More dragon scales and chevrons in ribbed, racked (4) fabrics

April 2025: Some knitters are visual learners and prefer video instructions. Elena Berenghean has created a clear, step-by-step video on knitting the punchcard scales on a Brother machine, shared in her Patreon, https://www.patreon.com/posts/dragon-scales-125827456
on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_9ntWS3ZUc
and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/elenaberenghean/
This old-timer admires Elena’s work and teaching methods. Her hand techniques are usable on any KM. So many rabbit holes to jump into, continuing interest and learning in our craft for new generations.

I reviewed this post and am amused that I narrated it in the first person as I worked through getting things to work. It is wordy, but it documents the trials, errors, and sometimes headaches before any success in developing DIY patterns and techniques.

Over the years, various fabrics have been named dragon scales or crocodile stitch. Here, dragon scales have referred to shapes created using a lace technique and resulting in a pattern such as this

that was followed by hand-knit samples and an investigation into possibly creating a ribber fabric with auto-shaping resulting in similar protrusion
ribber-pitch-a-bit-on-racking-1-chevrons-horizontal-herringbone/vertical chevrons/ herringbone which eventually led to this, where a reversal in racking periodically shifts the lean in opposite directionsautomating the pattern in half fisherman rib/ mylar repeat tracking shown. Any repeat in a factor of 24 may also be used on punchcard machines. The start of a series in varied colors and fibers: sometimes I enjoy getting back to the simplicity and predictability of punchcard machines, even though punching those cards can be slow and a bit tedious. I am now curious about striping again and forming a larger scale with a crisper fold.
The chart is for the working idea, the punchcard image illustrates how some of my cards begin to look as my work evolves. When marking cards for any action, the fact that the eye is not on the same design row as the reader needs to be considered. Here, racking numbers begin to get marked on what would be row one on a factory punchcard, 7 rows up for Brother KMs or above the two all punched rows on any other brand blank punchcard, or roll # position.
Though the final repeat is an even number of rows in height (42), note that each half repeat is not (21). The color changer sits on the left, so the first preselection row is left to right, with the cam button on KCI to ensure end stitches knit. Any color changes happen every even #X rows, so they will technically be in a slightly different spot on the alternate repeat. Some additional trial and error, random yarns: the white is a 2/15 wool, the yellow a 2/12, the blue an unknown thickness, also wool. The best of the lot, but not “there ” yet, is going back to one-color knitting. So then you go for a yummy alpaca and silk, make a racking error and manage to correct the pattern, and lo and behold, the yarn breaks halfway across the row a repeat up from there! “They” do keep talking about how relaxing knitting is ;-). Yarn specs: Fiber Content: 80% Alpaca/20% Silk; Weight: Lace; Gauge: 8 sts = 1″, 1/2-lb cones/3472 YPP (1736 yards/cone)This yarn is an English import, 2675 yards per pound. It felts into a lovely fabric (not the goal here) and knits tolerably well. The fabric is quite stiff, however, and the surface change is minimal and nearly completely lost.2/18 Jaggerspun wool-silk: worth a shot at a scarf. Starting ribber cast on left, followed by 2 circular rows, one closing row right to left, and first KCI row from left to right will set up patterning in tuck so that the direction of the arrows on the left side of the card, lines up with the racking number appropriate for that row before knitting it. The fabrics below are as they came off the machine, with no subsequent blocking. I have some lovely cash wool in 3 colors, 2/48 weight. Using 3 separate strands fed through the yarn feeder separately resulted in uneven feeding, loops, and too many problems. Using 2 strands “worked” easily, but the fabric was nearly flat. Cautiously winding 3 strands onto a cone before knitting gave far more predictable results; this image shows a scarf in progress. The color difference is due to the lighting at the moment. My best advice to anyone attempting this is to knit slowly.
The most likely spot for errors in my experience is at the point where
1: no action is taken for a row (or more in later swatches), so the racking position remains at 10 for 2 rows, and 2: for racking position 9, the knit carriage position is reversed in each half of the repeat.
One can also reach a left-right rhythm and, without realizing it, begin racking between positions 9 and 8 as opposed to 9 and 10, throwing the pattern off. Another look at racking positions: the numbers reflect the racking position before the carriage moves to the opposite side, and the arrows show the direction in which the carriage will be moving. Once the knit carriage moves, the card advances, so glancing at the card after that move will show the action for the next row at eye level, which can be confusing at times. A finished piece, 9.5″ X 64″, in the coned 3 strands of merino. Occasional single strand caught on ribber gate pegs, no yarn feeding issues. The fabric has not been blocked in any way but allowed to “relax”. I like the larger scale of the “scales” but would still like to introduce striping in a way that pleases my eye. The knitting is slow thanks to all the racking, but it is probably faster than using single-bed holding for similar shapes, with a very different finished look.
8/16: When the fabric relaxed, it became less 3D. Back to introducing stripes in contrasting color, an act of faith after lots of trial, error, and a punchcard redesign, this may have been worth the effort when done. I am choosing to cut the yarn and weave in the ends formed in the longer solid areas, and I am permitting myself to knit only while I feel focused on manual changes in color and racking. It may take a very long time to get to “scarf length,” and here is the fabric in a completed piece, about 54 inches in length when off the machine. The top right photo shows the reverse side of the piece; the bottom right is how it might appear when worn.  A test on how to use 2 carriages or change settings followed, allowing the turning stripes to help the scale shape bend outward into a “point”. I found that to get the width I needed, along with striping, it was simpler to change ribber settings to slip <– –> for all knit rows and retain the use of the color changer on the left.
It is easy to share successes. There are also those days, however, when one should not be anywhere within range of a knitting machine, and perseverance does not lead to anything positive.
The above scarf was knit in charcoal, using 3 strands of cash wool. Two strands of the blue yarn created a nearly flat fabric; 3 strands did the job. I now turn to true black and white. Knitting 3 strands of the black was impossible at any tension for any length. Then I noticed the ribber on the right was lower than it should be. It turned out the bolt used to adjust the height of the ribber was loose, and the slightest turn of it loosened it completely. So then it took way too long to get it back in place. Got things back together and set up, and with each movement of the racking handle, the ribber dropped on the right. After more fiddling that got me nowhere, I retrieved the ribber for another Brother machine that had not been used for years. It was dry, and the grease on it had turned black. Time flew while cleaning, oiling, and waiting. Back on the machine, the right ribber bracket of the alternate ribber will not allow it to drop on that side, so it’s back to grease and patience, and yes, I finally got it up and running, only now the smell of the oil and lubricants makes me want to leave my apartment. Outdoors, the temperature is a dozen degrees warmer than inside it and grossly humid. I don’t want my knitting to smell like the solvents either, so the remainder of the day is called in as a period of rest and recreation mixed with a touch of, hopefully, amnesia.
Moving on to the next day: success in one color with no major problems or errors produced a black scarf, 64 inches long with lovely bumps, shown here as it appears immediately off the machine 8/16: 3D shapes held up very well

So what would that true black in the thinner weight do with those stripes in a true white? I found myself forgetting completely to set the carriage to tuck for several tries, then messing up the color-changing sequence. Time for more R&R.
8/7: After several tests with minor variations in the pattern, sorting out yarn weights preferences, I decided to “go” for a version of the same stitch type as the charcoal and white in true black and white. Again, I am not able to use 3 strands of the black. Got a third of the estimated desired length knit, and whoopee! About 10 stitches dropped off both beds on the color changer side. Oh, the joys of unraveling several rows of sewing thread weight black yarn, in racked tuck stitch, down to an all-knit row in the white to make certain the proper number of stitches are in work on both beds. Got that far and am ready for more R&R.
And 8/8, the last in the series, at least for a while, in true B&W. The 3D texture becomes reduced by the weight of the finished piece as it is worn. The service manual http://machineknittingetc.com/brother-kr120-kr710-kr830-kr850-kr230-kr260-service-manual.html provides information on additional ribber adjustments.
The part in question in my troubleshooting appeared to be #24, the “slide plate guide stud”.
In the image below b/, the bolt that became completely loose. I discovered after getting things back together that a, which secures the ribber bracket, is actually directional with a barely perceptible difference in shape, and if accidentally rotated 180, it will keep the ribber bracket from changing height positions and working properly. Rotating it restored the expected actions, so now I have 2 well-functioning ribbers to work with.      As of 8/16, I now have a lovely, equally bumpy fabric in all 3 colors, using 2 strands each of the cash wool at the same tension. I am now using my alternate KR 850 ribber. The height and other adjustments appear identical to my eye. I am reminded of my teaching days in a Brother punchcard lab, where at times the same model machines might be side by side, and fabric would work perfectly on one machine while not on the other supposedly identical model.
Students were not allowed to swap off machines. The one exception was if that was the only way to produce the stitch types in their final projects after I attempted to isolate any other possible issues.
“They” do keep talking about how relaxing knitting is, but with machine knitting, there are lots of opportunities to wonder about that suggested fact.8/17: Complete a royal blue scarf in the smaller scale repeat, previously executed on my 910. The punchcard below the image may be used to achieve the same fabric. 8/18: Trucking on, planning a couple more pieces with the large-scale repeat. It seems I have been having more drat-it moments than one might ever want, resulting in discarding hundreds of rows of knitting for many reasons, including racking operator errors. I have also encountered another problem. In the past, I have used clear cellophane or a variety of other tapes to seal off holes accidentally punched in the wrong place.
I rarely produce multiples of any of my pieces, and my limited edition items were usually knitted on an electronic due to its increased ease in adjusting the repeat width and height to suit. Transitioning from the solid repeat to the striped one, I decided to punch out holes on my original card to test my ideas, and when returning to the large scales, I was too lazy to punch yet another card and taped over sections I wanted to eliminate from the selection. Hundreds of rows into yet another piece, I began to notice odd behavior in needle selection, which was fully remedied by investing time into punching a new card, and yes, starting over yet again. Note to self: do not use taping over in the future, no matter the tape, especially when knitting multiple pieces thousands of rows in length! 8/21: I am working on a final series of large-scale, single-color scarves. As has often been my experience in knitting long pieces of ribbed fabrics (most of my scarves are 1200 rows or more), I have a talent for developing problems after the ¾ point. Two factors that can affect stitches not forming properly: “suddenly” can be the result of 1: the slide lever setting being changed accidentally when moving ribber sinker plate ie to correct patterning errors and bring it to the opposite side, and 2: the ribber alignment for needle positions relative to each other on opposite beds changing slightly from all the side to side motion in racking nearly every single row.
The slide lever has 3 positions. I have gotten used to simply leaving it in its center setting (lili) for my knitting and used to teach students to keep that constant, if possible. Sometimes, when knitting ribbed cuffs, bands, or collars, the differences in length and width changed in the separate pieces and were not noticed until one was ready to join them.

Adjusting needle bed positions (for more, see https://alessandrina.com/2015/01/13/a-bit-on-ribbers-japanese-kms_-alignment-and-symbols-1/)The last piece produced by me was in a charcoal color, using the same yarn brand and weight as the black. All things being equal, using the same tension (required to avoid knitting problems), the charcoal version stitches were considerably looser and longer due to changes in gauge. This scarf will put this fabric to rest for me for a very long time.
This was my final, pre-punched card, and its markings

Some Passap patterns 2016/01/13/racking-2-vertical-chevrons-herringbone/
and 2016/01/09/ribber-pitch-a-bit-on-racking-1-chevrons-horizontal-herringbone/