet” meets machine knitting techniques: working with short rows 2

Some previous posts exploring hand techniques that might be considered to fall in this family of stitches:
“Crochet” meets machine knitting techniques: tuck lace trims and fabrics 1
“Crochet” meets machine knitting techniques: tuck lace trims or fabrics 2
“Crochet” meets machine knitting techniques: working with “chains”
Search for “wisteria”
“Crochet” meets machine knitting techniques: working with short rows 1, June 2017 began to explore some of the fabrics presented in this category in a Portuguese language publication I do not speak or read the language, so my swatches are best guess efforts at producing similar knits.
2022: In the latest Mac OS 12, an interesting feature is available now, but not at the time of the original writing of this post.
A: choose the design, in this case, #2, screen grab the image, import it into photos
B: open the image, position the pointer over the text, left click and drag to select the desired text
C: control-click on the selection, choose translate text, and then choose a language. If a specific language selection is not made, the mac translates automatically into the preferred language for your region
D: click and choose copy translation to copy it to clipboard for saving into a document ie Text Edit so that it may be saved for later use or printed if desired
The result offers a starting point but is in need of added editing
1% Career: You weave from right to left.
A)Side of the Car, leave 4A at work and rest at rest. Tecer 6C.
B) On the opposite side car, put 2A to work (the 2A next to those that are
So at work). Weave 1C.
C) On the opposite side of the car, put 2A on rest. Weave 5C. Car is saying-
Ta.
D) Continuously repeat items B and C until the carrera is finished. Do you want to di-
Zer: until the last 2 points are left at work and, with these 2A weaving
6C, instead of 5 (car will be left).
28 Career: weaves from left to right,
C) Continuously repeat items A to D, or soybeans, after the career or
The car will be on the right, fI
Continuously repeat the 19th and 28th career, 

Guidelines at the beginning of the pub for #1, translated more slowly with added editing:
CLARIFICATION FOR THE EXECUTION OF THESE POINTS
A: in crochet stitches, the scheme is repeated across the entire width of the machine
B: in the “crochet ends”, braids and flowers, thread only the needles. Islands as indicated by the symbols in the scheme. Alternative: in crochet stitches of gallons and flowers thread the thread only on the needles as indicated in the diagram symbols
C: when starting to weave the car must always be on the right side unless the symbols in the scheme indicate otherwise, for example, crochet stitch #9
D: in crochet stitches count a career whenever the tip of the wire stays at the other end of the machine
E: the tension must be adjusted according to the stitch and thickness of the thread to be used, in general voltages 1-3 are used.”
Some familiarity with larger-scale patterns in this family can help visually with duplicating them independent of the written original language directions.
These fabrics share common hand technique movements across rows, singly, or in pairs. Similar structures are not presented in numerical order in the pub but will be here.
The yarn choice makes a critical difference both in managing the knitting and in how blocking, or not, affects the finished fabric. The knit carriage travels many times across each stitch as the technique is worked, with possibly pilling, so softly spun yarns should be avoided.
Clean the machine of any leftover fibers, while avoiding over-oiling which may leave dark streaks in the finished product.
Cast-ons and bind-offs need to be very loose to compensate for the fact that the completed knit will have considerable sideways stretch. Chain cast on 2 in work, 2 out of work, end with 2 needles in work
bring all stitches out to hold except for the first 2 stitches on the right
COR knit 8 rows
push adjacent pair of needles away from the carriage into work position, knit a row to left
COL bring the previously knit pair of needles out to hold
knit 7 rows, end COR
bring adjacent pair of needles opposite carriage into work, knit a row to left, end COL
COL when the last pair of needles is returned to work knit 8 rows
reverse shaping: bring the second pair of needles on left into work, knit a row, push the first pair of needles out to hold, and continue the process for the desired length
The yarn used is a 6X18 rayon, a “no memory” yarn that changes considerably with pressing. The arrows mark an operator error in tracking the sequence, the top and bottom edges are obviously narrower than the resulting mesh.  Number 11 is a close relative but worked on every other needle The rayon used in the previous sample, and a 2/8 wool, were less successful than a 2/11 acrylic in knitting the swatch. The stitches need to be as tight as possible while also needing to be able to knit off properly
make a very loose chain cast-on on an even number of needles, then drop every other chain, taking every other needle completely out of work, and ending with a needle in work
bring all stitches out to hold except for the first stitch on the right
I believe the directions are given for knitting only 2 passes, I preferred the look with the count doubled to 4, so, COR knit 4 rows
push adjacent needle away from the carriage into work position, knit a row to left
COL bring the previously knit pair of needles out to hold
knit 3 rows, end COR
bring adjacent pair of needles opposite carriage into work, knit a row to left, end COL, knit 3 rows
COL when the last pair of needles is returned to work knit 4 rows, continue with
reverse shaping: bring the second pair of needles on left into work, knit a row, push the first needles out to hold, and continue the process for the desired length
In the top part of the swatch I knit 8 rows at starting and ending sequences, feeling the sides were tight, 6 may be the best answer
bing off very loosely after the last stitch is worked for 4 rows
The same directions apply in this instance, the first sample worked with no needles out of work I added 3 chains between cast-on and bound-off stitches, making for a better top and bottom edge. The difference in width is highlighted on the bottom right, where I missed doing so between two stitches. At the end of each row, prior to reversing direction, I knit 6 rows rather than 4, ending with 4 rows only on the last needle prior to binding off. The swatch was not steamed or pressed.
This knit begins on every needle I cast on chaining over 2 needles, followed by two extra chains where the ladder is expected, cast-off also with two extra chains in ladder spaces. The knit sequence is similar to the previous swatch, but needles are now moved in pairs
COR work first 2 stitches for 2 rows
push two needles on left into work, knit one row to left
COL *push the first 2 stitches to hold, knit one row to the right
COR bring the next two stitches on the left into work, knit one row to left
COL push previous 2 stitches to hold, knit one row to the right**
bring 2 stitches on left into work knit one row to left,
repeat across the row
when the last pair of stitches are left, COL knit two rows on them, and reverse shaping. Ending each sequence with two knit rows will produce fairly straight sides, knitting four rows on end stitches, except prior to binding off,  may echo the movement of the in-between spaces and make the ladders at the sides more visible Eliminating those ladders or floats, here eyelets are created where stitches are held for two rows. Care needs to be taken if stitches are dropped or other patterning errors are made in order to retain the correct pattern. Cast on and bind in this instance were executed with single chains added in between those on needles in work.
Version 1:
COR with the first 2 needles in work, knit 2 rows
COR bring one needle on left into work, knit 1 row
COL bring one needle out to hold opposite carriage, knit one row
COR bring one needle on left into work, knit 1 row
COL bring one needle out to hold opposite carriage, knit one row
repeat until there are 2 needles left in work, knit 2 rows
reverse shaping
end with 2 rows knit on the last pair of stitches before binding off
Version 2 adds 2 rows knit on every needle between holding pattern reversals, the fabric grows in length far more quickly
Cast on from left to right on every needle
COR knit 2 rows, bring all needles except for the first 2 on the carriage side out to hold
COR with the first 2 needles in work, knit 2 rows
COR bring one needle on left into work, knit 1 row
COL bring one needle out to hold opposite carriage, knit one row
COR bring one needle on left into work, knit 1 row
COL bring one needle out to hold opposite carriage, knit one row
repeat until there are 2 needles left in work, knit 2 rows, end COL
COL push remaining needles into work, knit 2 rows on all needles
COL bring all needles except the first 2 on the left into work, knit 2 rows
reverse shaping, ending with 2 knit rows on the far right
COR push all needles into work, knit 2 rows on all needles
COR bring all needles out to hold except for the first 2 on the right
repeat all
end with 2 rows knit on the last pair of stitches before binding off

chain cast on 2 in work, 2 out of work, end with 2 needles in work
worked in 2 pairs, 4 needles at a time
COR knit 6 rows on the first two pairs of stitches on the right push pair of needles on the left into work knit one row push first 2 of needles out to hold knit 5 rows CORpush next pair on left into work, knit one row  push the third group  on  its right into hold position, knit 5 rows across remaining  4stitches bring a new group on left into work, knit one row
bring the pair to the far right out of work
repeat  process across row
when  the last pair of needles on the left is pushed back into work, knit one row
COL knit 10 rows, bring the third pair of needles into work, knit one rowPush the first pair of needles out to work, knit 5 rows, continue with reverse shaping.
If the pattern is to end on the right (or left), knit 6 rows on the last 4 stitches and stop, otherwise when the opposite side position is reached, knit 10 more rows before reversing and continuing in the pattern.
Tracking rows worked: 7 ladders are created in each space, 12 on each end. Depending on yarn and stitch size watch to see that even tension is maintained particularly on the first 2 stitches worked on each side.
The swatch is shown before and after some light pressing, the arrow marks some looser stitches on the side edge.

Latch tool cast on from left to right, chaining 4  in no needle, future ladder spaces
COR with the first 2 needles in work, knit 2 rows
COR bring the first needle on left into work, knit 1 row to the left on three stitches
COL bring the first needle of the previous pair on the right out to hold, knit one row to the right on two stitches
COR bring the closest needle on the left into work, knit 1 row on three stitches
COL bring the second needle of the previous pair on the right out to hold, knit one row on two stitches
repeat working on 3, then 2 stitch sequences until there are only 2 needles left in work, end COL
COL knit two rows, begin  reverse shaping by putting one needle into work on the right, knit one row on three needles
COR bring the first stitch on the far left out to work, knit one row on 2 needles
continue reverse shaping, ending with 2 needles in work on the far right
COR knit two rows on 2 stitches, repeat and continue the process until 2 stitches are left in work on the left, and reverse again
end fabric with 2 rows knit on last 2 stitches in work
latch tool bind off with chaining X 4 in ladder spaces
keep an eye on sequences, the floats are created in series of three, with experience knitting similar patterns, errors become easy to spot during is knitting Shell shapes: #4 and # 20 directions are given in the 2017 blog post Some of the trims in this pub may be far more easily and quickly executed using tuck stitches.

Gimp update for Mac 2

The latest Gimp update
2023: Threshold in version 2.10.34 is now disabled by default. To activate it or to add other tools ie curves to the tool menu, go to Gimp, Settings, and select Toolbox.
In the Tools Configuration Window,  active tools have a common icon to their left, new ones may be selected and added, I chose Threshold and Curves. After clicking  OK, a restart is not necessary, the new tools will appear immediately for use in the toolbox.  The curves tool enables editing for changing the color, brightness, contrast, or transparency of the active layer or a selection. While the Levels tool allows one to work on Shadows and Highlights, the Curves tool allows one to work in any range. It works on RGB images.
2022:The program now allows for setting pencil pixel sizes to odd and even numbers accurately, eliminating the need to save brushes for sizes missing in previous versions See color exchange notes using the new Fuzzy select tool as opposed to using Color Exchange
Notes in post Numbers and GIMP: online punchcard patterns to electronics 2 contain information on printing punchcard designs to scale for tracing and marking cards prior to punching holes.  2021: Prior to attempting color separations of any sort, it is useful to have some understanding of how black and white pixels or punched holes relate to knit/ tuck/ slip setting stitch formation and their effect in both single and double bed techniques.
A recent post explored the use of layers for color separations in Gimp. It is a reliable, quick way to execute them, especially on large images. As is often found, the same results may be reached in a variety of ways.
Coupling the use of the shift key with rectangle selection and working in high magnification offers additional options in Gimp.
While working on any gridded and magnified design motif use the rectangle tool to select the rows that will be altered, make the first selection, and after doing so press and hold the shift key, continue to select specific areas, and then choose color invert in this first instance and the action will be applied to all selected areas. If working on parts of the image at a time repeat the steps until the whole image has been processed. Release the shift key when done. The image is set by clicking anywhere in the window outside of it.
In the past, I have used red pixels in an extra column beside the repeat to mark rows that need to be altered. The column is cropped prior to saving the final png for download to the km. The step is not a necessary one.
This is an illustration from another post, where color inversion was planned in the repeat selections, each of which is surrounded by dotted lines that will disappear after they are set. The red cells will change color as well after inversion, making it easier to track the placement of completed choices A result from using the method on a large image may be found in the post on fantasy fair-isle.
In the above, they are on what may be thought of as even-numbered rows of the design. If the plan is to use Cut to eliminate those same rows, the red cells need to be shifted down to “odd-numbered” rows. From a repeat in development for a drop stitch lace design Working through the process with an easily recognized small shape, the often-used small triangle.  Scaling in Gimp can become erratic while working on several files.  Check that the interpolation is set to none if there appear to be odd scaling issues in the new image. When scaling in one direction only is intended, the chain link must be broken. At each step save the resulting png to make it available for further use ie additional scaling in height and width.  The results with the selection of even rows simply shift the result up a row Test in your version of the program to see whether releasing the shift key prior to making edits changes them. Either way, being consistent in the choice makes for less confusing results. Experimentation takes a matter of seconds.
Depending on your need the saved PNG may also be color reversed or scaled to double-length
using the rectangle tool, either odd or even rows may be chosen, remaining consistent for the height of the repeat in a scale to suit the end fabric goal. Here the original file is lengthened X2
working with the original file lengthened x4. The selections can happen on every row or every other, whether singly or in pairs. Note the difference between making the first selection on the first pair of rows or the second. 2021: Gimp update for Mac
Supported OS: macOS 10.9 Mavericks or over, to run 2.10.24 in my new iMac, M1, OS12, needed the installation of Rosetta. Rosetta 2 is an emulator designed to bridge the transition between Intel and Apple processors. In short, it translates apps built for Intel so they will run on Apple Silicon, more info 

The previous post on this topic: 2019/10/07/gimp-update-for-mac/
I have been spending more time exploring version 10.22 and am becoming more familiar with new features and design options. There are slight variations in behaviors depending on the Mac OS version. Windows updates happen more frequently. GIMP 2.10.24 for Mac OS is now available.
Gimp has a wide range of paint tools The most commonly used in creating repeats for knit designs are Pencil, Paintbrush, and Bucket Fill.
The Pencil tool is used to draw freehand lines with a hard edge. The main difference between it and the Paintbrush is that although both use the same type of brush, the pencil tool will not produce fuzzy edges.

Present experiments are placed in alphabetical order. Topics:
Brushes and patterns
Canvas resize, offset 

Colors exchange
Colors threshold see grid options
Grid options, Guides, Color separations
Symmetry Painting

BRUSHES AND PATTERNS
There are many very good videos on using multiple versions of GIMP on Youtube. Most focus on working with very large images in huge numbers of colors, and brushes or patterns in the tutorials are often larger than the maximum stitch count on our home knitting machines capable of electronic download and with needle counts of 180-200. In addition, punchcard machines have a 24-pixel width repeat constraint. The content of such published material and tutorials can be overwhelming, but isolated techniques for the required binary bit-mapped knit scale are easy to sort out.

Many knitters designing small repeats use very simple programs and enter pixels singly or copy and paste in small groups. Some simple, quick functions in Gimp can simplify and speed up progress considerably. Punchcard knitters may use the same techniques to set up their 24 x X custom length repeats and tile the results to visualize how they line up when knitted in multiples.
Some content paraphrased from the online Gimp manual: in GIMP, a pattern is a small image used to fill areas by placing copies side by side. You can use them with the bucket fill tool. They vary in size and are used for filling regions by tiling, that is, by placing copies of the pattern side by side like ceramic tiles. A pattern is said to be tileable if copies of it can be adjoined left-edge-to-right-edge and top-edge-to-bottom-edge without creating obvious seams, such patterns are used in standard knitting repeats. The same effect may be obtained by using the Filter, Map, Tile option on the drawn image.
With the bucket fill tool, you can choose to fill a region with a pattern instead of a solid color. To make a pattern available, place it in one of the folders in GIMP’s pattern search path which includes two folders, the system patterns folder, which you should not use or alter, and the patterns folder inside your personal GIMP directory. The .gbr (“gimp brush”) format is used for ordinary and color brushes. 
Photoshop ABR brushes are also easily imported for use.
Pressing the refresh button causes GIMP to rescan the folders in your pattern search path, adding any newly discovered patterns to the list. This button is useful if you add new patterns to a folder, and want to make them available without having to restart GIMP.
GIMP includes a set of 10 “paint tools”, which, except for the ink tool, use the same set of brushes. The brush pixmaps represent the marks that are made by single “touches” of the brush, which is desirable in working with knit scale bitmaps. Brushes can be selected by clicking on an icon in the brushes dialogue, the current brush is then shown in the Brush/Pattern/Gradient area of the Toolbox. Clicking on the brush symbol there is another way of activating the Brushes dialog.

When you use the Copy or Cut command on an image or a selection of it, a copy appears as a new brush in the upper left corner of the “Brushes” dialog. This brush will persist until you use the Copy command again. It disappears when you close GIMP.
Building a personal brush pattern library on Mac: open software preferences locate folders on the bottom left and click on the plus sign aside folders icon at the bottom left, it will change to a minus sign, and folders become visible select brushes, two options will appear. If a proper choice is made for the addition of pattern files, a green button will appear single click on the filing cabinet icon on the right,  a familiar Mac finder window will appear double click on the patterns folder, and its own window will appear,  right-click in the window below the last entry, a smaller window appears, choose the add new folder option. It will appear as “untitled”  and will be added to the existing folders, rename it “my brushes” or any other choice, and the new folder will be added within the brushes one Its place in the brushes list will be determined by its initial letter, the contents are in alphabetical order. For future use, any saved brush may be dragged and dropped into the named personal pattern folder icon, or into the folder after it has been expanded or opened in its own window. My opened brush folder After brushes are added, the refresh button below the brush dockable dialogue may bring them up without having to restart the program. After saving these 3 images as .gbr files and placing them in the appropriate folder they appear as available for use  To install .abr files on Mac:

create a new Photoshop folder within the Gimp Brushes one
Download the chosen files, drag and drop the images or folder from the downloads folder into the chosen Gimp one, they will be available after a Gimp restart
The free files I tested were very large in size, did not scale down to use for knitting cleanly, and even though they appeared to be BW they opened as RGBs making the conversion to BW indexed quite dithered. They are composed of assorted leaves and snowflakes. When exporting self-drawn brushes, the option is offered for adding spacing surrounding the shape, here a 10% addition was chosen Patterns may be saved in a similar way. Since GIMP 2.2 you can use .png, .jpg, .bmp, .gif, or .tiff files as patterns.
Saving patterns from large to tiny may be achieved using the same method as in saving brushes. To save personal patterns, instead of choosing the file cabinet icon in preferences, one may choose the folder icon, following a similar series of steps to those above, including verifying the contents of the newly created folder Use Windows, Dockable Dialogues, choose Pattern. The patterns will show on the right of the Gimp window and are viewable once you click on the fill window below the tools on the left as well.

Open the image to be filled
Click on the paint bucket tool, and select the Pattern fill type. Click on the paint bucket, then on the pattern you wish to use on right, hover over the canvas with the paint tool, click on it and the image will fill in the chosen pattern.
Or click on the pattern icon, scroll through to the desired pattern, click on it, then on the paint bucket tool, hover over the canvas with the paint tool, and click on it to fill.  The + or _ option scales the size of the pattern view, it is handy when tiny or very large repeats are chosen. The canvas for the pattern fill needs to be large enough to accommodate the pattern in repeat.
If the fill fails, check to see that the bucket fill mode was not somehow changed from normal to one of the many other options Here the skull is used to fill a 400X400 canvas, an even multiple of its size If the canvas is not in a full multiple of the whole pattern, part of the repeat is cropped  Using the same rose image tiled using the Filter, Map, Tile menu produces similar results when full multiples of the image pixels are not chosen, ie. here the tiling is on an 80-pixel wide canvas as opposed to a full multiple of 25 ie 100  Designing tiny repeats:
Begin with the image in black-and-white indexed mode. 
To draw my repeats, I used 1800X magnification, with grid view, exported the files as png, and dragged them into my own Gimp patterns folder.
If the goal is full punchcard repeat illustrations, then by default the width of the image to be filled needs to be 24 pixels wide, and a minimum of 36 rows high. If working as a tuck stitch, punched squares are black pixels, and unpunched squares the white, creating the tucked loops. Using the bucket tool to fill the image is accomplished with a simple, very quick stroke  The rectangle tool may be used to isolate a segment of the first repeat and the area may then be filled with a different pattern. Brushes may be resized as needed, and pasted on the previously filled image, and guides are helpful in their placement.  added info on pattern fill in Gimp 4, pattern fill, dithered portraits, and more
Canvas resize, offset:
 working with a 20X20 black and white pixel star  
Extra grid rows or columns may be added in a variety of ways to an existing motif including using these menu options These images illustrate only some of the possibilities. The chain link is used broken with the exception of when placing the star centered onto the new canvas or when moving it for manual placement onto it. Use Layers choices: resize all visible layers, fill with white. With the new canvas width equal to that of the image, the 10 desired new rows may be added to either the top or the bottom of the file respectively by entering that number in the space for the offset X or Y values, and the resulting new files are shown gridded on the bottom right.  When choosing the center offset with the chain link intact, the X and Y values will be changed from 0 to 10 in this case by the program based on the new canvas size. To add cells only on the left, the chain link is broken again, and the X offset value is set accordingly. Adding 10 cells to the right, 0 offset selection  It is possible to guide the placement of the motif onto the new canvas in any position. There will not be any visible grid as a guide, so a bit of math planning ahead for the new canvas size will fine-tune the possible placement. Again, the chain link is broken. Choose the center option but before selecting resize, click on the image, drag it to its new location, then select resize. The grid can then in turn be made visible.
Any of these steps may be undone, adjusted, and repeated as needed.  Grids and Guides: my view was magnified X 2800, and the canvas measured 24 X 36 pixels.
Magnification may be set using the pull-down below the image window, where any number listed may be chosen or typed in and set by hitting the return key, or by choosing the zoom tool. Click only on the image, and the zoom is applied to the whole image. If the pointer is used, click and drag the mouse pointer to create a zoom rectangle. The biggest dimension of the rectangle will correspond to the size of the image window. You can get to the Zoom Tool from the Image menu through Tools, Zoom, or by clicking the magnifying glass in the toolbox Anyone needing an adjustable grid superimposed on an existing image may use the Configure Grid command to set the properties of the grid and display it over the image while working on it.
One can choose the color of the gridlines, and the spacing and offsets from the origin of the image, independently for the horizontal and vertical grid lines. The configure grid dialogue:  The five different grid styles: Intersections, dots: the least visible, a simple dot at each intersection of the grid lines.  Intersections, crosshairs: a plus-shaped crosshair at each intersection of the grid lines  Dashed: dashed lines in the foreground color of the gridDouble dashed: dashed lines, where the foreground and background colors of the grid alternate, look the same as above when the image is in BW indexed mode. It is also hard to discern the separate colors in RGB mode because the dashes are so small and so close together,  Solid: shows solid grid lines in the foreground color of the grid Foreground and Background colors: in RGB Mode, click on the foreground color to select a new color for the grid, click OK Spacing: for use illustrations see GRIDS: OPTIONS
Width and height: select the cell size of the grid and the unit of measurement
Offset: moves the origin of the first cell, by the fault the grid begins at the coordinate origin, 0,0
The Snap to Grid command enables and disables Snap to Grid. When snap to grid is enabled, and a selection is moved or placed, the grid points pull on it when it approaches making accurate placement easier. If the magnification is high enough, the placement of your pencil or brush will be outlined in a dotted line. Here the snap to the area for a 3-pixel pencil is shown highlighting its possible placement location. This command is found in the image menubar through View, Snap to Grid.
The question has been asked in forums again as to how to place knit designs other than on a square grid. If retaining the aspect ratio matters, any image used for download can be scaled in height or width after it is drawn, or even after download depending on the software used.
If the intent is to illustrate the design on a knit-stitch rectangular grid, one may choose to configure the grid for any single image, or for permanent use.
For a permanent change, the default size may be set by changing user preferences, as seen here for a 1X1 pixel grid. 
To change results on any single work file use Image, and Configure Grid values to the desired ones.  Configuration options for line styles include solid, as shown above.
GUIDES
to configure guides, you can go to Image>Guides>New Guide by Percent, or simply click on one of the rulers in the image window and pull out a guide while holding the mouse Left Button pressed. The guide is then displayed as a blue, dashed line, which follows the pointer. As soon as you create a guide, the “Move” tool is activated and the mouse pointer changes to the Move icon. Releasing the mouse will place it.  As soon as a guide is created, the “Move” tool is activated and the mouse pointer changes to the Move icon. 

You can create as many guides as you like, positioned wherever you like. If the grid is set to a 1X1 square pixel default with a line border, at any point the Image, Configure, Grid option may be used to change the ground view  To move a guide, activate the Move tool in the Toolbox, then click on the guide (it will turn red), and drag it to a new location. Click and drag the intersection of two guides to move them together. Create as many guides as needed, positioned appropriately for the design. To delete a guide, simply drag it outside the image. 
Holding down the Shift key moves everything but a guide, using the guides as an effective alignment aid.
As with the grid, you can cause the pointer to snap to nearby guides, by toggling View, Snap to Guides in the image menu. If you have a number of guides and they are making it difficult for you to judge the image properly, you can hide them by toggling View Show Guides.
You can remove all the guides using the Image, Guides, and Remove all Guides command.

Working on punchcard repeats whether in designing for cards or creating a BMP or PNG for electronic download using a published repeat, guides may be set to outline 6X6 blocks as seen in factory-issued Brother punchcards, or to create custom templates.  For example, lace designs have few pixels. Horizontal guides may be added or moved at intervals between repeat segments, making certain the two knit rows are left blank as one continues entering the proper pixels. The vertical guides help in orienting and locating the pixels in design blocks to match the source.  With guides in place, pattern fill may be used, adding shapes using the tools, or brushes to place motifs. A sample of a knit repeat using the rectangle tool and the paint bucket tool combination to create filled rectangles placed in relationship to guides, creating a tuck pattern with interspersed plain knit rectangular shapes Built-in or custom brushes may be superimposed on a bucket-filled ground. Create an image in the desired width and height, here 24 X 24, and magnify at least X 800 for a grid view.
Fill with a pattern.
Place the chosen brush on the patterned ground, adjust the size and placement of the brush until satisfied, and save the image.
Consider the end-use for the pattern. For example, the designs below left would be suitable for tuck stitch, the same designs would need to be color reversed if the plan is to use them to knit thread lace. Both the original and the new image should be set to BW-indexed mode. Developing a brick version of the repeat is easy and quick. With the original image open, create a new image with the same width but twice its height, 24X48.
Set the magnification for both images to the same number, adjusting the number of both if needed so the longer canvas is in full view.
Configure the grid as preferred on the new image, and make it visible. Snap to grid is useful, but may not be necessary when working on such a scale.
Copy the full starting image and paste it onto the bottom of the new one.
Guides may be put in place to adjust for the pattern shift in the top half of the new image. A single, center guide, in this case, was sufficient.
If the full image copy is still available, align and paste it again, its left side to the right of the center guide, and anchor it.
Paste its right side to the left of the center guide and anchor that in place also. Undo and repeat steps if needed.
Check the alignment of the full repeat by map tiling, if satisfied, export it as PNG or BMP for future download.  COLOR EXCHANGE  2022 Gimp update offers a selective way to exchange colors using the fuzzy-select or select-by-color tool. The bucket-fill color works differently in some ways from previous Gimp versions.   Fuzzy-select will change any contained segment of an image in RGB Mode.  Make the selection of the area to be changed, it will become surrounded by a dotted line. Choose bucket fill, change the foreground color to the new one, and click on the outlined area, to the new color. Click on the rectangle tool and then anywhere in the work window to set the image and save it.  Multiple color exchanges in the same image.  Edit, and undo can be used to trace steps backward at any point.
Using select by color will select all areas containing that color, making global edits,   the process may be repeated within bordered segments, retaining their outlines.2023 version 2.10.34 use the shift key to fill by color, and the simple bucket fill tool once more to fill in any single, outlined areas
To change color in a solid background, as an alternative to using bucket fill, simply click on the associated icon, drag the desired foreground shade onto the ground, and release the mouse COLORS EXCHANGE older version
Color exchanges to test designs in different colorways may be made easily and quickly using the program. To test the concept begin with a simple repeat already tested for tiling originally saved in indexed black and white colors 

This icon shows the default foreground and background colors  Black is the foreground color, and white is the background.
Using such small images I often work with 800X magnification. Open the image, choose sizing, scaling, or magnification if necessary, convert to RGB mode then from the Colors menu choose Map, Color Exchange. The color exchange window will appear. Here the white “from color” is left undisturbed. Select the dropper next to the “to color”, then click on the image on the color you wish to change, a palette window will appear. Make your choice, the color exchange window will now have substituted the chosen color for black, click OK, and white design areas are now changed to the chosen blue globally. The process may then be repeated with the second color if desired.  The color exchange window will show white as the default “from color”. Click on the white bar, choose black from the palette window or use the dropper to select black from the image. The from color will then appear as black. Repeat selection with the dropper from the right of the “to color” bar on any black pixels in the image, choose the color from the palette window to replace it, and the color exchange window will display the new “to color”. Click OK, and job done. The process may be repeated multiple times on the same design or used on large-scale ones, giving one some idea as to whether or not to really commit to the estimated colors. I recently had reason to review old PC files from my Passap knitting days and came across several cut files that when converted to png format appeared in colors rather than black and white, leading me to experiment with color exchange again.  The image for the first experiment is part of a crib blanket by Cheryl GilesThe process: do not alter the original image ie. by resizing, which seems to change the color mapping responses
load the image in RGB mode
working with the foreground color, click once on the white, use the color picker to choose a color, in this case, orange, a palette window will appear, click OK, and the background color will change accordingly,  double click on the now orange background to call up its palette window, keep that window open, go to colors filter, map, color exchange
double click on the from color, the white, in the exchange window
match its values to the saved palette window working from the top down, you may find some of the remaining numbers self-correct
in the original image orange, is now exchanged for black continue, repeating the process with the alternate color, in this case, yellow. At that point, the in-process image will appear as solid black. Click on the black in the exchange window to color twice, choose white from the palette selection, click OK, and the conversion is complete. It is possible to colorize images originally drawn in black and white. The color exchange options will remain fixed throughout the process. The image may be worked on continuously and exported when color exchanges are completed, or saved and imported again after each step. The color exchange here happens consistently on the chosen background color, changing that quickly becomes familiar and easy. There are times that the repeat being processed will turn black onscreen, trust in the process and continue.
The default color exchange window using color options in the default palette. The steps for changing the background to red: the image will turn black as you work, click on the TO color selection to pick a color from the default palette to replace the white, in this case, the red, you can click OK, but do not close this last window if you want to continue, the color change will be lost Changing the black to white in summary Export the image. The transitions: Developing custom palettes in order to visualize different colorways while using the same repeat:
load the image,  right-click on the paintbrush icon, and choose palette editor, this window will open with selections for possible palette choices click on your choice, then click on the palette icon, and your color choices will appear, click on the white, to create a new background color. It will change it to the chosen value in this window when you click on that. The new color choices appear in the palette in the future unless a choice is made using resetting it to the original. Two selections may be made for new colors at the same time, but the map, color exchange option will continue to work on the background color only. These were my choices for added colors. Continuing to work with color changes, changing the white in the BW repeat to blue the black to orange My success with series of other images in using color exchange has been spotty. Online forums reveal this is a recurrent issue with no clear solutions. Suggestions include stipulating that the cause may be the version of Mac OS in use. Color reductions using ArahPaint achieve consistent results easily and quickly. There are advantages to hybrid conversions.
COLORS THRESHOLD: see GRIDS OPTIONS
GRIDS: OPTIONS
Punchcard users may use this method to visualize which holes to punch, though this particular repeat would need to be reduced in stitch count in order to be usable. Similar charts may be adapted and used for other textile techniques such as cross-stitch or even filet crochet.

Grids help with the precise placement of pixels when designing using pixels to represent stitches and rows. The grid is not visible until it is activated via the View, Show Grid option in the Image menu. To create a custom grid, the Image, Configure Grid from the Image menu brings up a dialogue that allows you to do so. Snap to Grid causes the pointer to “warp” perfectly to any grid line located within a certain distance. In most instances, when drawing repeats a 1X1 pixel grid works well on a canvas magnified enough for it to be visible when filling in cells, I recommend a starting magnification of X800.
Anyone needing an adjustable grid superimposed on an existing colored image may now adjust the grid size to suit while viewing the resulting changes. The beginning image and grid size both need to be large enough for the grid to be visible. Use the show grid, and Configure Grid commands  The intact chain link fixes the width and height aspect ratio of grid cells Considering the possible smallest repeat, breaking the chain link, and changing values progressively while viewing the results brings one closer to matching units  The image itself may be scaled concurrently to tweak grid border alignments. The final grid size below is 18X18,  the image size is shown after scaling from a width of 277 pixels (with a broken link at that time) to a final 270 pixels in width The screengrab of the above center, with a superimposed new grid; note the image, in this case, was also offset for better placement, a 3-pixel pencil was used to isolate the border of the possible smallest repeat Using Filter, Map, Tile to check alignments  The repeat reduced to 12 stitches, suitable for punchcard, and tiled to check alignments. Translating the colored image to BW indexed may take several steps and some clean-up if only Gimp is used to process it. With the colored large-scale isolated repeat, the image is opened in Gimp. The Threshold tool transforms the current layer or the selection into a black-and-white image, where white pixels represent the pixels of the image whose Value is in the threshold range, and black pixels represent pixels with Value out of the threshold range. It may be activated from the pull-down colors menu or from the toolbox.   The color image will temporarily disappear, adjust levels. Scaling to repeat size: check the image size, making certain the present dimensions match a multiple of the final repeat count for stitches and rows. If adjustments are required, breaking the chain link allows for each count to be adjusted independently from the other. In the final scaling, use the closed chain link, adjust numbers, magnify the repeat, checking it with a superimposed grid for any missing or out-of-place cells. Check the alignment, then save the single repeat, which in this case is 14X14, ready for download Color separations: there are occasions where very small repeats need to be scaled in height only for color separations. I have found such scaling to be inaccurate using the option, such as here, both of the small, single repeat, and in scaling its tiled version. The triangle motif was used in many of my early posts on color separations for DBJ and its backing options.  On a long enough canvas, the grid may be adjusted to 1 pixel by four in height. With that number of cells filled in with black in this case, if the 1X4 unit is captured with the rectangle tool, it will appear in the brush menu and will be available for use with the pencil tool for drawing with single strokes until one quits the program unless the unit is saved for future use as described via preferences  Using RGB mode, the two-color redrawn image is redrawn, A. The grid may be adjusted to 1X 1 again, B. Using magnification, I often use X1800, and pairs of rows may be selected for either color invert or value invert color options. The first will add a third color, seen in the chart bottom, the second will yield a 2 color image, seen in the chart top, B.  I have had no success with using keyboard commands for the action using my OS, find it easier visually to deal with the three colors than with the 2, especially in longer repeats. C: the extra color pixels in the rows with black pixels are filled with white. D: the third color pixel rows are filled with black. D the final repeat may be color indexed to BW and saved for download.  The appearance of the final repeat when color is reversed Another comparison of the 2 options for altering every other pair of rows in the specific color separation for a mosaic repeat. There is less filling in of cells with a different color, but in large files especially, I feel the result would become far more visually confusing to track. For more details on the specific mosaic, see  2021/01/27/mosaics-and-mazes-charting-meet-numbers-gimp-3/

SYMMETRY PAINTING
Information summary from the online manual on working with symmetry:
you can access this dialog from the image Menu bar through Windows-Dockable- Dialogs-Symmetry Painting, its icon appears below at the top right A drop-down list offers four options. As soon as you check a type of symmetry, axes appear as dotted green lines in the image window and you can start painting with the brush you have chosen.
The default position for the symmetry axis is the middle of the image window. You can place the axis where you want using the Horizontal axis position and Vertical axis position.
Disable brush transform: when you transform the drawing, the brush itself will end up transformed as well. For instance, in a mirror transform, not only will your drawing on the right of the canvas be mirrored on the left, but the brush itself is obviously “flipped” on the left. If for some reason, you want the drawn lines to be mirrored (or other transformation) but not the brush outline itself, you can check this box.
“Tiling” is a translational symmetry, which can be finite (with a maximum of strokes) or infinite. In the latter case, it is the perfect tool to create patterns or seamless tiles, at painting time. This mode covers the image with strokes.
Interval X Interval Y: these are the intervals on the X and Y axis, in pixels, between stroke centers.
Shift: this is the shift between lines on the X-axis, in pixels.
Max strokes X, Max strokes Y: these are the maximal number of brush strokes on the X and Y-axis. The default is 0, which means no limit, according to the image size.
Using a large image, and testing a few iterations helps one understand the process. The pepper brush is provided in the program and is used in the tutorial on the Gimp site. Most such tutorials are intended for working on far larger and higher resolution images, while knitting is binary and at the opposite end of the spectrum in scale and required image size. The original brush is 220 pixels in size, and the maximum number of needles per pixel on standard machines programmable at one time is 200. For exploration, any of the built-in brushes may be used, I began by scaling the pepper to 50 pixels, then moved on to a self-drawn, equal size flower motif. When choosing canvas file size, consider a multiple of the brush size. Drawing repeats uses the pencil tool.   Working with potential knit repeats the scale is reduced further. Magnification is useful for the evaluation of repeats. The smallest repeat segments for use on electronic machines may be isolated. The filter, map, and tile option easily verify how the repeats line up overall. Cropping a 24-stitch width and tiling that also visualizes the suitability of the repeat for use on punchcards with the 24-stitch limitation.  Grid view helps identify any need for “clean up”.
This rose is 24 stitches wide by 25 rows in height Open the chosen file in Gimp. Create a new file in a canvas size considering a multiple of the original.
When the Copy or Cut command is used on an image or a selection of it, a copy appears as a new brush in the upper left corner of the “Brushes” dialog. This brush will persist until you use the Copy command again. It disappears when GIMP is closed.
With the single repeat opened in Gimp, magnified several times, click on the image and use the copy command. The image will appear in the symmetry dialogue. The position may vary depending on whether the program has been closed and relaunched between episodes of testing the process. Create a new file, large enough to accommodate a multiple of the original number of pixels, add pixels for spacing between or above and below designs, set the magnification to the same number as that of the clipboard image, left-click on the brush icon, choose the image saved in the clipboard and a type of symmetry and accompanying settings, click on pencil tool, the motif will appear as on the above right, paste the image on the new canvas, undo and repeat setting adjustments until satisfied with the distribution of motifs.
Some ways of varying repeat positions working with motifs in networks were illustrated in the post To develop a brick repeat I began with a canvas twice that of the original rose, 48X50 pixels, isolated the smallest repeat, used the filter map tile option to test its all over alignment The 24X50 repeat: To decrease crowding, using the original image, the new canvas is now 40X60, with the shift decreased from 12 to 8 pixels. The result did not tile properly when mapped, using magnification 800X with a viewed grid the final repeat, 29X60 was isolated Being more deliberate with the math leads to a full, successful repeat 

Working on the gridded image, drawing straight lines to isolate color change areas in chosen colors followed by flood filling, one may begin to visualize changing the ground color behind the motif repeats Using that small triangular 8X8 repeat open in Gimp, or draw any small shape if designed by hand, remove the grid. Before using it as a brush, reduce mode to 2 colors, magnify X800. Open a new file. I found the latter needed to be increasingly small as well for the repeats to be placed accurately. After tiling using symmetry, filter, map, tile from the filter menu to check for multiple repeat alignment.   Again, preemptive math will yield images that avoid further processing. It is up to the user to recognize any problems,  the repeat here needs to and can be isolated correctly from the file on the left, it is actually only 16 rows high. Here the adjusted repeat is created on a 24X16 canvas with the same symmetry settings, and filter/mapped/tiled There may be multiple ways to achieve the same result with each motif. Here the same repeat is executed two different ways  The above repeat was cropped and adjusted to 16 stitch width and 8 row height, the file saved, and the process repeated  Using symmetry once more, remember to adjust the pencil size.  For the pinwheel shape I was unable to use color exchange successfully on the above images, but with the saved 2 colors indexed red and white repeat both img2track and ayab appeared to load the repeat successfully. The map color exchange was successful using the steps described at the top of the post when beginning with the repeat drawn in a black and white version.  

A different approach, experimenting with built-in brushes: symmetry preferences remain constant, the brush size is reduced. The results are best if the canvas is created in black and white indexed mode to start with, and shapes reduce with varying degrees of success. The numbers reflect brush sizes in each dot pattern. Different types of symmetry may be applied to the same image

For afghans or wall art, if one is attracted to large shapes, drawing in mandala symmetry on large canvas size is as gratifying and immediate as when using a spirograph, the results happen in seconds, these were drawn using 32 points. Steps may easily be undone along the way as one attempts to make the images more complex.

My first non repetitive DBJ explorations on 930

I created large-scale nonrepetitive image garments very early in my knitting career using Cochenille Bitknitter and Commodore computers linked to a Passap E6000. Over time my focus changed considerably, with any production knitting moving onto accessories as I began to make items for sale in galleries and in shows, most often single-bed on a Brother 910. If knitting is a primary source of income, one needs to consider production time management, material costs, and what the local market will bear in terms of pricing.
A post, written in 2018, began to explore two-color-dbj-non-repetitive-images-electronic-kms/. At that time I did not have a machine model capable of using img2track.
An orphaned 930 entered my life, and with rare exceptions, over the past few years, my blog sample swatches have been knit using img2track, which I have found easy, and reliable, with any programming errors due to the operator issues including learning the differences from 910 programming and remembering to actually use them.
No matter how long any of us have been knitting, there can be many aaargh moments both in everyday knitting and when exploring new techniques.
I have a supply of lovely 2/48 cash wool in royal blue, black, and grey. Three strands worked predictably on my punchcard machine in a series of my spiky scarves, shown in progress on the machine. Nearly all my previous dbj pieces have been knit on a Passap E6000. The 930 experience for such repeats is new to me. With some help from Tanya Cunnigham in reviewing the steps required when using img2track, I returned to cellular automata repeat saved years ago.
I encountered problems with the triple strands of blue not feeding evenly, here both colors were picked up by the changer accidentally, I realized the issue, trying to unravel the row of knitting produced this That provided an opportunity to decide I preferred the reverse color placement as well as wanting a thicker ply for the white, resulting in twice the fun with 2 colors, and another scrapped sample Switching the white to a single-ply thicker yarn made its stitch formation far more manageable. The blue however seemed to have a single strand of the three with a propensity for catching on gate pegs. I tried tension adjustments, the usual tips in managing static. At about row 1,000 out of 1288 rows, I realized I had an issue with both yarns being caught on gate pegs. In trying to lift the stitches off, the yarn broke but gave no immediate visible clues, the dropped stitches and a lovely hole, as a result, appeared when knitting had progressed far enough below the current knit rows. On the left, the work is shown still on the machine, while on the right, it is off the machine, and in the process of a patch job with a temporary accessory and stitch holder in place. I was able to achieve a reasonable repair on the knit side, but the birdseye pattern on the reverse is a bit scrambled. For folks that are not familiar with electronics and are curious, the 930 has the smallest memory of the later Brother electronic models. My pattern repeat is 74 stitches wide by 644 rows in height. The user manual explains: the KH-930 takes just a few seconds to load the track because the memory holds only 2 KB of data (about 13000 stitches). Later models have a much larger memory (32 KB). The KH-940 and KH-950i require 42 seconds to load a track. The KH-965i and KH-970 load only the requested pattern, so the loading time depends on the size of the pattern. img2track indicates progress as the data is sent to the KM. When the pattern has finished loading, the KM should beep, and show the green READY light and a 1 in the display (for row 1). The program automatically chooses Selector 2 for a single image and centers it. You may change this by using the normal pattern-selecting process on the knitting machine, choosing Selector 1 for all-over patterning, or using Selector 2 and choosing a different location on the needle bed to center the pattern. If your pattern was divided into more than one track, you will have to load successive tracks when completing the previous track, specific instructions are given for programming subsequent tracks. My pattern was broken down into 4 tracks.
The cable used for downloads to the machine is used externally, no alterations to the machine’s hardware are required as when using Ayab on the 910. The pattern is stored in the machine, so the computer needs to be awake only during downloads, not constantly as in programs that use knit-from-screen.
Each track for 2-color DBJ using the KRC built-in separation is entered in numerical order as a new pattern with first-row preselection from the left to the right and the first row knit from right to left toward the color changer. If the repeat is not planned for the number of needles in use, any position or change to the all-over design needs to be re-entered, and the KRC button must also be set again.
Cam button settings are set according to the chosen dbj variations for either or both beds. End needle selection is usually canceled. In some patterns using it can create an interesting beaded edge on either side, which is worth testing on small samples to determine one’s preference.
I like to plan my pieces beginning with the dark color, plan my repeats with the deliberate placement of both colors and any scaling in the pattern BMP prior to download, using Gimp. I also prefer to have color 1 as the dark and color 2 as the light. The default in the Japanese DBJ separation uses the light color, white squares, as color 1. Out of habit I color reverse my images so my first preselected row from right to left can just knit my black squares rather than the white, and I can continue my motifs as I intended while having machine prompts for each color also match.
Pausing knitting is easy as long as the needle selection is not disturbed. Ending with COR avoids any confusion about which color should be used next. Starting outside the set mark, turn the machine back on, and simply continue in the pattern with appropriate color changes.
Tanya Cunningham manages and moderates the membership, settings, and posts for the Img2track – For Machine Knitters group on Facebook.
These were her tips and reminders to me for handling pauses in knitting immediately after the following track in the sequence is first downloaded: let’s say that either some needles got pushed in or repositioned, or for whatever reason, you don’t have certainty that the last row of needle selection is reliable, and you want to “re-select” the last row before you knit it, the last track you knitted should still be in the memory, even though you’ve completed that part of the pattern. 
1. Push all needles back to Pos B. 
2. remove the yarn from the feeder, and disconnect the K carriage from the R carriage. 
3. Turn the Change/Selector knob from KCII to N (NOTE, this will cause your PART buttons to de-select) 
4. press BOTH PART buttons. 
5. Move the K carriage to the right. No needles will knit, since all are in POS B, and both PART buttons are depressed, AND no needles will select, since you’ve moved the change/selector knob to N, and the memo will not record any advancement of row. (However, if you’re using your mechanical row counter, it WILL record a row, and one on the way back so plan to either disable the ribber arm or turn the counter back 2 rows)
6. Now you will have to re-select the last row of needles for the track you’ve most recently knitted. First, verify that KRC is activated. Now, you will have to push the up/down arrow buttons to select the very last row of the pattern which will be an even number, and color 1. Depending on whether the carriage was moved in such a way as to activate the sensor enough to cause the memo to advance, you may be able to simply use the row that’s showing, but even beginning the movement of the carriage may advance it. To be sure, what I do is to advance (in this case to Row 1 Color 1), and then back up one row, using the arrow buttons. 
7. Move your Change/Selector knob to KCII, be sure to move outside the turn mark. Verify KRC; memo says last row, color 1; both PART buttons in. Now, move your carriage right-to-left, to select the last row of the previous track. 
8. Load color 1 in the carriage, load the next track into the machine, KRC selected.
9. Now, as you knit to the right, you will be knitting the last row of the previous track, and selecting needles for the first row of the next track. Carry on.

In terms of generating cellular automata math-based patterns, the Wolfram website is a great place to explore repeats. A player, temporarily unavailable to Mac users is presently available, allows for the download of interactive demos in .cdf format. In terms of knitting any of the repeats, the most suitable appear to be ones that are generated in black and white to start with. Not all are, and at times changing the mode to bitmapped in programs such as Gimp can produce a glitched effect. Though the latter may be interesting and desirable to some, I prefer clean lines and diagonals along with identifiable shifts in the scale of any triangular components.

I am often amazed at the speed with which time passes, previous related posts: 2015/12/09/cellular-automata-charts-for-knitting-etc/
Previously knit repeats 2017/09/11/my-new-knitting-projects/

Weaving drafts may also serve as inspiration for knitting repeats. Posts with related content: 2015/11/28/weaving-drafts-as-inspiration-for-other-textile-techniques/, and 2018/07/02/numbers-to-gimp-to-create-images-for-electronic-download/. These images are extracted from a draft for an advancing twill. One may explore segment placement and color reversals easily using programs such as Gimp. There is also potential for exchanging colors to get a sense of how the pattern might appear in different colorways My planned test repeat is 76 stitches wide by 556 rows high.

Tuck trims 4 and other edgings

WORK IN PROGRESS

In the FB machine knitting groups questions about tuck-lace trims have once again surfaced with regards to their design and use as edge finishes or decorative details. Some automated potential details have been covered in previous posts
“Crochet” meets machine knitting techniques: tuck lace trims (and fabrics 1)
Tuck lace trims (and fabrics 2)
Ribber trims 3: one trim, four variations
Ribber trims 2
Ribber trims/edgings 1
The trims, however, may easily be created on any machine using hand needle selection and holding techniques. Over the years a number of names have been assigned to such trims, from idiot’s delight to shell, cockle shell, double shell, and scallop shell.
Trims are generally knit vertically, are often quite “lacey”, applied upon completion, generally with their knit side out. Some people think of them as mock crochet. They can go from tiny to heavier double-edge versions.
Generally, they benefit from being knit slowly with some weight to help hold the stitches in place and have the groups of tuck loops knit off properly. Start with a few rows of waste yarn and ravel cord to anchor to hold the weight, follow with a permanent cast on-on needles represented by grey squares in each group. Knit 2 rows on all needles and begin in the pattern. The method for creating tucked loops manually is to bring needles out to hold after setting the knit carriage accordingly. Until those same needles are pushed back into work loops will build on their shanks and will be knit off when the involved needles are pushed back into work. The limit with automated patterning for tuck in 4.5 mm machines, unless very thin yarn is used, is often 4 rows. There is greater tolerance in tucks created by hand techniques, but as with any fabric, it is best to test on swatches prior to committing to significant lengths of fabric. 
When knitting trims and ruffles, end with several rows of waste yarn in a contrasting color, allowing for unraveling and binding off after application if the trim is too long, or for unraveling to a knit row and knitting more if the initial length is too short. Seam-as-you-knit might not be the best method to use if the intent is to retain the shell-shaped forms trim sides.
It is possible to visualize repeats both singly and in groups using tools from simple graph paper to spreadsheets. Japanese machines may not tolerate more than 4 rows of held or tucked loops unless the yarn is on the thin side, machines like Passap or Superba have a far greater tolerance.
Pivoting around a center stitch and adding width in vertical trims makes them foldable around a finished edge. When using electronic machines the garment’s finished edge may be picked up and the repeat for some of the trims can be programmed on the width of the piece for a predetermined height and bound off. If one is using a punchcard with single repeat vertical patterning or for more than one vertical trim with blank spaces in between them, the card would not be suitable for a finish on a horizontal knit edge.

To knit: bring needles in positions represented by yellow squares out to hold,  push back to knit by the number of rows indicated in the chart.
A good source for pattern ideas can be found in punchcard volumes in the sections marked for thread lace. To add to the mix, once the repeat is worked out, transferring needles intended to be left out of work on the main bed may be transferred to the ribber when knitting trims as well.
Segments marked with green cells may be grouped in a variety of ways to create repeats in different widths, asymmetrical ones are also a possible consideration
Two repeats on a single cardThe process for knitting a sample as a hand technique: Cast on the 7 stitches marked in work, bring needles2, 6, and 10 to holding position set the knit carriage to hold
knit 4 or chosen number of rows
push needles back into work position and knit one or chosen number of rows
return needles 2, 6, and 10 to hold
repeat the process for the desired length
bind off or remove onto waste yarn
An electronic or punchcard repeat for 4 tuck row: I like to start my repeats with an all knit row when possible. The design may be knit as a single motif, and though it is symmetrical whether the machine model used flips the image horizontally or not can have an effect on whether the uneven number of needles will be to the left or to the right of 0. If there is any question a few air knit rows will clarify pattern needle placement.
The automated repeat: The samples below were knit using a 2/8 wool, at T4, are shown folded along their center on the right of the photos, with the open edge on the left as they came off the machine. The usual single bed tension for this yarn might be 7 or 8, depending on stitch type. The greater the number of knit stitches on either bed, the closer the tension will have to be adjusted to that used in stocking stitch for the same yarn. Wool also has memory, will want to roll to knit side at the top and bottom, to the purl side along vertical edges, steps often need to be taken to reduce the rolls. Using this repeat as a stand-alone, the roll is severe, with the cast-off edge picked up, continue from there, a rolled edge with no stitching required is formed, no further finishing required, is shown after light steaming Even if a repeat for automating the trim or edging is designed and may have been used before, it is best to test the repeat as a hand technique in any new or untested yarn first to see how many loops can build up before the stitches on each side may not knit, or the loops themselves might not knit off properly as a group on the next all knit row. Five rows were the limit for this yarn A bound off edge was picked up, purl side facing, a side edge could be as well. Test to see which side facing may suit your piece best. Ten plain knit rows were followed by holding for 5 rows on every sixth needle, followed by a central single all knit row, 5 more rows held on the same needles locations, ending with 9 rows knit on all needles, and the trim was bound off. It may be folded to the purl or the knit side before being stitched into place and is likely to require some blocking. A variety of edgings may be produced by simply hooking up ladder floats created by leaving needles out of work after X number of rows. In this instance chain cast on over 11 needles, dropping the center 5 chains and taking the corresponding needles out of work.
Knit 12 rows.
Pick up six floats and the chain from the start of the piece, bring them to the front of the knit, and place them on the needle marked with red cells at the right.
Knit 6 rows, pick up 6 floats again, place them on needle marked with red cells to the left,
repeat This variation uses the thicker blue yarn, knit at tension 4; 12 rows are knit before hooking up the lower groups of six ladders, which makes the floats easier to pick up or count using a single eye tool. Repeating selection on the same side allows the trim to be easily bent around corners  Trims using holding alone border on the possibility of automation using slip stitch programming. A simple one to start: cast on 7 stitches, with the center needle out of work. Knit a few rows, set knit carriage to hold.
COR: push needles at left out to hold position
knit 8 or chosen even number of  rows on needles 5, 6, and 7 on the right
COR: push needles 1, 2, and 3 on left to D position, knit 3 or a preferred odd number of rows, ending with the carriage on the left
COL: reverse the holding sequence  The single out-of-work needle produces a ladder that nearly disappears after the trim relaxes, any our of work needle arrangement may be tried between the two groups of 3 needles in work.
Adding holding: cast on needle arrangement shown. The 3 stitches will roll to the purl side creating an edge that looks very similar on both sides of the trim. knit 3 or more rows, end COL
bring the 3 needles on the right out to hold, knit a row
COR wrap the inside needle of the 3 in holding, knit back to left 5 times
COR knit 5 rows (or DIY odd number), ending on the opposite side
COL reverse shaping

Interlock explorations 2; adding needles out of work

Most variations using tuck settings will loosen the fabric structure, slip stitches will narrow it. The behavior is consistent in working on both single and double beds. Color changes may be added.
There are only very short descriptions and schematics for the more complex tuck interlocks online, making attempting them a puzzle, where efforts at piecing it may not necessarily lead to correct answers, but still produce interesting knits. The ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies that draft international standards for subjects including knitting. My charts for the tuck interlocks were personal interpretations based on a few of their illustrations, among which is this for cross tuck 1, which appears to be the most straightforward, with every needle knitting on one bed, while the other works the basic 2X2 stitch alternating repeat on either one of the 2 beds translated for knitting, patterning may be used on either bed, with the opposite bed set to knit every stitch. If patterning is on the ribber, have the first and last needles in work on the main bed. The top bed is set to tuck in both directions, the fabric is shown lightly stretched and could conceivably be used to create a ruffled edge when followed by narrower stitch types ie. every needle rib or Milano variants Changing settings: with the knit carriage set to slip in one direction, knit in the other, the ribber knitting every row
Needles may be taken out of work to create pleats in every needle ribs, alternating their placement between the 2 beds. Knit stitches stabilize tuck ones. Here every other needle is taken out of work on only one bed. The tuck loops are more visible in any open spaces between the vertical rows of ribbed stitches. The ribber will knit every row on the same needles aligning directly above each other, thus ruling out full pitch.
The needles are set up so that the first and last are in use on the ribber, ensuring that a knit stitch will be on the side of any tuck stitch selected on the top bed, on the top bed the every other needle tuck selection reverses as the direction of the knit carriage does, needles brought forward knit, the ones skipped hold tuck loops in their needle hooks,  the resulting fabric Other explorations with needle out of work:
Milano waffle: single color, 4 passes with every needle knitting, 4 passes tubular, more passes of each may be added to distribute color changes. The number of needles in work on the main bed remains fixed. Choosing spacing between needles in work on the main bed A working repeat with 4 circular rows, 6 full rows knit  My first swatch in the technique was in response to a Ravelry member share describing the stitch pattern used in a finished garment  The main bed is programmed, set to slip both ways after the first preselection row. After 2 rows knit on both beds, the ribber is then switched to slip in one direction, knit in the other in response to needle selection on the top bed. Main bed needles out ribber slips, main bed needles in B, ribber knits. After 4 circular passes, the ribber is again set to knit for 2 rows. The appearance during knit rows followed by float formation when only the top bed knits The resulting grid may be used as a guide for hand techniques off the machine in isolated areas or all over Repeating the experiment with  2 stitches on each edge, this time disengaging the ribber and knitting 2 rows only on the top bed only rather than knitting circular rows and changing ribber settings. The floats are brought closer together, the fabric is far quicker to knit. Needle arrangements may be varied to accommodate thicker yarns, or alter the texture by varying both the number of knit rows and circular ones  Windowpane bourrelet: beds are supposedly at full pitch, I had better success at half-pitch. The same bed is used for single bed rows as for basic bourrelet, a color change to try: every 6 rows Because the top bed needles are in pairs, the EON selection remains evident, each of the first 2 passes completes one row of knitting.
When only the top bed knits, floats are formed between the needles in work Knitting went more smoothly when 3 needles on the top bed were used on each end The ribber carriage was disengaged to allow the pattern to knit only on the top bed. When there are needles out of work, floats will be created between the needles in work. The length of the swatch was determined when I noticed the yarn was not properly placed in the feeder, and I had already begun to drop stitches on the left side. It is one of the things to watch for, and which may merit a small preventive hack to keep the yarn from accidentally slipping out of its proper place. Half Milano with tucked long stitch: the main bed needles will tuck one row, then slip one row. The ribber needles will first knit a row, then slip a row while the second bed knits both rows. Then the ribber needles knit one row then slip a row while the second bed knits two rows. I have had no success with trying to execute my interpretation of the directions without getting floats on the top bed, and the photo in Machine Knitter’s Guide to Creating Fabrics is not clear enough to distinguish if there indeed are floats on the surface of the fabric. The experimental repeat Having the ribber knit every row produces many more rows on the purl side than on the knit, so the vertical all knit columns do ripple a bit. In this stitch version, with pattern knitting beginning from the left, the main bed is set to alternately tuck and slip using the half-pitch setting row one preselected for knitting the first row has been knit, the second knit row preselected the second row knit, no preselection for tuck or slip the tuck row is formed with the knit pass to the right, no preselection the row of stitches is skipped on the way to the left, preselecting for the next first knit row, tuck loops visible on top of the hooks of the selected needles the process is repeated. The resulting fabric:  Tucked pique: knit the same as for pique, but with cams set for tuck on the top bed, set beds at half-pitch.In DIY the potential for exploration is endless. As always, if needles are out of work on the main bed, end needle selection is canceled. Here slip setting in both directions is used, along with needles out of work on both beds, the 1X1 needle repeat is programmed. Set up is with ribber needles in work between needles preselected for knit stitches on the top bed. Beginning patterning on the left after the initial preselection from the right, the ribber setting:
the result has floats on the purl side, a slightly pleated look on the knit side. Playing with color and texture: use 2 or 3, change colors every 2 rows, every 4, or at the end of each full pattern repeat.
Change one or both cams from slip to tuck.
Try adding racking when using tucking on the main bed
Vary working needle arrangements with interlock settings.

The ISO illustrations gave clues as to whether the same number of needles are at work in any pass on each bed. The intent with the second pass in each pair of passes is to create a slipped,  tucked, or knit stitch in between the alternate needles on the opposite bed.
Cross miss interlock: in this instance, tuck loops alone with no in-between knit stitches are created on the top bed, in the same spots where stitches were slipped on the previous pass. Starting side does not matter, but being consistent makes experimentation easier to understand and follow. The lili buttons, set to slip in both directions remain unchanged on the ribber carriage throughout. The knit carriage is set to slip in both directions as well as to hold. My swatch began with a knit stitch selection on the top bed, marked with a red line the length of the repeat below, and needles were arranged accordingly. The tuck loops are created using a hand technique and holding combined with patterning
This shows the elongated stitches between ones that will be knit on the next pass. On rows 3 and 6 of the pattern, there will be no needle pre-selection, but the elongated slipped stitches will still be identifiable. After both no preselection row bring alternate needles out to hold using any EON needle tool. In my case, COL, I began with needle 1 on the left on row 3, alternating beginning with needle 2 on the left on row 6. The number of rows in between hand techs is an odd one, so sides for the hand tech will alter as well. This shows the tuck loops formed EON as the carriages travel to the right.
Prior to resuming pattern knitting, needles with loops on them need to be returned to the B position, maintaining the EON needle preselection for the next pass  
Repeat the process when design row 6 is reached, beginning with needle 2 on the left. The texture appears on the purl side of the piece, shown on the left
This repeat uses 6 passes as well. The tuck loops on the top bed occur above slipped stitches in the previous pass, which may be replicated, but the real problem is that every third row on the ribber is also having to tuck on specific needles with no knit stitches between them. The tuck loops happen directly above knit stitches formed in the previous row if the tucking lever is changed manually from R to P on those rows. That is a lot to juggle, a noHere the eon tuck would fall on slipped stitches in the previous pass, so that is doable. It is possible to fool the lili selection into believing there are extra needles in work on each side of the ribber, which can “make” the first stitch on either side knit rather than slip or tuck. The method is used in creating a striper backing in Brother DBJ  and would require fiddling with needles on the ribber in an irregular selection repeat as well as the hand technique on the top bed. Another definite noThis pattern repeat is a short one, the changes are more regular on the ribber. The hand tech tuck stitches could be formed for 2 rows with all stitches getting worked back to B position in between those preselected for the next pattern row. The lili buttons need to get fooled after alternating pairs of rows, the start of several nos for me.

Intarsia without an intarsia carriage on Brother machines

I recently have been browsing through some of my machine manuals and found these references on methods for executing simple intarsia patterns, the type I usually associate with holding hand techniques. The knit carriage is used, and the yarn is placed on the floor in front of the machine rather than fed through the yarn mast. These illustrations are from the 892 punchcard manual, the same capability was built into the Knitking 893, and Brother 930-940 electronic models. The related positions on the 892 carriages: If the setting has not been used for long periods of time, the holding cam lever may not move to the desired position. LPS1 platinum-grade spray can be used successfully on stuck buttons and was used on my carriage. It will take a little while for the full release, do not overspray. Following the instructions, the setup row will ready the knit for the usual intarsia techniques.
The stitch location is just behind the latches prior to laying yarn over needle hooks in the initial color positions.More info on traditional intarsia methods  includes how to use the intarsia carriage accessory.  This is from a Japanese language manual for the 891(1987-89) punchcard machine, which appears to introduce the idea of replacing the use of the knit carriage and plaiting feeder with one specifically designed for intarsia

Interlock explorations 1

Interlock is produced commercially on special circular machines and some double system flatbed knitting machines. The patent for the associated circular machine was applied for in 1907, and a copy may be found in the google patents archive. The stitch originally commonly used cotton, in machines that were able to produce a gauge of 20 stitches per inch, often used in T-shirt knits. As technology expanded so did the possibilities for a wider range of gauge and expanded structures.
I have found references to accordion, fleecy, Piquette, cross mix, and bourrelet interlock versions, enough to make one’s head ache when considering forming them on home knitting machines.
The fabric lies flat, relaxes in width but is fairly stable in height. It has good shape retention, raw or cut edges don’t curl, and it will unravel only from the last row knit. There are many variations including eight-lock, bourrelet, Ponte di Roma, and waffle weaves. Many directions are included in Machine Knitter’s source. Interestingly enough, they are shared in the chapter on knit weaving. The instructions given are for punchcard machines, often accompanied by a hand selection of needles in either or both beds. Hand selection on the ribber is easier to track by having an even number of needles in work on the ribber, bringing the first up on the left, then the first up on the right, so the illustrations for stitch formations are written that way, the selected needles knit. Lili button selection begins with slipping the first stitch, followed by knitting the second stitch on both sides. In most fabrics, as long as the remaining repeat aligns starting with a slip stitch on the ribber does not matter, as the complete repeat is shifted over by a needle. The structure can be knit with color changes to produce vertical stripes of various lengths. My initial proofs of concepts are usually in single colors.
In interlock, alternate stitches are knit on each bed, so it takes two complete carriage passes to complete a single row of knitting, making the resulting fabric thicker and heavier, with the same appearance on both sides, making it reversible. Carriage passes need to be distinguished from design rows. Charts indicate both, but not necessarily numbers reflected on mechanical row counters.
The usual rib configuration Planning for interlock:

The fabric may be executed on Brother knitting machines by programming 1X1 needle selection on the main bed, with the smallest component bordered in red. The Brother ribbers have a matching needle selection to when the lili buttons are used with the machine set to slip in both directions. Studio or Knitmaster knitters would require an RJ1 ribber carriage. I refer to the marks on the Brother ribber needle tape as blanks and dashes. When lili buttons are in use, one must work on an even number of needles. Pairs of both are required. The starting placement on either of the 2 marks does not matter, the first needle on the carriage side on the left will always slip, with the last stitch away from the carriage always being knit. This observable if one “air knits”, slowly moving the ribber carriage from side to side. As in any pattern knitting, needles selected to D or E will knit, the ones lined up in B position will slip or tuck. The needle selection needs to be coordinated so that needles opposite each other are not selected at the same time. Since the first needle on the ribber will slip, the first needle used in the pattern preselected on the main bed must be selected forward to knit, and the number of needles in work set up accordingly. Many published illustrations begin patterning from the right. I prefer to do so from the left. My final repeats were planned with needle placement shifted over by one so as to begin with a knit stitch on the top bed, a slip stitch on the ribber due to the fact that the ribber lili selection is fixed to always begin with a slipped stitch. Starting with the carriages beginning on the left side, the first needle in work on the ribber is on the left, the last needle in work on the top bed is on the right, an even number of stitches are in work on each bed. The setup after the first preselection row, with COL: Imagining the sequences required to complete a single row of knitting. I prefer to start with a knit stitch on the left, top bed, end needle selection is canceled 
When testing new ideas, particularly in rib setups, I often begin on a small number of needles and in a way that feels “safe”. This was my first test, with the ribber set at half-pitch. There is an obvious difference in rib before the slip stitch segment and the every-needle, EN, segment. Using a very thin space-dyed cotton, tension 4 on both beds, produced a soft, drapey, squishy fabric. Because once the cast on and needle set up are complete, the knitting occurs on every other needle in alternate directions, full-pitch is used without any problem even though every needle is in use on both beds. These fabrics will knit both at half-pitch and full-pitch once the pattern needle selection is established. The difference may not be noticeable depending on yarn choice and tension, or ribs may appear to group together in pairs.  Pleating in interlock may be produced by removing needles alternating from each group. The tuck setting may be used in these experiments as well, resulting in additional width.
Pique variants: rows 1 and 2 complete one row of knitting using both beds
row 3 knits on the main bed alone
rows 4 and 5 complete one row of knitting using both beds
row 6 knits on the ribber alone
charting out possible actions and repeat adjustment. The rows where only a single bed knits will create long stitches due to their being skipped on the opposite bed. Reversing and alternating the selections make the fabric reversible. The tricky part would be canceling out lili action on the ribber every 6 rows when the top bed alone needs to knit, row 3 in the design repeat. To accomplish this, after row 3 is preselected with the carriage on the left by releasing the ribber carriage, lean it forward so it will not engage any needles in work on the ribber resulting in dropped stitches, and moving it to the opposite side of the machine. One can actually get into a rhythm doing this.  As the knit carriage moves from left to right, only the main bed needle selection will knit. When the KC reaches the right, engage the ribber carriage, and knit until the same design row is reached. The blank row at the top of the 6-row repeat automates and allows for the carriages to knit from right to left on the ribber only, again creating some long stitches on skipped needles.
The selection continues to be EON after proper needle set up, so the full pitch setting is used once again prior to continuing in the pattern. This is an instance of cast-on and bind-off edges that will tend to be pulled a bit wider than the remaining knit. Depending on the final use for the fabric, that may or may not be a consideration.
I usually begin with tentative charts in a spreadsheet to consider what components may be automated and what might be the most advantageous selection of patterns on the main bed. At this point, my solution for no stitches knitting on the ribber for single rows remains to knit the carriage forward and remove it from the equation for that row.
Swiss pique or overknit is a half-pitch fabric. It looks like French pique but is a little narrower. Looking at completed knit rows, identifying the top bed patterning, isolating patterning selections carriage passes required The ribber here knits in one direction, slips in the other. The first preselection row is made toward the color changer, needle set up is checked as for previous samples, the ribber is set to knit to the right, slip to the left the appearance of the stitches when both carriages knit after only the top bed knits with slip stitch floats behind every skipped stitch, which, in turn, will appear longer on the knit facePonte di Romathe modified version of the repeat used in my test swatchPairs of rows of interlock are followed by pairs of circular rows. The repeat was changed and the second color was used to define the difference in stitch formation between the two groups, color changes were made every four rows. Using a single pair of carriages and having to constantly change cam settings appears far too complicated to manage for producing any length of fabric. My hack for making things easier and faster was to resort to knitting with 4 carriages. One pair was set for interlock operating from the left, the other set so as to achieve tubular knit. The ribber carriage is set to knit from right to left and to slip from left to right when the main bed knits. The knit carriage is set to slip in both directions so that the pattern selection remains continuous. It will slip all stitches while moving to the left on rows with no needle preselection, knit on all preselected needles on its return to the right.
Extension rails are used since both KCs are selecting patterns. I wrote about the concept of using 4 carriages in 2019, in the Geometric shapes on ribber fabrics with tuck stitches: knitting with 4 carriages post. The difference here is that the carriages on the left do not have the added benefit of support from the color changer. The elastics placed as shown may have been more for my psychological well-being than for the continued proper function of machine parts. There is a limit to the width of knitting that may be produced this way with the carriages coupled on each end. The knit carriages may travel off the top bed and onto the extension rails safely, but the ribber carriages must remain anchored enough on the rear rail so as not to go flying off on their own while clearing the end of the belt on each side. I prefer leaving the slide lever in the center position in all my rib knitting and am not convinced as to a visible difference between knitting at half or full pitch in the swatches with the yarns I have used so far. 
Bourrelet
is characterized by horizontal relief ridges on one side, is made with an interlocking base, is sometimes referred to as ottoman rib or ripple stitch, is sometimes referred to as Evermonte, is knitted at half-pitch. The combined carriages knit for 4 rows, followed by four rows knitting on the top bed alone. Seeking a workaround other than disengaging ribber carriage or canceling lili selection and leaving the carriage on the slip setting in both directions on rows where only the top bed knits, one option to speed up the process is to hack a main bed sinker plate. The result is the ability to use a second knit carriage to select and knit patterns on the top bed only, operating from the opposite side. Four passes on either bed complete 2 rows of knitting. The post on ribber fabrics produced with 2 knit carriages selecting needles describes the process in more detail.   To use the yarn from the right, only before the first carriage pass to the left, its end needs to be knit through a stitch on that side to anchor it. A different cone or ball of the same color and weight yarn may be used, or in my case, I used a thin, different fiber in a second color.
The swatch was knit in four-row sequences, there is a subtle ridge apparent on the knit side created when only its rows knit, which could easily have enhanced by knitting more rows on the single bed. In eight lock hand selection is required on the ribber, the technique reminds one of the double-faced aka reverse jacquard fabrics. My initial test was to knit twice as wide a repeat, thinking it might be easier to identify stitch formation, working on 4 X an odd number of stitches, in this case, 36, beginning and ending with knitting on the top bed,   but 1: I actually cast on 34. In a swatch, such adjustments 2: are easy to make. The only automated selection of needles on the ribber is EON using lili buttons, in any other configuration there is no choice but to hand-select needles in between selected needles on the main bed. Casting on at half-pitch begins with the first needle in work on the top bed, the last in work on the ribber. Once the first row has been preselected, and the pitch is changed to P the ribber moves to the left, leaving an even number of needles in work opposite each other on both beds. Both carriages are set to slip in both directions. The knit carriage will knit the automatically selected needles, slip the unselected, while the ribber knits needles brought up manually to D position, skips the remaining ones in B.
A 2X2 needle selection tool for a 9 mm machine or a 7 prong transfer tool may be adjusted and used to help bring up the proper needles to E position on the ribber. single row pockets are formed.  Even though the needles are in full pitch, if an error in needle selection 3: happens across a row a tip-off will be that floats are created on the main bed between selected needles, and there will be a textural change across the row of knitting unless the error is corrected.
If another yarn end or a second color is added, as always, check and make certain the first few stitches knit. Proper lighting and using a yarn color and thickness that can actually be distinguished on the needle bed are useful to avoid 4: dropped stitches not being noticed. The color change 5: shows that a single row is indeed completed with every 2 passes of the carriages, and there is a shift visually in the linear pattern.  The same process could be applied to the charted repeat. A needle selector can speed up the manual work on the ribber for  2X2 selection

Tuck variations: tuck, cross tuck, royal, texi plique. So far these are my tentative charts for the stitches, each pair of rows represents a full single row of knitting. There are situations where cam settings would require changing from slip to tuck and some locations where the same needle selection repeats on subsequent rows, leaving lots to ponder about and proof, my starting charts are often edited and at times abandoned as the work progresses and both eyeballs and brain have had a break. In this instance, the topic will be reviewed again in a future post.  

Since most of my swatches are experiments and I work by trial and error, I am now rethinking my repeats and reached the what am I doing? point.
I have some interesting or even pretty fabric swatches so far. Illustrations in published sources are often shown for interlock fabrics on every other needle, my supposition has been that with every needle in use on both beds, at half-pitch placing the needles on one bed in the center of those on the other and working in thin yarns the same repeats would work for achieving knits in these families, so in my illustrations, the symbols are placed to represent needles in work between each other on alternate beds, rather than truly on every other needle. To review, the differences between pattern selection using the slip or the tuck setting: with every needle in work on the ribber, the repeat is programmed on the top bed with the first preselection row from right to left,  the needle setup, depending on the starting and ending needles used. With both part buttons pushed in, in every needle rib, the needles in D will knit, the ones in B get skipped completely. As the carriage passes to the right, the needles for the next row are preselected, come forward holding only the skipped stitches in the row just knit, while the alternate needles are set up to be skipped on the next pass to the left After the two passes one full row of knitting is completed on the patterning bed. The needle preselection is now on the next row of the repeat, in this case, row 1.Tuck setting using the same repeat behaves differently. With both tuck buttons engaged, by default, the needle on either side of the tuck stitch will knit, with every carriage pass. The starting preselection is the same as for the slip stitch version, after the first pass to the right, the preselected needles to D will have been knit, with tuck loops formed on the previously non-selected needles. Because the repeat alters needle positions every row, as the right side of the bed is reached, the tuck loops from row one will appear on the shank of the newly preselected to D position needles, ready to be knit, and the alternate group of needles is held back to create the next row of tuck loops as the carriages return to the left. The process repeats throughout. Two passes complete a single row of knitting. The carriage actions for completed passes 1 and 2 The result is a very pliable fabric that when relaxed off the machine and stretched shows the tuck structure more, is reversible. The basic repeat elongated on the top bed creates a vertical striped pattern if color changes are added, coordinated with needle selections, and are made every 2 rows. As an experiment, the double-length patterning was tried at the top of the swatch. At that point, the fabric is no longer reversible unless the 1X1 fixed needle selection is altered manually on the ribber. My yarn is thin, and the tension used on the loose side.   The close-up begins to make the tuck loops a bit more visible. The swatch was knit at half-pitch. Using full pitch in patterns that allow for it, diminishes the appearance of “ladders” between rows of stitches, indicated by cyan arrows.  
More basics: on the ribber, whether using lili buttons or not, these are the lever and change knob positions available Manually the tucking lever position can be changed from R to P for a single row or more of tucks and then returned to the R placement. Switching between the 2 stitch types on the ribber is far easier and less complicated than changing cam buttons on the main bed, however, there are no rows where only tucked loops are created without knit stitches beside each of them if the lili buttons are in use. Using the slip-tuck Brother selection on the main bed allows for slip and tuck settings to be used at the same time in the same row as long as opposite cam buttons are in use. Some of the old punchcard books include patterns referred to as “lace-like” using the setting. The starting side makes a difference in results as to whether one leads with a slip stitch float or a tuck loop in the actual knitting. Swatches in this post have begun with the first needle in work on the ribber and a forward, to be knit, stitch selection on the first needle on the top bed, with an even number in work on both beds. The end needle selection is canceled unless stated otherwise. The cam setting used for these tests the setup row with the first preselection row knit from the right, ending COL as the carriage moves back to the right, the previously not selected needles will slip and get a tad longer while being preselected forward to D for the next carriage pass. Once the pass is completed, the needle selection has reversed, the now non-selected needles will tuck as those same needles are preselected for the next pass from the right.
The appearance COR After the return pass to the left, the tuck loops are evident on top of the needles preselected forward to knitting position on the next pass to the right. Two carriage passes fill one row of knitting, here ending COL. On the ribber, as seen in the thumbnails, one may choose slip or tuck in one direction alternating with an all knit row in the other, or tuck or slip in both directions in an alternating pattern EON_EOR, on an even number of needles with the addition of lili buttons. The appearance on the ribber of the formation of the loops echoes that seen on the main bed changing needle placement unless the carriage is set to tuck in only one direction. A variant of the single bed capability for changing stitch type formation with direction may be achieved on the ribber by manually changing the tucking lever from R to P when the other side of the knitting is reached. A test can quickly be made to observe the stitch formation with the main bed set to knit every row. I chose the left tucking lever down to R when the carriages were on the left, up to P when the carriages reached the right. The tuck stitches with no further action line up over the knit stitches in the previous row There often are aaargh moments in knitting. This has happened to me with some 7 prong transfer tools before, here it did with a double eye tool on my transfer row prior to binding off. There must be a split in the eye of the tools not visible to the human eye resulting in the stitch entering the eye. So far I have been able to rescue the stitches involved, but not without lots of fiddling and some cursing Experiments outside the interlock family: the two-by-two repeat is supplied in most packets of cards that come with the purchase of a punchcard machine. At one point in time, Kate Armitage published a book containing 104 variations of knitting using the card, both single bed and combined with ribber use. There was also the equivalent for card #3, the point being variations are limited only by time and imagination. Because I am now completing posts over time online as opposed to working offline and then publishing, the opportunity is there to share mistakes as well as what appear to be successes at the moment. Once again I fell into the not-writing notes because it is so obvious mode and there was enough time lapse between my first knit swatch below and my writing about it that I was no longer certain about the settings used when sharing it. The knit has more stretch and texture than seen in the photo Re-swatching for possible variations, with notes this time and with lili buttons in use. If the cams are not in the up position on the ribber carriage, stitches will knit, not slip. N is king, without cam buttons in use in either bed, stitches will knit even if a pattern is being selected. There is an adequate stretch at the top allowing the fabric to relax achieved by transferring to the main bed and using a latch tool bind off around 2 gate pegs. The possible variations are endless, note to self: remember to keep good notes. 

To mesh or not to mesh 8: more Numbers meet Gimp

A recent FB post led the discussion to this repeat from a 910 mylar, which does not have the immediately recognizable format of the Brother lace patterns if viewed in a small screengrab such as this. The repeat is included in Ayab test patterns. The full mylar collection and user manual may be found here http://machineknittingetc.com/brother-kh910-pattern-guide.html.
The segment including the lace pattern Brother was the first to allow programming from multiple areas on a single mylar sheet. Starting and ending stitches and rows needed to be entered, I got used to drawing boxes for each pattern as seen on the upper right, reducing errors in future knitting. The red lines on the copy highlight the repeat’s border. Mylars were read 13 rows down, punchcard machines7. The equivalent of arrow markings on lace punchcards are provided in the column on the left, which extends over the top of the drawing space by the same number of rows, allowing it to remain visible above the card reader even as the top of the mylar patterning area is reached.
The design is actually created from isolated areas of a mesh repeat discussed in a previous post. The lace carriage is used for 2 passes and then for 4 alternately, as indicated on the left side of the punchcard. The 2 passes will result in transfers to the left, the 4 make in transfers to the right. This repeat, usable in nonelectronic models, appears in my pre-punched factory basic packs as both #17 and #20. Depending on the electronic model or the software used to download patterns designed for lace, the final image may need to be flipped horizontally. This is true for use on my 930. Creating a template for mesh using numbers: begin with a table with square cells in numbers larger than you might need, ie 24 by 54. The method for doing so has been explained in previous posts. I happen to prefer cell units that measure 20 points by 20. The smallest repeat unit for use on any machine is isolated, shown bordered in red, is 4 stitches wide by 6 rows high, and drawn onto the template. The group of cells in the repeat are selected. If one hovers over any side or top and bottom borders of it, a yellow dot appears. Clicking and dragging on the yellow dot will repeat the full selection to the right, left, up, or down. Here the move is to the right The whole group is selected, and dragging on the yellow dot once more, the whole template can be filled Beginning at the top or bottom of the table, hide all blank rows. Using the command key during the selection process will allow this to be done on the whole table at once or in groups of rows at one time; 36 of the 54 rows are hidden.   At this point, there are a couple of choices. One is superimposing a solid shape. Using a contrasting color makes it easier to sort out its placement the color may be replaced with white in the spreadsheet,
unhide all rows, and the lace pattern is ready for the final steps before using Gimp The other option is to unhide rows on the colored table, screengrab as usual after removing cell borders. Open in Gimp, crop to content, eliminate the cyan row by filling it with white. It was intended as a placeholder for the last row in the pattern, is not part of the final repeat.
In this instance, I used mode, indexed, to the maximum of 3 colors.
Choose the color to alpha option from the colors menu.
Using the dropper tool select the color you wish to be made clear, and click OK. Create a new image of the same size.
Copy and paste the color-reduced image onto the new one.  Dotted lines will appear in areas that had the color removed previously. Clicking anywhere in the window outside the image anchors the paste and makes those dotted lines disappear. If that does not work, select the rectangle tool before doing so. The file is then ready for final scaling. The last image is in RGB mode once more, converted to BW indexed, scaled to 24 by 54, and exported as BMP or choose any other format ie png, etc. to suit your needs.
Responses to alpha selection can vary depending on the original color palette used when filling cells.
Creating a template for drawing simple shapes using transfer lace, it is easier to start with the transfer grid in a color, rows are hidden as above, and eyelet shapes are drawn in black. The rows are unhidden.    In this instance, the red was selected for converting to alpha with the image still in RGB mode, copied and pasted. The pasted image may be anchored in several ways. Using the image menu: select merge visible layers, or flatten image; layer menu: select anchor layer, or simply click on rectangle select tool and click again anywhere in the window. Changing the mode to black and white indexed will yield the repeat for final scaling. Each transfer design segment of the repeat is 6 rows in height and completed with 10 combined carriage passes. The lace carriage, LC, operates first, in a series of two passes at first, then followed by four, repeating the double sequence throughout. The mylar, card, or computer image, does not reflect the passes made by the knit carriage KC. The latter is set to knit, does not engage the belt, and does not advance the pattern. It helps to look at an expanded repeat to understand that indeed, transfers are made in 2 directions.
Referring to design row numbers, not necessarily those on a row counter:
1.  LC preselects for transfers to the left as it travels to the right
2.  LC makes transfers as it moves to the left, no preselection occurs, remains on the left side
3.  KC, moves to the left, completing the first knit row, creating loops on needles emptied by transfers, the pattern does not advance and remains on the same row
4.  KC, moves to the right, completing the eyelet stitches, the pattern remains on the same row, KC then stays on the right
5.  LC moves to the right, no preselection
6.  LC moves to the left and preselects for transfers to the right
7.  LC moves to the right, transfers to the right, no preselection
8.  LC returns to the left, no transfers or preselection, stays there
9.  KC moves to the left, and the pattern remains on the same row
10. KC moves to the right, and the pattern remains on the same row, KC then stays on the right Those familiar with eyelet formation in the more traditional transfer lace will notice the differences here, where the geometric shapes are technically superimposed on a mesh whose structure is revealed depending on where the transfers creating them take place. The fabric is easy and very quick to execute since most of it is in stocking stitch. The proof of concept swatch: The design was not planned as continuous, but is easily amended to be so. Here an alternate version is shown, with 2 linear repeats on the left, and a single expanded repeat to its right As for that mylar repeat, this is an image of the shapes with the chart collapsed, eliminating blank rows between black pixels. The resulting partial test used as drawn In fabrics designed this way, using the image as drawn (left), or mirroring it horizontally, does not visually change the result. This does not hold true in more complex transfer lace.
Several large-scale designs based on this method are found in Brother-electro-knit-lace-patterns-3 This random chart from the publication shows a pattern where the number of transfer rows between knit ones has more variation. Again, knit rows are marked in the column on the far left. Those marks on a mylar would remain visible on the outside of the machine, above the card reader as one progresses through knitting. Memo windows or handwritten charts may be the only option for accurate tracking, depending on the machine model and the row count variations. The repeat may also require it to be flipped horizontally. Simply reaching a row with no needle selection does not always mean the location for the 2 knit rows has also been reached. 2024:
The above is listed as a fine lace pattern. Most such patterns can be executed as  standard transfer lace as well.
The addition of the ArahPaint guess weave from grid tool makes the process of converting charts such as the above easier and quicker.
The final BW chart and the associated 60X74 png. Depending on the machine model, the file may need to be mirrored horizontally before any knitting.  in repeat The original image had markings for mylar that inform the frequency of knit carriage passes, which extend above the start and end of mylar markings to allow for the fact that the first design row is scanned below the row visible to the knitter on the exterior of the machine. When the png repeat is loaded into machine memory, reading begins on row 1. The knit row single pixel markings on the original can still serve as guides as to how many passes of the LC are followed by 2 knit carriage passes The column on the left indicates the number of LC passes before two knit carriage ones, the column on the right reflects the corresponding design rows. The image from the publication, with the color modified for clarity My sample was knit on a 930, hence mirrored horizontally, on 60 just stitches.
The yarn is a softly spun rayon with a tendency to split, and at the end of the second full repeat several stitches dropped, accounting for the length of the swatch;-)  The second volume is also available as a free download, and in addition, mylars are as well.
The latter makes for clearer stitch and row counts and easier file conversions.

Double bed embossed patterns

Some of the previous blog posts containing applicable samples:
Ribber fabrics with stitch transfers between beds 1Slip stitch patterns with hand transferred stitches, double bedBrother shadow lace, rib transfer carriage Combining knit carriage needle selection with racking   Racked patterns 5: Passap/Brother 2
directions and samples from manuals including racking on tuck stitch and other ground variations, this on a tucked ground, in a thin yarn 

Embossed, raised textures are familiar in single bed work using stitch structures such as tuck, slip, weaving, gathered and ruched hand techniques, and in double bed as pile, blister, lace, and ripple patterns.
When embossing is done double bed, the background fabric is knitted in purl stitches on one bed, and the raised design or panel in knit stitches on the other. The first method produces double knit patterns where all needles are working on the back bed, coupled with selected needles for the pattern on the opposite be. The raised, embossed portion is a double knit, showing relief on a purl ground. The second method is to use knit/ purl combinations, easiest to execute with a G carriage.
The striped ground occurs in areas where there are no needles in work and selected for patterning on the main bed. A cabled pattern to try: color changes in these instances are every 2 rows.
Because there are needles completely out of work on the main bed along with pattern selection, this is an instance where end needle selection must be canceled.
The first preselection row is from right to left toward the color changer.
Any transfers or stitch manipulations between or on either bed are made before the first pass to the right with the next color.
The knit carriage is set to slip both ways on the first pass in pattern from the left and stays there, the ribber is set to knit in both directions throughout. Depending on the yarn and the pattern distribution the all striped areas will be longer than those gathered by slipped rows. As usual, begin with a plan. After the first preselection row, transfers are made down to the ribber as indicated at the top of the chart. Cable transfers are made after every 14 knit rows, with stitches crossed on rows 15 and 31. After the cable cables are twisted, the stitches in the color that is going to knit in the next pass are brought out to E so they will knit in that color before the pass to the right, and again before the pass to the left, rows 16 and 32, Y.If the intent is to have solid vertical columns of color, those areas as in column marked A, need to be adjusted for using alternating colors as well. Using the repeat on the left of the chart After the first preselection row to left, transfers are made down to the ribber, stitches that will compose cables are selected in the pattern,
colors are changed after return to the left, and every 2 rows, stitches in the color that does not knit become elongated. Because column A was not color separated for alternating colors, each color in the corresponding needles will knit with every two carriage passes, and the result will be a striped vertical column Cable twists should be planned to retain the correct movent, can alternate each time or repeat in series, charts for location and direction of twists are helpful to avoid errors. The solid vertical columns here are planned in only one color, could be programmed to alternate as well. The repeat used in my swatch includes a solid column on each side of the finished piece, the color swap in the twist at the top can be an unplanned error or serve as a deliberate design change

Analyzing the stitch structures involved for planning 2 color DIY:
two-color ribs on a striped ground require cards or electronic repeats that select each color alternately. Fabric where the backing on the ribber or back bed in machines such as Passap knits all stitches every row is often referred to as half or full Milano. The backing may be also be knit using slip/ tuck settings.
Working in a single color, in half Milano and every needle rib course is followed by a plain knit row on the opposite bed, it is a 2-row repeat. In full Milano fabric, a row of every needle rib is followed by a plain knit row on one side of the fabric, and then by a plain knit course on the other. The repeat is three rows high. On every third row, the ribber carriage must be set to slip for one row, in the direction in which the carriage will be moving, prior to knitting a row with every needle preselection on the top bed. The setting is changed back to knit for 2 rows when the carriages reach the opposite side. The required cam change will happen on alternate sides. Both sides of the fabric have small stitches alternating with longer ones formed by slipped rows. half Milano full MilanoOften an all slip setting is used on the top or front bed, the result has less elasticity than a full needle rib, and the knit will have a tendency to curl toward the side which shows fewer knit rows, so in a finished piece side borders in the same stitch type should be considered.
Adding color changes in the ground requires altering the repeats.
Hand techniques may be used to modify ribs by cabling, racking, transferring stitches to the backing. When knitting again on empty needles, if you want eyelets, simply keep knitting. If not, hang the pull loop from the adjacent stitches on the opposite bed before resuming knitting.
Cable color placement must be reversed at the cable crossing.
Racked sequences are made along with stitch transfers.
To emboss other than vertical ribs the needle selection needs to be changed every 2 rows. This can be done manually, following a chart, or with programmed patterning whether with punchcard or electronic options.
Plaiting can produce 2 color variations without color separations.
When increasing stitches, moving the adjacent stitch onto the new needle, leaving it empty, will change the eyelet location a stitch away from the edge.
When moving stitches for decreases, lateral transfers may be made with multiple stitch transfer tools for different effects.
Transfer carriages can speed up the process.
To start the pattern one can begin with a cast on only on the ribber or back bed, or transfer non-selected stitches after the first preselection row on Brother as seen in most of my previous swatches, with 2 rows knitting on the backing alone, and 2 rows of the main color knitting on both beds. With either cast on, the preselection row is made toward the color changer with needles in work position on the main bed, so the knit carriage needs to be set to slip so as not to pick up unwanted loops on the top bed as it moves toward the color changer, and will remain set to slip both ways throughout the pieces.
As mentioned, the term Milano refers to ribs composing weft knit structures where one side of the fabric knits more rows than the other.
In half Milano, a single long stitch is created in the pattern color, in full Milano small stitches alternate with a row of longer stitches created when traveling back to the color changer.
The preselection start is determined by the type of long stitch, and how the repeat is programmed. I prefer to start my repeats with knit rows.
A half Milano swatch is begun with all stitches on the ribber bed, COR: the needle actions for each design row if patterning were on every needle are shown below. Designing may be easier to plan or chart on a template, followed by actions for each pattern design row with the second color. Half Milano on left, full Milano on right for use in 2- color-work 
Half Milano stitch formation on the left, full on the right Planning for a half Milano shape design outlined with added borders and with vertical columns at intervals in the alternate color: every 4th row is marked in yellow as the underlying template. A simple shape is charted out, marked with black cells, the pattern starts with a knit row. Preselection in slip stitch is made toward color changer, black pixels will pick up stitches moving to the right, slip top row moving to the left. Decreasing to maintain the dominant color shape is not necessary, while the border, in this case, is shaped by decreases made by transferring non-selected needles to the ribber before knitting with that color from left to right. Border cells are added immediately up and to the side of those planned for knitting on the previous row, their respective cells are outlined in green. Software programs make it easy to alter the repeats and add borders  if wanted
Actual knitting will indicate whether adjustments are needed in making the repeat continuous vertically or with some added striped ground only rows in between. I had not noticed a stitch hung up on a gatepeg, explaining the distortion in the row marked by yellow arrows, where the yarn was caught and pulled up. 

These techniques share some features with the category of double bed appliqué, where one bed knits the main fabric while the other creates the shapes, which are attached to the fabric as you knit. In the finished fabric the purl side is the right side, the ground may be created in a solid color or striped. Both shapes are knit at the same time, as opposed to performing the technique on a single bed. As usual, the color changers should be threaded so that yarns feed smoothly and do not cross. With simple shapes as in shadow lace, no punchcard may be necessary, while cards or electronic repeats simplify the steps and help prevent mistakes.
In Japanese machines, for each row in the charts 2 rows are knit in the background first on the ribber, followed by 2 rows in the shape color on the alternate bed.
Smooth yarns and contrasting colors that still allow identifying knit structures easily are best. There is a limit to the number of colors that may be knit at once. Beginning with hand techniques: it is good to chart out the design before tackling it, and with color changers limited to holding 4 colors, if planning several shapes, the sequences in the color changes may need to be plotted out ahead of knitting as well.
Purl loops are the tops of the stitches in the row immediately below the stitches on the needle on the opposite bed, marked in green, while sinker loops consist of the yarn that is between the stitches on the needles, marked in red. Hanging the purl loops will help to eliminate or reduce the size of the eyelets. Take care not to use the sinker loops between the stitches, marked in red.  In executing the fabric as a hand technique, the main bed is still set to slip in both directions, the ribber to knit every row
1. Knit 2 rows on the ribber alone
2. Bring needles to be worked in the pattern at the upper working position D or E, hang loops from ribber if there are increases if preferred, knit a row
3. Bring needles in pattern manually to D or E again, knit the second row of the appliqué
Repeat steps one and 2
In published directions color 1 usually refers to the ground color, which knits on the ribber only. Color 2 generally knits on the patterning bed as well. When most needles are in work on either bed, the tension for the yarn on that bed approaches the one used for that same yarn if it were being used single bed.
Punching all squares in 2 consecutive rows, or programming 2 all-pixel rows filled in completely across followed by two unpunched blank or all white pixel rows makes the process quicker. Punching or filling in single rows may be done as well, but requires elongation X2. Increases or decreases may be done on more than single stitches, and less frequently than with every pattern pass.
Fully fashioned shaping alters the edge of the appliques and places the eyelets in pattern, at or away from the edges. In Brother machines preselection of needles needs to be retained after any stitch manipulations.
Adding shapes with additional eyelets: practice shaping, keep notes, fully fashioned=FF  Begin with simple shapes, examining the quality of increases and decreases, whether single or multiple, eyelet formation.  Picking up from the row below before the next pass with the contrast color eliminates eyelets
picking up from row below at any point during knitting decreases in the number of stitches, in contrast, may be made by transferring down to the ribber prior to changing back to the ground color Simple increases or decreases are made by moving stitches laterally in either or both directions.  Increases may be made by moving contrast color stitches laterally, followed by the choice as to whether to fill in the empty needle or allow it to create an eyelet.   Fully fashioned increases or decreases are made by moving a stitch or a group of them to the adjacent needle/s to the left or the right and then taking the double stitches back to the original position, leaving a single empty needle for the planned eyelet formation. There should not be multiple needles with no stitches on them unless the goal is to expose a stripe of ground typically, in these exercises, there should be single empty needles after transfers, making certain proper needle selection for the pattern group is maintained Combining eyelets with lateral increases When transferring stitches, watch for any loops getting caught on gate pegs, as seen on the left below, increases and decreases may be pre-formed on more than single stitches

Planning a medallion: cyan cells represent transfers to the left, the magenta to the right. At the top of the single medallion, the stitches were transferred to the ribber prior to knitting with the same color once there was no needle preselection for it on the top bed.
Programming repeats to help track needle transfers as well: it is possible to start with a published repeat, though once the principle is understood, required markings for DIY become easier. Electronic machines leave one free in planning repeat width. In this test, a repeat from the Stitchworld pattern was used. In its built-in memory format, it will not work, the repeat needs to be altered. Each sequence of passes with the LC consists of 4 passes, followed by two rows knit with the KC. Two rows are added to each lace passes sequence, which will knit on the ribber only, in the contrasting color. Transfers to left and right are marked in cyan and magenta. The specific software used or machine model may require that the repeat be flipped horizontally prior to being knit, true on my 930. Markings on the left are for ribber actions and settings, those on the right for the main bed. K indicates that that bed will be slipping, K that it will knit. The first preselection row after the chosen cast on is from right to left with end needle selection canceled and the knit carriage already set to slip in both directions, with all required needles on the top bed in the B position.
Transfers are made prior to carriage passes made with the pattern color, in this case, white. If a transfer patterning row follows a white row on the ribber, extra white rows will appear on the striped ground seen in this test, where the ribber remained set to knit every row in both colors  To eliminate the extra white rows, the main bed stays set to slip every row, the ribber settings alternate. It is set to slip for two rows immediately after knitting with the red yarn, then will be reset and knits for 4 consecutive rows.  Transfers to create eyelets are made on selected needles on each of those two rows, always toward the carriage, even as the transfers themselves change directions as the angles of the shape decrease toward its center on the top half of the design. After the first transfer and the carriages travel to the right, a long float will be evident, will “disappear” on the return to the left. Patterning selection will reappear as the carriages return to the left. The color is not changed. The ribber is set to knit in both directions again, forming stitches on both beds for the first two rows, followed by a color change and knitting in the red, on the ribber only for 2 rows, completing a sequence of 4 knit rows before the ribber being set once more to slip.  For consistency, I changed the settings on it to slip before picking up the white, changed it again after preselection of lots of needles meant the top bed stitches needed to be knit on both beds again. The first proof of concept, observing choices: as with other samples, the first patterning row after all stitches are transferred to the ribber requires a choice as to whether to pick up from the row below or simply allow empty needles to pick up loops on the next pass, the choice throughout here, marked A. Reducing stitches may be done by transferring down to ribber, B, or lateral transfers, C. D marks the spot for a possible shape design shape. Arrows on the purl side point to the direction of transfers, cyan to left, magenta to the right  As with single bed lace, the first pass after transfers creates loops on empty needles, which here need to be kept in upper work, D position after transfers. For non Brother knitters, Brother positions are A, B, D, E, skipping C. Knitting over the loops on the next pass on that bed completes the stitch. This design is knit as continuous, the striping at the bottom is wrong because the red was not picked up after the first 2 rows knit in pattern with white,  most sequences for the remaining fabric are 4 passes with white in the feeder, followed by 2 in the red.  All eyelets here are reduced in size by picking up from the row below, all transfers for decreases are made laterally, the border is set to a width of 4 stitches, the pivot point for the repeat has been narrowed the differences at the edges of the shapes.  Many of the same principles may be applied to designs using tuck stitch settings, where the striping will appear vertically rather than horizontally
2 color ribbed brioche stitch on Brother knitting machine 1
Lace transfers meet fisherman rib, 2 color ribbed brioche on Brother machines 2
Geometric shapes on ribber fabrics with tuck stitches 1
More on Lace transfers in single color rib