Hand Knitting (HK) – Page 5

Miters and spirals: visualizing, charting (and more) 1

Getting my thoughts together on this topic I searched for any of my previous posts that may be related, here is a list
2013/12/18/holding-stitches-short-rows/
2014/02/24/holdingshort-rows-hand-tech-to-chart-to-automating-with-slip-stitch-1/
2013/12/28/short-rows_-balls-tams-3d-rounds/
2013/01/21/automating-pleating/

Even in my earliest days as a hand knitter, I liked charting out my sweater shapes ie sleeves, necklines, etc on graph paper and tracking my place by marking the appropriate row or every other row on the charted image. Many of the formulas for charting math in garment shaping may be emulated by drawing a line on the chart where each square represents a stitch and a row, connecting points, and filling in squares. Averaging out grid shifts is also the guideline to increasing and decreasing for shaping on pixel charts. Though this may be a bit of egg before the chicken, I got sidetracked playing with software yet again.

GIMP

Working premise: using holding to shape a wedge over 36 rows. Stitch multiples are brought into hold opposite the carriage (floats will be created if they are brought into hold on the carriage side), in the instances below each graph row represents 2 rows knit, my fabric width at the start is 100 sts

Set image size _ pixels equal stitches and rows required

Magnify X 1000 (this is what I prefer for viewing and editing, less magnification may be used)

Activate 1 stitch grid/ show grid/ snap to grid

Make certain the whole image is within your window view

Using line shape: click on the upper left corner, press shift key_a drawing line will appear with a + symbol at its bottom right_click on the first square on the bottom right, a line will appear where black squares represent # of stitches to be held each row

bucket fill in the appropriate side of the wedge to represent knit stitches

create a new, larger canvas that will accommodate desired multiple stacked repeats and possible knit rows in between shapes in a new window; copy image from the first window, paste into the new window, move it, and place in the desired location on your screen

return to the first window, flip the image vertically (image menu/ select transform and direction)

again copy, paste, move into the desired location, and insert knit or (patterned) rows (green) when and if desired. On electronic machines, the final image would have to be doubled in length, so those “knit row” pixels/squares would have to be adjusted accordingly to half the desired number

Row by row charting for double-height to represent each row of actual knitting: the process

starting with a repeat 6X6

convert image to bitmapped (repeat at upper right below is a different one, should match the one being resized)

scale image: click on the locked symbol/ chain link, in turn, to alter the aspect ratio, change both pertinent numbers

the repeat twice as long, 6 X 12

going 3D, possible spiral

eliminating squares

shifting things around in order to add “automatic wraps”, begin knit with COL

in further progress

stacked repeat

save in image in format for downloading to machines via cable and knitting using slip stitch setting, or export or screen grab for printing and knitting from chart visually as hand technique. If printing images colored cues may be added for carriage/lock setting or color changes, etc. The question: what about numbers and excel?

NUMBERS

Using the line tool (shapes) will get the line in place, shaping is “eyeballed”

knit squares are filled in

so you want to double the height only? Apple for some reason when they “upgraded” to the latest version of the program (3.2) has eliminated the split table feature, so the only way I can see is through using the table: add rows above or below in the chart, a new row will be a copy of the selected row

EXCEL

the insert row option will add rows only below selected ones, I have not found a tool equal to the line shape in Numbers

A hand knit stitch tale 2: a bit of cables and lace, charting, hk to mk

For a while, there was agreement on “international symbols” for charting knits. With the proliferation of programs now and methods for self charting and publishing using fonts and personal icons, things can get a bit confusing. Hand knitting in the circular akin to machine knitting results in stitches always worked on one side of the fabric, another consideration. In the last Russian pattern in the previous post, I was unable to get the repeat to work properly regardless of any common meaning I tried to assign to several of the symbols. I have used Intwined for some charting in the past, am finding it problematic again in Mavericks Mac OS, and my go-to for the moment is the latest version of Numbers (3.2), which appears to include changes that make it even more intuitive and easier to use than the previous version. My symbols library includes the Aire river knitting font and an assortment of wingdings and oddball characters found in some of Mac’s built-in libraries.

my hand knit version

Taking it to the machine: chart’s beginning

tweaking it a bit, taking in consideration only the purl side will be facing

flipping it to achieve the same direction transfers as HK

knit on 260 bulky KM

The large hole at the bottom left of the image is not due to a dropped stitch, but rather to yarn breakage. The sample was knit in worsted weight wool, and I found I needed a far looser tension than I would normally use for the same yarn to allow the double transfers to knit off properly. Eliminating the combinations of knit and purl within any one row as seen in the hand-knit version avoided retooling those stitches as well.

A revisit on topic, April 2015

I am back now to once again, using primarily excel to create all my charts. Various Russian, German, and one English pub have offered variations of this particular fabric, some needing interpretation, but consistencies in repeats are easily recognized and isolated.

this image is from knittingstitchpatterns.com, they call it grand-eyelet-lattice, and provide written instructions for its execution

below is another relative, charted in Intwined, with the program’s associated written instructions; repeat is 4 stitches wide by 8 rows tall, border stitches are not represented; cable crosses are reversed after every other eyelet sequence, yet another pattern variable

a chart for same using Sconcho and its built-in stitch library. For software details please see symbols post

4/26/15 a variation found today on knitca, another resource for hand knitting stitch pattern collections; this is their image

1/2/2016 a Ravelry post on the stitch family

A hand knit stitch tale 1

Last year a photo of a model (Jessica Hart) wearing a particular sweater began to appear acrossTumblr and Pinterest. The stitch was interesting, which led me to looking for similar structures, without much success for quite a while

from a sale site for the garment

a published stitch version on russian blog

purling all WS rows produced a very different fabric, I did find a reference in another publication for the dot being a purl stitch on RS, knit on WS, again a different fabric

a translation via ravelry (see credit in chart) led me to developing the charts and directions below

A: shows the offered repeat in symbols; a multiple of 6 + 7 stitches is required

B: symbols and translation

C: all symbol expanded chart showing both RS and WS rows; I find too many symbols confusing

D: choosing colored squares to represent knits on WS rows; arrows show direction of reading chart during knitting

the resulting swatch: knit side RS

its WS

a relative, found on a different blog, chart not yet deciphered

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A lace “shell” want to be, a few ways

I recently saw a semi circular HK shawl pattern that used graduated lace shell motif bands, and went hunting for a possible such repeat with the intent of subsequently knitting it on the machine. Taking into consideration the chart lenght required if using the lace carriage, I began with a “small” hand knit possible repeat

the text (Intwined)

pictured below is a mylar repeat worked out for use with the lace carriage with 2 programming options: A, B. Notations in this instance were made using a free mac program (for my the first time), Skitch, which allows one to work with screenshots and basic image-editing tools all in one place. The middle column of numbers indicate the number of passes required for the lace carriage for each repeat prior to pairs of rows of plain knitting. The transfers are made all in one direction, so the spacing between each set of transfers and knit rows is different from the traditional 2 rows of blanks. I find it easier to have multiple blank rows before selections for transfers as a place to pause, check my stitches, and have clearer starts if knitting needs to be unravelled; this repeat takes that into consideration

option A was knit with a ladder, NOOW set up:

the resulting swatch in acrylic yarn, steamed, fairly straight edges

option B eliminates the ladders, a ridge is created by the transfers highlighting the “shell shape”. The sample clearly illustrates the issue with lace fabrics where transfers are all in one direction: note the resulting bias, which could be a problem or a design feature, depending on one’s perspective. It is particularly noticeable in the area of the color change. The top yarn is a rayon, the ridge created by the transfers flattened with pressing but is still in evidence, the occasional noticeable problems are operator errors (and laziness in changing bent needles), not pattern ones.

shortening the repeat: I found this one a bit more confusing to follow, black horizontal marks on right edge of mylar are a visual cue to rows on which knitting needs to occur; note there are no occurrences of 2 consecutive blank rows, only singles

the fabric is identical, with the same problems in terms of biasing

taking out the swing, moving in 2 directions, and back to a hand technique: the black squares indicate groups of stitches that will be moved to create lace holes. In the boottom segment selected needles are transferred to the right, lace holes will move in a curve, transfers double up on the same needle location on the bed. In the top segment, beginning with the doubled up stitch from the last transfer to right, direction of transfers is reversed, moving toward left, and always beginning with the same needle position. Markings on mylar on the far right indicate direction in which the stitches are transferred. This repeat is 7 stitches wide by 12 rows in height, could be adjusted to suit. Adjustable transfer tools make the work progress faster.

the corresponding swatch, without blocking, much more “straight”

4/11

a mylar repeat for use with lace carriage, 910

in the image on left the repeat is hi-lighted by the green border; in the one on the right there are visual cues for operations. The vertical lines indicate which side of the bed the lace carriage needs to be placed for the next group of transfers, the horizontal lines mark the end of the transfer sequence, when a single row of knit occurs. Respective carriages need to be taken off the bed after most passes to allow use of the opposing carriage and maintain proper direction of moves, a different sort of “hand technique”. Below is a swatch, the red spot is a poorly corrected dropped stitch.

the technique is manageable for experienced knitters, this was my second try at a hurried repeat (weight adjustments and dropped stitches on first) and photo as I get ready to travel to the opposite coast.

Striping in lace fabrics 1

Colored stripes combined with lace patterning can produce interesting fabrics. Many variants may be found in Missoni’s knitwear. At times the lace holes themselves may nearly disappear, while the stripes become distorted by the transfers, the change in gauge, and the creation of the holes, which in combination begin to create a bias direction in parts of the knit. Below is a simple sample illustrating some of the above points:

the working chart (Intwined)

the text for hand knitting created by the program the additional knit rows creating garter stitch in part of the pattern provide added texture in a hand knit, but are impractical in a machine knit

Rather than deal with working out the lace transfers for use with the lace carriage for my swatch, I chose to use a multiple transfer tool, and begin with a 7 stitch transfer as opposed to a larger number one. Below are some of the tools that may be used to hand transfer stitches in larger numbers than with the tools usually provided with KMs, a garter bar may be used as well

The image below shows the fabric as it appears on its knit side. The bottom illustrates the repeat in one color. The red mark indicates where the transfers were made after knitting the first row of each color, the yellow indicates transfers made before each color change. In the former the “twist” apparent as the transfer knitting is completed, has one yarn wrapping around the other. In the latter, the “twist is all one color”. The yarns used were a rayon and an acrylic, on standard km. If a color changer and lace carriage were to be used in combination, only the second option would be possible (more on that in a later post).

the purl side

Below is a hand knit sample with a wider repeat, adding garter rows. The yarn used was a worsted weigh wool on size 8 needles. Of note is the difference in undulation in bottom and top edges

knit side (red mark here indicates garter stitch row detail)

purl side

a possible use for this pattern might be a center or recurring panel in a wider knit

From punchcard to hand technique or hand knit

Emulating the repeat in the post Studio transfer lace knit on Brother 910 and Revisiting use of lace patterns Studio vs Brother machines

here is a chart for reproducing it as a hand knit, generated in Intwinedthe accompanying text generated by the programexecuting ssp from Knitters Brewing Company

I tried the pattern as a hand knit and had difficulty keeping track of the reversals of twists front and back, so I headed back to my more familiar territory, machine knitting, and to the bulky machine to make the number of transfers a bit more manageable. The repeat is 14 stitches wide, outside the range of an effective repeat for a punchcard, but with transfers every row there is another way to use a card that requires no punching. Observing familiar rules, and text or symbols that are meaningful to us for the particular project (ie also for racking sequences), the card is used for notekeeping rather than needle selection. The carriage is set to KC, set for normal knit, no cam buttons in use. Because no holes are punched, there will be no needle selection. The card is locked on row 1 as usual prior to the first row of any pattern knitting , set to advance normally, and in my scribbly version it reminded me of several things. Each pattern segment is 5 rows, with the dark stripe indicating the beginning of each new segment. The numbers on alternate sides show the number of stitches that need to be transferrd with the aid of tools, leaving an empty needle that will create the hole, and overlapping stitches on either side of a center point in part of each motif. I worked with 2 repeats. On rows 1-5 as marked on punchcard, stitches were trasferred beginning on the right, toward the right side edge of the knit, then following the remainder of the partial chart repeat. When the next segment of rows was reached as indicated by numbers appearing on the left of the card, beginning on the right edge again, the first group of stitches was transferred away from the knit side edge, once again following the chart segment. As the lines of holes begin to show, it is easier to see the direction in which one needs to move as is the resulting pattern. The ridges created as the stitches overlap on either side of the center single knit stitch also can serve as guides in keeping track. I used no weights, just the opposite hand to pull and guide as needed. The number of moves is likely to require a looser tension than usual for any familiar yarn.the swatch, knit side, using worsted weight, tension 6its purl side

…

Short rows_ balls, tams, 3D rounds

These forms involve bilateral shaping. 3/4/16 Note: the charts below were produced using the program Intwined, which has been unsupported or updated for Mac since June 2013. At that time I encountered major problems using it, and after being restored the program has remained unpredictable, missing functions that influenced my choice to originally purchase it. The first row knit needs to be toward the first 2-row sequence in the design.

16 stitches, 6 rows, 8 repeats

28 stitches, 12 rows, 8 repeats

17 stitches, 8 rows, 12 repeats

28 stitches, 10 rows, 12 repeats

The samples were knit in “waste” yarns, and seamed on the machine; if turned purl side out the latter is acceptable, or work could be flipped over and joined on the machine, bringing the join to the purl side; of course Kitchener stitch is always the least visible but most time-consuming option. The green forms in the photo were knit using 8 repeats, the white ones 12)

Back to charting in Excel: knitting tams

tam 1: 6.5 sts and 9 rows per inch, 12-inch diameter, 12 gores, 38L, 30R

adjust for gauge: mine below on bulky machine tension 3, ap 5 sts , 5.72 rs per inch, 10 gores, 26L, 20R

test swatch, if fewer rows are needed for head circumference formed on rt, first 2 rows may be skipped every third round or as needed, extra red rows on top may be added if additional width is needed to fit head comfortably

my hats in 2 different fibers, sizes M and L

going bulkier for an “urchin”: 2.5 sts, 5 rs per inch, 8 gores

step 1, HK, W = wrapped st

a way to size up, adding rows and sts

gauge may be hard to match even eon on bulky. HK version, flipped so as to knit increasing angle, no wrapping required with any of my yarns in this series, test swatches suggested

looking at it another way

in the above, the black represents knit stitches, arrows indicate the direction of knit/ reading the chart, the yellow the unworked stitches in each row, no wraps; my sample was knit in garter stitch on size 11 needles, brim circumference = 21 inches

…

Programming for use of repeats on knitting machines (there are limitations based on gauge and machine model): black/colored squares represent knit stitches. When the machine is set to slip, those squares/punched holes will knit, while blank areas/non-selected pattern needles will not, emulating holding techniques. Knit rows need to happen toward 2-row sections of charts so that needles are “brought to hold” opposite the carriage; KC (II, no end needle selection) row needs to start the carriage on the side opposite to the first such sequence. For example: in the charts, for the balls, the KC row would be from left to right, the first knit row from right to left, with the first set of needles to be “held” opposite the carriage on the second knit row. The principle is considered throughout, and the last row knit across all stitches will get the carriage back to the required position for beginning the sequence for the next segment. When knitting on the machine, if the row counter tripper is turned off, the RC may be advanced manually as each wedge is finished. Tracing on the charts for such stitches, pretending to be knitting, and following with a writing instrument the direction/movement of the carriage to each side helps to clarify the process and find possible errors or more needed rows prior to actual knitting.

If Kitchener stitched together, finished hats will be reversible, may be worn in a variety of ways, and takes on a slightly different shape depending on which side is worn on the outside. An excellent series on Kitchener stitch may be found on the TECHknitting blog
http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2007/05/easier-way-to-kitchener-stitch-also.html
http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2012/11/step-by-step-kitchener-stitching-with.html
http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2012/11/kitchener-stitching-grafting-with.html
http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2012/12/shaping-in-kitchener-row-useful-for.html
garter grafting video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAEIogIli6o
if blocking of hat forms is required, plates may actually come in handy
if the brim is too loose, work one or 2 rows of crochet or of knitted rib to gather it in a bit

Holding stitches/ short rows

I am planning a thread on motifs and miters, here is a brief review of holding stitches in preparation: short rows are just that. Instead of going the full width of your stitches across, you knit only a portion of the stitches on the machine, turn, and go back to the beginning, which results in one portion of the fabric knitting more rows than the other side of the fabric. It is also referred to as partial knitting. It is used to create many angles and curves. The machine’s knit carriage needs to be set appropriately; needles pulled to the furthest position (E_Brother_holding lever, D _ Studio _Russell levers, Passap will need pusher adjustments) will not knit. To return stitches to work in increments push stitches back into the upper working position (C or D depending on machine brand). In patterned knitting, stitches must be returned to the proper position for patterning with a transfer tool. In Brother machines needles need to be arranged manually in the proper location for the pattern to knit correctly, Studio machines will do it automatically since they select and knit on the same row. When using holding with the lace carriage held stitches are knit back to A using ravel cord and returned to the needle hooks in work position when they need to be knit. Because knit row sequences are in pairs (or more) there will be slits or “holes” perceived at the edge of the held knitting, these can be considered a design feature or nearly eliminated by “wrapping” the first adjacent held needle before knitting the second row, or knitting one stitch less than the required amount toward the held stitches, and then bringing the remaining needle into work before knitting back. Bringing more than one needle into hold on the carriage side will create “floats, so multiple stitches are usually brought out to hold opposite the carriage. Knits often tend to stretch more in width than in length, so in garments such as pleated skirts, it is likely the piece (knit sideways) will grow in length and tighten in width, with tension and garment weight providing 2 more factors. Large swatches and having them rest in the position in which the knit in the final piece will be worn are a necessity in calculations. Some references:

Settings and images of wrapping to avoid holes: this site is now down, the information may be found in webarchives , will take a little bit of time to load content
http://www.getknitting.com/mk_holdposition.aspx.
Calculating frills and triangles online http://www.getknitting.com/mk_0603frilled.aspx http://www.getknitting.com/ak_0603triangle.aspx

Short row one side only http://needlesofsteel.blogspot.com/2008/10/short-rowing-part-1-one-side-only.html.
Diagonal corner http://needlesofsteel.blogspot.com/2008/10/short-rowing-part-2-knitting-diagonal.html.
Short rowing 2 sides at once http://needlesofsteel.blogspot.com/2008/11/short-rowing-part-3-both-sides-at-once.html.

Shaping shoulders and necklines (Studio) Knitting: site no longer exists http://www.guagliumi.com/free_stuff/downloads.html for PDF download info Machine Geometrics – Susan Guagliumi – Threads magazine, April-May 1987, pp 66-71. The Studio knitting tips series of articles were originally published for dealers only, may now be found in http://machineknittingetc.com/catalogsearch/result/?order=date&dir=desc&q=studio++tips

A Ravelry post on the topic with hints for hand knitting by Rox Knits http://www.ravelry.com/twir/86/ask-a-knitter-26

TechKnitting on HK topic http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2009/10/basic-short-rows-theory-and-method.html
http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2009/10/short-rows-method.html

HK trim as MK edging

The link to this trim has often appeared on Pinterest but was later deleted.
I knit it as directed, and in turn, slipped it off the needle and onto the bulky KM

a closer look

the cast-on edge had a very sharp curl to the knit side

even with blocking and hard pressing, it still really wanted to get back there

it is, however, a fun idea to play with

B/W illustrations for some of the steps

Charting knits using Mac Numbers program 1

A free manual for the program may be obtained via Apple, with extended documentation. I thought I would share some of my notes in trying to work with it in creating knit charts. They are not intended as complete tutorials, but simply perhaps as a place to start for those owning the program. Having some familiarity with excel makes some things easier, Numbers reads Excel documents already created, will save/export files in its format as well

to create a chart: open a new document, a table will appear with wide, rectangular cells which will need to be readjusted

clicking on the square with 9 dots to the left of column A will highlight the whole sheet

the formatting bar

click on inspector (white i in blue dot) located above format bar

adjust column width and height to .4 and .4 or desired values hit return

click on the screen and a resized document will appear

drag on symbol small rectangle with 6 dots (upper right, bottom left, marked A and B) to increase # of column or rows, or copy and paste as they are needed

there are many ways to add color described in the manual in multiple contexts. For this purpose, I like to begin by creating a palette within the working table. To do so click on an individual cell, go to fill in the menu bar,

click on it, choose a color from the window that appears, select color, the cell will fill with color, having a palette within the document will save confusion, and save trips back and forth between

repeat until you have a row of chosen trial colors, same can be done with font symbols or numbers for easy access throughout the process, I have created a master document with all symbols in fonts I like to use to the left of the table, in sizes suited for the working cells, for easy copy and paste as well

copy the individual color (cell) will work with paste to place color in the design motif area, dragging the handle at the bottom right of the paste will produce single cells, rows, columns, or squares/ rectangular shapes in that color

copy and paste motif created both to change color segments, and to test motif repeat alignment

isolate final repeat for actual knitting, programming, or punching

Borders

here I miss the pencil drawing option in excel; a tutorial on border drawing Numbers, and some illustrations using the motif in the downloadable document (post1) with variations

using select, copy, paste; border markings illustrated

altering the repeat to a dropped one

brick stitch_ easy changing to visualize shifts in the pattern