Category: Machine knitting (MK)

More slip stitch experiments inspired by commercial designs

WORK IN PROGRESS

PRADA knitwear often becomes a source of inspiration and discussion both in hand-knitting and machine-knitting forums. This recent model caught my eye:  Developing proofs of concept can begin to be achieved by reducing repeats in size, making sampling quicker to achieve and evaluate.
Larger automated repeats by default require electronic programming.
Spreadsheets offer an opportunity to plan color-changing sequences ahead of time and to check their alignments.
If a color changer is in use, in the Japanese machine models it sits on the left. Color changes are made away from and back to the changer as frequently as every 2 rows, or as needed in the specific repeat.
Sequences can be planned ahead of time to make tracking them more easily.
Other machine models have color changers on each side, allowing for single rows knit in any one color and for dividing repeat segments differently, but the assumption here is that each color is carried for an even number of rows.
This chart was developed using Numbers for Mac.  The repeat is 40 stitches in width, and 52 rows in height, outlined with a red border. It is planned so as to return to the starting color selection to maintain a continuous design,  tested on 80 stitches.     Its alignment is not on a true diagonal, and shapes are offset To duplicate the swatch, cast on and knit for a preplanned number of rows with the dark color.
Needle selection serves as a visual guide to the need for color changing in addition to or instead of row counts.
End needle selection is in use, there are no empty needles in this design.
COR: make the first preselection row from right to left, toward the color changer.
COL: remember to set the knit carriage to slip in both directions, pick up the light color
change color every 2 rows until every needle is preselected when moving from the right and back to the color changer (14 rows)
COL: every needle has been pre-selected. During every needle selection, only the dark color is used until preselection changes once more as the knit carriage returns to the left (12 rows)
COL: pick up the light color, resume with color changes every 2 rows (14 rows)
COL: a 12-row sequence with every needle preselection completes the 52-row design.
Repeat the process ending with a preplanned number of rows knit in the dark yarn, and bind off. Expanding the design repeat would change the curvature in the solid color stripes.
This knit is by LAFAYETTE 148, NY.  It is offered with coordinated pieces, which appear to use both a knit and a purl version as the exterior of the knit.  Beginning with an electronic slip stitch test emulating the larger shapes in alternating colors, adhering to the limitation of using an even number of rows in each color change, patterning shifts are explored in this 30X24 stitch repeat.  A tiling test The extra horizontal lines formed in the swatch are because the goals are
1. to make larger shapes in alternating colors with long stitches in the contrasting color in front of them on the knit side,
2. automate the process,
3. and use the color changer.
In each case, the new color needs to be knit first to and from the color changer in order for its stitches to form those elongated stitches in it on the knit side, and knit again after the contrasting color rows to complete each segment of the full repeat.
The visualization chart for the first experiment:
A 30X24 repeat: black cells form knit stitches including below and above white cells. White cells slip until a black cell occurs directly above them.
B a knit side visualization of color changes: the elongated stitches, marked by conical lines, are drawn where they would appear, with floats formed behind them by skipped stitches.  Eliminating extra striping by bringing elongated stitches to the purl side may be achieved by transferring stitches between beds, and using programmed needle preselection to track when to do that.
Taking the same repeat into consideration, the orange cells serve as markers for stitch transfers  A programmable repeat:  Cast on for every other needle rib, then transfer all stitches to the top bed. This allows for even weight distribution on all stitches.
When a closed cast-on does not matter, the “broken toe” cast-on is an alternative to having all stitches on either bed  Using the ribber comb to cast on the single bed is documented in the post  Both the knit and ribber carriages are in use.  The knit carriage remains set to knit throughout, end needle selection is engaged.
The ribber carriage is set to slip throughout, with needles point to point, its stitches are never knit, they are simply held until a transfer is made once again.
They stay in the B position, after transfers so as not to be knit using the slip setting, and are held, will form the elongated stitches on the purl side, knitting off when the same color is returned to every 8 rows. After transfers, empty needles are taken out of work.
In this visualization, the conical shapes mark areas where the elongated stitches will form on the purl side, R marks stitches transferred down to the ribber, and M, the stitches transferred to the top bed:  To duplicate my swatch, cast on and knit at least one base row with the dark color, ending COR
COR: program the first row, knit 1 row to the left
COL: transfer stitches on preselected needles down to the ribber, and push empty top bed needles out of work, OOW.
Change to a light color. As the knit carriage moves to and from the color changer, floats will form in the location of the out-of-work needles on the top bed.  COR: knit 8 rows, there will be a new preselection as the knit carriage moves to the left COL: transfer needles previously on the ribber onto the empty needles on the top bed, placing them in work position so they will knit on the next pass, and transfer new needle preselections down to the ribber Knit 8 more rows, change to the dark color, repeat transfers of ribber stitches up, preselected stitches down, and continue knitting, following needle prompts. Printing custom needle tapes is an option that relies on printing to scale. Marking the needle tape or metal bed with water-soluble pens or even pencils is the old low-tech go-to.
The markings can be made on strips of paper slipped under needles on either bed and marked for any chosen spacing and a varied number of colors.
An illustration for a test on a different from the programmed repeat began with marking a strip of paper on the top bed for alternating transfers to and from each bed using different colors:   The result may be used on either bed, seen here placed on the ribber. The markings on the metal bed are left over from a previous project  
Reviewing a post from 2015 on a slip stitch experiment, the second source image, now found attributed to Max Mara, inspired me to try a version using software presently available.  lyst comboThe speed in developing DIY designs and knitting them has grown exponentially with the use of new software and the capacity to move away from mylar sheets or punchcards.
The first 24X56 diamond shape

rendered in half drop, to a 48X112 repeat, with a test in the alignment of multiples  The proof of concept was knit at first with color changes every 2 rows, then converted to double length using the machine built-in function, followed by color changes every 4 rows.
The light color yarn is a wool rayon, the dark is a shetland wool.  The all-knit rows on the side edges create ruffles.
An attempt to show the changes in texture on both surfaces:   The limit on Japanese model machines for tuck stitch unless one is using very thin yarns is often 4 rows. The inspiration image appears to have far taller color stripes, slip stitch is far more tolerant than tuck, what about trying color changes every 8 rows using it? The inspiration appears to knit more rows in the dark than in the light yarns, but here the changes happen on every fixed number of rows.
The repeat first doubled in length to 48X224 if doubled in length again would require 448 rows of knitting!   A quick partial test revealed the diamond shape is far too elongated, back to the drawing board:

A return to plaiting and double bed hand transfers

These two sweaters, by Denimist on the left, and Chloé on the right,  led me to reconsider plaiting, and as usual, whether any repeat may be programmed to make tracking of any hand techniques easier.
A review of plaiting on Brother machines.
The black cells represent needles in work and knitting on the top bed. Cast on for every needle rib, change the configuration so that stitches on needles represented by white cells are transferred down to the ribber.
Needles left empty after transfers are pushed back to position A, out of work/ OOW.
The first repeat was planned for 30 stitches, but some of my tests were knit on slightly different stitch counts.   The main bed is set to KCII. Any time empty needles are part of the design repeat, the end needle selection is canceled. The stitch count remains constant throughout.
The main bed does not need to be set to slip stitch, it can be left set for plain knitting.
The needle selection is used only as a guide to the transfers, which are made using a 2-prong tool in the direction of the arrows on the knit bed every 8 rows.
The swatch on the left was knit using 2/8 wool and no-stretch serger thread for the plaiting yarn, on the right the thicker yarn is 2/15, with fiber content for the thin yarn no longer readable.  An equal-thickness dark is added on the left, with visible color distribution issues. On the right, the light is a 2/28 Italian import, the red a 20/2 rayon, and I began to test the introduction of possible cable crossings along with considering the width of all knit vertical side borders.   Varying the overall spacing and the number of rows knit before cable crossings, 4 on the left, 6 on the right. The yarn in the latter swatch is a thin, coarse, inexpensive wool. The cabled stitches were hard to knit on the next pass, the low color contrast in the finished surface makes the texture effect subtle. The instructions here in principle are as given above. The single stitch in the 1X2 cable crossings is always brought forward on the purl side prior to any transfers of the corresponding stitch pair.
A single repeat segment imagining actions to be taken,  and a full chart for the proof of concept, 34 stitches in width  Stitches are moved after every 8 rows knit in the direction of the arrows using a 2-prong transfer tool, filling in a single empty needle to the right or left as indicated by arrows.
The empty needles are pushed back to the out-of-work position after the transfers.
The initial needle selection may be used for more than 8 rows at the bottom of the piece and the top if preferred.
A 36-stitch programmable repeat shifts the 8-row repeats shown in the colored chart   The blank cells on row 13 will serve as the area on which the 2X2 cable crossings are made.
The initial setup
after the first set of transfers groups of needles with no needle preselection serve as markers for the 2X2 cable crossings Bring needles with crossed stitches forward for easier knitting on the next carriage pass and continue knitting until needle preselection changes once more.
A:  fixed needle selection
B:  stitches moved with 2X2 cable crossings
C:  fixed needle selection once more. Switch yarn feeder to plaiting accessory, add plaiting yarn, with 2 yarns of equal thickness in use tension is adjusted
D:  stitches moved with 1X2 cable crossings
E:  stitches moved with 2X2 cable crossings
Return to A selection. End the swatch matching the number of rows on the fixed needle selection at its start.

 

 

ArahPaint in knit design 4

Reviewing ToolsGuess weave from Grid
ArahPaint continues to be user-friendly for multiple applications including knit design.
The developer shares how-to videos that are frequently updated
https://www.arahne.si/public/news/
https://www.youtube.com/@arahpaint4/videos
The same holds for their downloadable manual, and any questions are answered in a timely and informative manner.
I am often driven by knit technique curiosity first, then find myself circling back periodically to program explorations to shorten the process for drafting blog charts and repeats, sharing new to me information as it is found in manuals or online.
A recently reviewed https://www.arahne.si/tutorials/how-to-import-old-pattern-drafts/ led to my first experiment.
When using the weave guessing function, it is good to know that the program looks at the center of the grid, and tries to ignore the grid itself. If the center is not a single color and is homogeneous, use averaging to smooth it out before color reduction. If it is not filled properly, use contour operations (thickening) to make it stronger.
When guessing the grid, make sure you use the “preview” function, so you see what the program sees.
The steps, relatively “winging it”:
as in resizing/scaling any design, accurate cell/ anticipated stitch and row counts are needed. They may not be given in the source, where grid properties, cell shapes, and colors may all vary.
For example, the grid in the original may be 6X6 for punchcard designs, 10X10, or even 5X5 for electronic models. Recognizing the blocks used aids in examining and adding up counts when they are not provided.
Load the selected picture, in this case, a random one from a previous post, known to measure 24 stitches by 60 rows: Go to colors, Set the number of colors to 2, adjusting the palette if needed to black and white, resulting in a visible change to the image: Magnify the image as needed, use the rectangle select tool to eliminate the dark frame. There will be a dotted color dashed outline that can be adjusted, use Image/ crop to selection to eliminate the unwanted border, Select Tools/Guess weave from grid, and a new window will open. The program automatically defines the size of the original pattern. If the value is not the expected one, enter the desired pixel counts, and click OK.  The “weave” will appear on top of the original pattern, surrounded by a bounding dashed line,     choose Image, and Crop to the selection, and save the picture as png. The result matched that in the previous post, with the Gimp chart on the left, and the Arah on the right.   In addition to using Image/draw in repeat to check alignments, the View Repeat option will tile the design an arbitrary number of times automatically, providing a large-scale view, illustrated only in part on the right in the image below. The process is repeated with pattern #42, 46X56, from a Brother electronic pattern book:
the original is on the left, the ArahPaint guess grid result is on the right, colored differently to make it easier to check for matches and any pixel placement differences,  its B/W png.   The steps again with #3604, 24X240, once again comparing Gimp results to those obtained with ArahPaint  One of the challenges which can appear to varied degrees when converting files is the amount of pixel cleanup required on the resulting images. One contributing factor that may be encountered is that the original to be processed may be askew, as only slightly in this image, #26 from the Brother 270 collection.   Using the unskew tool allows one to fix the geometry of a layer distorted by perspective.
Make a rectangular selection around the object which you wish to unskew.
Click on the Unskew tool  Drag the corners of the selection to the distorted part of the image, they are marked by hollow squares at each corner Click OK in the Unskew dialog box The selection becomes a normal rectangular layer. If uncomfortable working with layers, click on this tool to fix the image and remove the bounding box  Repeat the process already described, reducing the number of colors to 2 after cropping to the selection, the dark squares are not a true black. If the png is to be used for download to an electronic machine, change the grey to true black before saving.
The original, followed by the ArahPaint result and a tiled view of it The same approach may be used on large nonrepetitive images.
Hand-count the number of cells in width and height if they are not provided.
A scan from the Dover publication on Celtic charted designs, converting this 73X54 image proved easy.  The scan of a 130X95 stitch/row count chart from Charted Peasant Designs from Saxon Transylvania posed some issues.
The problem, in this case, was not the use of the basic technique, but that multiple areas of the chart were not marked with the black contained within grid cell borders.
Cropping problem areas, processing them separately, and pasting them in place on the previous result where needed appear to greatly reduce final pixel cleanup.  While weaving and many needlework drafts are often represented on square grids, some knit designs are published to reflect the fact that actual knit stitches with the exception of garter stitch are typically rectangular.
In the early days of electronics, knitting machine models began to have libraries of stitch designs stored in memory, cassettes, or floppies. Often manuals or booklets were printed as companions, visual guides to stored contents. Colors and counts did not matter, since the intent was not to provide reproducible designs.
This chart is from Studio, published as a tuck pattern.
My best results were obtained after cropping the original to 74X60 unit counts and scaling the scan’s A: 1733X992 to B:1320X960, a multiple X16 of both values.
C: the result of reducing colors to 2, followed by guess weave from grid for a successful match to the original, a final 60X48. The png would need to be color inverted for use with the tuck stitch setting. The png, after removal of a few wayward pixels, and color inverted for use with the tuck setting   Returning to that griffin, after resizing/scaling the original to multiples of 11, 1430X1045 pixels, the left portion of the design produced a clean match to the original, while the right segment with the off-grid dark cells still did not. The previously separately reduced segment was added on the far right yielding a far closer match.  Weaving and cross-stitch libraries offer a huge range of potential design repeats.
Some resources:
Weaving library: fressinet offers images in black and white
Patternbase: from Dictionary of Weaves
Archive.org: filet crochet

Beginning with a design selected from p.83 in the Dictionary of Weaves Color convert to 24 ->8, an expanded palette will appear. Press the Shift button and click inside the picture to manually select the colors, adding 63 in this case
Filters menu: choose Averaging, and follow with the second choice Repeat the last operation X10
Colors: set the number of colors directly to 2
Guess weave from grid to 18X18
Crop to selection, magnify and check results
Convert to black and white if needed
Check repeat alignment   Other ways to handle the same task: another ArahPaint tutorial offers additional tips.
From the Cross stitch book, a 40X40 chart using a straightforward setting of the number of colors to 2.  One way to convert the picture on the far right to black and white prior to saving it other than adjusting the palette colors is to use Threshold to reduce the number of colors.
1: select Black white, and Preview in the associated window
2: if an adjustment is required, the slider may be moved to the left or right, Undo if needed, and when satisfied stop
3: click OK and close the window, save the picture as bmp. An earlier design intervention for the final B/W png: after setting the palette to 2 colors, reduce the number of colors with the same 3 steps using Threshold for another successful result. Reducing the number of colors window instead of setting the number of colors to 2:
Color convert to ->8, an expanded palette will appear
Choose Averaging, and follow with the second choice, Repeat the last operation X10
Open the Reduced number of colors window  Press the Shift button and click inside the picture to manually select the colors for foreground and background, did not work for me on my Mac with the latest OS. Selecting colors manually from the expanded palette by clicking on them is an alternative. The higher contrast between the two the cleaner the results.
Select Preview, if satisfied Click on OK, and Close
Select the whole picture
Guess weave from grid
Crop to content
Magnify, evaluate the results, adjust the palette to BW if needed, and save

Adding colors to black and white pngs following the tip by the developer in the post comments:
Choose a black-and-white repeat, in this case, a 36X9 pixel repeat  Double-click on one of the two colors to protect/lock it Double-click on it again, and the lock disappears, the color is no longer protected.
In the palette, use + to add a new color, this may be repeated more than once to add more colors or go to colors, set the number of colors to a number, ie. 6, for a random palette group that may, in turn, be edited to other values.   Double-click on the rectangle tool to draw filled rectangles  In rectangle options, above the palette icon, there are toggle buttons for Horizontal and Vertical, remember to protect a color  Once your selection is made, draw the filled rectangle across a selected width and height while keeping the protected color intact. Draw the result in repeat to check for alignment the protected color may be toggled to white  If the designs are to be programmed for multiple color slip stitch or DBJ there are rules to be observed, and there may be restrictions on whether each palette color will be recognized as a third or fourth color by the download program ie. when using Ayab, where no two colors may occur in the same range of 8-bit values. For 4 colors, the ranges would be 0-63, 64-127, 128-195, and 196-255.
The img2track partial window with the associated color assignments for the first vertical variation.  The horizontal choice allows one to play with selections possibly matching yarn colors in fair isle knitting,          only 2 colors per row may be used, here the A feeder yarn remains fixed Remember to unlock the previous color choice if protecting new segment selections.
Visualizing possible FI striping results in progress Working with diagonal patterning in machine knitting introduced some approaches.
Following guidelines in Easily generate random weaves it is possible to quickly generate DIY designs for use in multiple techniques.

To begin with, load a new picture 12 pixels wide and one pixel high
Set the number of colors to 2, black and white if the goal is downloadable pngs.
Fill in a repeat, and multiply it by Y multiple times to achieve the final number, or fill in vertical bands using the pencil tool on the final planned starting canvas.
A single row repeat first multiplied Y X6, then X2 Select the measurement tool: The tilt tool shifts every next line of pixels, the width of the line in the X field for the horizontal tilt, or in the Y field for the vertical tilt Default values are set to 0 The selections for this design:  The resulting file, also shown drawn in repeat: Two more, with a starting picture total height of 24 pixels One repeat, multiple height selections  This repeat may be used for tuck or slip stitch, providing the final png is color reversed. The 12X24 initial result was multiplied X2 in height/Y to produce the 12X48 one. The image on the far right checks alignments Working in multiple colors using the same approach: These charts continue to use the selections with reverting back to the original after each variation, though steps may be made sequentially and reversed in a matter of seconds Any results may be modified by adding other program functions to produce drafts of expanded repeats ie. through using drawing in repeat/ random. The results may be suitable for large pieces ie blankets and likely best knit as DBJ.  The ease of designing needs to be paired with good notes on charting cause and effect and an understanding of the relationship between pixels/ punched holes and stitch formation using varied cam button settings.

 

Midjourney inspired knits 1: single bed diamond shaped strips

My son recently introduced me to Midjourney and generated many images capable of inspiring a range of machine knits. The interpretation and execution may not be as simple as would initially appear, particularly to non-knitters.
Commercial knitting machines are left out of this conversation. The fact that they have multiple beds,   and compound needles that facilitate whole garment shaping makes complex structures possible that may only be partially reproduced on home models.
Japanese machines such as mine use two beds, with the ribber/ second bed added for knit and purl combinations, which may be lowered as seen below when not in use, or removed altogether.  One accessory that would make things easier to reproduce more textured knit and purl variations would be a Brother G carriage, which operates on the top bed and slowly and loudly produces programmed patterns on both punchcard and electronic Brother models.
The initial Midjourney inspiration,  and a “simpler” variation.

In hand-knitting concurrent shaping of both sides can be considered.
When working on 2 needles, because the work is turned over, knit and purl execution will change when ridges visible on both faces are planned.
Knit stitches are rectangular as opposed to square, often in a 4/3 ratio.
This chart begins to illustrate the actions involved.  Machine knitters constantly look at the purl side when working on the top bed unless ladders are manually reworked into knit stitches or the work is turned over.
Turning the work over is executable using a garter bar accessory, available for use on multiple gauge machines.  The standard and bulky garter bars offer sections that may be joined together for use on the whole needle bed, while the tool for holding, transferring, or turning over small stitches offers only 30 eyelets, the red lines on it were made with red nail polish, a handy way to mark KM tools or even linkers at fixed intervals to save constant counting.
The work is pushed off onto the garter bar with the curved ridges up and returned to the machine to create the purl ridges after turning the bar over.
At that time, the needle hooks will grab the stitches from back to front and the bar can be removed.  If the yarn supply is to be kept continuous, the knit carriage and yarn need to be brought to the opposite side before resuming knitting.
Spreadsheets offer a way of visualizing steps ahead of any swatching. Not aiming for a direct copy of any of the Midjourney results, this is a start with 4-row sequences
and an illustration of how strips might be joined to produce slightly different side edges. The diamonds are formed by increasing and decreasing on both side edges.
The sample is knit in a 2/8 wool, which even when knitting at tension 9 yielded stitches far too tight to remove onto the standard gauge garter bar, the 30 stitch tool was used.
Stocking stitch tends to roll to the purl side. For a cleaner edge, fully fashioned shaping is used.
From the Brother knitting techniques book, to decrease a stitch:  To increase one If both sides are shaped at the same time, the length may get affected by slight differences in stitch height formations on the carriage side as opposed to opposite the carriage.
In the test swatch increases and decreases were made consistently opposite the carriage, resulting in shaping on alternate sides every 2 rows.
Charting out the concept: the arrows represent the direction the carriage will be moving.
The blank row occurs where the knit is turned over.
A single row is knit across all stitches to the opposite side after the knit is turned before returning to shaping.
The last 2 rows in the chart would be the first 2 in the following shape.
The black cells represent what will become purl rows on the knit ground. The proof of concept:  The machine-knit sample aside from a quick hand-knit on #8 needles, attempting garter ridges, offering a lesson in gauge and texture.
In a final piece, the shaping in the hand-knit would be carefully considered. A first draft plotting out arrangements for alternating knit/ purl ridges: the center column can be adjusted to any width, and cables or other manipulations could occur at the narrow pivot points.
Seaming or joining would occur in areas where rows are outlined in blue. Those areas could be lengthened as well.
The chart can be further marked for beginning with either a half or a full diamond. For hand knitters, the yellow cells would be purled with knit side facing, and knit with purl side facing.  A Youtube video showing building the fabric using the short row technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7WrYOV2A6w&t=1297s
For anyone with intarsia or multicolor fondness, some AI color renditions based on triangles as well  

Blistered DBJ 2 and technique variations on a single repeat

Blistered stitches DBJ began to explore some variations for the production of easy knits which resulted in pockets separated by areas of joined stitches, and depending on the design and whether one bed knits more stitches and rows than the other, can make the surface appear 3D to varying degrees.
There are several things to consider in DIY designs.
In my recent browsing and being inspired by “The curse of truchet tiles”, this png was one of the resulting repeats, developed using ArahPaint.  It is larger than any previously tested with this technique.
Beginning with a 36X36 file drawn in test alignment to 108X108,    expanding the design through a diagonal choice into a 72X36 repeat  Large repeats require large swatches if gauge matters, but smaller tests serve well to evaluate tension and cam settings. It is a good idea to be consistent in yarn choice.
Thinking things through:
the white pixel areas will produce the pockets, separating from the ground, and the black pixel areas will compose the joined portions of knit.
To increase the effect, the height of those black pixel areas is reduced by changing their configuration in order to use the slip stitch setting to shorten them.
The first pattern fill requires doubling the height of the whole repeat in order to use the file in a tubular setting.  Rather than doubling the file in height, this brush is used to fill the same black pixel areas. After a few pixel cleanups, this is the final repeat, The png was tiled to the number of stitches planned, with the addition of a knit stitch border along each vertical side and knit on 88 stitches for proof of concept.
End needle selection is on.
The carriages are set to slip in opposite directions, in either arrangement A or B. In one-color knitting starting preselection side does not matter.
The tension used, since so many stitches will be knitting on alternate beds, needs to approach that used for the same yarn when knitting stocking stitches.
The red yarn stitches mark the knit side of the fabric.
The cotton ball illustrates the formation of pockets.
The color change happened when the first cone of yarn ran out.
The yarns are 2/28 Italian imports of nonspecified fiber content.
The piece measures 10.5 inches in width.
When the settings are changed from tubular to every needle rib, the fabric is considerably wider and ruffles as seen at the top and bottom of the swatch, which could become a planned design feature. A segment was cropped from the 72X36 drawn once more in repeat to 84X72, repeating the same steps for processing the file alignment check If the plan is to evaluate the effect of tuck stitch on the design, to begin with, the file needs to be color reversed, whether in the drawn png or using machine settings Exploring results with the ribber set to knit in on every row, the swatch below the red line was produced with the knit carriage set to knit in one direction, tuck in the other, while in the remainder the knit carriage set to tuck in both directions. The areas that in slip stitch would form pockets knit in every needle rib, while tuck stitch segments produce a lacy effect.  The same design, using the png created prior to color reverse, set for tubular slip stitch the transition between the changes in knit carriage cam settings results in changes in textures and added width The full tuck section (bottom) measures 16 inches in width, and the slip-stitch one (top) measures 11.5 inches.
Trying for a half-cardigan repeat with the same yarn produced an extremely wide knit with no discernible design.
Tired of double-bed knitting and swatches in a single color and large enough to cover pillows? the starting image reduced in size X4 to 21X18 pixels opens a new series of opportunities for knitting including on the single bed.  The design, knit here as DBJ, uses the built-in KRC color separation. At the bottom, the knit carriage is set to slip in both directions. The ribber uses the birdseye setting in both directions with the addition of lili buttons.
At the top, the knit carriage setting remains unchanged, and the ribber is set to knit in both directions, for a striper backing. The tension remained unchanged. The image illustrates the difference in the aspect ratio of the design and the height and width produced by the respective settings. The same design knit as single bed fair isle produces problematic floats on the reverse which would need to be anchored down in a wearable. When knitting fair isle end needle selection is used to keep the yarn in the B feeder anchored so as to prevent any separations along the vertical edges of the design.
Here the light color is 2/8 wool. The yarn in the B feeder is switched to a 2/24 random contrasting color, and the knit carriage is set for thread lace. The white pixels knit both yarns together. Programming a blank row and knitting 2 yarns in this manner is considered by some an alternative to using the plaiting feeder.
End needle selection is canceled. If needles are brought forward, push at least one back to B so the combined yarns knit. In a long piece, a repeat in the width of the planned number of stitches could be planned with one or two blank pixel borders on vertical sides.
Due to the contrast in yarn thickness, the thin yarn creates large stitches that bulge in areas where it knits with the thicker yarn floating behind it, and the areas with combined yarns recede.
The areas in double thickness secure the yarn that produces floats, so that the latter may be trimmed on the purl side, leaving cut ends in any length. When cutting floats, consider sliding something under them and the thin knit so as to avoid cutting it as well, the fabric will release and flatten. Using elastic, the background yarn used needs to be thinner, here a 2/20. The repeat program is left unchanged, but the position of the yarns is swapped so the elastic/ “thin” is placed in feeder A and the white/ “thick” in feeder B. There is a considerable change in size, observable at the top of the previous images.   Aiming for float control, the repeat is edited.  A test of the 18X9 repeat using the fair isle setting measures 6.5 inches in width,   while the same stitch repeat knit using elastic and the thread lace setting adjustments once more, measures just under 2.5 inches in width 

Developing tiled repeats suitable for multiple stitch types, including tuck

Punchcard machine users have limitations in terms of repeat width, depending on the brand and age of the machine. Those numbers might vary from 8 to 12, 18, 30, and 40, with a 24-stitch width eventually becoming the most frequent.
When electronic machines were first released decades ago, multiple built-in functions allowed one to manipulate programmed repeats. The latter were drawn with electronic pencils (Studio) or far more often with permanent jet-black ink on mylar sheets or “cards”. Passap at one point developed the initial Wincrea version with a very short dongle for downloading designs to the console away from the knitting bed.
Brother was the first manufacturer to allow programming multiple repeats on a single mylar sheet. It took Studio some time to play catch up to eliminate all the potentially wasted space on them.
Both brands used mylars with 60 rectangular cells in width by 150 in height.
Variation buttons for the Brother 910, for those not familiar with its options.  Building up a simple angular repeat can easily be done freehand filling in pixels, or with the use of the straight line tool in ArahPaint.  The 12-stitch design may be mirrored and rotated in a variety of directions. For use in a punchcard, this may be done once in width, and three times in height to meet the minimum length requirement.
It is not necessary when drawing to use only black and white to start with, though if the goal is ultimately to produce a programmable bmp or png, the final images need to be in those 2 colors.
It is easier to produce a design filling in fewer squares in lesser density and then to color reverse the results if that is required for the specific stitch type.
A: using horizontal and vertical mirroring yields the start of a diamond shape. Punchcard users may find it easier to mark the dark squares and punch everything else if the goal is to use the tuck stitch setting or to have a card “safe for everything”
B: checking alignment by tiling the file
C: if the intended goal is tuck stitch, and the minimum information is drawn in the design, then the repeat must be color reversed, whether in the program used to create the file or by selecting the built-in function in an electronic after download.
D: the color reverse image tiled, may be suitable for some interesting fair isle striping or exchanges of positive/negative spaces at the intersection of any of those rows where the double-height or double-width markings occur.
Red cells indicate two side-by-side unpunched holes or unmarked pixels. In theory, this breaks the tuck rule requiring a knit stitch/ unpunched hole or black pixel on either side of an unpunched area/white pixel, but it likely will be fine, producing something that looks more like a slipped stitch than a tuck.
The double-height areas marked in green would be a problem if one were to test the repeat by doubling its length, with a compounded issue in those areas where tuck stitches would then happen on side-by-side needles for 4 consecutive rows.
Usable with some care for knit weaving, slip stitch, and other stitch types. Results are not discovered unless actually tested.
Keep good notes. Breaking the design into segments to knit as a striped fair isle ie in these 4 places Variations are easier to imagine if one begins with colored repeat segments that can, in addition, be varied using color exchanges to resemble approximate yarn colors. Instructions on color banding using ArahPaint follow at post bottom. In the last post, the same image was mirrored using ArahPaint  The result is a 23X23 pixel design.
Any incrementally larger repeats would require the same operations, using the mirror X-1 and Y-1 options to avoid any side-by-side equal cells, but the process is easier with some understanding of isolating repeats. When the 23-stitch file has been formed, manually trim one pixel along the bottom or top row, and one along either the left or right side, down to 22X22 pixels tested in B/W repeat and here color inverted it is executable in double length thus offering the opportunity for color changing every 2 rows, testing the possibility of its morphing into a mosaic/maze design, remembering first to color reverse the repeat as given here,  which in turn yields a file that may be knit with color changes every 2 rows, a technique that can produce maze/mosaic designs with an appearance very different from the same pattern knit as fair isle.
In this swatch, 2/20 wool yarns were used. This results in a knit that can be steamed to stay flat.
The variations in the amount of tucked stitches and their placement expand in some areas more than others yielding wavy vertical side edges.
The striping occurred to enhance the visibility of stitch formations on the machine, but can be a deliberate way to add even more colors to such pieces. The same design, knit in 2/8 wool, begins to show that a pattern may produce very different effects with a simple change in materials or color choice Working outside straight lines and exploring random starts: the post Working with diagonal patterning in machine knitting introduced several larger initial repeats also suitable for tuck patterning when reversed, including this 12X24 pixel design,    and the companion larger file, 144X144 pixels The larger file can serve as the start for exploring knit pattern variations through the use of filters.
Beginning with zig-zag, the description from the ArahPaint manual:
the Zigzag filter creates a zigzag from the image. The number of zigzags depends on the setting of the filter option (X, Y, and Value) and the direction (Horizontal, Vertical, or a combination of both).
X: determines the number of zigzags up and down, the number should be an even number ie. 144 divided by 12 would create 12 peaks
Y: creates the vertical direction of peaks
Value: set to 0 the whole image height is taken as amplitude
The variations can be endless, and exploring changes in settings will help develop a sense of what happens. The larger scale results may at times be reduced to a significantly smaller working repeat. Tools/Find Repeat often but not always will do that seamlessly.
The manual offers instructions for manipulating vertical bands of color. Such variants could be knit as intarsia or multiple colors per row, with limitations and considerations.
This 4X4, vertical repeat, tiled to 12X12 color reversed for tuck knitting drawn in repeat and filtered is knittable, but not interesting to me. The result, shown tiled for clarity Moving away from straight lines, these initial experiments employed limited variations. The red X mark marks the repeat suitable only for fair isle knitting Choosing individual results to knit in tuck stitch, in review: the smallest repeats may be isolated and pixels cleaned up if preferred, remembering to color reverse when needed. This 24X24 repeat is suitable for punchcard models with the black pixels areas punched. Testing is far easier and quicker using electronic machines, do not use double length The design is asymmetric, subject to personal preference, and as usual, with results dependent on yarn and color choice.
The yarn used at the top of the photo is a wool-rayon, knit single bed. It was hard to identify stitch formations, hence the swatch was short in height for a visual texture check. Because of the rayon content, all edges steam and press fairly flat.
The other yarn is all wool, knit in every needle rib with the knit carriage set to tuck in both directions, and the ribber carriage set to knit in both.
This type of knit is often referred to as pick rib. Depending on the tuck stitch distribution, the stitches are forced apart vertically and can produce an eyelet effect in a fabric that lies quite flat. A closer look at approximately the same part of the ribbed fabric.   A 58X16 file after some cleanup and cropping of one of the other variations is to be color-reversed for use with the tuck setting. Depending on the thickness of the yarn, double length may be used safely for added texture.  The swatch illustrates the difference between fair isle knitting and tuck stitch, even when the tension used in the knit carriage remains fixed. Fair isle is in the slip stitch family, so it is short and narrow, while tuck stitch tends to be short and wide. It is usually recommended that fair isle floats be no wider than 5 pixels. Many here break that rule and would need to be managed if the design were to be used in a finished garment.  This segmented and cropped to 17X144 pixelsMirrored X-1, 33X144 pixels I like to plan repeats for any intended piece when possible in a width matching the number of needles in use, which allows programming as single-motif in the 930 with img2track and eliminates the need to turn on other built-in functions or assign needle positions. Doing so also offers the opportunity to add borders if desired.
A 99X144 version was programmed, and the central 71 stitch width was tested, likely suitable for an accessory ie a scarf  Those side-by-side white pixels are “OK” since they are in turn sided by black pixels and do not repeat for more than 2 rows.
At some point, one needs to commit to actual knitting. The first proof of concept swatch was knit in a softly spun, shiny rayon that had a slight tendency to split during knitting and steams and sets nearly completely flat.  This swatch is knit using a 2/8 wool, retains its texture after steaming and pressing, and exhibits the usual roll to the knit side at the top and bottom of the piece, and to the purl side along the vertical side edges. The variations in the 3D surface that can happen with some tuck patterns appear here and are retained.   Restricted use images may also be built from scratch.
Large published illusion-style designs even if beginning as black and white when scaled down in size can lose definition as a result rendering them speckled, needing a lot of pixel cleanup, or completely unusable.
This first attempted DIY version begins with a 31X31 repeat. The odd number allows for a corner-to-corner start. The lines are drawn using the straight line tool, with pencil size alternating between one and 2 pixels Using mirror X-1, Y -1 to 61X61 trimming by a single pixel and width and height for routine tiling avoids lots of doubled pixels. The final repeat, with small single pixels placement edits, is now 60X60  repeated in height only it could be used for perhaps a scarf, with or without solid borders at the bottom, top, and sides.   Drawn in repeat X3 in both X and Y directions it produces a 180X180 file large enough for a blanket, with a bit of wiggle room to add a narrow solid color frame if desired.      The design may be knit as fair isle for a quick initial test or for a final piece since the floats are all very short or knit as DBJ to produce a no-roll final fabric without floats.
In this test, softly spun rayon and heathery wool were used, resulting in a surprising color mix when compared to their original colors. There were a few spots where the rayon fiber split and knit with the contrast. The end needle selection was off, so there are tiny eyelets in some places where the contrast was not knit on the side edge, and the fabric separates a bit.  A variation for a different vertical repeat can easily be isolated from tiled drawings. This additional sample was also knit as a fair isle, with end needle selection on. Suitable for punchcard knitting: a 12-stitch simple geometric repeat visualized X12 modified using drawing X12 in random repeat for electronic machines.  An 18-stitch repeat visualized X 9 modified using random   A 24-stitch repeat accomplishes an optical illusion of sorts. If only it would work for creating origami-style pleats!
A recent Ravelry query prompted these designs, 22×22

22X3066X60

Adding colors to black and white pngs following the tip by the developer in the post comments:
Choose a black-and-white repeat, in this case, a 36X9 pixel repeat  Double-click on one of the two colors to protect/lock it Double-click on it again, and the lock disappears, the color is no longer protected.
In the palette, use + to add a new color, this may be repeated more than once to add more colors or go to colors, set the number of colors to a number, ie. 6, for a random palette group that may, in turn, be edited to other values.   Double-click on the rectangle tool to draw filled rectangles  In rectangle options, above the palette icon, there are toggle buttons for Horizontal and Vertical, remember to protect a color  Once your selection is made, draw the filled rectangle across a selected width and height while keeping the protected color intact. Draw the result in repeat to check for alignment the protected color may be toggled to white  If the designs are to be programmed for multiple color slip stitch or DBJ there are rules to be observed, and there may be restrictions on whether each palette color will be recognized as a third or fourth color by the download program ie. when using Ayab, where no two colors may occur in the same range of 8-bit values. For 4 colors, the ranges would be 0-63, 64-127, 128-195, and 196-255.
The img2track partial window with the associated color assignments for the first vertical variation.  The horizontal choice allows one to play with selections possibly matching yarn colors in fair isle knitting,          only 2 colors per row may be used, here the A feeder yarn remains fixed Remember to unlock the previous color choice if protecting new segment selections.
Visualizing possible FI striping results in progress 

More Truchet inspired tiles, a brief look at gradient filter use


The latest ArahPaint user manual download,  updated on February 9, 2023, includes added directions for drawing in repeat including a truchet/Smith tile variant.
This post will not provide specific how-tos, the pngs can be downloaded and used to perhaps test Arah’s features or to aid in finding a personal, preferred method for manipulating DIY designs.

There are additional Arahpaint options for altering designs in width and height which may be used progressively on the same image. Some in the group of edits and rotations are evocative of the Passap console’s Alter programming loop.   Lower in the same menu, diagonal mirroring opens yet another series of possibilities. These samples were produced in a Passap workshop, using the console Alter, add commands. Note that mirrored areas have identical pairs of side-by-side pixels at their meeting points,  while ArahPaint offers an opportunity to change that, a thing to keep in mind when returning to simpler motifs such as those used for tuck stitch. Performing the rotations, however, will render the result with an odd number of pixels in width, often making them less likely to be usable in punchcard models  My area of interest has been primarily and still is in creating textures beginning with small repeats that may grow in complexity and size to make the structures programmable and thus easier to track and execute.
Presently I rarely engage in multiple color motif work ie fair isle or other large-scale textile pattern applications but my curiosity in applied techniques has led me down this potential giant rabbit hole.
The speed and ease of drawing variations for repeats using ArahPaint make the process addictive.
The source of inspiration for this design series is “The curse of truchet tiles”.
When recognizable circles are a goal, these tiled motifs often begin with starting sizes as wide as the 24-stitch standard punchcard repeat limitation, and the manipulated larger motifs are suitable only for electronic machine models capable of accepting software downloads. Adding lines and extra dots of circles
Isolating fractions and individually rotating segments to draw again rendering larger repeats More info on knitting DBJ using more than 2 colors per row:
DBJ: more than 2 colors per row 3 3/22
Img2track_multiple colors per row dbj, each color knitting only once 1/21
DBJ: more than 2 colors per row 2   12/19
DBJ: more than 2 colors per row 1 12/19
Adding one more color to the last repeat whole planning a knitting a test at a max of 3 colors per row knittable in a single track 
The img2track window Positions of the respective yarns in the color changer as suggested by the program result in accuracy prompts by the machine on which of the respective colors should be in use at any one time.  Planning gauge-dependent pieces using large repeats requires large test swatches, generally a minimum of 100 stitches by 100 rows.
Adding and varying the colors in the design draft to match the yarns to be used in the repeat helps to visualize the possible result, and allows for using the sequence suggested by the download program to help track the proper color changes.
The test here is 60 stitches wide, knit one full repeat in height, measuring 7.5 inches in width by 11.75 inches in height after resting. On rows where the colors for the dots and squiggles may knit in small parts or not at all, there will be a preselection of large groups of needles such as seen here.  Birdseye setting is used to decrease motif lengthening. The img2track user manual describes the steps necessary for downloading to different model knitting machines and possibly using more than single tracks. A series inspired by another of the tiles in the linked publication   
Similar to one of the source repeats, increasing the balance between light and dark Open areas or specific rotations in the visual space may be created by eliminating or rotating individual segments.
To change the mirroring type, place a mouse pointer over the arrow that you want to change, and press the left mouse button. The arrow will jump to the next mirror type. With only 5 mirror types, you will get what you want in a maximum of 4 clicks. If you press the right mouse button, it will put the arrow to the default orientation. The result of course is dependent on the original file choice. Combining duplicating repeat variations with drawing in repeat helps one develop a DIY library of favored tilings. Begin with a possible background Tools/ Find Repeat  Aiming for knot variations, a cross-over to add to segments of the ground, manipulating individual tiles, adding copy and paste More play with manual duplication of tiles as opposed to drawing in repeat Combining different scale repeat segments, starting with 54X36 pixels  And it’s not all about just circles, a 36X36 pixel design to play with A reminder, if the plan is to add color in continuous lines, it is best to place the colors after the full design repeat has been developed rather than on the individual starting tile segments, For some, this would be considered a design feature.  A very different look may be achieved using any of the available filters. A square image of any size may be filled with a color gradient while keeping in mind the fact that knitting is very low resolution and the maximum number of available needles for patterning is 200 or under.
Beginning with a 20-stitch file. Below the software tool options on the right, click on the tool in the area marked with the red shape to produce a design that may then in turn be drawn in repeat No edges were cleaned up in this view. The design meets the maximum 200 pixels/needles size Going larger, an 80-pixel start to end with a 160-pixel blanket or tapestry suitable image with some wiggle room for adding a frame/border. The concept may be used in various densities for use in an accessory such as a scarf, spaced and colored to your liking, or even sweater bodies and sleeves planned specifically based on stitch and row counts for each of the pieces involved. Filters may also be applied in developing other stitch structures in addition to working with color motif designs. That topic merits its own post.

Cross brand pattern interpretations: Dubied to Brother

Reviewing Brother carriages: I am drawn to published pattern books for different brand machines at different periods of time and enjoy the puzzle of converting their designs to machines I have ready access to.
At this point in time most of my swatches are produced on a 930 using img2track to download files when needed while still making an attempt to share repeats usable on punchcard knitting machines when possible.
I have never been in the same space as a Dubied, but have been researching online trying to gather any information that might help me translate more of the patterns presented in the manual “for developing your hand and machine sampling”. These are my personal notes, not meant as accurate teaching tools, but shared to perhaps serve some use to others when decoding cross-brand pattern instructions.
Close to the completion of this post, I acquired the manual for the Dubied N4 model from a friend, with these images and some variations of the text. The associated tools from an online sale site: Manuals available online for free download 

Another source of inspiration for a different machine, Italian text only available, with many similar stitch structures: The Coppo numbering for settings in a box format My initial attempts to develop an understanding of functions began with an illustration from the Dubied N4 parts manual Some related functions, the term cardigan is used to refer to what many of us know as tuck stitch.   Visualizations of mirrored matching cam lever positions on opposite beds.  These machines do not create patterns via punchcards, instead, cams inside the carriages are controlled by switches that alter stitch formations. They are classified by the inclusion of the following symbols
N: equipped with rib and tube cams
F: equipped with cardigan cams for the execution of all tuck stitch fabrics
H: fitted with high and low butt needles. The raising cams operate either all the needles or high butt needles only. All machines with these needles are equipped with cam-plates allowing all the knit-and-tuck or all-tuck combination fabrics to be formed
4: 4 yarn carriers, which can be placed on either side and allow the manufacture of different pieces at once.
Basic rib structures are modified further by positioning needles in specific needle arrangements.
Functions and settings are often represented in manuals and publications in varied ways. The N4 manual supplement shows an undercarriage numbering system that uses a different sequence than my illustrations. The particular model introduced the addition of auto cams, allowing for alternate function patterning on needles in different positions.  I find it easier to think of settings on each bed separately, especially in cases where bed instructions also need to be reversed.
This is my initial effort at illustrating comparisons between the Dubied and Brother settings for knitting specific swatches.
Any fabrics acting on stitches occurring on selective tuck or slip stitches on one or both beds would need to be programmed in Brother machines for patterning on the top bed. On the ribber, the use of lili buttons will automate card 1 needle selection in the pattern on an even number of needles, but in many instances, in executing the Dubied patterns, hand selection in specific needle arrangements may be required as often as every row.  Information from N4 pub after I had created the above, with additions and some paraphrasing: the numbering system for “keys and levers”  Key positions:
1. closed if turned toward the inside of the carriage, no rows will be knitted ie slip stitch in both directions for a free pass, no knitting, with no yarn using Brother
2. opened if turned toward the outside/ away from the carriage, rows will knit
3. central position for floating threads on the low-heel needles, knit/slip, programming for needle selection in upper work, Brother D, and lower, Brother B, or limited Brother ribber selections using lili buttons
Stitch size dials:
Numbering from 1-20, two on the front carriage, two on the rear carriage, three  lengths can be set using the stitch size dial, indicated by three colors red, black, and green  (Cardigan) Levers: each lever can be positioned separately:   pointing toward the outside of the carriages/ back: the space between them  neutral/middle: if activated will hold the thread on all needles (tuck loops across all needles in work)pointing toward the inside of the carriage/ forward: if activated will hold the thread (form tuck loops) on the low heel (non-selected needles in Brother)Sliding unladen (no yarn) carriage/ free pass: made with keys 1, 2, 3, 4 closed/ Brother carriages set to slip in the direction of knitting
Plain knit or any rib setting: Keys  1, 2, 3, and 4 open the carriages work on selected needles, levers facing outward/ Brother with both beds set for plain knitting

Combining knit carriage needle selection with racking 2017 and
A racking tale: Passap/Brother 3  in 2019 used this repeat as the springboard for textures that did not match the original in stitch and row counts or racking sequences. The racking handle position is referred to as up or down, similar to the Passap system.  The ribber is used as the front bed.
I initially interpreted a round as a single row of knitting and held onto that for a while, and my arrangement for needles in and out of work on either bed was reduced.
Sometimes there are good reasons why our swatches do not match the inspiration one, a bit like changing ingredients in a recipe and wondering why the result is different.
The first test: in practice, I was simply unable to get the ribber to rack by 4 positions after only 3 knit rows, the problem was solved by a change in the needle arrangement and racking by only 3 positions in either direction. Another option would have been to add more all-knit rows between racking sequences as seen in the subsequent Coppo machine pattern adaptation, creating deeper folds.
The tension was adjusted to the tightest possible and remained fixed with no variations on either bed.
The gauge is likely looser than that in the Dubied manual, forming larger stitches and resulting in a softer shape definition.
Brother tension adjustments can only be made on one dial on either carriage, while the Dubied offers multiple settings on both beds.
To knit manually changing ribber settings, cast on with racking position on 7.
After casting on and transferring stitches up to the top bed the needles are arranged as follows, blank cells represent needles placed out of work back to A position: 1. Knit 3 rows on both beds
2. Set the ribber to slip in both directions, knit 3 rows on top bed only, and rack to position 10
3. Set the ribber to knit, knit 3 rows on both beds
4. Set the ribber to slip in both directions, knit 3 rows on top bed only, and rack back to position 7.
Repeat the 4 steps, ending with 3 knit rows before binding off.
Elongated stitches happen on the bed with needles out of work, in this case, the ribber, and the texture will appear on the knit side.
The needed racking positions become easy to identify as the knitting begins to grow. If one wishes to track hand techniques along with their respective row numbers and racking positions a spreadsheet can quickly be created including specifics ie in this case row counts, ribber settings changes, and racking positions:  Automating the selection, and swapping beds make the process easier to track: begin on racking position 7, inverting the needle arrangement in order to keep the same racking sequence.  Cancel end needle selection whenever any needles are out of work on the main bed and the knit carriage is set to slip in both directions. It is not always necessary, but a good habit to develop.  The width of the main bed is programmed using a repeat that has 3 rows of punched holes/black pixels, followed by 3 unpunched rows/white pixels repeated X2, for a total of 12 rows. Emptied needles on the knit bed are pushed back out of work to the A position. All ribber needles are in the work position.
Needle preselection in Brother on the knit bed will not interfere with racking since ribber needles are continuously in the B position.
Cancel end needle selection, KCII, as in any fabric with slip stitch selection on the top bed combined with needles out of work.
After the repeat is programmed and the first preselection row has been made, racking will happen every 6 rows, first to position 10, and then back to 7.
Starting side does not matter unless color changes are intended on every even number of rows.
Elongated stitches happen on the bed with needles out of work, the texture will appear on the reverse side, where all needles are in work (NOOW). The blue is knit with NOOW and with setting changes on the ribber every 3 rows, while the yellow swatch is knit with the main bed programmed with NOOW and a 12-row repeat using the slip stitch setting in both directions. When a round is interpreted as 2 rows of knitting, the carriages leave and return to the same side, color changes can be considered. The out-of-work/in-work needle arrangements now match the published counts, along with the repeat for knitting with the top bed set to slip and knit rather than the ribber. The method is the same as previously described.
Racking is now planned by four positions, and occurs every 12 rows once the needles are all preselected on the top bed, starting at racking position 6, to 10, and back to 6, producing a swatch matching the original.  What about adding color changes? An easy place to change color is when the needle selection changes from slip to knit, with each color knitting for 6 rows, remembering to also rack after every 12 rows.
The brown yarn was hard to see clearly on the needle bed. When off the machine there were interesting unplanned areas of dropped stitch lace where dropped stitches on the top bed had been missed.
Tabling the idea of adding other colors to this particular pattern, at least for now, but never say never in knitting (and baking).  And then there is this related pattern in the manual that involves racking by 4 positions and deliberately dropping stitches With some experience needle setups can be varied to suit, while achieving the same results as published illustrations.
I prefer to start with racking to left, as a result, the shapes in my swatches are mirrored horizontally when compared to those in the manual’s photo.
There are ways to make casting-on quick for testing small swatches when permanent edging starts do not matter.
One method to do so was described in the post: Ribber cast on comb/ open stitch single bed cast-on and was used here.
Ribber cast on combs traditionally came in different colors. I happened to try to use one of my grey ones presumably a Studio 4.5 mm one and found the spaces between its teeth not matching that between my Brother machine needles evenly. There were no issues when using the “silver” Brother comb. Here it is shown in position, with stitches cast only on the top bed,  and picking up loops for stitches on the ribber as the carriages travel to the opposite side. The plan is to move ribber stitches to the left by two positions three times before returning them to their original position.
The ribber carriage is set manually to knit on dark yarn rows and to slip on light yarn rows.
The ribber setting “song”: light/ slip levers up, dark / slip levers down.
The dark forms the dropped stitch lace pattern, it is thinner than the light yarn and the knit steams fairly flat.
Stitches are dropped by disconnecting the ribber carriage and making passes with no yarn, first to drop the stitches, and then to couple it once more with the knit carriage to continue knitting.  Automating the pattern, switching beds: program a 12-row repeat for 2 rows slipped, 2 knitted across all needles in work.
Note to self, when you swap beds and the ribber is forming all the knit stitches, do not use the ribber carriage to drop all the stitches on it!
Both yarns here are thin, and steam/press fairly flat.
If a ribber cast on for every other needle is used, remember to change the pitch from P to H after the transfers between the beds have taken place. A check to confirm that indeed needles will not smash into each other is quick to perform and well worth doing before continuing.
My needle arrangement:

It is interesting that the swatch photographs accompanying directions in the Coppo manual are not “perfect”, some showing pattern adjustments or even sporting holes not part of the design. This texture is very similar to the above

I initially interpreted 4 rounds as meaning 4 rows of knitting.
The resulting adaptation: cast on with the racking indicator on 6. The red numbers illustrate the guide provided in the publication and the bold black count adjustments in the actual knitting of the pattern. if attempting to match the original the 6 rows knit on the top bed should actually be 8 prior to racking.
The racking handle is set to 6
1. Knit 4 rows on both beds
2. Knit 4 6 rows on the top bed only
Rack by 4 positions, no direction given, I chose left to 10
3. Knit 4 rows on both beds
4. Knit 4 6 rows on the top bed only
Rack by 4 positions, I chose right to 6
Repeat steps 1-4
The elongated, slipped stitches are formed on the ribber, the bed with needles out of work, and the texture will appear on the knit side.
In any racking, the ribber bed may move beyond the stitches on the knit bed as the carriages move past the needles originally cast on and past the end stitch on one side or the other. This can help create some interesting side edgings.
That said, the first test swatch is knit changing ribber settings from knit to slip. If all needles are in work and the slip stitch setting is used, a float will be formed on the ribber if it has moved beyond the last needles in work on the opposite bed until the yarn reaches the stitches on the main bed as well.
It will not be an issue if stitches on that side are transferred up to the main bed. Automating the process, the beds are reversed, the repeat is now 20 rows high, and the knit carriage will be set to slip in both directions. The needle setup matches that given by the manufacturer.  Empty needles are pushed back to the A position after transfers.
Racking happens every 10 rows, just after every needle in work preselection on the main bed. This pattern utilizes the cardigan/tuck function and requires thicker yarn. The wool used here is a 2/8 weight, knit at as tight tension on the ribber as possible, in this case, 6. Here the instructions for knitting include references to specific numbers of rows rather than rounds. I was unable to reproduce anything like this sample in the manual with the illustrated needle arrangement, revised it.
The revised needle arrangement allowed for forming a vertical single-stitch column as in the swatch, and the racked patterns occurred at the center of a purl ground.
The swatches are knit in different wool weights. Racking happened by 2 positions after each round/ pair of knit rows, starting side did not matter.  The above were knit using the slip stitch setting.
Reviewing the manual once more, it was noted that the sample was in the center of a page with the heading: racked fabrics in the cardigan/ tuck stitch. The stitch formations using tuck stitch on alternating Brother and Passap beds are reviewed in the post on Fisherman and English rib.
No specific lever or key instructions were provided. The general advice given to knit the cardigan aka fisherman’s rib is to start with the Dubied carriage on the right, all keys open, and push lever 8 (front left) and lever 6 (rear right) to a neutral position (9). In the outward direction, the carriage knits along the rear needle bed and holds the thread on all the needles of the front needle bed; on the return, it alternates the processes, a tubular tuck.
On Brother, it would be done by selecting opposite tuck buttons, making either the selections on the left or on the right That is simply not happening with the pattern needle arrangement on a Brother machine, there are not enough stitches on opposing beds to anchor down tuck loops.
Half fisherman, aka English rib, tucks on every needle in work on one pass and knits every needle on the same bed on the return pass.
The new swatch is knitted using the same modified needle arrangement as added to the photo from the manual, starting from the right, with the ribber carriage set to tuck to left, knit to right, and the main bed set to knit every needle.  The swatch is shown in progress on the machine with needle placement as it would appear in the starting setup prior to knitting 2 rows.
The first row tucks on ribber needles when traveling to the left, the second knits on them when returning to the right, followed by racking 2 positions to the left.
Two more tuck/knit rows are followed by racking by two positions back to the right, in the starting needle arrangement.
The manual image is shown on the left, and the Brother swatch, mirrored horizontally, is shown on the right.  The following Dubied knit was particularly interesting to me and reminded me of this sample knit single bed in a previous post. Autocams are drum pattern devices that attach in pairs to the Dubied carriage that modify the stitches much like a punchcard would. It is a drum with pegs of different sizes and positions which rotates with a pass to the opposite side. The cams are selected by fingers.  The description is evocative of the Passap needle pattern selection in response to its pusher placements.
To execute this swatch, the top bed was programmed with a repeat suitable for punch card machines.
Guilloche fabrics are made with rows of stitches where tuck and knit stitches are combined and alternated for multiple fixed needle selection rows.
The working theory on converting the published instructions:  While the program eliminates having to change cam buttons manually on the top bed, the ribber settings need to be changed with each color change.
The tucks happen on both beds for 6 rows, so it is a necessity that any Brother sampling is knit using thin yarns. Here the dark is a 2/20 wool, and the light is a 2/28 unknown fiber, possibly acrylic, knit at tension 4 on both beds.
End needle selection is on, KCI.
The repeat is 12 rows in height.
Color changes and carriage settings happen every 6 rows.
The first preselection row is toward the color changer, the design will begin with a tuck pattern on the top bed and the ribber set to knit. On completion of the first 6 rows, COL, every needle on the top bed will have been preselected to the D position, the warning that a color carriage setting changes are due before continuing to knit. The top bed remains set to tuck but will subsequently knit every needle. The ribber needs to be manually set to tuck in both directions.  Upon completion of the 12-row repeat, with COL once more, the top bed will have been preselected in the tuck pattern, the warning that color and carriage setting changes are due before continuing to knit.
The ribber is set to knit once more, and the process is repeated.
Two views of the needle setup:  A small proof of concept One from the Italian language supplement:  For this fabric, the ribber needles need to be manually selected for every other pair of rows. Needle selections on the top bed provide clues as to what the settings should be on the ribber as in the previous swatch.
The top bed is programmed with a repeat suitable for punchcard machines The needle arrangement was set up as given. The end needle selection is on,  set to KCI.
The main bed remains set to tuck in both directions.
The colors and settings on the ribber are both changed after each 2-row sequence.
The ribber needles need to be manually selected with 1 needle up to the E position for knit stitches followed by 2 needles in the B position for tuck stitches repeating across the knitting width.
The ribber settings also need to be changed and set to tuck in both directions so that the needle selection will knit on the “high”, and tuck on the “low” needles as in the Dubied.
When the two ribber tuck rows have been completed, with the next color change, COL, the ribber carriage is set to knit in both directions once more and patterning reverses beds. 

A simple plaid idea using the slip setting: the 32-row repeat shown on the far right was programmed, and color changes happen after altered preselection on the top bed.
The dominant color (white cells) knits on all needles, while the contrast (dark cells) knits on the ribber only while stitches skipped on the top bed become elongated as they are skipped. Things to consider:
A. when first changing colors, the yarn may drop the first few stitches or for other reasons even drop a whole row. If the knitting is started on waste yarn prior to any permanent cast-on for the piece, one can insure that color changes happen properly and asses the proper tensions for the yarn used on the specific needle arrangements.
B. the ground color in this instance is changed after 16 rows, the contrast at far shorter intervals. Lengths will form on the color changer side of each contrasting color. They can be intentionally lengthened further so that at the completion of the piece they may in turn be cut, resulting in yarn ends long enough to be woven into the rib. If doing so, make certain those first few stitches after the color change form properly. There are other ways to handle yarn loops and ends like these, test any favorite on long enough swatches first.
C: all rib areas will be slightly wider than those where only a single bed knits
D: in the areas where only a single bed knits there will be some narrowing. Revisiting Large eyelet lace, hand transferred (or not) 2013
It would appear the original cast-on for this is performed on the double bed with transfer to the front of all rear stitches.
To duplicate in Brother, cast on every other needle, and transfer all stitches to the knit, top bed, or cast on the top bed. The fabric benefits from the use of even weight.
This sample uses 2/8 wool, tension 8. The setup was changed slightly, resulting in empty needles at alternating side edges.
Planning out the repeats on a multiple of 4+2
The edge stitch is moved as well. As recommended in the instructions, all empty needles are left in work position B or pushed to E prior to knitting the next row. Knit one round translates to knit 2 rows, which happens after each row of transfers, the carriage will move from and return to the same side.
The swatch in progress, watch for any loop formation on either side: As with any time in knitting when there are 2 side-by-side empty needles, the loops on those needles will not form stitches, but rather, ladders with each carriage pass. The transferred stitches have been knit for 2 rows, so the transfers are made again of single stitches onto the loops on either side of them, securing the loops before knitting continues. Here there is an empty needle on the far left, and here on the far right The resulting swatch, with a dropped stitch I missed on a row shortly after casting on Before binding off, after a single row is knit, drop one of the double loops, insert a single eye tool back to front, turn it clockwise, and lift the result onto the now empty needle, essentially creating an e-wrap. Work across the row, knit at least 2 rows, and bind off loosely.

Felting experiments

WORK IN PROGRESS

I still have a stash of swatches from my teaching days. They range from good to bad, ugly, and do not do this,  covered the cork walls in my studio to provide a range of ideas so that each student could draw from them what they wished.
I am not including measurements or fretting about whether photos imply an accurate scale. The collection over time.

More samples in Revisiting fair isle, thread lace, 3D surface potential

Combining yarns with different properties and stitch types while knitting on a fixed number of needles  When one yarn felts the other does not: the brown is cotton, the taller stripes on the right are knit in stocking stitch, and the shorter are knit in tuck stitch, both creating dense gathers fair isle, wool and rayon/cotton slub  Fair isle on the right, thread lace on the left with floats cut to release the shapes created by the slub yarn

Slip stitch patterning Cutting into felted knit results in stable ribbons of fabric 
Shibori techniques 

A purchased woven insert joined during the knitting of the piece  
Sewing machine involved in the process:
stitched-on crochet after felting, followed by trimming the opening on the reverse.

This mimics a woven fabric “chenille” technique, for sewing how to see https://sewguide.com/faux-chenille-fabric-slashing/

Needle felting 
Using the ribber: drop stitch in the dark cotton An attempt at carpet stitch, on Passap (grey), and in turn on Brother (green). The method creates a loose-knit, both versions were lightly felted to compensate, the Brother fabric stayed unacceptably so and will definitely be the only one-off ever  Applique using leather glue  

Truchet/Smith inspired designs 2 meet ArahPaint

Added explorations of the Smith tiles.
Most common knitting machines capable of accepting electronic pattern downloads have a number of needles ranging between 180 and 200 on either of the available beds.
Punchcard machines have a 24-stitch constraint in width for repeats that are selected in fixed locations on the top bed, while height row counts can be endless if one keeps joining punchcards together.
The narrow repeat width does not allow for impactful tiling such as seen in the truchet variants.
A 24-stitch initial repeat can be created, but will not align properly ie. here:
the 24X56 png, colored in and repeated in width and height X3. It can, however, be drawn in repeat using ArahPaint to produce a new and successful design repeat ie this 48X112 pixels version and its appearance in repeat on a larger canvas: Electronic machines can be used to knit large, non-repetitive designs based on the number of needles available on their beds.
Unless knit-from-screen software is used, the size of the files downloaded to specific machine models varies depending on both the software used and the knitting machine’s available memory.
One of the issues using online generators as seen in the previous post is that the files tend to be high in pixel counts and rendered in RGB mode.
Changing image modes to BW indexed and scaling the large design to a smaller version have an effect on the edge definition of the shapes and are likely to require clean-up to remove or add pixels.
Beginning with small and clearly defined forms, tiling repeatedly to larger ones will allow for results that can be cropped to specific sizes with clean edges along the secondary shapes.
Beginning the proposed method with the Smith tile, a place to start is to choose the smallest successful circular forms.
The repeat works using quarter squares, so the file size needs to be an even number of pixels in width and height.
Getting a sense of the appearance of the edges of small circular shapes, with the intent of choosing one for fabric development, beginning with an 8-pixel diameter, and increasing it in turn by 2 pixels at a time to 20.  The 8-pixel circle is chosen for this exercise.
Following the steps outlined by the developer in the video viewable on Instagram and Facebook, open a new picture, and set the image size to 8X8 pixels The goal is to create a clean design outline forming shapes that may be filled in to yield the secondary tiling designs.
To zoom in or out in ArahPaint: use Shift+ or – on Mac, click on the magnifying lens icons in the toolbox, use the command key and roll the mouse wheel or scroll along the vertical center line of the mouse, or press any number from 0-9 on the keyboard to change zoom directly to that level (1 means 100%, 6 means 600%, O means 1000%).
In RGB mode even if the shapes are drawn in black, when converted to indexed BW some pixels will be lost. If any lines are broken, control in using the bucket fill tool on only selected areas is lost.
To begin with, set the number of colors and the pencil size to one pixel   Use the draw circle tool, and select drawing from the center Draw a quarter circle starting on the bottom right of the square, and ending in the center of this image. In this case, there will be 4 white pixels on the left of the line, half the diameter of the planned circle. Click on the pencil tool to set the image. Repeat the Process, drawing a mirrored image beginning on the upper left pixel position, and ending in the center of the image as well Open the drawing in the repeat window and set the number of repeats vertically and horizontally, done here first in standard alignment. Do not click on random, select new picture, OK. If satisfied, save the png. Undo may be used to revert to the original file unless new picture was left unchecked.
For the Smith tile repeat, do click on random to apply different rotations of the repeat.
Load the 8X8 file
Zoom out to check the pattern and view changes adequately
Open the draw in repeat window
Click on random, and the proposed rotations will appear as symbols,  click on new picture and then on OK to view the result, a file that will now be 32X48 pixels. The result can be saved. To preview other arrangements:
choose undo, return to draw in repeat, random, preview, and with each repeated click on random a new image will appear on the screen. At any point select a new picture, OK, and save the result.  The final png for test knitting for my test swatch Its segments bucket filled with black  If bucket fill fails selectively and floods the whole image, return to drawing in repeat and click on close. Return to the image and continue the fill-in process.
Developing a larger repeat to select an area of interest while keeping in mind the maximum needle width of 200. This repeat is perhaps usefully cropped to blanket size.  Seeking a shorter and narrower motif for a scarf, in the range of 60 to 100 pixels in width that may not require too many tracks when programming the 930, the same 32X48 design is drawn in repeat X4 in width, X2 in height to 128X96 pixels. The above is split directly in half vertically for this exercise, rendering two files, each composed of 64X96 pixels. The left half,   and the right Checking vertical alignments and committing to the one on the right for the test swatch, knitting on 60 stitches for 120 design rows, using KCI, and starting with dark color from left.    That shape in blue that looks almost rectangular is actually not quite circular in the repeat, seen here color-reversed on the bottom right, with the definition also slightly lost in the knit due to the stitch size and birdseye stitches twist.  Comparing the 3 swatches in scale and shape definition: A tiny repeat formed with a thicker line Drawn in random repeat Dividing shapes into symmetrical segments is easy after configuring grid properties, in this case into thirds 12X12 in repeat adding an outline to change the weight of the lines by a single pixel all over without using more specific options Using the filled in double circle 18X18 repeats drawn in repeat While the definition of true circular shapes may be an issue for some when knitting the Smith variant, others may enjoy variations made by playing with other shapes and angles, here a 16-pixel square was divided into quarters adding a single pixel contour combining quarter circles sith full squares   Building larger repeats with interwoven intersections Playing with adding colors. In many instances when tiles are drawn in repeats requiring rotations of the original file, coloring in needs to be done after the final image has been composed.   Color exchanging fine black outlines to white, or filling the white background with black in order to reduce files for knitting no more than 3 colors per row.  The more complex designs become exponentially larger, require electronic downloads, and must meet the limitations of machine memory. The maximum equivalent for pixel per stitch is 200 pixels in width on 4.5 mm knitting machines, and 180 for Passap, with the possibility of separating the width and length into panels for large pieces ie tapestries, or blankets. Long vertical design segments, depending on their height, may also need to be separated in steps for programming them to produce narrow, long, pieces such as scarves or shawls.
The truchet triangles pose a different issue in knit design.
Quilters are familiar with block designs easily found in print and online that technically may be broken down into triangular blocks joined and meeting to form sharp points. Truchet in his publication used half-square triangles and assigned letters to the segments,   providing alphabetical references in illustrations for the permutations,  all far easier to achieve nowadays with the aid of software.
In ArahPaint, begin with choosing a square size, in this instance, 8 pixels by 8 pixels, matching that in the exercise using circles, and draw a triangle filling the canvas from corner to corner Drawing in repeat, the choice is made to repeat the triangles twice in both width and height, the preview symbols for the rotations of the shape are illustrated pointing in the same direction by default.  Clicking on any of those half-arrow shapes will rotate the specific shape in the tiled design, this becomes an action that may be influenced manually.  Selecting new image will render this,  which illustrates what happens when those triangles are used in knit motif designs. Inevitably, there will be areas where corner pixels meet to join others and the choice will need to be made between using the original or the color-reversed version of the repeat. Designing for a maximum 200-pixel design, the number of available needles on Japanese knitting machines, and continuing with random selections, paste 25 times in each direction, ultimately saving one of the new images:
its color reversed version Deciding on the first, an isolated area can be cropped to be used in an accessory ie a 72-stitch scarf, retaining full triangles, using the full 200-pixel height. Wanting to retain a 96-row max height for use on the 930, what happens when repeats line up vertically?  the isolated 72X96 design The assumption is that any change in vertical simple repeats will line up forming new triangles at the intersections not visually interpreted as patterning errors, the above repeated 3 times in height to 72X288 Committing to a test swatch: the wool ply is 2/13, and the space dyed rayon 20/2 and thinner in appearance. The contrast is not high, to begin with, and since the sample is knit as DBJ, as a result of the difference in yarn thickness the dark color bleeds through behind the lighter, reducing that contrast even further.
The places where the single pixels at the individual shape corners meet other shapes in the repeat can still be easily located.
The sample repeat size is 68X96 pixels, designed to include 2-stitch vertical borders drawn with dark pixels, the knit carriage was set to KCII, which allows the formation of distinct single color edges  Another alternative: beginning with a 9X9 repeat, drawn in repeat to 225X225, shapes do not touch in this rendering,  but do if color-inverted.  Isolating a repeat from the “floating” triangles, 45X81 tiled X3 to 45X243 may look ok but aside from the issue of choosing visually floating shapes vs still touching ones,  the big problem to be considered is the fact that for the machine KRC color separation to happen correctly, the repeat downloaded must be an even number of rows. A workaround may be to double the original height to 162 rows prior to programming it since one cannot use double height and KRC buttons at the same time in many machine models. Pursuing personal preferences can be endless. I am increasingly fond of the repeat that began with the 8X8 square.
Working with quarter-filled segments:  multiplied by 20 in each direction to a 200-pixel repeat. Drawn using random/ preview/ prior to saving the file  Its color reversed view