Hand Techniques – alessandrina.com

Using lace transfers to form horizontal waves

IN PROGRESS

I rarely hand-knit, but still browse patterns that seem challenging and visually interesting to me, i.e., brioche designs, fox paws, and lately, my eye was caught by this again, a piece by Kieran Foley, his great shawl of China, leading to my pondering making waves by using lace transfers combined with FI, whether with hand transfers, or with automated repeats. This is a grab of part of the shawl, which, of course, is not reproducible on a home knitting machine, but can inspire cousins. Working in Mac Numbers, with the plan of starting on the easiest to track series of transfers, and then automating needle selection to guide movement of stitches and fair isle patterning.
Green cells mark eyelet locations after transfers to the left, magenta ones eyelet locations after transfers to the right.
Yellow cells represent knit stitches/ rows, and the other colors represent the fair isle striping.
For the Lace segments, the carriage is set to needle select, but no cam buttons are used. Needle selection is to guide the transfers, 3 to the left and 3 to the right.
Row 1 knits, row 2 hand-transfers the selected needles, and knit
Row 9, all needles are selected; it is the last row in the lace repeat stripe.
Rows 10-17 change the knit carriage setting for fair isle knitting.
Row 18, all needles are selected again, change the carriage function to knit, and begin another lace segment.
The repeat needs to be 34 stitches wide for the fair isle pattern to line up properly, ie, 17X17, 34X17, 6 eyelets per completed transfer row. Retaining the yarn and tension used for the lace segments and working on the same number of stitches, now adding transfers in the center of the knit blocks in the above swatch, plotting it out first in a spreadsheet, again marking left and right transfers. A tentative repeat to help with needle selection was developed, 28X19, but abandoned in favor of working the design strictly as a hand technique.
Custom needle tapes can be useful, and if a color printer is available, they can be designed with added colors before printing them.
Any tools used to help track actions can be marked as little or as much as one desires or finds helpful.
The next swatch in development on the machine:
Begin by selecting the same every other needle every row with the carriage set for fair isle using chosen colors for X rows.
With the carriage set for plain knitting, knit a row with the lace yarn.
1-2: After transferring the groups of 3 needles in alternate directions on a center stitch that will hold 3 stitches, the needles were brought out to E position to make it easier to spot the places for the next series of eyelets. Their transfers mirror the triple transfers to the right and to the left; there will be a center needle between them that remains undisturbed throughout the piece.
3: When lace transfers are completed, at 11 rows, check for proper transfer stitch formation or dropped stitches visually, and that no needles were accidentally pushed back to the A position during transfers.
Bringing all needles forward to E will ensure that they all will knit with a last pass using the same yarn.
The knit carriage ends up on alternate sides. The convention in machine knitting when planning frequent color changes is to work with pairs of rows to allow travel to and from the changer or to manually change colors, always from the same side.
An 8-eyelet per completed transfer row design. A habit with years of traditional transfer lace: transfer left, knit 2 rows, transfer right, knit two rows. There are many possibilities in changing colors: here, first every two rows, then every 8 (full repeat segment).
With a repeat established, it is easy to explore adding or changing colors or techniques for different looks. Bands of plain knit (or FI) make the knitting grow more quickly. To eliminate the eyelets being divided between color changes, a shift to working with repeats containing odd numbers of rows was considered and briefly tested, but, as often happes inDIY, sometimes it takes a while before a lightbulb moment to occur, such as looking at that transfer spacing again in each 8-row segment, and noticing that the series of transfers can occur within a single row before being followed by any number of knit rows.
Hints:
Use light colored yarns at the start, making it easier to check for proper stitch formation.
Knit 4 rows. Check that all latches are open before making transfers.
When making transfers for each segment sequentially in single rows, the stitches become stretched, a consideration in choices for yarn and tension. A view after the completed transfers, emptied needles out to E for illustration purposes. Bringing all stitches out to E before any knit rows provides an opportunity for a last visual check of stitch formation. Feel behind knitting to make certain loops/ stitches are not hung up on gate pegs.
In this swatch, 4 rows of hand-selected FI are added. Knit row placements for color changes every 4 rows, and with centered eyelets. A smaller horizontal movement using a first automated repeat: the LC makes 8 passes, followed by two knit rows (or more). Using contrasting colors aids in viewing the degree of movement.
Repeated in width X2, 48X40, pairs of eyelets in each completed transfer row, the design required mirroring on the 930.
These repeats for automated patterning are found in Kathleen Kinder’s Machine Knitting: The Technique of Lace.
Fantail, p. 120, 24X24, 4 eyelets in completed transfer rows, half repeats are slightly staggered, required mirroring on 930.
In the test swatch, each 12-row LC transfer sequence is followed by 6 rows knit.
Transfers occur before the all-knit color change/ stripe.
Because yarn changes are made manually with the knit carriage, remember to close the gate in the Brother after the change to avoid dropping the piece to the floor on the next carriage pass.
Yarns can be cut or carried up the side.
Knitting through the first stitch on the right with the next color before knitting with it keeps the yarn lengths between rows even without added weights. Feather and fan, reversed on 930, p. 58, 24X24, 6 eyelets in completed transfer rows. With 24 passes of the lace carriage before any knitting occurs, using a friendly yarn, and considering as many knit rows as possible between series of transfers, a two-color study is a start before either changing or adding colors, and perhaps FI stripes. Peacock plume, p. 58, 24X22, 8 eyelets on completed transfer rows. The negative spaces do not relate to shapes secondary to the transfers, as was seen in some of the mesh transfer lace. The 22 LC passes occur before they are followed by two or more rows of knitting.
This was the fussiest design to swatch.
It is an exception to having no selection on the last LC pass to the left. Instead, the needles preselected on the last pass to the right are now transferred to the left as the LC returns there.
There are multiple transfers where pairs of stitches are moved, and stitches in transfer areas become stretched, requiring tension adjustments. Fifty stitches measure only 5.5 inches in width. The striping reminds me most of the inspiration hand-knit pattern, but both my machine and my eyeballs/brain need a break from this technique for a while.
This swatch uses Brother card 426. The results evoke the multicolor hand-transferred swatch with 6 eyelets on completed transfer rows.

Ladders meet slip and hold, go around to form new shapes

The concept for this post began in 2022, and as so often happens, I got distracted by some other rabbit hole and came across its draft while looking for another previous post.
In November 2025, a similar approach was used to produce modified hexagons to achieve automated star shapes.
The basic steps
1: Put in hold the number of needles planned for the radius, cast on with waste yarn, and knit several rows in the planned needle arrangement.
2: Set the knit carriage for plain knit and holding, and with the project yarn, knit one row.
The outer edge of the final shape will be on the side opposite the starting side, where only one row is knit across all needles in work before short rows start.
The remaining rows are worked in pairs, bringing needles first out of and later back into work position, and when the desired number of segments is reached, knitting ends with a single knit row as well.
Visualizing composing a variety of geometric shapes, and with the addition of ladders and increasing numbers of segments to form shapes other than larger triangles,which requires some practice and patience. The printed 64-row repeat chart can prove useful in tracking the required hand techniques. It is intended to be followed with the first row executed from left to right, and then with holding pairs of rows from right to left. The chart can be mirrored horizontally and followed for operating from the opposite side. Grey cells represent needles out of work forming ladders and eyelets. Eight segments form a square with sides that, depending on yarn choice, may bow toward its center and move away from straight lines.
Although the small ladder spaces add interest, they add tracking complexity in knitting and can be eliminated.
A yarn that can be blocked flat is a better choice than one that will spring back at the edges and curl.
Omitting the smaller shapes, in the bottom angle, as stitches are brought out to hold, to maintain a constant 4 needles in work, bring an empty needle into work on the left, and transfer a stitch on the needle to the right, with the last transfer on row 17.
To make a sharper turning point, 4 rows rather than 2 on single stitches could be considered before the return needles to work sequences.
On row 38, transfer stitch to the left, taking the needle out of work, forming a ladder. Repeat until 3 empty needles are reached, and maintain the ladder space size by transferring a stitch to the left, bringing an empty needle back into work on the right until the starting needle arrangement is reached, then reverse shaping.
To bind off, take off on waste yarn, rehang stitches, knit side facing, for both bottom and top edges, use your preferred bind off.
Steaming at least the top and bottom of the swatch before joining to make the stitches more visible when picking up may be helpful. I did not. Other bind-offs, including grafting, may improve the join.
Triangular versions in differnt color and yarn choices, and an attempt at going square. In a last try at forming a square, the new, taller repeat has more constant stitch counts, making transfers and held stitches easier to ID.
The yarn used is a wool rayon, knit at tension 6, resulting in very small stitches around the outer edge, even with the use of weight on that side. This would become a consideration if one chooses to block the individual results or when joining multiple pieces together.
The revised 70-row repeat chart can be printed and marked as desired.This swatch was the first ever that I blocked to coax a more permanent, final square shape, using ribber comb wires. The base is an old, bulky felted swatch, my go-to when steaming/ pressing swatches. The result after resting, perhaps needing a few more small tweaks.

Historical posts
Lace meets slip and hold, goes around, ruffles, and edgings
Automated shapes across rows of knitting using slip stitch only 10/20
From automated lace edging pattern to doilies and ruffles 7/20
Lace edgings on Brother machines- automated with slip stitch 2 7/20
Lace edgings on Brother machines- automated with slip stitch 3/18
Return to circles, knit and crochet “pies” 1 2/17
Doilies: Lace meets hold and goes around 3/11
The “doilies”_swatches 3/11
Short rows meet circular shapes
Return to circles, knit “pies”, miters, and spirals 4  3/17
Return to circles, knit “pies” 3  3/17
Return to circles, knit “pies” 2 (round yokes and more) 3/17
Return to circles, knit and crochet “pies” 1  2/17
Revisiting miters, spirals, going square, round, and more 2/16
Return to circles, knit “pies”, miters, and spirals 4 3/17
Miters and spirals: visualizing, charting (and more) 3  7/14
Miters and spirals: visualizing, charting (and more) 2  7/14
Miters and spirals: visualizing, charting (and more) 1  7/14
Short rows_ balls, tams, 3D rounds  12/13
Back to that pie: a bit of holding  6/11
Knitting math and pies 6/11

Revisiting adapting Studio punch card simple lace cards for use on Brother.

Ways to modify electronic and punch card published transfer lace designs looked at some ways to achieve lace designs on Brother models with single knit rows between transfer segments, which influences the number of total knit and lace carriage passes, changes the appearance of the spaces between the resulting eyelets, the height of the finished piece, and the aspect ratio and gauge of the original pattern executed as intended.
This post revisits a source of pattern inspiration for such knits that explores cross-brand patterning repeat development.
Links to historical blog posts on the topic are listed at the bottom.
There are so many sources for free, published volumes of all sorts of brand-specific knitting techniques, that finding inspiration in them for execution or DIY designs is endless and production-ready.
That said, as with punch card volumes for Brother machines, in Studio equivalents, not every type of possible stitch type is represented, and names for each may vary not only between brands but sometimes within the same brand, depending on the time of publication.
Testing techniques using simple geometric shapes and knitting with light-colored yarns makes it easier to understand what happens in the process and how stitches are formed, informing the choice as to whether to invest in DIY variations.
Perhaps not ideal to pursue in large pieces, some of the working through of issues to translate designs cross brand can increase understanding of how stitches are formed, and aid in developing personal preferences and patience limits in seeking out something specific or “new and different”.
The method for charting out the transfers by assigning colors to the left and right transfers aids in translating hand-knit charts for machine knitting.
Of note is that the yarn lines formed between the eyelets can take on multiple appearances.
The first exploration below uses a triangular motif taken from this hardbound edition, which is still readily available for purchase and offers a section for lace carriages that transfer and knit in single passes, as seen in Studio simple/plain lace patterns. Repeats are the standard 24-cell width, but row counts are not provided. A 24X52 repeat, IX.8, and its associated PNG. The arrow markings on the left of the cards do not necessarily indicate the direction of the transfers, simply the direction of the movement of the carriage, able to knit and transfer in a single pass, or plain knit.
The punch card advances with each carriage pass.
Blank rows on the card result in rows with no transfers, only knit stitches,
which can vary in numbers.
In traditional transfer lace on Brother, only the lace carriage passes are programmed. The knit carriage does not advance the card, unless for some reason, its cam is set for needle preselection in it as well.
If multiple knit rows are to be planned between lace segments, it is for the knitter to track where to place them.
If extra blank rows are present, they are usually intended for the lace carriage to advance the design before changes in direction, i.e., following the ins and outs seen in diamond shapes.
For proper needle selection, the lace carriage electronic trigger must move past the turn marks on either side. When testing on a small swatch, if the carriage is replaced on the opposite side inside the mark, there will not be proper needle selection.
A reminder, although these repeats may remain 24 stitches in width, the adaptations are suitable for use only on electronic models when operating carriages from both or alternate sides.
Punchcard models repeat selection with each carriage side change.
Electronic models with patterning engaged, i.e., using the LC, or the knit carriage set to KCI or II, advance a design row with each respective carriage pass.
These repeats do not require mirroring when programmed.
These spreadsheet-generated charts identify the direction of left and right transfers by assigning cyan to transfers to the left, magenta to transfers to the right, and the repeat is expanded to use the method described in the previous post, with the LC making 2 passes in the direction of the arrows, followed by a single knit row and a move of the LC to the opposite side for the next pair of rows.
In this instance, knit and transfer rows alternate with all white knit rows throughout the design.
24X52 (L), an increase of 4 rows to 24X56 (R)

The lace shapes are quite compressed. The same, 24X56 repeat, a different approach, analyzing the carriage actions on the single repeat height, 24X28.
T&K = Transfer and Knit. Noticing that each transfer/knit row is followed by a second, plain knit row, so that 2 knit rows follow each row of transfers, until the point is reached where 4 transfers have been made at the top of each triangle, resulting in 4 empty side-needles, remove the lace carriage, knit only one row to the opposite side, and place the LC on the opposite the knit carriage again, beginning transfers followed by two knit rows until the next set of 4 transfers at the top of the mirrored shape are made, then knit a single row, begin transfers once more from the side opposite the knit carriage. Comparing the purl sides of both for scale and similarity to the swatch image pictured in the publication. There are other arrangements of transfer and knit rows in the published sources.
Here they are staggered alternating transfer and knit, T&K, to the left, followed by T&K to the right, up to the all blank row, which is an added plain knit row between repeat segments.
The repeat, expanded into a chart using Mac Numbers, adds lines marked in red for the execution of 2 consecutive knit rows.
On those rows, the LC remains on the same side, the KC makes its 2 passes, and the LC moves toward it again, alternating sides followed by single knit rows, until the next 2 knit rows sequence, and the process repeats.
The 24-row design is easy to track for the paired knit rows. If preferred, or for longer repeats, some machine models allow memos to be set, with beeps reminding the knitter of locations for specific actions. 12X24tested on 36 stitches. A design with no blank rows, with the initial plan to move the LC again to alternate sides, followed by a single knit row after each LC pair of passes, IX.16. The original repeat, 26 rows in height, expanded to 52 rows. 8X52tested programming on 32 stitches made for an interesting design, but very different from the original.
Looking at the related expanded chart, each T&K row is followed by a knit row, so there are pairs of rows for the alternating to the left and the right transfers, requiring a different row expansion.
On the Brother, the LC and KC remain on their respective sides, with the LC making 2 passes for transfers to the left, four passes for transfers to the right.24X78 is also suitable for punch card machines since the respective carriages both travel away from and back to the same side of the knit bed.
The resulting swatch was tested on 32 stitches. The difference in yarn thickness can make the match harder to recognize; here, the result is compared to the working repeat for the original. This last design is from an electronic Studio pattern book. There are no blank rows; the left and right transfers alternate, offering an opportunity to treat the repeat in yet another way. The starting 28X24, rendered double height, 56X48, takes on a structure similar to thread lace designs, except that the eyelets are not placed in straight horizontal rows; they alternate.
Patterning begins with KC on the right,
LC on the left makes 2 passes, is removed to be brought to the opposite side,
The KC makes a single pass to the left,
LC makes the next two passes from the right and is removed,
KC makes a single pass to the right; the steps repeat.
With each second pass of the LC needle selection of stitches already transferred, repeats, and empty needles are brought forward before the next KC knit row pass.
The test swatch: So many machines…lace punchcard knitting 4/11
Lace punchcards_use on the Brother 260 Bulky 5/11
Studio transfer lace knit on Brother 910 3/14
Studio multi-transfer lace punchcard use on Brother punchcard machines 3/15
Studio simple lace on Brother electronics 9/13
Studio simple lace punchcards used on Brother 3/13
Revisiting the use of lace patterns Studio vs Brother machines 2/19

Geometric shapes in drop stitch lace 5, combined techniques

Whatever the goal in DIY, when automating designs, black pixels or punched holes are selected and knit, while white pixels or unpunched holes are not selected, and used to produce textured, color-patterned knits, or serve as guides to added actions when combined with the knit carriage cam settings.
Depending on the structure, there may be rules or limitations to the pixel distribution that are at times also combined with specific color separations.
Downloads to machines using assorted methods allow for programming up to the width of the bed, 200 needles on the 4.5 mm machine.
Slip stitch programming can be substituted for hand selection when planning short rows.
My first electronic machine was a Studio model. A few mylars from that time are still in my present inventory. This scan shows two repeats used in what would become a sideways knitted skirt.
I tended to scribble on mylar sheets as I did later on my Passap technique Manual printed pages.
Testing smaller repeats helps to troubleshoot possible issues, our tolerance or patience in planning and executing the imagined results, and deciding whether a larger trial is worth it.
My first experiments with the automated short row technique were in producing sideways knit garments, a batwing sweater, and a calf-length skirt.
Depending on the distribution of pixels, it is sometimes easier to fill in areas with black pixels and invert the color if needed, using built-in machine functions. The skirt was knit using the top repeat, doubled in width, color reversed, with the speckled rows slipping for one of the horizontal stripes, tucking for the other, forming permanent folds.
There are many previous blog posts on automating “doilies” and circular shapes.
Other slip stitch patterns may be brought together in the programming for sideways shaping (presently avoiding the math involved when gauge matters).
3D printed slider, drop stitch lace review introduces a racked shape repeating in continuous sequences on a fixed number of needles.
There are ribber guides, not always necessary to use, but at times useful in tracking the process correctly.
The previous racking sequence in the planning stages: the shapes are formed by manually positioning needles on the ribber.
Automating the potentially circular shape, which, after angle and gauge calculations, may be extended to form a sweater, skirt, or other item.
The test repeat: 44X22 may need to be mirrored horizontally, as in my 930, depending on the machine model and the download software used.
The knit bed produces the background, and the ribber picks up loops that will result in the enlarged stitches when dropped.
Considering the short row method and small stitch count, while the shapes were retained, racking positions were reduced, thus reducing their size. Air knitting, practicing racking movements as they relate to the top bed, before actually proceeding with the knit test, ensures the process starts with needles on both beds in the proper placements.
End needle selection is canceled, since the slip stitch setting is used on the top bed, where there are needles out of work.
Half pitch is used, placing needles on both beds between each other.
The first preselection row is to the left, with pairs of rows shaping the knit from left to right, starting with needles on the right pushed back to B away from the carriage every two rows until the process is reversed and they are returned to work.
For pattern knitting, the knit carriage is set to slip/slip.
The ribber carriage is set to N/N to pick up loops, at rest on the left when the sequence is completed, and uncoupled from the knit carriage if used to drop the loops for two passes. On its return, it is paired with the knit carriage again and is set to slip/slip to allow rows of knitting only on the top bed, 5 in the swatch.
Racking happens every row, while the top bed performs its own programmed thing.
In progress, if racking has been performed, the stitches will appear slanted to one side or the other, like normal rib, if it has not.
Ribber needles may not be brought above the B position combined with racking; they would collide with needles beside them on the top bed.
Light colors make it easier to see and identify successful stitch formations.
The best yarn to use is a smooth one that will retain its shape with blocking.
This yarn is a random off-the-shelf wool from an unmarked cone.
Because there is so much happening in a relatively small area, the surface bubbles. In some cases, that bubbling can be the intended design feature.
The racking indicator was used as a guide to determine when the point was reached to drop loops, change settings, and knit X# rows on the top bed alone, followed by setting the ribber carriage to knit once more, reversing racking positions, and repeating the process. Using the same slip stitch repeat on the top bed, simplifying the drop stitch shapes to 4-stitch 4-row blocks.
The yarn used in this case is a 6/15/1 rayon, knit at tensions 7/2, one that may be killed with no spring back with blocking, as opposed to wool, with a very different result.
The ribber on N/N forms loops for 4 rows, they are dropped, and the carriage is changed to slip/slip for 2 rows.
The stitches can be selected and brought into work manually; if so, a needle tape may be of use to guide the hand selections. A piece of tape, as shown on the left, keeps edge needles from mistakenly being brought into work.
Racking can be used to move the group of 4 stitches into position, avoiding hand selection, with a start at position 10, to 4, and back. The ruffled effect with the knit at rest. Horizontal lines or stripes of dropped stitches can be combined with other stitch types, i.e., tuck or lace, for various end uses. Combining the horizontal lines with automated short row shaping: these images show some drop aka long stitch designs which were developed and used in a group of limited edition items. This Passap Duomatic pattern was the source of inspiration. I do not have notes available from that time.
Here is a present approach for automating the repeat on a Brother electronic.
Again, starting with a small swatch, testing for the tightest tension possible.
Using a familiar yarn eliminates the possibility of any issues occurring due to only the new fiber choice.
Patterning occurs in pairs of rows for an even number of total design repeat rows.
Here, 34 stitches produced a width of 6.75 inches; there is a 5-stitch vertical border on the straight side edge. The repeat can be programmed for any width or only for the number of needles in use by adding all black pixels on the right.
End needle selection is canceled, and the first preselection row is from right to left.
The 30X16 PNG required horizontal mirroring on the 930.
To avoid dropping the stitches on needles that are skipped on the top bed, or accidentally bringing up extra needles in work on the far right, a piece of tape can be placed on the ribber bed above the butts of needles directly below them.
All other ribber needles will knit for 4 rows, loops are dropped, the ribber carriage is switched to slip for 4 rows, and only the top bed will knit on all needles. The process is repeated.
As the knitting progresses, needles continue to be preselected across the piece except where those rows of white pixels occur, with them remaining there in the B position.
On the first row that happens, the ribber is set to knit and pick up loops.
When all needles are preselected again, the loops on the ribber are dropped using any preferred method or tool.
The carriage is then set to slip, with all needles returned to the B position, and the top bed alone will knit on all needles once more.
The needle setup. The swatch was knit on 20 stitches, 6L to 14R, reducing the border on the right from 5 stitches to 4, and measures 4 inches in width at the curves.

A cumulative list of the blog posts related to this topic may be found at the bottom of the 3D printed slider, drop stitch lace review.

Using the same repeats in many ways: hand transferred lace

Lots of designs can be developed by shuffling repeat segments to achieve desired textures.
Here, the same number of stitches is hand transferred using multiple prong tools, and selections are aided by electronic or punchcard needle selection with the knit carriage set to knit with no pattern buttons pushed in.
The maximum number of stitches moved is 5.
The post on hand-transferred lace with color striping explores variations with transfers that share the concept.
In a spreadsheet, potential results can be visualized, i.e., placement of eyelets once stitches are moved, locations where transferred stitches are placed in each sequence (yellow columns), and easily adding personal notations.
Each of the designs is 24 stitches in width, suitable for punch card models as well. End needle selection is canceled.
A manipulation beginning with transferring single stitches, followed by inverting the shapes
24X24, and with transferring groups of 5 first, followed by inverting the shapes 24X24. Results are similar. A brick configuration, 24X48, will form chevron shapes of knit stitches between transfer segments.
And finally, a brick alignment, 24X24.In the bottom of the swatch, the full eyelets are retained, moving toward the top they were reduced in size by picking up from the row below on each side of the transfers.
The resulting 3D textures were referred to as dragon scales in previous posts, some with better results than others, at times with the transfers toward the center of the groups made on each side of an undisturbed center stitch as opposed to on it.
This version from Single bed scales made with stitch transfers
was created following the associated chart.A review that includes single and double bed samples can be found in Revisiting 3D scales and shells, automated and not

3D printed slider, drop stitch lace review

D sliders, also known as P carriages in Studio-Silver Reed language, only move/ push the needles; they do not manipulate any stitches.
The needles are pushed to various working positions, B, C for Studio, D for Brother, depending on the starting position of the needles.
Drop stitch “lace” is also referred to as drive lace in Studio pubs, and summer fair isle in Passap ones.
The first samples of the stitch type I was exposed to were shared at a Passap Seminar that explored the built-in console color separation techniques in the E6000, introduced in 1988. Two passes with no yarn, and both locks were required until the Passap version of the D slider was developed in Australia. The E6000 magazines then began offering designs producing what they named as summer fair isle, and in seminars, added reader techniques that were shared for use when planning to knit designs in 3 or 4 colors.
Many brand-specific magazines provided patterns produced with devices or accessories as they were introduced, with pubs on the topic ebbing and waning with the passage of time.
The first reference I have been able to find on the Studio P carriage dates back to the introduction of the SRP50 ribber in 1978. A grainy copy of the early manual is downloadable and illustrates its use on page 12, applied to drive lace on pages 36-38, and to pile knitting continuing to page 42.
This post is intended to address using sliders on Brother models, in theory, to facilitate the process of dropping stitches when continuous design patterning is in use.
Links to my historical posts on the definition and execution of this “lace” on different machines using varying methods are provided at the bottom.
The resulting knit benefits from the use of yarn that responds to blocking by lying flat and retaining scale differences between the different stitch sizes.
Knitting begins with all stitches on one bed, and loops formed on the opposite bed, that dropped at varying intervals, depending on the intended pattern, to produce elongated stitches between stocking stitch ones.
Dropping the stitches can be achieved manually with any tool on hand, by sliding the ribber carriage only back and forth if loops are formed on it, or with the aid of stitch ditchers/ dumpers.
Maintaining proper needle selection and not having needles accidentally pushed back to the A position, resulting in possible pattern errors, is made easier and quicker with specific tools, often called sliders and sometimes referred to in early manuals as carriages, although they have no moving parts.
Knit bubbles and “stitch ditchers/dumpers” and Brother KMs “pile knitting”/ ribber stitch dropping tools share images of such tools.
Usual dropping sequences in Brother models are made from right to left on needles in B position, with a return of the needles to B after the stitches have been dropped. The next preselection pattern row is made as the paired carriage return to the left, then repeating paired rows.
The appearance in machines that keep the needles in the equivalent of Brother B position after carriage pattern passes, i.e., Studio, Superba, Passap, with the possibility of dropping stitches every row, can produce shapes composed of simple long stitches.
To maintain Brother preselection, if the knit bed is used to form loops for the long stitches, there will be an added knit row on the ribber as the carriages return to the left, with a different final appearance.
I was able to obtain a 3D printed model for the Brother 4.5 mm machine from cults3D at the time of my blog post; the site is often unavailable according to forums, and the present pricing is said to be set to discourage downloads pending resolution in a related court case.
For those without access to 3D printing, this site may be worth exploring for direct purchase of items, ie, the slider, for $21.
The use of the tool is clearly demonstrated here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGjPwGqFJhQ.
Note that sliders presently available are used on knit beds with slotted rails, as in the 930 on the right, and it is open to question if the use is possible on the solid and slightly narrower rails found in earlier electronic and punch card models. Also an issue, if the rail happens to disrupted in any way in the center. The Studio slider is shown in the center, and, on the right, the only Brother-produced slider, intended for use on the bulky machine.
The needle butts enter unimpeded and follow the tracks marked with arrows. They can be used on both the knit and the ribber beds.
Just as easily, stitches on the ribber can be dropped using only the ribber carriage for 2 passes.
The traditional method in published designs found in punchcard volumes uses alternating black pixels/punched holes to produce the loops that are, in turn, dropped, and all-white/unpunched rows, which allow for the loops being dropped when there is no pattern selection on the top bed.
For the 3D model, it is useful to “read the manual”, or in this case, follow the video.
I chose to mark my slider for future use.
The proper placements on respective needle beds to match the traditional method. This top bed placement is wrong, needles are still brought forward, moving right to left, but are left out to D, not B, on the return to the right. Beginning with single color samples.
A Studio drive lace published repeat for use with the technique
knit 2 rows, drop, repeat
12X16

test knit on 37 stitches results are in hard to read stitch size differencesbreaking the common rules and appearance for this type of fabric, a “what if” version, double height, 12X32 test knit on 50 stitches, knit 4 rows, drop, repeat. Larger designs can be more effective, 24X22 rendered double height, 24X44 EOR rendered all white/ erased for traditional use and approach. Test knit on 48 stitches. I have a perennial curiosity in terms of using nearly anything in a way other than that intended when designed.
This is a first experiment using the 24X44 fair isle design,
with each row selection repeating twice and changing the position of the slider on the needle bed, no blank rows are required.
Stitches are still dropped when moving from right to left.
The slider is turned around and placed on the bed in front of the rail to move stitches forward. Note the relative position of the needle butts and the nub on the slider.
From left to right, to drop stitches, the slider is placed to rest on the rail, with the nub pointing down. With the knit carriage set for slip stitch, and the pattern programmed as fair isle, the black pixels or punched holes will be selected forward, when the carriages move to the left, picking up loops on the selected needles on the next carriage pass to the right. With carriages on the right, the stitches are dropped.
The small proof of concept. A larger test, the first PNG, 20X40 in brick configuration, doubled in length, 20X80 and then doubled in width for a guess at better aspect ratio, 40X80. After loops are formed, left to right, the slider operates from the right, will advance all needles out to E as it moves to the left, and drop all loops as it returns to the left.
The needles will be empty and aligned in B.
The next pass will preselect the next row of the design on the top bed, and the process is repeated. When planning to drop stitches on the ribber, the designs often include racking to form secondary shapes.
The traditional placement is on the left after loops are formed. As the tool moves to the right, needles are raised, moving all loops behind the latches. With its return to the left, loops are dropped, forming the long stitches. The stitches on the ribber are hand selected each row, knit, and dropped, with the top bed knitting single rows rather than 2 for each row of the design when the beds are reversed.
This giant swatch shows the results; the stitches in the dropped pattern tend to get larger as they move further away from the knit stitches beside them. These were my earlier samples testing my hacked Studio tool, which failed double bed, then reverting to using the uncoupled ribber carriage to drop stitches.
Knitting details in the 2022 post Geometric shapes in drop stitch lace 4, stitch release, added racking. A larger test, with the idea begun in a spreadsheet including shapes in black, knit rows in purple, racking positions in green text with row numbers in black: keeping it more practical. The slider may be used, as described above, the tiny swatch. In my experience, moving the uncoupled ribber carriage back and forth is quicker. The difference in the stitch formation that happens with the ribber knitting two rows with automated loop formation patterning for dropped stitches on the top bed, while the top bed knits a single row between formation of loops on hand-selected needles on the ribber, with loops dropped after being formed on each row.
End release may be used on simple geometric shapes that do not contain knit rows. If the repeat or the item being produced is long in the number of rows, it can be performed periodically.
The knit carriage is set to slip in both directions, including on the first preselection row.
End needle selection is canceled.
It is best to use a tightly twisted fiber that does not split.
When programming the number of stitches for the number of needles in work, black pixel columns may be added on as borders on the left and right to stabilize the knit edges.
Contrary to other slip stitch designs, in automating the process, there are mostly blank areas, which will result in knit stitches on the ribber, while the black areas will result in the loops for dropping on the knit bed.
These shapes do not have vertical lines. As selection changes, the initial loops will be held until the last ones in each shape are formed.
The 10X24 repeat chart. When there is no needle preselection, rows 7 and 19 of the 24 rows, stitches on the knit bed are dropped.
The programmed repeat is 40X24. On the 930, the programmed designs match the direction in which they appear on the purl side. End release long stitches on the left, compared to those with the traditional paired row method used in the flower shapes on the right. Previously published related post links in reverse chronological order, followed by a low- resolution collage of some of the test swatches explored in them
Multiple color drop stitch lace using img2track and more
Revisiting drop/release stitch lace 1
Drop stitch lace using Ayab software 2/ HOP
Tuck stitch/ combination fabrics
Drop stitch lace using Ayab software
Geometric shapes in drop stitch lace 3, end release
Geometric shapes in drop stitch lace 2, Brother KM
Geometric shapes in drop stitch lace 1, Brother KM
Drop stitch lace, 2 colors per row, Passap KM
Drop stitch lace, 2 colors per row, Japanese machines
Revisiting knit “bubbles” brother KM
Brother KMs “pile knitting”/ ribber stitch dropping tools includes a downloadable PDF with instructions published by Brother for their KR 260 compatible slider model
Dropping whole rows:
Long stitches meet transfer lace
A tuck stitch combination fabric
Working with block shapes
More knit bubbles
More play with dropped stitches
Knit bubbles and “stitch ditchers/dumpers”
Working out the kinks in my drop stitch lace saga

If DBJ is preferred, an interesting variation using thick and thin yarns produces a stable and reversible knit with an interesting peek-through evocative of drop stitch lace.

Pinterest inspirations vs implementation, tuck and lace combos 1

A companion to this post: Pinterest inspirations vs implementation, tuck and lace combos 2. Both are subject to edits and additions over time.

This has become an interesting rabbit hole for me. I am sharing working notes so far while I explore and document additional textures and combinations that move me forward, making them available to anyone wishing to participate in the journey.
Several images of tuck stitch combined with lace eyelets and diagrams with instructions in a foreign language not clear enough to attempt a translation led to this first exploration of what appeared to be the most complex pattern.
The source image: Pubs are not always in agreement as to the significance of specific symbols. In the published chart, the black dots are assumed to indicate stitches in hold or tuck, building up loops on the machine on the associated needles, the black triangles pointing to the left and to the right, the doubled-up stitches after transfers, and the curved shapes, the place where eyelets are formed after needles are emptied.
Many of my lace posts use cyan cells to symbolize transfers to the left, magenta for transfers to the right.
Starting with a symbols chart, in DIY, one may assign symbols that make sense personally. Conversations with self:
A row of knitting must happen in the location of the emptied needles after each lace transfer.
Each held stitch/ tuck gather in the source image is textured enough to indicate 2 loops represented in tuck stitch by pixel units of 1 in width, 2 in height.
Transfers should occur in the same rows as the first tuck loop formation.
The next carriage pass forms the second tuck loop, with single yarn loops on the needles emptied by the transfers.
Concurrently, the double tuck loops are moved forward on needles to the knitting position, along with preselection for the next first tuck row, and for the next transfers.
Transfers are made after every pair of rows before the next carriage pass, and the process repeats, manipulating needles and their stitches as needed, while also maintaining proper needle selection.
Watch for needles accidentally taken out of work after transfers.
Bring each pair in the transfer groups out to D or E; they need to knit on the next pass.
Getting started: this is a chart that also includes a plan for beginning and ending a program on equal repeat segments, with added cells marked in green.
Charts can contain as much or as little information as to be useful. The tuck stitches and the transfers in the final draft are both programmed as white pixels, resulting in the corresponding preselected needles remaining in the B position. The swatch was planned with 2 all-knit vertical columns on each side edge.
In many tuck designs, both single and double beds, having a pair to a few stitches on the edges, can provide a serviceable rolled edge that follows the pattern movement.
Since the programmed tuck side edges here are not symmetrical in my test PNG pattern, it was mirrored horizontally using the built-in function in the 930.
Leaving the carriage set to knit for beginning selections helps to identify the anticipated placement of the eyelets.
After the pattern was established, the work on the machine appeared to provide enough clues as to stitch transfer directions to develop a rhythm in making them. This far “simpler” design was planned from the outset in BW pixels. Simplifying the automated repeat, starting in only black and white: all transfers are made toward the center needle in each of the groups of 5 unselected needles.
The 10X8 repeat, programmed on 40X16 to include knit side edges, mirrored for use on the 930. The emptied needle and the one with the transferred stitch are brought out to E position, making certain the center stitch, the location of the tuck loop, remains in the B position.
The result is subtle, more evident on the purl side than the knit. The swatch was knit in 2/8 wool, first at tension 7, then at tension 10, an experiment in gauge and texture.
While on one side there is a 2-stitch border, the other has 3, and the eyelets on the 2-stitch side pull in a bit more and appear smaller than those on the opposite side, something to consider in planning finished pieces. Using the same concept, a yet untested design chart: the 10X20 repeat and 37X20 to match the chart Returning to a more complex design using a spreadsheet and a different approach:reviewing the guessed symbols in the pub at the top left, with the colored cell significance for this exploration in the center column; in the table, 20 rows in height, every other row beginning with 1 at the top was hidden; symbols used previously and colored cells were added, including vertical columns in grey for planned needles out of work to heighten the effect of the tuck stitches.
and then with rows unhidden, colors were added in the needed locations. The placement of black and white pixels began to be considered. This 20X20 effort replaces the white pixels in the third column from left with black, the purple with white for tuck stitches. Eyelet locations are marked in black as well. There remain 2 issues. When drawn in repeat in height, there is an error at the center, which is eliminated by extending the height to 60 rows and shifting some pixels, now 20X60tiles without errors. The 20X60 repeat, without all the added black cells, can be printed and coded to suit, with added clues, perhaps even as a guide in an all-hand-manipulated version.
Transfer directions and their respective rows are annotated in this chart.
In the column with cyan and black cells, the cyan indicates tuck loops or needles brought out to hold, and the black indicates the return of those needles to knitting. The last consideration is that the columns with lace transfers need to be color inverted, or all those white cells will tuck. Unselected single white cells will then point to transfers, and the ground in their respective columns is black, with all those stitches knitting.
The swatch was planned for knitting on 50 needles with 2 stitch knit borders added at each side. On the machine: ladder locations > NOOW on either side of where tuck loops will form.Depending on the location in the repeat, transfers are made to the right or to the left on the center non-selected needle between ladders and areas with expected tuck loops, which are easy to identify as the knitting progresses. after transfers are made, both needle involved are brought out to E position.

Reviewing single bed ruching, new designs

The companion posts Single bed slip stitch vs ruching, and Single bed slip stitch vs ruching 2 explore automated textures that could share design repeats.

Gathering knits to produce folds rather than clustered stitches can be achieved by using programmed slip stitch designs, or manually lifting stitches from rows below the last row knit in an endless variety of ways.
Hand-gathered stitch groups, in proportion to their numbers, produce a hem that is sealed more tightly than the slip stitch versions, whereas the skipped stitches become elongated.
Machine-knit hems 2 illustrates multiple techniques for picking up stitches, ie. by first finding sinker loops
Select few stitches lifted up on a tuck ground: Pretend/ mock cables 4 Ruching 1: fern “pretender” and more, a charted repeat that moves sinker loop groups, a technique that begins to imitate smocking.Randomly selected samples from former posts:
Ruching 2: more working with stitch groups Shadow pleats knitting
Adding hems to varied knits includes this knit woven sample
Color striping, “winging it”, in New single bed swatches based on random sources of inspiration Manipulating slip stitch floats Slip stitch patterns with hand transferred stitches, single bed 2 Industry knit stitch vocabularies refer to the yarn portion that connects two adjacent needle loops in the same course/ row as a sinker loop, making what is often called a ladder in home knitting, an extended sinker loop. The spreadsheet plan aided by some copy and paste is to count down to specific ladders, and use their loops to rehang on specific needles after every 10 rows knit in a brick stitch configuration.
The vertical blocks of stitches between out of work needles that produce the ladders are 9 stitches wide.
A single full repeat is 20X20, the test is knit on 55 stitches, with 2-stitch borders added aside first and last ladders.Counting down sinker loops rehanging 5 times on the left siderepeating 5 times on the opposite, right side, with 2 extended loops now on the center needle of the 9-stitch groupwhat can happen when one is so busy looking at and manipulating stitches as to forget to look up. An alternate method is to count down to specific sinker loops, magenta, then manipulating the knit loop aside the last one lifted,or seek out the adjacent sinker loop, cyan, and pick up the one immediately below it, magenta.In the test swatch, to maintain an easy row count, stitches were lifted up in a brick configuration after every 10 knit rows, on 38 needles, a multiple of 6+2, that included an added single knit stitch vertical border on each side.All-knit rows can be added in each half repeat block, cells representing them are colored in darker grey. The single design repeat is 12X28, 14 rows are knit before ruching, and pick up starts with the 6th sinker loop down. A side-by-side comparison This repeat is 16X42 pixels and may be used color-reversed for a slip stitch variation.
Here, ruching/ pleating happens with lifting stitches for 5-row folds after every 6 rows knit followed by 2 all knit rows, making each pattern full block 7 rows in height.
Whether lifting stitches or changing colors, the carriage will not stop consistently on the same side as each block of lifted stitches is completed.
If color changes are planned, changing the folded depth to 6 rows from 5 will make the use of the color changer possible and avoid extra yarn ends.

The yarns used in the test swatch were a 3/9 wool and a sock yarn remnant, knit at tension 10, resulting in a rather stiff knit. Individual stitches were lifted on each edge aside the large all-knit segments to avoid ruffling and attempt at a balanced length.Spacing the ruched segments further apart and increasing their width may make lifting every other stitch adequate for the 3D desired effect.
In this 75 stitch wide test, each of the 7 stitches in the black blocks was rehung on row 9, followed by 10 knit rows for easy tracking, and the process was repeated in brick fashion in the allotted locations.

Some double bed work:
Pintucks 2, ripples in knits using the ribber includes this Passap sample
Pintucks 1 vs shadow pleats

Cable crossings meet eyelets and ladders

More on combining lace patterning with added stitch types looked at lace transfers consistently to the center of groups of 3, with stitches transferred down to the ribber between them, creating vertical columns of knit stitches on a purl ground alternating with lace patterning.
One of the related swatches: Those who prefer the look, or anyone without a ribber, can use ladders to separate the pattern groups.
The color and fiber content are contributing factors, as always. In addition, with time and wear, stitches aside, the ladders may grow in size, with the space between them becoming diminished. There are always pros and cons to any technique.
This design was tested on 31 stitches and on both a bulky and a standard machine.
Cable crossings that formed eyelets occurred after every 6 rows knit. The repeat was sampled on a multiple of 4-1.
My scrawled needle tapes for both machines to help track transfers. After the first few repeats, the knit itself becomes a clear visual guide to stitch movements and is easy to execute.
Start with every 4th needle out of work, knit 6 rows.
The center stitch in each group is moved over by 3 positions, and the emptied needle is moved back to the A position to create the new ladder.
Moving the needles out to the E position offers the opportunity to look for proper stitch transfers and any dropped stitches.
The formerly empty needle, as one moves across the row, is returned to the work position, and new groups of 3 stitches are formed and knit for 6 rows.
At that point, after repeating the actions on each group of 3 stitches, one returns to the same distribution as in the starting position.The design 12 row repeat: circles represent stitch transfer location with the corresponding needles taken out of work, while orange cells point to locations where empty needles are returned to work, becoming the center stitch in each new group of 3.
The test swatch was knit using a softly spun rayonscale compared to its bulky knit companionAdding stitch transfers to the ribber along with a change in in the type of stitch crossings, eyelets are formed where empty needles are returned to work. The work on the machine on a multiple of 12+2 stitches, with needle tape markings, and needles brought out to D position after crossings:

Getting more complicated: the move of 2 stitches as one so as to leave empty needles, shares the same concept as in the last swatch, but over a wider space. The setup rows are on every needle, all stitches knit on every row, a border can be added on each side, what appear to be ladders are the result of the yarn getting tugged across needle spaces by cable crossings.Stitch and needle arrangements on the machine after the respective completed series of transfer rows.
Closer looks: the pairs of stitches that will be moved to face the back of the work can be rested on their tool on the adjacent pair of needles, leaving the hands free to manipulate the remaining pairs of stitches. The stitch further away from the center group of 8 is moved first, onto the adjacent one, then both skip a needle and move one spot over, the held pair of stitches moves in turn, to fill the empty pair of needles, completing the first set of transfersWhile moving across the row, as long as the needles are in B position, the needles with double stitches and the adjacent empty one may be used as the resting place for the double eye transfer tool while the adjacent pair is manipulated.
The test swatch was knit using a 2/8 wool.
The bottom includes testing tension and simple crossings.
Cables for me are an excellent way to not only test the machine and yarn tolerance, but that of the operator as well.
The back of this knit is textured and stretched taut between metal machine parts, so errors (or discoveries to follow up on, “design features”) are not immediately identifiable without careful checking.
More to browse
Ladders with lace, (leaf) “making things work” 1
Ladders with lace, (leaf) “making things work” 2
Ladder lace
Ladders and Lace
MK ladders, and a bit of crochet includes a hand crochet edging

Cables meet knit-weaving

Although I claim a lack of fondness for cables, reviewing the links listed in the category in the blog index, I found that this present one can is #30!
The goal here is to combine knit-weaving with cable crossings.
When working with hand techniques, clues can help maintain accuracy, especially when knitting long pieces.
To enable the movement of the stitch groups, the tension for the knitting yarn, also used in the lace/ knit weaving samples, required changing the tension from 7 to 9.
Movement happened within groups of 5 stitches to maintain continuous vertical lines of color.
Personal preferences inform our choices in spreading out the hand technique, and for the presence or amount of aids in maintaining correct patterning.
More on similar planning may be seen in the post on Cables meet fair isle. I tend to program a repeat that takes into consideration the number of needles in work on the machine.
In testing, in this series, the choice was made to bring groups of 3 stitches to the front of the piece consistently to maintain the vertical color line placements.
All transfers were first made in the same direction, but can be planned with other variations.
The columns of blank cells result in floats of the weaving yarn on the purl side.
The added borders in the spreadsheet plan below add a beaded edging catching the weaving yarn; end needle selection is canceled to maintain patterning on the edges. The program for the swatch, 41X181. A partial repeat is shown; the printed needle tape was marked with magenta columns where the stitches remain manually undisturbed during knitting.
The blue cells mark the alternate areas where cable crossings will occur,
the black dots, the fixed needle preselection that needs to be restored/ maintained after moving stitches.
2. The segments with non-selected needles programmed in each pattern group, blue on the needle tape, are the areas for cable crossings.
3. The first two stitches on the left of each group are removed and held on a tool, which can be temporarily rested on needle hooks to the left, followed by the removal of the group of three stitches
4. The three stitches are returned to the needle bed on the left, and the group of two stitches is returned to the bed on the right
5. Needle preselection is restored manually before knitting the next row
The proof of concept swatch: It is easy to crop swatch photos to visualize the designs in wider repeats or with other changes or additions before amending the original repeat and pursuing the technique further. Varying the concept, testing crossings were made alternating in opposite directions. They and the number of rows between them can be adjusted in DIY.
The new design repeat, 18X22 was planned for use on 41 stitches, a multiple of 18X2+5. The corresponding needle tape markings, groups of three stitches were again consistently moved toward the center of each non selected group, the pairs were then brought behind them and placed on the pairs of emptied needles. Preselection for the weaving pattern needs to be restored after the crossings and before knitting the next row. Markings on needle tapes can be made as preferred, here magenta cells again indicate groups of stitches that are left undisturbed, the blue and cyan, groups of unselected needles with opposing directions cable crossings.The relates swatch:Lastly, a test of placing multiple cables along single rows: the new design repeat, 7X18.Magenta cells represent columns of stitches that are left undisturbed, the cyan, pairs of stitches that are removed first, to allow the group of three beside them to be removed and moved over to the front of the knit by two needles. Cyan pairs are then returned to the needle bed.
The next row of knit weaving is likely hard to push, merits knitting slowly.The swatch was knit on 40 stitches, with undisturbed borders on each side,

and imagined with crop, copy, and paste, in a different rendition.Untested at present: an added repeat variation that retains the manipulation in groups of 5 vertical columns, found in the FI post, 20X18, followed by an amended design.

The smallest design repeat, 20X12, planned tiled X2 in width, with added borders, matching the spreadsheet chart 33X12mirrored horizontally if required by the machine model or download software