Color Separation for Knits – Page 4

A complex published transfer lace to electronic repeat for download/ GIMP editing

Lace on the machine can render beautiful fabrics that closely resemble hand knitting, but programming very long repeats is a challenge both in placing every hole in the correct square in a punchcard and in programming individual pixels on a mylar or as pixels for download correctly. I found the “leaf lace” repeat below shared frequently on Pinterest and thought I would test the approach discussed in the post on using numbers and gimp to create images for electronic downloads. Because it is 16 stitches wide, it is not suitable for punchcard knitting, which requires a factor of (4, 6, 8, 12) and up to a 24 stitch maximum width.

The published pattern on the left is shown as shared on Pinterest. In turn, in was captured, opened in Gimp, and magnified. After a threshold adjustment, it was converted to a BW indexed, scaled to its 16X96 original stitch and row count, and then saved in 100% magnification result for the possible electronic download.

The published repeat is intended for use on Silver Reed knitting machines, for using it on Brother machines, the initial 2 blank rows are shifted to the top of the pattern design.
On the far left below is the first BW processed single repeat isolated from its source. To its right, it has been adjusted so the first row is a preselection row for the lace pattern, and the full repeat ends with blank rows (Brother KM characteristic). The latter in turn was saved as an image for download.
Since the leaves change direction in the way they lean, the spacing between each pattern swing in the repeat is actually 3 all blank rows, not the “standard” 2, including at the top.
The bottom half begins with the first row resulting in transfers to the left, while after the first 3 knit rows the transfers will begin to the right. The plan was for me to use Ayab for knitting a proof of concept swatch. In order to achieve that, the full repeat is first flipped horizontally (ayab will auto mirror it, so starting with it this way it will be in the correct orientation when knitting). The mirrored repeat may be used in unaltered machines as is with LC operating from the right, with KC operating from the left (not possible in ayab without adjustments). The full repeat consists of 16+14+18+16+14+18= 96 passes of the lace carriage, for every 12 rows knit. My sample was programmed horizontally for 3 full repeats, the width of my planned swatch. I added one additional needle in work on each side, with the LC end needle selection canceled, allowing for the full pattern as programmed with a single stitch all knit border on either side A tightly twisted cotton yarn did best in terms of handling the multiple transfers and not resulting in split stitches or breaking. I had occasional selection errors, seen in the center panel at the top of each repeat (my common experience with the interface), but the repeat itself appears to be sound. Lace repeats that have even numbers of rows for both and LC transfer and knit ones are easy to follow. Punchcards are also easily annotated and if knitting is interrupted needle selection is easy to return to or restore if necessary. In electronics, there may not be any memo to indicate row # location for each carriage pass in the pattern, or when to switch carriages. Because in this instance there are so many transfers (some of the multiple stitches) between knit rows and dropped stitches are best corrected as noticed during knitting if possible, I created a “cheat sheet” of sorts to help keep track of actions. Each block outlined in red here represents one full repeat, read from the bottom-up, with blue borders at the center and red at the end of each half sequence. A visual check at the end of each segment’s # of rows in the series is well worth it to prevent unnoticed runaway dropped stitches and large holes. A check-in box next to # could indicate the completion of transfers. and a number added manually in that same row for that sequence, record the row on which knitting was interrupted ie. stopping on row 8 out of 16 to fix dropped stitches would be a reminder that 8 more LC passes are required before the next visual check.

9/23/18 In now have been experimenting on a 930, where each pass of the LC is actually tracked, akin to following numbers on a punchcard. Built-in patterns also offer a memo window, which will alert the knitter as to when knit rows are due In testing the pattern with img2track I found the LC passes are still counted, but the memo window is absent upon download. I generated a chart in Mac Numbers, reads from the top-down, expanding on the one above. It illustrates the number of LC passes (left column) required to produce any significant length of fabric. Patterns such as these are not for the faint of heart and require a friendly yarn. 2168 passes of the LC (33 full repeats, outlined in green; red line separates half repeats) are accompanied by 396 rows of “actual” knitting. In actual knitting, the pattern advances from row 1 to 96, and back to 1 again. A check-off list can be much simpler if one is desired. The numbers on left appear in the LC window in a 930, when reached 2 rows are knit with the KC. The numbers at the top reflect completed repeats. Boxes can be checked moving to the right as those rows are completed Another option is to download the pattern in img2track, and then enter memo information prior to knitting it. Two youtube videos that show how to enter memos in machine models that allow it, 930 included https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0tXNT76v10 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR8MheT5Bao. The number 2 may be entered after numbers on the left appear in the LC passes count window, and provide an easy guideline to follow. And this is what testing lace patterns can look like. In this instance, a tighter stitch tension, a bit of change in weight, and visually checking after each row of transfers brought me some success. This is not a stitch pattern that lends itself to easy “repairs”. A more successful sample knit also on the 930 using the shared repeat as given, knit in wool-silk 2/18

Pretend/ mock cables 3

A Facebook group query brought up the possibility of creating cables in an “easier, quicker” way than by crossing stitches by hand. Over the years different authors have suggested a “sewn” method for pulling stocking stitch columns together in order to achieve the cabled effect. The illustrations are usually of the work done on a ribbed fabric, but it also may be achieved in simple stocking stitch, with ladders marking the edges of the mock cable, and providing a visual line to follow and count spaces when smocking the fabric up. The width of each column, the yarn fiber content, and personal preferences will determine the success” of the results.

I was reminded of “magic cables”, a technique made popular years ago in a copyrighted pattern series by Ricky Mundstock, ie this one from 1969 (illustrated online). The concept originated in a Japanese publication years before, relies on hooking up tuck loops to create the cable-like effects. I tend not to knit from published patterns, set out to understand what makes the fabric work in theory, and then sort out whether I have other preferences of my own for creating it. I began to experiment with a totally random tuck card. Tuck is chosen for the background because it is short and fat, giving the taller all knit rows for the “cables” the possibility of an additional gather, adding to their depth. I chose a purely random repeat, which is a good way to start for DIY if hesitant about the process. White squares will not be selected, will tuck for 2 rows, have a knit stitch (black dot in card) on each side of them. Max on Brother, unless using very thing yarn would be white bars single square in width, 4 rows in height (yes, there can be exceptions on rare occasions)
The card is cropped to the 24 X 44 stitch in width and height for the repeat to be worked in electronics. The area colored blue on the far right indicates possible all knit rows for hooking up “cables” during knitting, mustard color indicates ladders created by an out of work needle on each side of the central, all knit column. The ladders make it easier to identify each all knit column. The tape over holes idea does not work for masking a punchcard since that blue area would need to be all punched holes. The tape over would result in “unpunched” ones.

This takes the revised card single repeat and indicates some quick possibilities for altering it I added 2 more stitches to establish a slightly different pattern. The grab form my work in Numbers was then opened in gimp and scaled to 26X44 for the possible knitting pattern. If working with black and white squares, the image will need to be colored reverse for knitting. I abandoned this repeat for my final swatches in favor of keeping markers for hooking stitches up along the all knit column inside the ladders as opposed to the knit body of the remaining shapes. Here the non-selected needles are placed along the knit column itself, on alternating sides. The final repeat after correcting a pixel error I discovered while knitting: Ayab does not repeat across the horizontal row, each stitch in the width you are planning to knit needs to be programmed. For a test swatch, I decided to work with programmed 72 stitches (knit on fewer). This would be the downloadable file

magnified and gridded to visually check again prior to knitting it This is what is seen by the knitter when the image is loaded, but any image loaded is automatically flipped/ mirrored horizontally by the software. Direction may not matter in the overall pattern, but here we have needles out of work, which if selected on the basis of what is seen as opposed to what is knit, would be in the wrong location. The first preselection row is also only possible from left to right. The easiest way to empty the proper needles is to do transfers after that row, to either side, restoring needle selection prior to continuing to knit. Also, since there are needles out of work, end needle selection is canceled (KCII).

In my first swatch, I tried the idea of hooking up stitches in opposite directions, but was not pleased with the result, wanted to reduce the amount of hand manipulation involved. In the later swatch, I hooked up every other selection onto the same side. Arrows here indicate the direction, not the proper needle position.

Alternating side hooking up with some yarn and needle change issues. Hooking up to one side only was quicker to execute and appeared more pleasing to me. Both swatches had blips from an errant pixel. Steps in knitting the above fabric. The actual knitting will happen with what is shown as the repeat with white pixels on the dark ground, seen looking at the center vertical all knit column of the repeat when knitting the fabric. Allow the non-selected needle on the left side of the column to tuck, providing a marking row for picking up stitches, knit until the needle on the right side of the column is not selected. Prior to knitting across that row pick up the tucked loop and stitch on the left side
Lift both loops up onto the non selected needle on the right side of the column, bring that needle all the way out to hold (three yarn loops in the hook)

Continue knitting until the next non-selected needle in the column appears once again on the right, pick up from below the left marking spot, and repeat. For DIY insert all knit columns on your chosen repeat and proceed as above.
Visualizing possibilities: chart for side by side columns actions on the purl side is shown. The black columns with arrows coupled with photos show the direction of the hook-ups in the back, purl side of the fabric, and potential “cables” as seen on the knit side using the column repeat illustrated above. This is a garter stitch version found on Pinterest

Charting knits using Mac Numbers: color separations 2

This is not intended as a full tutorial, it presumes there is some familiarity with concepts for charting knits or proportioned graph paper using spreadsheets. I am sharing some of my recent explorations using the latest version of Numbers version 5.01 in Mac High Sierra 10.13+ OS. To my knowledge, there are no other specific directions for using the program for this purpose. As I progressed through the separations below, I “found” new ways to deal with cell selections and table properties. At some point, I will work on expanding the original post on drawing motifs (Numbers 3.2.2).

The command key has become my new friend. In my past experience using excel, I found limited ways to work with designing motifs and working with color in cell groups. When working on the design for 3 colors per row slip stitch for a segment of this post, I found holding down the command key while drawing makes clicking on cells and selecting them sequentially, to be akin to using a pencil/ paint bucket option in paint programs. The process is significantly faster than the other steps I have tried. This image is the intended, final one Working on the table: the areas selected holding down the command key and in turn clicking on chosen cells sequentially are outlined. They were color filled with blue for my chart. The one extra square “error” in the center of the motif was dealt with individually and changed in the subsequent color selection. For a screen grab with table markings, a cell must still be highlighted. If it is not, only the selected cell contents are captured.

In a post I wrote in 2012, I referenced the features of splitting cells that disappeared in a later version of the software. These options for working with rows and columns are available. The highlighted row will be duplicated, one row at a time, a slower process than simply splitting cells. A positive feature is that an individual table may be changed while still within view of other tables on a single sheet, without globally affecting the document. It is possible to create blank rows between design ones. Though the results from such charting are not capable of being downloaded directly into knitting software, they are a good way to sort out repeats and begin to understand and create any necessary color separations. By holding the command key, rows on the table can be highlighted and hidden as a group. I chose all the even-numbered rows. The repeat then is drawn. When it is complete, rows originally targeted for hiding are “unhidden”, leaving the design motif with a blank row between each design row, at twice its length. Hiding could take place at irregular intervals as well.

Putting theories into practice: DOUBLE BED

QUILTING: in terms of applying the technique, the first charts are based on a quilting post that created this example using other software

I had a 14-row motif in mind, so I created a table 28 rows in height, twice that of the motif. While holding down the command key I clicked on all odd-numbered rows and hid the 14 highlighted rows. I then drew the motif on the collapsed chart in the reduced number of rows. When it was completely filled in 2 colors, I used the option to unhide rows, having the expanded graph now 28 rows in height

On the left is the 2 colors “basic” chart. You will notice it is missing a blank row at its top. Check to be sure that the expanded image has that space, it is needed for that last row of color 2 (blue) to move up. In the center, by clicking on each blue square and then clicking on it again and “dragging”, I moved each square immediately above its spot, on the matching location in the blank row. I like to work with black and white squares before drawing bitmaps or other formats for download, so the image on the far right have all colored squares reduced to black and white ones. I filled them in Gimp using the paint bucket on a screengrab of the color separation, but it may also be done in Numbers (see below)

DOUBLE JACQUARD COLOR SEPARATION: this table was part of the review of color separation methods reviewed in a previous post For the first method: testing using a simple shape, 8 stitches by 8 rows, create table 16 rows in height by 8 columns (stitches) in width. Hold command key, click on odd number rows, choose to hide 8 rows from the table menu, resulting in reduced 8-row height. After the motif is drawn on the reduced table size, the odd-numbered rows are then unhidden. Next, fill in any squares in the restored rows that are empty in the row below, where markings already exist. This may be done all in one color, but I used green for the purpose of illustration. The image on the far right may then be entered into an imaging program ie GIMP for download, drawn as is. The choice follows as to whether to double the file in height prior to programming the machine or choosing software options for double-height after loading it if that is a function of your knitting software This image is from a previous post on DBJ separations for punchcard machines using the same size repeat and mirrored (punchcards reverse the image), offered as proof of concept The second method is for the color separation that knits each color for each row only once: the motif can be drawn in black and white. The sequence is different than for above. Rows are hidden in pairs above row 1 (16 in table left), then the repeat is drawn in black squares only. Adding a column with numbers for each row in the original provides added cues, and follow with the changes in tables. The rows are “unhidden”, resulting in the completed separation for color 1. Color 2 (in different colors in the center chart for purposes of illustration): on the first blank row, (odd row numbers for color 2) fill in squares empty in the row below, on the second blank row, fill in all squares empty in the row above (even-numbered rows for color 2). On the right is the repeat ready to be drawn for download.

Drop stitch lace, one color, partial repeat inspired from post, 10 rows in height vs 9: beginning with table 20 rows in height, repeat is drawn with hidden rows (markings on left), in addition, design row numbers are added in a column on right expanded design revealing hidden rows, black squares ready to be programmed

ONE REPEAT, 2 FABRICS once again, beginning with a repeat from a previous post DBJ with each design row knitting twice, no elongation: each design row needs to be expanded into 4 rows of knitting. The first table is drawn with table rows and design rows matching

Starting at the top, using the option key and the down arrow, the chart is expanded by using the down arrow three times before moving onto the next row and repeating the command. Any errors in single rows are easily edited. I have added the green cells on the right to represent the alternate 2 rows of color 1, making it easier to keep an eye on rows as chart is edited further

holding down the command key, it is possible to perform the same action in multiple rows

I began by eliminating the red on rows marked with green cells, leaving only the black in those rows. Copying and pasting the chart with each step provides a continuing visual check and may avoid restarts. In the middle chart, black has been eliminated from rows (with no color cells on the far right) containing red. Lastly, red cells are changed to black for the final pattern repeat.

DROP STITCH LACE IN 2 COLORS: my original separation

Today’s much quicker method, using the all-black chart from the DBJ separation for the repeat on the far right and the command key again, I selected odd-numbered rows from the bottom up and removed the fill. The results match the ones from the previous method

Three colors per row slip stitch: the method is the same as for 3 colors per row DBJ. The separation from my previous post

the repeat and its companion table:

6 rows are required to complete a single row of the design. These charts get very long. I chose to work first with each design row repeated twice, and then followed the same process as for the 2 colors per row separation, including reducing the cells to all black. As one advances up the table, color markings on the far right indicate the single color that is to remain in that row. Hold down the command key, and select for removing fill in as many areas as comfortable. The magnified images with tables lining up side by side provide a visual check. For screen grabs such as these, the individual tables may be moved to the front or back of others by using the arrange feature in the format menus. The black and white squares would be converted to punched holes in a card (as is) or pixels. On either machine, they require elongation X2 for use with the color changer. Again, the increase in length may be achieved prior to download in your paint program, or automatically in software or KM that has the feature built-in. To elongate the image on the right use option and down arrow if starting from the top. I added design row numbers on the right of the table to help track the process. Clicking on those numbers performs the same action as doing so on row numbers generated by the software when creating the tables. At left is the repeat in process, on the right the final one. Note: the numbers 6 and 7 are sequential on the left, an error, with no empty cell vertically between them. It is easy to see which row is not elongated and to make the correction seen in the image to the right.

SINGLE BED

It helps to have some understanding of rules for creating fabrics such as mazes and mosaics prior to designing your own. The color separation can be a tedious one. I have previously worked out the repeats in paint programs. This method is far quicker, but there are still lots of pixels that need to be entered in software for download or squares that need to be punched. There are very interesting results that can happen by using pre-punched factory-supplied punchcards. Any of the same designs may be worked on both single and double bed, but the topic here is for a DIY approach to the separation for suitable designs

MOSAICS 2 WAYS: I previously posted on drawing motifs, and moving from design to pattern. Here again, I am starting with an 8 stitch repeat. The first method results in a repeat suitable for use with electronics. The repeat then in turn needs to have its colors inverted and is programmed to knit double length. Color changes will occur every 2 rows. The original motif is on the left, shown with hidden rows on the right. The expanded table is 16 rows in height, double the row height of the original repeat (8). Hide odd-numbered rows, and fill in your motif. (Note table row markings as opposed to the design repeat row markings)
On the expanded graph, with unhidden rows, on odd-numbered design repeat marked rows, fill in empty squares with another color. Follow that by in turn removing any black squares in that same row. Hide rows to collapse the shape, resulting in the top image on the far right. The bottom right chart repeat illustrates pixels that would need to be programmed. The setting is slip stitch on the main bed <– –>. With color reverse, the now white squares will knit, the now black squares will slip.

Punchcard knitters need to punch the majority of squares. They are manually accomplishing the task automated by color reversing the repeat in electronics. This fabric is knit at double length, with color changes every 2 rows. The alternate color now fills in empty squares on even-numbered design repeat marked rows in the expanded table. Black squares are removed from those same rows. Hide blank rows. The bottom right chart shows stitches that will be knitting, white squares will be slipping.

EXPERIMENTING WITH LARGER DESIGNS I began with an image used in one of my earlier posts on the topic, worked through the whole process, and realized at the end of it that my repeat was technically 23, not 24 stitches wide, so it was back to the drawing board for the separation once again with the now counted and marked 24 stitch repeat. Tiling is a quick and easy process using gimp, and these repeats should be checked as those for any other type of fabric.

The newly corrected repeat (center) was then drawn onto a table twice its original height, as described above. The added rows that will be hidden and in turn unhidden are partially shown in incomplete width and highlighted on the right. A second color may be added to the repeat at this stage, but I find the results too much to deal with visually for further editing The rows are hidden prior to drawing the repeat and unhidden to create the expanded graphs. The command key is held down while clicking on selected rows along with the design height for both actions. I find the expanded rows easier to follow for editing, with the blank rows between giving my eyes a rest. If black is one of the colors, the borders may be drawn in any shade other than black to make counts in black areas easier. Some of the early programs actually assigned black as the value for the €œtransparent€ grid, automatically changing palette colors to other values, or resulting in error messages if black was part of the design palette. Since the repeat eventually will need to be reduced to pixels or holes in cards, one can attempt to skip a step by using a darker color for color 2 in the separation and count squares and draw pixels from there. I personally find it easier if I am dealing with only black squares when plotting out pixels for download. Adding color to numbered table cells on the right is another clue to follow. Within the spreadsheet, the whole document allows for easy travel between magnifications for easier editing or prepping for any screen grabs.

Here the repeat is drawn, rows are unhidden, on even-numbered design rows (highlighted on the right in green), the empty squares in that row are filled in with a different color (red). The black squares in those same rows are then in turn emptied of color (no fill). Again, holding down the command key while selecting across a row allows the same change to be applied to all those cells, making the process faster

a partial repeat for the squares altered in colors for respective color changes the completed results for each step If rows are hidden at this stage, the center image will result, and all red squares may be changed to black if preferred

As mentioned, I prefer to work on expanded graphs. When ready to hide rows, select empty squares (no numbers) on right, again holding down the command key while doing so to make a global change as opposed to row by row

The BW image tiled. Most electronics (ayab is an exception) require a single repeat in width and height. If color reversal is an option, one may program white squares and use the machine or software to color reverse. Punchcard knitters use the 24 stitch width repeat in width, twice in length, punching all black squares. Slip stitch <€” €”> is the default setting.

After all that, let us not forget that for color changes every 2 rows the new repeat needs to be programmed to knit at twice the height. Again, most electronics (ayab is an exception) have a double-length option. I began at the top of the repeat, working my way down. The pull-down table menu may be used, or the shortcut: option key, down arrow for an exercise in “add row below”. One can verify that no rows have been skipped by checking on design row numbers on right. Punchcard knitters punch black squares. Electronic knitters have the option of drawing and programming the white squares as well but followed by the use of the color reverse option prior to knitting the fabric.

In a later post, on using numbers and gimp to produce files downloadable for knitting on electronic machines, the method is explained for taking the numbers generated image above, opening it in gimp, where stitch and row markings are cropped. The mode is then altered to a BW indexed one,

which scaled to 24X28 is ready for download (shown magnified here)
and the repeat is shown in a tiled configuration test

Lace edgings on Brother machines- automated with slip stitch

I wrote this post (unaltered) in March 2018, returned to the topic of automated lace edgings on Brother machines in July 2020. As often happens after some distance, details may be freshly observed or seen in a different light, and approaches then in turn vary or change.
Some of these edgings have been reworked, and new ones added in subsequent shares.
My blog posts include my notes as I work through concepts, not every chart represents a successful repeat.
As of this year (2020) I no longer own a 910 or an Ayab interface, so I am unable to provide further tested revisions or advice on their use.
The edgings outside this post were knit using img2track, but the same repeats should work in the 910 with Ayab with adjustments for starting row and mirroring.
At some point in time I began to include pngs as well as charts for my designs, they will be added for these trims as I review content.
A reminder: although I make an effort to include punchcard knitters in my writings, the 24 stitch repeats shared and used for my swatches testing this technique and knit on an electronic, are not suitable for use on punchcard machines. They would need to be adjusted along their full height.
When 2 carriages engage the belt selecting needles as the carriage from the opposite side first comes into use, the punchcard does not advance, selecting the same design row once more.
Many early published trim repeats were intended for use with hand transfers combined with plain knit rows. Such designs may be translated for use on electronic models using this technique.
The initial goal here is to produce a knit fabric using lace transfers in a familiar way, but the knit carriage will now be set to slip in both directions, also selecting needles with each pass.
In routine transfer lace knitting, the KC is set for plain knit, does not preselect needles, or advance the mylar, punchcard, or rows in electronic patterning.
This image, where all blue squares represent knit stitches and white squares unworked ones, is the start of planning it to produce a piece of knitting on the machine.
The initial hand technique approach might be to use a single prong tool to move the edge of the blue in one stitch to the right for a decrease and out one needle to the left for an increase.
When the decrease is made on the bottom curve, the needle from which the stitch was taken must be pushed back out of work.
When an increase is made, an empty needle is moved to work on left, and the last stitch on that side is transferred onto it. As knitting continues, that now empty needle location will create an eyelet.The stitches on the needles at the decreased edge will hold two stitches after the transfers, the ones at the increased edge will hold single stitches after the transfers, producing a different quality.
I decided to “wing it” for the first swatches. This illustrates the same knit shape. Blue rows represent all knit rows and stitches, the empty pairs of rows leave areas to insert lace eyelets in a pattern.Arrows indicate the movement of the lace carriage on left, knit carriage on right. Red squares now represent transfers to right, green ones transfer to leftA second transfer to the right is included in the pattern close to the left edge of the trim to create eyelets next to the decreases, matching those eyelets created by stitches moving out in the increase segment of the chartA theoretical series of right and left transfers is then inserted, creating a shape in the center of the trim’s widthNow reducing it all to black and white squares or pixels for first preselection from right-hand side using an electronic. This repeat is not suitable for use in a punchcard machine even though it is 24 stitches wide. Electronics advance a design row with each pass of the carriage when cam buttons are pushed in and with both carriages set to needle select. Punchcard machines in those circumstances do not advance when the alternate carriage is brought into work from the opposite side.
This charted repeat and any designs beginning with a single row of black pixels are usable as shown on an unaltered910 using a mylar, or download programs that allow for the first preselection row from right to left.
The LC operates in the traditional manner from the left, KC from the right but in the decreasing shape, the transfers begin to the right instead of the traditional left. This requires a shifting of pixel placement since the traditional start in published Brother designs is usually with transfers to the left. Planning the repeat in that manner reduces the number of blank rows. For use with Ayab software two other things need consideration.
Ayab mirrors lace repeats, so either mirror the repeat of the original design or choose action mirror in the software prior to knitting.
This is a screengrab of the repeat used for the initial test swatch.
The designs shared are not always resolved, problem areas are pointed out in proof of concept fails.
The section where the diamonds cross in at the center of the design was altered in the later repeat. Since the knit carriage in the present Ayab version needs to preselect with the first pass from left to right, and to knit two rows with two more KC passes to return it in position on the right, the top row of the proposed design was moved down to row 1 position, resulting in two rows of all black pixels.
That can be achieved manipulating the starting row count or simply planning for mirroring and black pixel row starts in the DIY png.
Brother preselection can be confusing to new users. Carriages can knit one preselection while concurrently preselecting the next row.
Design rows as numbered in any chart may differ from those on a KM row counter or prompts from software.
To review: the KC here preselects left to right, knits black squares to left, preselects the same needle selection again to knit those same stitches traveling back to its home on the right, creating the two knit rows that in “normal lace” would be worked with the KC simply set to knit.
As the KC now knits the second row, it preselects needles for the first row of transfers, rests on the right
LC transfers to the right as it travels to the left preselects the next row of transfers. As it moves back to left it transfers to left, preselects for first of 2 all knit rows, rests on left
The sequence is repeated until the piece reaches the required length.
In these first repeats where the designs begin with two all knit rows, end needle selection is off on both carriages.
As LC travels to left, because of no end needle selection, the first needle on the right is not selected. An option is to manually pull that needle out to insure it knits. I preferred the chain created by those single stitches knitting only every other row, but was not happy with the elongated stitches on alternate rows edge stitches on the increase side. These would be the carriage actions I had a serious yarn tangle on the right about halfway up the swatch, with some of the evidence visible near thecenter of the swatch photo changing that crossing of the diamond outlines, still “winging it”
My fiber is now crisp cotton, unmarked weight, tension 8, and it is much easier to observe areas that may still be a problem for me as the designer.
Ideally, I would prefer the lines created by the transfers marked in cyan to match the quality of those immediately below or to the ascending part of the diamond on their opposite side, which would require changes in the transfer sequences and space between knit rows.
The LC non-selected stitches on the straight creating every other row slipped stitch is still something I like.
The difference on the edge stitches in the ascending angle is happening because with each transfer out, there is a single thickness of yarn on the new edge stitch, and moving the stitch over a needles space elongates it.
Longer loops are also created when single increases are made by bringing needles into work on the carriage side prior to knitting a row across all needles. In the trim’s decrease edges, the transfers in each new edge stitch have double the yarn thickness contributing to a different appearance, highlighted with magenta arrows. There are 2 rows that have no edge transfers programmed intentionally in the center before reversing direction, so that area has no resulting edge eyelet. The last shot at adjusting the repeat, with improvement in those cyan, marked areas. Plain knit rows may be added between each repeat, the edge of the knit will be different than in the remaining trim on each sideGoing back to the wheel that has already been invented, how can pre-drawn published MK lace repeats be used instead of “winging it” endlessly or not having the confidence to perform the necessary assigning symbols and proceeding with the required separation? Still trying to work with a pattern that knits for 2 rows, transfers for 2, a chart from Stitch World:

marking the 2 all knit rows that will be plain knit by programming black squares The pattern is actually for an all over lace. All the transfers in the central diamond actually are happening in the same direction. If the repeat was programmed in the usual manner, beginning with LC on the left, those transfers on the first design row and in the whole of the center diamond shape would all be to the left. I can live with them all being to the right, and would be interested in more eyelets at the edge of the trim. Here is a new repeat, with the increased eyelets at the curved edge There is a disruption for 2 rows in the very center of the diamond, where no increases or decreases occur on the shaped edge prior to reversing the shaping. It was there in the earlier sample marked with arrows as well, but not as noticeable where the edge was created with the addition of single eyelets on increase and decrease rows.For pngs for this reworked, more resolved repeat see Lace edgings on Brother machines- automated with slip stitch 2. 3/7/18: a lace punchcard repeat with transfers in opposite directions Assigning colors to transfers: red to left, blue to right. In theory the same repeat could be used flipped horizontally for operating the lace carriage from the right. Yellow lines highlight the 2 blank rows in card that will be replaced by black squares/ pixels (remember rules are different for slip and lace in punchcard knitting)Since the goal is a trim, things are rearranged for knitting to begin on the full 24 stitches There are 2 ways to get the above repeat to work, one is by adding extra blank rows. I chose to reverse positions for transfers, moving left transfers up one row, and red down one row. With lace carriage operating from the left this is my new repeat, with edge shaping added for trim edgeKC is set to slip after the first preselection row, first set of transfers is selected on its second pass to the right. The first transfers with the LC are made to the right, the second set to the left. If knitting the repeat using Ayab remember the above is mirrored by the software, so choose action mirror prior to configuring it.
I knit a swatch using the thinner yarn again. The difference in increasing angle can be seen here as well, the pattern is short, so the outer curve of the trim reflects that

3/10/18: an adaptation of Susanna’s automatically shaped trim for Brother KM, p. 223 of “A Machine Knitter’s Guide to Creating Fabrics”.
This chart shows the first rows of the published punchcard. Please note: using my own lace carriage, when I tested canceling end needle selection, the problem was not solved. Brother setting recommendations made for a similar transfer pattern in an edging published by them, are given and repeat is pictured at the end of my post.Row 1: LC moves to the right, no needles selected
Row 2: LC moves to left, preselects next row of transfers
Row 3: LC moves to the right, transfers preselected needles to right (red dots), selects needles (if any) for next pass to left
Row 4: LC travels to and transfers to left (green dots), preselects for the first row to be knit by KC In this particular pattern the direction of the arrows match the direction of the transfers with movements of LC operating from left
Row 5: KC from right, set to slip <– –> knits all needles in D position, repeats the same selection as it travels to left (yellow marks)
Row 6: KC travels back to right, in the second shaped knit row, preselects for the next transfers to be made by the LC
Row 7: LC travels to and transfers to right, preselects for next row of transfers
Row 8: LC travels to left, transferring to left if any needles have been preselected on the previous pass, and the process continues
The numbers on the punchcard chart do not reflect actual row numbers in knitting because when row 4, 10, etc is reached, on the next pass (a blank row in the card), the card does not advance and the previous selection is repeated. For each carriage to make an even number of passes to travel to and from its original position, the total length of the repeat must be an even number of rows.
Here is my series of steps in attempting to adjust the 24 stitch repeats for knitting on the electronic.
A for an unaltered 910
B indicating the direction of transfers (red to right, green to left). Arrows mark the problem row, and my solution to it
C on the far right, the repeat converted to black and white pixels, with a single all black pixel row

Both KC and LC are set not to select first and last needles in the directions. When the decreases start to happen on the left of the chart because the end needle selection for transfer to the right again does not happen in areas marked with magenta arrows, there is an extra stitch that remains on the left that does not get transferred (orange dot) so it is not knit off and simply get held as subsequent rows of knitting take place.
Restoring needle selection in the LC is not a solution for the problem, so the final repeat has been amended by me to get that edge transfer.
The pattern starts on cast on 20, not the full 24 stitches. Ayab knitters: use the LC to begin selection from left.
The first pass will select for a knit row, push those needles back to B, and the LC will select for transfers to right on the next row as it moves to the left. When knitting is to take place there is a clear distinction in the number of selected needles (black squares).
The KC will be set to slip <– –>. Make certain to remember to return the remaining 4 of the 24 total stitches back to B so the full repeat is in work on the needle bed before continuing in the pattern, otherwise there will be needles there to accept stitches moved over for increases to left.
The two extra passes of the LC in this method result in a 2 stitch border on the increasing and decreasing angles of the piece, creating a much nicer edge than that in the samples at the top of the post. The eyelet so close to the right edge stitch which also winds up being slipped every other row made for very messy loose stitches in the thicker cotton that I could not control. The sample did better when I pulled the non selected needles on knit rows out to hold prior to moving across them with KC.

Adding extra stitches knit on the right side of the original repeat made it possible for me to use my cotton again, giving me a controllable edge on that side without having to pull stitches out to make them knit.
To my eye, I find the extra passes with the LC and extra knit stitches are well worth the effort along with planning extra knit vertical columns in the finished piece

I prefer to start my repeats on the full width of the repeat, this 24X70 png shifts the first segment to allow for that, still with a single all knit row start, making it suitable for non-Ayab knitting, its png is mirrored as it might be, depending on end use prior to download The 26X70 repeat with start at the narrow end its matching png without mirroring, and beginning on the narrow end of the design. Something to try: I found instructions ascribed to Brother for another version of edging using a pattern that has the same eyelet sequences along the shaped edgings. Their recommendation for a 950i is to remove the non-selection mechanism on the lace carriage, and mention was made of the “rubber wheels on the carriage” being uppermost, allowing the end needles to be selected.
My lace carriage at this writing has fixed, old fashioned brushes, not rubber wheels, and my eliminating end needle selection did not solve the problem with that single stitch in the center of the repeat. And if there is not enough to keep track of, this also combines fine lace and traditional transfer lace, would work fine as just lace.
Many patterns recommending switching between fine fine transfer lace and traditional can be attempted without switching settings, as all transfer lace.
In fine lace, stitches are shared between two needles, the technique is sometimes referred to as half- lace stitch. Any resulting eyelets are significantly smaller, and the texture created by the partial transfers is subtle 3/15/18 after more testing I have come to the conclusion that end needle selection cancellation on my 910 LC is working properly, but is not operative when I am working with my Ayab interface.

Double jacquard using punchcard machines

Each row of double jacquard consists of at least 2 rows of patterning, one with ground yarn, the other with contrast.
The rows knit per design row vary with the number of colors used in the design. The appearance of the designs and their backing vary based on settings used ie, tuck, slip, or normal knit, and their consistency or combinations in the same piece.
Punchcard knitters are not excluded from producing such fabrics, but the color separation is done by hand or using software, marking matching squares to pixels on the card, printing traceable templates, and then the cards are punched. The size of the repeat is less important in creating interesting knits than the choice of yarns, colors, and technique choices.
In early art-to-wear days, pre-electronic home knitting machines, large, non repetitive images were created by breaking down the large images into several vertical panels the width of the punchcard repeat plus seaming allowance. Upon completion, the panels were joined side by side to create the final image.
Ribber settings for DBJ apply across models in principle and may need adjustment depending on the age and brand of the machine.
If working on a bulky machine, consider using the ladder-back method.
The common method for the color separation suggested in instruction manuals for Japanese knitting machines is used in these samples.
The repeats for punchcards have a maximum width 24 stitches. Factors of 24 ie 2, 4, 6, 8 also apply.
Each group in the total 24 stitches in each design row is repeated in fixed locations across the needle bed.
A charted view of an initial design:
One design row of pattern requires 2 rows of punched holes in the in the card, each representing two carriage passes from and back to the color changer.
The step-by-step separation for the design on the left repeated across the 24-stitch card width follows.Helpful tools: on one blank card color each section of the card, representing color change sequences. This may be used later to check color separation.
Box the edge numbers in pairs, beginning with numbers 56 and 57, skip two rows to numbers 60 and the factory-marked row 1, the first visual row when the card is in the reader, and so on. as seen on the right.
This separation splits the first and second row of color 1 between the first and last row on the punchcard.

On a second blank card, prepare a master. The first row is left blank, then 2 rows are punched out, followed by 2 rows left blank, repeat, ending with a blank row. Again working upward, number each row you have punched out on the left-hand side starting with number 54, then 55-56, 57-58, etc, ending with a single row, 23. This will result in number markings matching both sides at the bottom of the card, below the #1 factory mark. My own master began on the left with the # 53. I also added corresponding design row numbers for each row on the far left. (1 and 2, 3 and 4, and so on). Written notes on right: an even number of rows need to be knit in each color, so in this method, the pattern must be an even number of rows in height, boxed numbers represent rows knit in ground color.

1: In this method, each color in each design row knits only once, reducing the elongation of the height to width aspect ratio in the knit.
The initial design is rendered in color, twice as tall.
A minimum of 36 rows are required for the card to advance properly in the reader.
Take a blank card to be marked with 2 colors, and put the master card on top, fastening the 2 cards together with snaps.
You can now mark holes to be punched. Copy the first 2 rows of color 2 on rows marked 54 and 55 (or 53 and 54 in my case), and repeat in pairs for the required height.
I like to mark the card to be punched with colored pencils that differ sharply for each color. They have the benefit of being erasable and can help with keeping each row distinct when punching.

When the completed repeat is marked, unfasten the snaps and move the card down by one row. You will now see the marks you have made through the top row of each set on the master card. Mark through each lower row any blank squares in the row above.

Again, after completing the repeat unfasten the snaps and slide the master up by 2 rows. The card will now be back to its original position, and up by one row. Now you will see the marks you have made on the blank card showing through the bottom of each row of the master card. Mark through each upper row on any square opposite the ones marked in the row below. After the repeat is completed, make certain to punch across 2 final rows for the card to create the overlaps for a continuous pattern, as with any other stitch type. Punch out all marks, and you are ready to knit. To check your design visually lay the finished card over the colored master, and correct any errors if noted. Your card is now ready to knit DBJ.
The first preselection row is from left to right with color 1, which will knit in pattern from right to left, moving toward the color changer where colors are changed every 2 rows. This color separation will not work for fabrics that require the same needle selections repeating for pairs of rows throughout.

2: A second master that may be used with the same approach, for a different type of color separation: This separation works with any number of rows. The design will be elongated X2 in height because each design row knits twice in each color, with 4 rows completing it.
The finished knit will be thicker as well, so use thinner yarns when working it. Draw shapes in colors that are chosen for clear contrast, not because they are to be used in the finished piece.
Here I am back to those triangles used in earlier posts. The choice of which color you begin with, whether in the separation or in the knit is ultimately up to you.With the masked card, the first row is marked on the very bottom of your new design, I began with the red, which would produce the equivalent of thisRemove the mask. Beginning with the second row from the bottom, mark any square not colored in the row below in a contrasting color Punch all colored squares and you are ready to knit. I prefer to not rely on built-in elongation if I am making a garment or a long piece of knitting. If errors are made or correction of dropped stitches, loops, wrong color selection, etc. is required, unraveling rows is complicated enough without having to also sort out exactly where you need to be in relation to where the card did or did not advance. Black squares represent punched holes, a segment one separated by the red line in repeat width could be used on mylar or for electronic download. 3: Another master for the elongated design, advancing every row, numbers represent rows being filled in, beginning with odd in this orientation, and even with the card rotated for marking even # rows in color 2This is the same repeat, color-separated, and elongated X 2; proceed as with the directions above, but in this instance, each row in each color is marked twice. The expanded repeat:The first preselection row is made from right to left toward the color changer, where colors are changed every two rows.
I have used these images to illustrate color separations in far older posts.

The reason the resulting separation here looks so different from the one above is simply that in this latest series of charts the color selections have essentially been inverted. The inversion creates a mirror mirrored back to the original orientation with the inverted colors in place, and the color reverse is now recognizable

As a matter of course it is helpful to be consistent in the choice of starting color when separating motifs. Any single repeats isolated from above are usable in electronic machines, reduced to black and white squares. Electronics vary in the built separations in terms of choosing black or white squares for the first row knit, whether you download an original image or work with built-in ones. With the preselection of needles in Brother or pushers in Passap, with an easy-to-count color repeat and some air knitting, planning starting color of choice and needle placement can be sorted out for more confidence when actual knitting starts.

If you would prefer to work on graph paper that matches the size of your punchcard, there is a downloadable PDF and word doc with some guidelines in my previous posts more-low-tech/ and creating knit graph paper. The posts were in 2011 and 2014, with illustrations drafted in earlier versions of OS and apps. Working in Pages I was now able to print an image just about to perfect scale to part of a blank factory card. Here is part of the first repeat in this post traced through the punchcard holes onto it:

I then exported 2 documents, one to Word, and the other to PDF. The first printed image and the PDF one (opened in Preview) were printed to an identical scale using my Epson Printer. Here are the new docs for you to try, they may need tweaking. My measurements, adjusted in Pages were 11 cm by 18.2, for 30 rows in card height: PDF no numbers card, Word doc exported from Pages no numbers card. I have found squares of the blank card BMP provided may be filled in either GIMP or Paint, using the paint bucket tool, but the printed size is not in scale to the printout of the original in the pdf.
If the scale does not matter and you prefer convenience, this is a numbered “full” punchcard template as PDF scaled to fit on a single page punchcard numbered, and as an editable Excel document exported from Mac Numbers: punchcard templates_ excel

Quilting using Ayab software

My last post reviewing the quilting on the machine topic so far. Ayab does not allow for the first preselection row to be made from right to left. In any fabric where preselection needs to occur from that direction, with pattern instructions written with that requirement, in order to match the fabric the solution lies in shifting the last row of the repeat down to the first. If you are working on an odd number of needles and set up matters, pay attention as to whether the program places the extra needle on the right or the left of 0 before you commit to placement on your needle bed, the software is not consistent in this. Here the odd # is placed on the left, in a later swatch on the right. From Adrienne Hunter the tip “I think you are expecting that the odd number will always be on the left. But that’s not it, the rule is that the larger number will be on the left, which may be even or odd. ”

Ayab settings:
I began with this partial repeat from an older post

To avoid any confusion with which KC (Knit Carriage) slip buttons to push, simply push in both. The selected needles that should knit in slip stitch will knit, and the ones that should slip (not selected) will slip. Knitting starts COL, prep the interface, travel to right. With COR proceed to left. Machine can be set to knit those first 2 rows, or to slip both beds if you do not wish to have the extra 2 knit rows. Now with COL set main bed to slip <– –>, ribber to slip <–

My first repeat for a “square” pocket was wrong. The total number of rows in height needs to be an even one. It takes 2 passes of the carriages to complete one circular row. The first repeat below is 17 rows high; so I got as far as one series of pockets followed by mis patterning that was the fault of the design, not the program. The software gives one the opportunity to easily check for stitch and row counts. Though I loaded images 60 stitches in width, my samples are knit 40 stitches widethe amended repeat, now 16 rows in height

I had a problem when I first paused to stuff pockets with the software advancing a row even though I was outside the left mark, but no issues after I restarted the process and continued. Because the pockets are knitting stitches separately on each bed except for where shapes are joined, the resulting knit approaches stocking stitch qualities and tension settings. It lacks the stretch of every needle rib, where twice as many needles are in work. The joins on the knit side (L) nearly disappear unless the fabric is stretched, while joins on the purl side (R) are more visible.

A “diamond” 12 stitch repeat as it would appear across the bottom of a punch card with the option for first preselection from either side, followed by appropriate cam settingsThe repeat adjusted for preselection from left, illustrating row shift on right
The repeat adjusted for knitting across an Ayab 60 stitch swatchThe bottom of swatch, with absent pockets, shows what happens if wrong slip/knit combinations are in use. Knit side is shown on left, purl side on right, with a bit of cotton ball “stuffing” poking through
While trying to work with the circular and other settings I found an easier way to achieve one color quilting, still working with that “diamond” from my early post

I use GIMP to create most of my images for download to either the Passap or now also the 910. In order for the elongation not to be muddy with an image outline in multiple colors, or to cleanly tile it, the image will need to be converted. To draw or paint, begin in RBG mode, then change image to BW palette for scaling or tiling
make certain the number you wish to remain constant is highlighted
click on “chain” to break aspect ratio
change the second value to desired one click on scale, here is the single repeat, without the necessary last row shiftto tile the image across the width of your swatch make certain the value you want to remain constant is highlighted
“break the chain”change width to stitch count of your swatch

the tiled image will appear in a different part of your screen, it will be the repeat usable for the first preselect row from right to left. More on using GIMP.

For use with ayab with a repeat that is already tiled but needs “correction”, using snap to grid, dot to dot, copy and paste all but last row onto a new image at the top of a new canvas with the same pixel width and height. Then copy and paste the last row from the above tiling to the first, blank row of the new image. You may also simply work on the original image if you are comfortable with moving the larger cropped image around, pasting it in place at the top, and then editing the first row by hand. Finish with “export as” in your preferred format for download The smaller diamond would also be workable, but resulting shapes would be very small. The initial, unaltered tiling:for use with Ayab:
Ayab setting is for “single machine type”. The carriage settings: opposite part buttons, right on KC, left on ribber, are set after the first 2 preselection passes, with COL

the resulting elongated diamond fabric, knit and purl sides respectively

Thickening the outlines of the “diamond” varies the joined outlines; solid geometric shapes may also be created and used as seen in other posts. I like to work with same or similar shapes to understand what the different settings do to their knit structure and scale

Working in more than one color: using the color separated repeat double height. The first chart below illustrates it as it would appear on the bottom of a punchcard. Here first preselection row would need to happen moving from right to left, toward the color changer, with subsequent color changes every 2 rows
adjusted repeat/ top row shift to bottom for use with Ayab’s preselection from left This fabric requires changing ribber settings manually every 2 rows, thus creating a solid color back. Set the ribber to slip /levers up when most needles are selected on the top bed, set ribber to knit / levers down in both directions when a few needles are selected on the top bed. The latter selection forms the “stitching” lines on “quilt”. The first color to knit after preselection toward the color changer knits the black squares on rows 2 and 3 in the chart above, so it will create the dominant color in front of the fabric, the second color change will knit the background / white squares on rows 4 and 5 above, and seal the edges of the diamond / black squares
Reminders: no matter what stitch type, if you forget to select proper cam buttons after N/N settings you will only get plain knitting (stripes at bottom of my swatch). If you are working on a Mac make certain to set your energy saving preferences to insure it stays “awake” for the duration of your knitting time. I happened to knit my samples with cam button set to KC II. KC I is the better setting, giving a slightly different seal along the edge away from the color changer.

What of using the ayab circular setting and letting the software do some of the “work” for you? The setting was developed for tubular fair isle, so the main bed with slip stitch <– –> knits alternating colors. When the one color knits on the main bed, it skips and forms floats in front of needles not selected for that color. The process is repeated with each color change. There will be a pair of floats on the inside of the knit for each completed design row. For some how-tos to achieve color separations involved, and more info on tubular knits including Passap techniques please see previous post

The goal ~~is to~~ had been to use the ayab circular setting to produce quilted fabrics, joined at intervals rather than as an open tube with a different pattern on each €œside€. When attempting to utilize anything “off label” for a use other than intended, lots of trial and error can be involved. Ultimately the choice needs to be made as to whether the final technique is worth using simply because you can. I habitually double check my settings and fabrics at least once, a day or more after I knit my samples and post. The work in progress posts actually show some of the editing as it happens, with corrections and mistakes included. The heading goes away when I think I am done with the topic. A day after my pink and white adventure I tried to reproduce the fabric with absolutely no success. This was as close as I got, with different carriage cam settings, the knit side is shown.

After quite some time and a collection of expletives in 2 languages it appears the solution to my inability to produce the fabric is because the ayab setting I used for knitting it was not the circular one. After a software patterning error and a program restart, I apparently selected ribber rather than circular machine type and proceeded happily to success. To produce the fabric in my re do: the ribber “machine type” setting was chosen

the green yarn is thinner than the pink, so the bleed through of the white on the reverse side is greater. The remaining information applies. My first samples using a single stitch outline, length X 2 for the €œdiamond€ were a disaster in terms of stitches falling off, the fabric being a squishy, shortened mess.

Back to the drawing board: I thickened up the outline of the shapes, grading up and down in 2 rows in height sequences, needed for getting to and from the color changerI chose to continue to test on a narrower repeat. An added consideration: in knitting fair isle, the first and last needle on each side is normally selected whether by using change knob on KC I in 910, or adjusting knit under carriage in punchcard machines. One can program black squares on either side of the full pattern repeat for the width of the fabric to insure that any number of edge stitches knit every row on each side. Working on a smaller repeat, now 47 X 24note: the odd # and even number needle positions for this new repeat are in reverse order from the one at the top of this post. Here the odd # is placed to the right of 0, not the left
If for any reason you choose to work in color reverse, the black border on each side will be lost.The amended repeat to keep that knit border (black squares/ pixels filled in; this was my working repeat It takes a few tries to sort out what may work. These were my first effort switching ribber settings around until I reached creating pockets.The color choice needs to be made re solid color for backing and sealed areas of the fabric; for me it was the pink. This is where things get a little fiddly. The fabric settings once the first design row is preselected: KC is set to slip in both directions throughout (remember to change main bed to slip if preselection row have been with KC set to knit). I began with pink for my “sealing” stitches/ solid backing color.

After return to left, change color (white), no stitches are knit on the ribber, only on main bed

here the floats become increasingly apparent the ribber now dropped a notch on the right side
stuffing pockets with cotton balls the ribber is returned to up position, knitting continues

A: setting operator error creating solid color row. B: same, ribber not set to slip in both directions, resulting in white joining all selected needle. C: stuffed pockets, tending to make fabric wider and shorter A, B: extra sealing rows (2 in white). C: stuffed pockets and a bit of peek through cotton. D: points to bleed through backing color of white floats on the inside of the pocketsA helpful tune: pink down, white up in reference to right ribber slip lever.

The question now follows: which color separation does Ayab perform automatically for DBJ?

Revisiting machine knit “quilting”

In 2013 I shared my first post on the topic, covering single bed quilting as a hand technique, with the aid of a punchcard to pre-select needles only, and with an intro to a simple ribber repeat in a single color. It was followed by a post explaining the color separation for 2 color quilted fabrics. It is also possible to use an altered knit carriage to knit rows on the main bed only while leaving the couple carriages on the left instead of changing ribber settings from slip to knit and back with color changes, see post on ribber-fabrics-produced-with-2-knit-carriages-selecting-needles/

one color experiments using monofilament

In my swatches below, the red stars mark the spots where one fabric surface separates from the other. All use 2 color patterning, with a single color only appearing on the reverse side. In Brother machines to achieve this result, the ribber settings are changed manually every 2 rows. The ribber is set to knit when carrying the backing color, which is also creates the “stitching/ joining” sections, while it is set to slip when the color creating the pockets is worked. The settings on the illustration on the left create the foreground color pockets, and the ribber slips for 2 rows. The settings on the right will knit every row on the ribber. Two rows of each color are knitted alternately, the same as in DBJ. Since there are as many “blister” rows as there are rib rows, the blister/ pocket design will lie flat against the backing. If the goal is a lined Jacquard, the yarn tension must be evenly balanced to produce a fabric that lies flat. The texturing of the quilted surface is produced with uneven tension, knitting more loosely on the main bed. The looser surface may be left as is, or wadding may be inserted between the beds as knitting progresses while dropping the ribber partway. Commercial versions of these fabrics are sometimes referred to with the terms eightlock or interlock, and double jersey. The punchcard instructions for the first swatch, from Brother Ribber Techniques Book,

reverse of fabric (black) folded over on the bottom

Passap Technique 181

here the large areas are obviously “stuffed”

Pockets may result as a part of any larger, DBJ design, when monofilament or thinner threads may be used for the second color

Possible problem areas: stitches may be dropped along areas where fabric is joined (A), sealing side edges (C) will keep them from separating (B). The end needle on each bed must knit the opposite selection as its neighbors in order to close the selvages. The last needle at the side opposite the color changer may require pushing needles to E manually if not selected by the KM at regular intervals.

Blister fabrics and pintucks are cousins.
Quilted fabrics are sometimes referred to as “single blister”. Both rely on one group of stitches knitting more rows than another and can occur both in a single color, or multiple colors. The ribber slips while the main bed knits X number of rows in pattern, and pleats/ pockets are created, eventually sealed by knit stitches on both beds. The number of rows for which this action may be taken in Brother machines is far more limited than in Passap, where the strippers help keep the fabric in place.
Single-color pintucks/ blisters began to be addressed in my post, which reviewed Brother ribber techniques suggestions. A multiple-row blister sample executed on Passap, in turn, programmed from an ancient DUO 80 magazine, eliminating hand selection on the back bed, and programming it in terms of black and white squares on the front bed.

its reverse side
My E 6000 manual is annotated extensively, and my scribbles make a good argument for keeping better notes. I immersed myself in learning the machine when first purchased it.
Knitting techniques 250-255: when using even numbers the pin tucks are formed on the back bed on the needles which are opposite those with pushers selected down and according to black squares on the card. The corresponding odd number techniques select pushers down according to white squares on the card.

The technique for solid color backing, tubular FI illustrated in the manual, is a workaround to create “quilting” “automatically”. A bit of translation and a different setup from my working notes are offered after the scanned image. The circular setting in Ayab software performs the same automatic color separation. With this arrangement, pouches will be formed on the white squares of the card. If you think in terms of the colors of the squares, then it is not important which color is determined as the background color by the console.
The setup may be different in your copy of the manual.
Knitting four consecutive rows with either color reverse the position of the colors in the pattern.
Every 4 passes of the locks complete one design row.
Reversing the BX <– pusher selection (manually, on the right, prior to color change), will reverse the areas quilted.
The first pushers on both left and right are aligned in the opposite position to rest.
Floats are created between the layers by the color not knitting on the back bed, and the altered pusher position will keep them from jumping off. Depending on the size of the pockets you may want 2 pushers in that position rather than one. Always swatch before you commit to a large piece of knitting.
The identical design methods as those offered for Japanese machines and the associated fabrics may be reproduced by entering the separations as a pattern and then in turn entering technique 129. The PDF suggests a method for using Japanese designs as drawn on the punchcard knitting machine in an E6000.
My scribbles from my Passap manual. The console and manual recommendations are only guidelines.
Any and all technique lock settings may be altered to suit planned fabric, and if the machine offers beeps and reminders for the factory program, simply disregard them.

It is recommended that pushers not in use for any pattern be kept in the rail.

Double bed work requires at least 80 stitches by 100 rows for gauge testing for finished garments. Any machine: for blankets or warm jackets, the pockets may be filled with padding every X # of rows, and the front bed may be dropped to make this easier. Monofilament and /or fine wire may produce structures that have objects dropped into pockets i.e. marbles, sequins, sponges that will expand into space when wet with fluid, etc.

While working on a later post on knitting this fabric using Ayab software in a hacked 910, I found using a simple single pixel height per row diamond shape outline, elongating it X 2, and working in the circular setting produced the single color quilted fabric with no other fuss ie. a color separation. Below is the working repeat for use with the first preselection row from right to left, knit with the right slip button on the main bed, and the left slip button on the ribber throughout. The same settings and approach should work in punchcard Brother machines.

Revisiting GIMP in knit design

2/2020: Please note: the Mac version of GIMP has been updated and features and appearance. I have begun another post, hoping to illustrate some of the new tools and features over time, it includes links for download of the program and to its manual.

If my only goal is to create illustrations for my posts rather than to produce programmable designs for download to any knitting machine, my go-to program in the past was Excel. Depending on my charting needs, now that Excel is no longer available to me, I am using Mac Numbers or Pages.

My computer is an iMac, with OS High Sierra installed (Mojave update 2019). Last December my 910 was altered to work with Ayab, as mentioned in other posts, via a USB connection to the Mac. For generating files for download I like to work primarily in GIMP (Photoshop is no longer available to me as well). It is freeware. The latest stable Mac Version is version 2.8.22. Windows users have an option to download a later release. Another freeware option is Paintbrush, a smaller, user-friendly program.

I began sharing my GIMP explorations in mid-2013. Some topics included charting 1, 2, 3, color reductions for 2 color portraits, generated mazes 1 and 2, lace mesh, lace mesh and superimposing, 2 color drop stitch lace

I am using one of my drop stitch designs throughout this post to illustrate steps taken for altering the original by using options such as scaling and tiling. It is intended as a partial quick start guide, not a complete tutorial. The program’s manual provides keyboard shortcuts etc. for anyone wanting to explore more options to obtain similar or other results. That said, the manual is not recently updated or Mac-specific, and Mac vs Windows appearance of windows and menus differ.

To alter and set pixel per stitch options double click on pencil tool, choose square single-pixel highlighted in brush shape menu

to draw in single pixels, choose show grid, snap to

There are limitations as to how low the magnification may be set before the grid is visible or disappears. I often work in 1,000 magnification. The magnification value numbers, seen at the bottom of the charts in progress, may be typed in, or use arrows to scroll up and down in value

If your document size is larger, it is sometimes quicker to work in larger pixel size blocks. Here one meets limitations

GIMP large square brushes: numbers indicate desired pixel count and if you are using Paintbrush instead, the “square” is lost

To scale images in height or width without color distortion, change color mode

Image, mode, select Indexed
choose Scale Imagehighlight number you wish to keep constant, whether width or height
to break aspect ratio and control one of the 2 values, click on the chain like symbol on right, it will appear “broken” change the alternate value to the desired number

Click on scale image. If the intent is to continue editing by using the pencil tool, the image mode needs to be returned to RGB before proceeding with editing

You can verify finished image size by choosing scale image again, at that point the chain like symbol on the right of the numbers is “whole” again, awaiting further editing choices

double height double width
scale may be performed again on the last image created
the appearance if the image mode is set to RBG, and not indexed prior to scaling

scaling down by half for mylars or for machines that can alter motif to double-wide:

click to the right of the highlighted number, the “chain” symbol on right remains intact replace the width value, click to the right of the height value and the number will automatically change

Click on the scale option; remember to change image mode prior to doing so if needed; on the left is the image scaled in RGB, on the right in the 1-bit palette

If the image has numbers that have odd numbers in stitch width, the software makes the choice, in assigning values, since no half pixels can be rendered. For design details see previous post

Tiling is useful to check how repeats line up when applied to all over the surface of a knit, choosing to alter the horizontal repeat in width or vertical in height, adding borders, and other variations. Ayab software, in particular, requires the individual repeat to be programmed for the number of needles you wish to knit in a pattern on the main bed. Depending on the size of the original motif the tiling function may be used on nearly any scale, with or without a visible grid

To keep aspect ratio, the chain-like symbol on the right of width and height values should be kept whole (first image). It will appear “broken” on side of values from screen grab after the image was tiled when by pulling up the scale option again, to verify pixel counts for the newly created repeat (images 2-4)

to color invert a single repeat or a tiled one

A Facebook Ayab Group share and tip by Claudia Scarpa brought up a discussion on using Gimp to rescale knits with the intent of estimating distortion in the design as a result of stitch gauge. In many knits aspect ratio is forgiving. In representational knits, it can start to matter significantly. I played with numbers from 3 different gauges, getting back to a simple circle square first, then following up with a much larger image. Starting with pixels per inch setting in scale menu:

doing a bit of math: if the gauge is 5 sts, 7 rows, divide 7 by 5 = 1.4, 6 divided by 4 = 1.5; use the quotient (division result) to modify the respective X and Y values

keeping the X value constant, multiply the Y value by 1.4 for 5 X 7 gauge
in the view menu, uncheck dot to dot prior to selecting scale

keeping the Y value constant, multiply the X value by 1.5 for the 6X4 gauge, uncheck dot to dot if it is available in the view menu to get rid of the math, simply switch to pixels /mm and plug in your gauge. The starting image:

change X and Y resolution to match your stitch and row gauge, breaking “chain link” on right to disable aspect ratio. In order to show the altered scaled image, the dot per dot feature in the view menu needs to be unchecked prior to selecting scale

knitting gauge 5 stitches, 7 rows per inch 4 stitches, 6 rows per inch and going much larger, using Rocco again: the original version scaled for stitch gauge of 33 X 40

a large geometric .bmp edited with the same process

Claudia Scarpa has created a document on “how to edit a picture with GIMP for “Oknitme software” that she has given permission for me to share here: 03-ENG-gimp. The tutorial has clear instructions for anyone wishing to explore photo editing for use in knits with GIMP, and the Oknitme online tool helps punchcard knitters participate in the process.

If freehand drawing suits your needs, you may find it easier to work with the view settings shown below and adjust pencil pixel size to suit

Drop stitch lace using Ayab software

Some notes on how tubular software color separations such as the one automated in the ayab circular setting may be found in the previous post

In an effort to respond to a request I have had via my blog, I am sharing information on this topic as I have time to explore it. My first attempt when up and running with the Ayab software, was to reproduce an earlier sample I had created as a color separation originally intended for a hand-knit shadow knit experiment.

a chart from that blog post the resulting hand knit, on the purl side
the color-separated sample knit pre ayab the sample knit using the Ayab circular setting

Patterns predawn for shadow knitting, appear to be one published source for interesting 2 color drop stitch variations. What about geometric shapes or developing your own designs? Designs created using this technique lengthen considerably when off the machine. Both color sets of stitches become elongated as they are dropped, and that should be a consideration in planning your design. If your goal is a circle, the actual shape programmed may have to be closer to an egg laid horizontally rather than that of a “true” circle. The fabric also widens considerably when blocked and off the machine, making the cast on and bind off methods considerations another necessity. Design repeats may be drawn in Paintbrush or GIMP (both freeware), or Photoshop. I have been a long time GIMP user, and prefer to use it in tiling repeats as opposed to the copy and paste features in Paintbrush to accommodate the Ayab requirement of programming the repeats horizontally in the width of your piece.

In my previous, how-to posts on designing your own 2 color drop stitch lace, part of the color separation required elongating the design X 2. The starting side in Ayab for needle selection always needs to be from left to right, and elongation of the motif is not required when using the Ayab circular option.

This was my first working repeat, A = repeat charted out. B = the working bitmap or png, etc. (which would be the only requirement for the mylar). C = the image tiled for the chosen number of stitches (again, Ayab requires the repeat to be programmed for the width of your knit piece). D = the image elongated, not usable for this fabric, it results in too much elongation. If you would like a knit border on either side, that can be achieved by having extra stitch(es) in work on the ribber. a possible ayab repeat, 56 stitches wide by 36 rows high

The results up to the point in which I had a yarn caught in brushes and stitches dropping on the left of the needle bed:

Drop stitch lace has been referred to over the years in other terms as well, such as release stitch, drive lace, and summer fair isle in Passapese. Passap knitters will recognize the results from this first method are akin to those produced using Technique 185.

Getting started: stitches intended to be dropped may be created on either bed. If the ribber is used to create loops, then the technique is a manual one. Using the main bed in Japanese machines to program dropped stitches increases accuracy and ease.

If you are swatching and testing, a permanent cast on is not necessary. The broken toe cast on is one of the two quickest on the Japanese machines, usable on either bed. It is fondly called that because if ribber cast on comb and weights are in the wrong place so that the wrong loops are dropped, everything falls to the floor, and likely on your toes. There is an online video by Diana Sullivan that shows its use for a tighter cast on row in 1X1 rib, but the use here is for a different purpose.

In producing this fabric you are technically knitting every needle rib. Cast on a fairly tight zig-zag row. The ribber comb wire needs to be placed so that it holds down the stitches on the bed on which you need to keep them. The principle and results are akin to the first row knit when you use a single bed cast on comb, and the second pass, with the first knit row anchors open loops before you continue to knit. Any loops not secured by the comb will result in dropped stitches. Any fabric, any time, when 2 stitches are empty side by side, stitches are not formed and the yarn is dropped off them creating a float or ladder. The red line indicates the ribber wire on top of the ribber loops in the zigzag row, placed so released knitting will be left on the ribber. Black lines your zig-zag yarn loops, blue dots the teeth of your ribber cast on comb. You can check placement by dropping just a few loops on the main bed before hanging your weights on the comb.

zigzag row showing the placement of cast on comb teeth, on each side of main bed needles
with wire in place, anchoring ribber stitches testing out dropping a few stitches all stitches now on the ribber in preparation for dropping stitches created on main bed

It is possible to also use a wired cast-on comb for an open stitch cast on the top bed only. Remove the wire from the comb. Bring the comb up and between needles to be used, and re-insert wire. Needles and latches will need to travel easily under the wire when the first knit row takes place.

The knit carriage will not clear the comb properly because of the location of its brushes, etc. For the “cast on” row, exchange the sinker plate on your knit carriage for the one normally used with the ribber. The first photo below shows the approximate location for the comb during the first row knit. Needles are centered between the teeth, the teeth themselves line up with gate pegs. The comb needs to be manually held in place since there is no opposing bed in use to help balance it. Working with the ribber up would ease the process in wider pieces of knitting. The ribber sinker plate has no brushes or wheels to anchor knitting on the knitting bed. Any rows knit single bed using it, will need to have needles brought out to hold position prior to knitting each row for all stitches to be formed properly

the comb in position pass is made slowly with the ribber sinker plate in place the comb is dropped bring all needles out to hold position knit one more row, returning to starting position change sinker plate on knit carriage if needed, proceed with knitting

To use the same method with ribber in place: hold the appropriate ribber comb with the bump(s) up facing you, so that the teeth line up with gate pegs as shown above, and so the needles can come through the gaps. Leave the wire in, hold the bump(s) against the ribber, and tilt the comb against the knit bed. Hold the comb high enough to take the carriages across to the opposite side. Move carriages to the other side, drop the comb and weigh it. If continuing on the top bed only drop the ribber, switch sinker plates, and continue to knit.

“bumps”: Brother comb

For other purposes and an edge similar to a weaving cast-on executed on Japanese machines use EON for the cast-on row, then bring into work and add the rest of the needles prior to knitting the second row.

Use a cast-on comb appropriate for your knitting machine’s gauge ie 4.5mm, 5mm, etc., the brand is not relevant, only tooth spacing is. It is possible to cut ribber cast on combs into different widths for use when knitting is planned on fewer stitches than those accommodated by their available commercial widths.

As for dropping those loops that will form the long stitches, one can do so manually with improvised tools. For more automatic dropping of stitches using knit carriage in Brother patterning, one may punch a card or draw a mylar with a method akin to color separation. A pass of the KH carriage across the knit is made with no yarn in the feeder, color 2 is actually no yarn/empty from left to right while establishing the proper needle selection on its return. The ribber would need to be reset to slip, or the ribber carriage separated from the knit one for the 2 passes to and from the color changer. This is the “scariest” option by far, more error-prone. It is not applicable when using the circular Ayab setting in creating the fabric. Without a specific tool, all stitches can be brought to E and back to B with a ruler, piece of garter bar, ribber cast on comb, or other handy ‘toy’. Dropping stitches is done while carriages are on the left, after the return to the color changer side. It is possible to modify the Studio accessory used to drop stitches

full altered_500

For 2 color drop stitch, the main bed is set to slip in both directions. Because not all needles on the main bed are used for patterning on every row, the KC II setting on the change knob is used, eliminating end needle selection on the 910. The ribber is set to knit every row

Ayab: begin your design repeat on your first row, choose its circular setting in machine type pull-down menu on the right
The first design row is preselected left to right
The main bed is set to slip <– –>, change knob on KC II (end needle selection is canceled)
Ribber is set to knit <– –> for the duration
COL: as you go from the left to right, needles are preselected on the top bed, they will knit, picking up loops that you will in turn drop on the subsequent passes of the knit carriage from right to left.
COR, the KC knits on preselected needles as it moves to the left.
Clear the color changer, set up your next color. Drop the stitches knit on that last pass

It may be necessary to push those loops down between the beds before you next pass, remember to pull down on your knitting periodically, visually check needle alignment on the main bed (all needles in B in the work area)

*With the new color move to the right, preselecting the next row of loops
Knit right to left, picking up loops on preselected needles, change colors, drop stitches,** and repeat * to ** steps in 2-row rotations

so I want circles, here is my test pattern more like eggs, the black squares in shape appear as drawn on the purl side shapes are reversed as drawn on the knit side

It is possible using the circular setting to drop only one of the 2 colors, whether background or shape. I began by dropping the white ground. I used to encourage students to develop a tune/ repeat in their heads when regular actions needed to be taken. For me, in terms of yarn color, it was “white, knit, drop”, “brown = erase (push back to B), go back”. 1: white travels to the right, needles are pre-selected; 2: white travels to left, picking up loops 3: on left, change color, drop stitches. For brown: 1. travel to the right, needles are preselected 2: on the right, before traveling back to left push all selected needles back to B. Only the ribber knits on the way back to left, so brown will have knit 2 rows with no dropped stitches. I ran out of brown yarn, started over with the blue and white, planning on having the shape drop the stitches. There is a difference in the fabric width with the change in the distribution of stitches. I stopped knitting, not due to any mispatterning, but because I encountered another Ayab behavior that may be well known to punchcard knitters. Due to a yarn mast issue, I moved the knit carriage back to disentangle the yarn, and lo and behold the pattern advanced a row. Punchcard machines will advance a row with any movement of the carriage outside the edges of the knit. This was never an issue in the unaltered 910. At that point, I stopped knitting.

Not fond of stripes? prefer one color? the sample below was worked on 40 stitches in width, using the repeat charted for 56 stitches. Here decisions are made at the design phase of your repeat. For single color, drop stitch use an image double length, and single setting in the Ayab software. The process is the same: *preselect stitches left to right, knit on selected needles right to left, drop loops just picked up traveling to left**, repeat from * to **. Settings are the same as for the 2 color drop stitch, but the elongation depending on the number of stitches dropped is not as noticeable. The texture in my swatch is diminished after a quick press, the yarn is an acrylic blend. The charted repeat illustrated is wider, but I worked it on only the center 40 stitches. As always in slip stitch, the black squares knit and they represent the stitches that are dropped. If you wish to create the long stitches on the ground (white squares), reverse use Ayab Action Invert prior to knitting

the chart as viewed and explained at the top of the post

Sources of inspiration from studio publications vary, patterns designed for pile knitting make for suitable one color drop stitch. A partial punchcard repeat

from an electronic collection

and a punchcard pattern book, where markings emulate eyelets, usable only for single color knitting

Note that in #2 card directly above, there is a solid row at the very start that is a design row (third all punched). In Ayab again, first-row preselection is left to right, you will be picking up loops on preselected needles going from right to left and then dropping them. That first design row needs to have punched holes or black squares/pixels in it. The color separation is essentially done for you in the source image. Do not use circular in Ayab, but rather, use “single” setting and follow instructions for creating the fabric as described above, with no color changes. The blank punchcard rows match the no selection rows in self-drawn color separations,

If double bed work is daunting, for a different stitch, worked single bed, that may cause interesting distortions in all knit, single bed fabrics see block stitch post.

The self-drawn design repeats for 2 color drop stitch may be offset as well, resulting in colors being dropped alternately. The design shape needs to be created in 4-row blocks in order for the yarn to make it back and forth to the color changer with both colors to complete one design row. The second pairs of rows in each 4-row block is erased. In this instance as well, rows marked with black squares will pick up loops on the main bed, which are in turn dropped to create the long stitches. The second design repeat is offset to try to get sections of it to create loops to be dropped as well. The final motif must be a multiple of 8 rows in height if it is to be used as Ayab’s infinite repeat in length.
Color changes are indicated in the vertical strip in the center of the design. This was my starting idea

Elongation to 4 rows per block, erasing the second pair of rows for each color on right. The repeat on the right may be used if only one color is to be dropped; the 2 blank rows in the design field represent stitches that will knit only on the ribber for 2 rows. No stitches are dropped in color(s) used in sequential rows of blank squares in all “white” areas of the chart, including multiple rows above and below the design shape. Color changes every 2 rows continue, creating continuous stripes. shapes staggered, visually checking for placement of alternately dropped stitches

To accommodate the Ayab preselection for the first row to be knit from left to right, move the last blank row in the design to the first-row position. As the carriages travel from left to right and back to the color changer, the stitches will knit 2 rows only on the ribber. Continue knitting in steps as described earlier in the post, changing colors every 2 rows. On a larger knit ground such shapes may be arranged to suit. This was my working repeat, but I used a third fewer stitches in the swatch than in the chart. Note that the images will be reversed on the knit side, so if preferred, use Action Mirror to flip the image horizontally prior to knitting it

The swatch has been quickly pressed, so the texture is flattened out, but I am reminded of a few shadow knits when viewing its purl side.

In an unaltered 910 with the ability to double the width of the programmed repeat, mylar users are not excluded from exploring a similar fabric. The repeat above may be rescaled to half the width, drawn that way, and then use the twice as wide built-in feature. Gimp does an “interesting” thing when scaling this design to half-width, note the right side of each repeat is an odd number of squares, the left side an even. The repeat may be used as-is or redrawn, adding or eliminating black squares if symmetry in each shape matters. Paintbrush produces the same image, mirrored.

The explanation: further analysis of the original design reveals the fact that some of the pixel numbers in the design black square blocks are uneven in width. In this instance, 3.5 is half of 7, and half pixels cannot be rendered, so the software assigns the split to 4 and 3.

Tubular machine knit fabrics: fair isle, Brother/Passap

I recently came across this topic in yet another forum, so thought I would share some of my thoughts on it. The technique involves different patterns on 2 opposing beds. Table for 2 offered one option for programming 2 different knitting machine beds to achieve reversible DBJ or true tubular fair isle. I will be addressing Brother settings for the moment. Things to consider: the piece will be double thickness and 1.5 times the finished weight of one knit in single bed FI. FI technically knits 2 colors for each design row, the ribber at least one for the first piece here, so thinner yarn is probably best. If the main bed is creating a 2 color slip stitch, whether one color at a time (DBJ) or 2 colors together as in traditional FI, the fabric will be shorter and thinner because it gets pulled in by the shorter floats of yarn in areas that do not form knit stitches with that color. Generally, in FI it is good to have end needle selection on so that the second color gets caught at the edge, and the design does not separate from the rest of the knit at the sides. I knit my sample using KCI on the knit carriage. The ribber is going to knit one row for every 2 passes to complete each design row by knit carriage, so some adjustments in tension both beds need to be made for each side of the tube to be balanced. If the goal is to have the tube open at the bottom, I like to start in waste yarn and begin tubular while leaving a long end of the first color used so “bind off” can happen by sewing or crocheting the open stitches when the piece is done. The same can be done at the top of the piece, and both ends will match. Setting the needles point to point during tubular knitting will diminish any gap at the sides of the knit if the tube is made in the traditional setup. Since only one-bed knits at a time, needled will not come in contact even if directly opposite.

This fabric shares features with quilted fabrics, except there are no areas where the fabric gets joined to make pockets (needles on both beds knitting on any one pass of the carriages), the goal here is a continuously open tube. Minimal manipulation of carriage settings can be achieved in color separating for the specific fabric. My previous posts on quilting: 1 and 2, and on color separations for DBJ

It is always best to start with a simple design that allows one to recognize needle selection. Long verticals can separate at their edges if knit a single bed, but I went for a simple pattern of squares to test out my premise and winged it. Thinking color 1 knit left to right, slip right to left and ribber slips when main bed knits right to left, knits when main bed slips left to right. The all blank rows indicate the main bed slipping the width of the involved needle bed. The same applies after any other consecutive color change. My mylar repeat, free drawn End the circular cast on/ waste knitting start and begin with opposite part buttons pushed in with COR; set change knob to select the pattern (KC I), to prepare for the move to left toward color changer. The main bed only will knit. With main bed set to knit <–, needles for the first row of the pattern are selected, but all stitches knit. The ribber needs to slip <– completing the circle. If in doubt, push up both part levers on the ribber.

the start of the tube, needle selection for first pattern row

after the color change, with COL, change settings once more. The main bed will now knit to right and slips to left based on needle selection, while the ribber now slips to R, knits to L (the goal here is simple stripe)

the start of a tube is evident if the ribber is dropped a bit the tube dropped off the machine the FI created on the main bed the pattern on the reverse, created by ribber

It helps to analyze the carriage actions on knitting the repeats. These charts illustrate the 2 colors knitting alternately with each pair of carriage passes. With any knitting motif, it is worth testing repeats consecutively in height and width to get a sense of what will take place using them on the finished knit. Here 2 lengthwise repeats are shown. The pattern could be planned to start the repeat with the area outlined in red on the right, and a full block would occur at the start of the tube. A bit of editing would make all rectangles equal in height.

So now that I have some blocks, what about other patterns and shapes? ……

In a previous post with exercises on DBJ, 2 separations of the triangular shapes below were offered. Testing the idea of using pre designed jacquard separations for knitting tubular fair isle, I chose to use the 2 alternatives presented. The related information is available in PDF format for punchcard and electronic machines

Here we have the motifs, and 2 methods of color separation for DBJ, charted, drawing each color design row only once

The middle image shows the method for separation achieved automatically in Brother by using the KRC button when using only 2 colors per row. It causes the least (if any) elongation of the motif. Each design row knits only once, programmed as is. If the KRC button is used, none of the other functions including double-length are allowed. The separation on the right is the most common color separation, actually knits each design row twice, which elongates the motif. As drawn, it would need to be programmed double length. If the knitting is representational, an adjustment may be needed in altering its height prior to downloading it for knitting. I used both separations above drawn on an old mylar for my second tubular FI attempt, sticking with my thin yarn, and working in small swatches while testing technique ideas. My initial premise was to knit each row twice using double length. The preparation was as already discussed. After the color change and resetting the carriages COL, the first row slips on the ribber, and the main bed knits the first design row in the alternate color, seen here in white. As in single bed FI, floats are created in that color between needles knitting it with COR, before traveling back to left for the color change, return all main bed needles back to B position with a ruler, ribber comb, or any preferred tool, so that only the ribber only will knit, keeping the knit tubular as you travel back to the color changer.

COL: change colors and repeat. Here are my trial tubes, again in too thin a yarn, but proofing the concept. My mylar was ancient, marked in #2 pencil on its reverse, and I can see a couple of spots that need darkening, but that is not a concern for this exercise

Adding color and expanding the charts to match the B/W versions each row elongated X 2what knits when setting machine for tubular; in the swatches, the blank rows were achieved by manually pushing needles back to B as shown above this shows what happens when the first separation is collapsed into what actually gets knit by the carriages in this technique
and the result in repeat in B/W like my swatch

Both elongated repeats are reduced to black and white squares below, with blank rows, included to let the carriage do the work, without having to push any needles back to B position, KC set to slip <– –>. I often work out my separations in color, then fill the colors in with black and white. It is easier for me to draw the black only squares on the mylar or to enter them as pixels than trying to do that from a colored graph. I am now charting in Mac Numbers, no longer have access to Microsoft Office on my new Mac.

DBJ patterns predawn for punchcard machines or provided as charts for electronics may all be used for the FI pattern. The first separation method will yield a surprise. The second method if each row is illustrated only once needs elongation. In separations where the work is done for you, producing a result like the elongated swatch on the right, the pattern is ready to go.

Creating the separations by hand is time-consuming, having software separate the motif, eliminating that design time is quite helpful and more error-proof.

The ribber needle selection can be altered to produce patterning with hand needle selection, or by changing the slip lever positions as frequently as every row. That is a post for another day. That said, some things to consider: my own DBJ scarves often involve more than 1200 rows of knitting. The number of carriage or lock passes involved to achieve the same length is increased exponentially should I choose to knit the same designs tubular. If any needles on both brother beds wind up in work at the same time prior to the next row knit, the fabric will seal closed in those areas (another range of lovely fabrics, but not the plan here). For the ribber to knit in any other pattern than an easy stripe, one needs to either select needles by hand or add changes in levers possibly as often as every row. If multiple rows are knit on the ribber and then in turn on the main bed, one is actually creating a tapestry technique and there will be small slits at the sides of the knit, depending on the number of rows knit on either bed. It is truly helpful if the software in use or the machine’s console is able to recall the last row knit and to take you back to that spot if knitting is interrupted or put off for another day. That is one of the very convenient features of the Passap system providing the battery is still holding the charge. The latter also performs the same function and returns to the correct pattern row if one has to unravel rows and the number of unraveled rows is entered into the console. If long, nonrepetitive in length designs are in use and need to be downloaded in segments (wincrea has such limits), a warning noise when the end of the pattern repeat is reached would be nice to have. In my opinion, it’s fun to achieve things because we can, then it becomes a personal choice as to whether the process is worth it, and under what circumstances to use it. My own accuracy when a lot of hand manipulation or other details are in use has faded with my increasing age and decreasing attention span. Others can tackle the same with great success, such as seen in some of the wonderful all hand transferred complex machine knit laces found on Ravelry, and then there was the man who used to tour machine knitting seminars with a MK sweater he had made for himself in a fine yarn that incorporated over 3,800 (yes, thousands) cables, weaving in and out of each other and in turn in and out of crossing diamonds in a fine yarn (no, no one I know of actually counted them, the count was accepted on faith).

The Passap console has built-in color separations for tubular knitting. As with Brother, the simplest fabrics are in one color. For one-color fabrics, CX/CX (the equivalent result in Brother happens by using opposite part buttons on either bed) is used on both locks.

For 2 color fabric, the DM 80 front lock (carriage term equivalent) is set on HX <– while if using the E 6000 one may select KT (knitting technique) 243, with the front bed set to LX (slip). I have had very limited experience with the DM80 decades ago, can only speak for the E6000. The front bed is programmed as for any other pattern. With the back lock set to CX (no pattern) or HX (pusher selection for pattern), the function is fixed, the front bed knits to left and slips to right, the back bed slips to left and knits to right to create the tube

Horizontal stripe: is the simplest to execute: set the back bed on CX, or put all back bed pushers in work position and set back lock to HX, no arrow key. Pushers up knit, pushers down slip. (in Brother set the appropriate ribber lever to slip in one direction)

Vertical Stripe: “automatic”, bring pushers under every back needle into one up, one down, alternating in work and in rest. Set back lock to HX, left arrow key <–, changing color every 2 rows. The same needle selection is in the same location with each color change, creating the stripe

Birdseye backing, manual tech involved/ lock setting change involved: set back bed pushers alternating one up, one down, thus alternating in work, out of work. Knit 2 rows with the lock on HX, no arrow key, and 2 rows with the locks on HX <–.

Solid color backing is possible: set the front lock is set to LX <–” (slip <–”). When Tech 243 is in use, after the setup rows are completed, the console gives the prompt for setting up the pushers, all in work, and for HX <–”on the back bed. The result is that for 2 rows in the lining color, stitches knit alternately on each bed. The front bed then knits alone in turn for 2 passes; the color yarn in use creates a float the width of the knit as the locks return to the right, making it the least acceptable variation, and an unbalanced knit. The set up is different for both quilting (BX <–/LX) or solid color backed DBJ from tubular FI created in this manner.

My Passap manuals have been well used, often technique numbers are surrounded by notes in my scrawl. Techniques perform the color separations for the specific fabric, the accompanying diagrams and directions are suggestions for swatches provided as well in the alternate accompanying manual. Lock settings can be set to suit i.e. tuck substituted for slip, etc. The separation is fixed, but all lock settings are in the hands of the knitter.

2 color circular tucked designs are produced using techniques 162-165, with the frequently unfamiliar settings using OX/DX. As with many other techniques, some may be used with stitch patterns, some not, but if you understand what is happening front bed patterning could be converted to the automated pusher or needle selection by entering a planned color separation as a pattern. OX is a combination, tubular tuck setting, paired with DX. OX is a combination of KX (tuck in the pattern) and CX (circular). DX is the tubular tuck setting for the back bed. OX and DX will knit needles with a pusher (needle selected on Brother) in work (selected needle), and tuck on needles with no pusher in work (non selected needle) moving from right to left. From left to right the front bed is not knit any stitches (contributing to making the fabric tubular). The back bed knits only from left to right, the second side of the tube. E6000 technique 185 with locks set to N/OX will produce tubular FI with long stitch. For three and four colors where the colors are separated at one row per color use technique 252, locks set to N/OX. Superimposing patterns for three and four color techniques require entering card reader techniques. With my cable set up, when I was experimenting with reader techniques eons ago, I believe I was successful downloading the pattern for the design from the PC, and entering the card reader technique as a second pattern, via the card reader. I have never tried doing so with additional software, and shy away from any situation where I have to enter commands to get the software to work. Out of the group, 162 is the only one that can be combined with a stitch pattern. The console gives cues as to when to change lock settings, with some thought similar fabrics could be knit on the Brother KM. The techniques, and my notes, which at this point would need some self-interpretation. The UX scribble is in reference to a fabric that slips over needles with pushers selected down from right to left, then tucks over needles with pushers selected down from left to right. Needles with pushers up will always knit. In Brotherese the pattern is knit with opposite function cam buttons in use slip <–, tuck –>. It will not produce a tubular knit. Worked out patterns for such fabrics were included in some of the Brother punchcard pattern books.
For tucked 2 colors fair isle use technique 185 with lock set on N/OX.