Mixed stitch types – Page 4

Revisiting fair isle, thread lace, 3D surface potential

WORK IN PROGRESS

Tuck and slip stitch are commonly used to produce very effective textured surfaces often accompanied by color changes. Those color changes require knitting with yarn always in the A position in the sinker plate, and color changes are made by replacing the yarn in that position by hand, or by using the color changer. Fair isle and thread lace operate differently, as they carry and work with two yarns at once. Some of these samples were also presented in the post on fair isle variations
For textured surfaces using wire for one of the two colors makes the fabric moldable, here 32 gauge stainless steel wire is used as color 2, card#2 Using end needle selection when there are needles out of work results in single stitch width vertical columns of color that are planned in this instance as guides for sewing machine stitching lines. The width of the fabric is limited because of the number of needles actually knitting the pattern, but the technique offers the opportunity for a coordinated bicolor fringe with placement on the motif from casual to very deliberate, either side may be chosen as the “public one What may be firing in one piece could provide a tube for insertions on either side of the knit.
The fringing here is created by having needles out of work with one or two needles in work at their outer edge anchoring the deliberate floats on one side, trimmed when the piece is complete, before felting. The triangles are formed with single decreases followed by increases to reverse the shaping keeping the fringe edge needles in a fixed position. There is some rippling along the shaped edge, but the remainder of the fabric is fairly flat. Felting creates a reversible knit, shrinkage, possible stiffness, and potential limitations in the width of the final fabric are considerations when planning wearables. These factors become irrelevant when the goal is sculptural form. Creating blistered surfaces the easy way, leaf pattern variations: poly-cotton and raffia on the bottom, fishing line as the second yarn line on top. I have found the line for 6lb or fewer works best. The knit is flat. Felted rayon chainette and wool; when the main color is wool and the rayon renders the floats there is minimal blistering the result from reversing the yarn positions creates more bubbling
Here elastic is used as the second color in the thread lace setting. Using wool and acrylic non-felting yarn, the original mylar repeat was altered to twice as long and rendered twice as wide as well the difference in finished width The yarn positions in two color single-pass knitting, remain fixed in their relationship to punched holes. In fair isle patterning, the back feeder, usually labeled A, knits the ground on non-selected needles in the B position. The yarn (red) in the forward, B feeder, knits the stitches on needles selected to the D position which correspond to punched holes or black squares in a mylar, black pixels in a computer file for download. In thread lace, the back A position yarn knit both yarns together, while the forward B position yarn, red thread, knits the forward yarn/color, with the other yarn creating the single set of floats behind it.
Not all machines have a thread lace carriage, I use a punchcard model KC on my electronic machines
Sinker plates in different model years may also differ.
In terms of blistered fabrics in 2 colors using elastic yarn as one of the two fibers, the results in FI and its double sets of floats are shown on the left, the thread lace version with only the elastic creating the single float on the right. Thread lace patterning may also be used with a thin, non-felting yarn knitting the areas of the pattern intended for the 3D texture in the forward yarn position. The rear position yarn needs to be wool or other fiber that will felt and shrink with processing. In the finished piece, the wool floats may be left in place, trimmed, or the thin shapes may even be trimmed out leaving openings that do not ravel In addition, large thin fabric shapes can be stiffened over enclosures to create permanent effects in sculptural pieces.

Ribber fabrics with stitch transfers between beds 2

A collection of embossed patterns created by isolated groups of stitches being brought in and or out of work on the ribber
2021/05/09/double-bed-embossed-patterns/
2021/02/25/brother-shadow-lace-rib-transfer-carriage/
2021/03/11/slip-stitch-patterns-with-hand-transferred-stitches-double-bed/
2020/08/13/ribber-fabrics-with-stitch-transfers-between-beds-1
2017/12/20/combining-kc-patterning-with-racking/
The inspiration fabric in the 2020 post and one of the resulting swatches The inspiration fabric recently found online, source not knownAnalyzing the structure: it appears the fabric is knit with slip stitch textured patterning on the top bed, and occasional needles in work on the ribber creating elongated stitches that float on top of the light-colored rows.
Slip stitch textures narrow the fabric width considerably, so the single-color areas would need to be knit in slip stitch as well, here a 1X1 repeat is chosen.
Needles brought up to work on the ribber are planned to interact at intervals with stitches on the top bed. The starting concept working in Numbers In slip stitch patterning the white pixels slip, the black pixels knit. This repeat is 20 stitches wide, so not usable for a punchcard machine. The first draft is 20 stitches wide by 32 rows highThe test swatch: Any adjustments in the dark color stripe between will need to be made within the repeat itself, the floats in the light color will be wider by using a simple color reverse. The color reversed, modified repeat is now 20 stitches wide by 28 rows The test swatch was executed using the same red/yellow yarn combination, then in black and white using different yarn thickness and tensions.
The width of the spaces between stitches on ribber can be varied, creating shifting size “window panes” resulting in a knit fabric with a very different aesthetic.
The reverse surface is not particularly exciting. A comparison to the mirrored original inspiration, likely knit in thicker yarns The knitting process: with any textured or very lacy knits casting on and binding off require special consideration.
In test-swatching, knit the pattern single bed first to sort necessary tensions and visual appearance, follow with plain knit rows using the dark color,
use the ribber cast on comb to poke through the knit, hang ribber weights, bring needles into work on the ribber, stitches will be formed on it with the next pass. The ribber stitches need to be knit as loosely as possible, test the rib pattern and tensions.
If using only the coupled knit and ribber carriages, the first preselection row is made toward the color changer from right to left, the dark color knits first.
Needle pre-selection changes serve as guides to both color changes and to carriage setting changes on the ribber.
After every other needle preselection, the dark color knits with the ribber set to knit.
When the needle preselection changes to the alternate patterning, the color is changed, the ribber is set to slip in both directions. The main bed only will knit, in this instance, for 4 rows each time.
After every other needle has been preselected again, the color is changed to dark, the ribber carriage is set to knit in both directions, the process is repeated throughout.
I used a modified KC sinker plate and a second knit carriage selecting needles as shown in the 2018 post
A possible alternative for casting on a finished piece:
cast on every other needle rib from right to left
knit 2 circular rows, followed by an all knit row, the carriage will be on the left side once more
transfer all ribber stitches up to the main bed, bring up the desired needles on the ribber to pick up loops for new stitches before the next pass, with the first and last needles in work on the ribber. Read the first row of the pattern, cam set to KC1 to ensure end stitches are knit when patterning occurs only on the top bed.
Knit to the left.
The first stitch on the left may need to be filled picking up a ridge from the stitch above it to form properly.
The knit carriage is now set to slip in both directions and knitting continues as described previously.
Once a pattern is set up, the same design can be explored in different ways.
Here the swatch was knit in a single color with the ribber set to knit in both directions on every row.
Because there are many more rows on the ribber knitting than on the main bed, the vertical line created by its stitches is not smooth and is forced up at the top of the piece, creating a wavy edge. The cast on was deliberately loose. To tighten it up at the edge of the body of a narrower knit, every other loop can be picked up with a latch tool or crochet hook moving toward the yarn end at the cast on edge and is pulled through the previous one, producing a chain stitch. When the end of the row is reached, the yarn is pulled through the last chain and secured.

Hand to machine, symbols 6

This document is created using Mac Pages and Numbers, stitch illustrations have been borrowed from magazines and manuals long out of print and edited, and the symbols and charts are self-drawn. Using shapes in Numbers now makes the process of creating DIY symbols in the spreadsheet significantly easier than in my early Excel days.
The transfers are illustrated as they would occur if hand-knit or tooled as opposed to created by automated machine functions, blue dots are associated with knit side facing, pink with purl side facing. This series observes single-bed work

Cable crossings: To visualize cable crossing in the opposite direction, images can simply be mirrored horizontally More cable crossings including working double bed
Crossing stitches by pulling one through another, an alternative symbol for the same technique. The techniques may be used in variations, using 3 or 4 stitches. Yarn and tension are significant factors when any number of stitches are moved across a fixed span on a metal bed machine.

Slip stitch creates a short float where a needle is not worked and an elongated loop on the knit side of the fabric. There are patterns where the elongated stitch is removed and brought behind the float, to the purl side of the fabric Tuck stitch groups of stitches are gathered in needle hooks, commonly with knit stitches on either side of the gathers.
Tuck stitch with a twisted elongated stitch. The effect will depend on the yarn being used. More on tuck and slip stitch /2020/09/13/single-bed-tuck-and-slip-stitch-fabrics-1/

When combining techniques symbol placement in charts is often up to the creator. In the top sample, 1, a three-row pattern, the first stitch is pulled up, gathers it and the stitch right above it on the shank of the needle, in turn latching the third stitch through the first two, creating a purl stitch on the knit side at the top of the gather, and a knit stitch on the purl.
The next pair of images, 2, illustrates a simple picking up a stitch, stretching it, and hanging it on a knit stitch several rows above. This is also called ruching which may be done over any number of rows, not necessarily in vertical alignment, and may result in episodic pleated effects on the knit side. Because no “tuck” loops are being combined in needle hooks in addition to the stretched stitch, multiple side-by-side stitches may be hooked up this way. Very short elongated loops ie for one or two rows as marked 3, are not as visible on the purl side and do not create very visible gathers on the knit side.
A single fully fashioned increase is illustrated in the charts. The same technique may be used in the body of the knit, moving stitches in any one row, leaving single needles out of work at regular intervals, and picking up from rows below as pictured on the right to “fill in” empty needles. Stitches may be twisted in the body of a knit on the machine by inserting a tool front to back through the stitch, twisting it to the right or left, rehanging the stitch in the same location.
This technique may be used with multiple stitches to create mock cables, and patterning, whether electronic or punchcard may be used in machines with needle or pusher preselection to track the placement of the twists. E wraps may also be used to cast stitches on side edges of the knitting, whether the result is satisfactory is determined by the knitter’s preference.

When vertical spaces are created between knit stitches, the term often used to describe the floats that are created is ladders. One can drop a worked stitch at the end of the knitting, or in machine knitting, a needle may be left out of work and as it is skipped, the ladder is created. Dropped, previously worked stitches create wider ladders than those with skipped needles When a ladder needs to be eliminated, there are several ways to deal with returning any empty needles to work. If an empty needle is brought back into work, the first pass to the opposite side will create a loop on the empty needle, the second pass will complete the stitch on that needle, and an eyelet is created. If one wishes to minimize the eyelet, one method is to pick up the purl ridge from the row below on either the right or the left of the empty needle, as illustrated in the fully fashioned increase chart, another is to twist the last ladder and rehang the twisted loop. If multiple needles are out of work, then an e wrap cast on by twisting stitches on every other needle is needed unless needles are brought back into work one at a time, creating secondary eyelet patterns.

DAK is a program that allows for designing with illustrations created both as symbols, or unique to programs for in-home use, representing the intended fabrics as knit stitches, seen here for a lace repeat. The availability of the symbols does not necessarily translate to knittable fabrics 1, 2, more lace info Cable illustration as from the DAK manual, with single bed and knit and purl stitches represented Many cables that can be created in hand knitting are not executable on the knitting machine because the yarn needs to move across fixed widths on a metal bed and the moved stitches need to be large enough to allow the knit carriage to form new stitches properly as it travels back to the opposite side on the following pass. Some techniques can help to make wider cables possible, it is best to test crossing tolerance before planning or following full repeats whether published or self-drawn.
The same symbols may be used for hand-knit charts, taking into consideration whether working on 2 needles, in the round, with the knit or purl side as the public one, or the fabric is intended as having reversible surfaces.

Geometric shapes on ribber fabrics with tuck stitches 3

The sources of inspiration from hand knitting or industrial knitting machine designs are endless. There are many features that simply cannot be duplicated, sometimes compromises can be reached that can achieve only imitations of the original. To my mind when knitting garments or long pieces the greater the degree of automation, the less likely one is to have patterning errors occur, in ribber fabrics, they are also more complicated to correct than single bed knitting.
I recently came across a pin of a Ravelry hand knit pattern which led to my return to this topic once more, including perhaps the addition of more colors. The plan is to create a repeat which may be knit using color changes every 2 rows. Each design row knits each color twice, so the standard built-in KRC separation is not a consideration, though the same cam settings may be used in those fabrics as well.
The required color separation has been discussed in several posts on the various forms of DBJ, a review:
The initial test repeat is 18 stitches by 44 rows, designed using 2 X 2 blocks, to begin with. How it might appear knit in fair isle: Transitions in charting visualizations:
A: FI repeat with pattern progression in two-row increments
B: every even-numbered row beginning with row 2 is color reversed
C: B repeat is doubled in length to 18X88 for initial samples
D: repeat adjustment for a first try at introducing 2 additional colors End needle selection is canceled, the first and last needles are in work on each side on the ribber knitting every row, the first preselection row is from right to left, cam buttons are set after the left side is reached. Knitting in these samples began with the blue yarn in the number 2 position in the color changer. The ribber remains set for knitting in both directions throughout, the images on the right do not reflect the amount of surface 3D textures.
with the main bed set to tuck in both directions: Lock settings are easier to achieve on the Passap than switching out cam buttons in Brother machines. This was knit using 4 carriages. Color one knits with the main bed set to tuck both ways, color two knits with the main bed set to slip both ways. The slip stitch reduces the width of the fabric considerably Here each color alternately tucks and slips. The choice of cam buttons matters, tucking first from left to right, slipping from right to left, with cam buttons set COL after the first preselection row This last cam setting appears to my eye to produce a texture “close enough” to the inspiration fabric. Attempting to add more colors: the repeat, D, is still 18 X 88 but is now shifted slightly. Somehow the slip cam button was not set, so the knit carriage tucked in one direction while knitting in the other. I am vaguely reminded of illusion knits. Considering altering both the color choices and placements again. A way to imagine exact color change placements beginning with solid colors repeats once more, which can be followed by new color separations. The existing repeat may be reduced further to 18 X 64, eliminating some of those extra rows in the center of the chevron shape The new BW image, tiled: Whether or not the design is intended to retain chevron shapes in alternating textures, actions may be plotted pre knitting in any way that visually makes sense to the person designing the pattern and tools available to them. Reversing the png so that the more textured stitches will begin with the color in yarn position 1Using either repeat, color changes now occur after every 32 rows knit. Another color change location clue is in the needle selection change above and immediately following the red border in the chart on the left. Adding colors can be planned cautiously or allowed to happen randomly depending on the preferences of the designer and end-use. Ribber fabric designs are not visible until several inches have been knit, too late to catch color sequence errors. Some machines allow for memo placements or sounds to help track color changes, but only within the initially programmed repeats. A quick spreadsheet can provide customizable checkboxes or added information. For an attempt to retain chevron shapes in different textures: When using 3 colors, rather than 4, the texture of the zigzags on any specific color, will vary in placement. It is easy to change colors in any chart to approximate those that will actually be used in the knitting. Proof of concept: each of my yarns is slightly different in both thickness or fiber content from the others, which can be a drawback in resulting textures. As in any 2 color dbj, if 4 consequent rows are knit in one of two colors the positive and negative portions of the image reverse, as seen at the top of the swatch. The green was not intended to be used originally, the white yarn simply ran out. Such accidents at times may provide pleasant improvements. There is bleed-through of each color behind the other in the tighter knit areas as well which contributes to visual color blending, noticeable even in the areas with fewer tucked stitches. Splitting zig-zags into triangles, working color 1 with color 2, followed by color 3 with color 4 pairings A PDF including row numbers and space for notations zig zag
An editable Excel spreadsheet created as an export from numbers zig zag
For Mac owners a Numbers doc. zig zag
A simpler repeat suitable punchcard owners as well using only 2 colors The test swatch and observations: patterning was begun with color 2, yellow.
The yellow yarn is 12/16, the maroon is 2/15 in thickness.
The triangle, because slip and tuck stitch settings are used, is compressed in height, while there is enough tuck happening to still make the knit wider.
The pattern is 24 stitches wide, the swatch was knit on 40 needles. Smaller swatches are fine for testing tension and colors. If committing to larger pieces, tests on at least 100 stitches by 100 rows are needed for gauge calculations in any double bed work or very textured patterns on the single bed. On some occasions when a far larger number of needles are in use, problems may turn up that require going back to the drawing board in terms of items ie tension settings, weight used, etc.
A: patterning was begun with thicker yarn, the yellow, in color changer position 2, both yarns are 100% wool
B: KCI, end needle selection on, a 2 color “beaded” edge is created
C: KCII, end needle selection canceled, patterning occurs on end needles
D: transferring to the top bed and using the standard latch tool bind off for these fabrics is far too tight The tiled repeat, 24X48, does keep the stitch quality constant for both colors, Assumptions based on optics of tiling are not always accurate clues to potential patterning errors, here those darker lines are part of the actual design Continuing on a 24 stitch repeat, the original design may be rendered at double height and separated once more, doubling the separation height to 96 rows There are days when either or both machine and knitter need a break. At the start of the first swatch, the cam buttons were not set, resulting in plain knit stripes. At its top, the purple did not get picked up properly from the color changer, and the knitting of course fell off the machine. On a second try, the same issue happened again with the purple yarn. Multiple incidences of such events were fondly nicknamed “dropitis” by my students. The test is on 24 stitches, the width of a single repeat, the triangles are much more balanced in size, this knitter is putting this pattern to rest. Another try at the diamond shapes that began this topic. The first .png when tiled appeared to not have enough space between the shapes, was amended to this the differences when tiled the color separation can happen completely within Gimp using color invert the white yarn is an acrylic, slightly thicker than the purple toned one. Sometimes simply exchanging yarn positions can change the qualities of the overall fabric. The repeat begins with 2 blank rows. To achieve the tighter white shape as opposed to the honeycomb purple one, at the start of the repeat that color needs to be in use on rows where knit stitches happen as the KC, set on slip to the right, knits needles brought forward to D position. Red in this chart segment marks pertinent rowsBoth with hand knits and commercial knits because of the hand actions possible on both sides in the first, and as many as 4 beds selecting and knitting on the other may be in use at the same time with more complex needles as well, there are fabrics that are difficult or even impossible to duplicate. There often are obvious differences in the results, but the journey may still yield results that are pleasing and worth pursuing. Another even more complex inspiration from a sweater attributed to Falke, Spring 20 collection, using similar stitch structures, but in addition, also transferring stitches between beds exposing a purl striped ground.

Tuck trims 4 and other edgings

WORK IN PROGRESS

In the FB machine knitting groups questions about tuck-lace trims have once again surfaced with regards to their design and use as edge finishes or decorative details. Some automated potential details have been covered in previous posts
“Crochet” meets machine knitting techniques: tuck lace trims (and fabrics 1)
Tuck lace trims (and fabrics 2)
Ribber trims 3: one trim, four variations
Ribber trims 2
Ribber trims/edgings 1
The trims, however, may easily be created on any machine using hand needle selection and holding techniques. Over the years a number of names have been assigned to such trims, from idiot’s delight to shell, cockle shell, double shell, and scallop shell.
Trims are generally knit vertically, are often quite “lacey”, applied upon completion, generally with their knit side out. Some people think of them as mock crochet. They can go from tiny to heavier double-edge versions.
Generally, they benefit from being knit slowly with some weight to help hold the stitches in place and have the groups of tuck loops knit off properly. Start with a few rows of waste yarn and ravel cord to anchor to hold the weight, follow with a permanent cast on-on needles represented by grey squares in each group. Knit 2 rows on all needles and begin in the pattern. The method for creating tucked loops manually is to bring needles out to hold after setting the knit carriage accordingly. Until those same needles are pushed back into work loops will build on their shanks and will be knit off when the involved needles are pushed back into work. The limit with automated patterning for tuck in 4.5 mm machines, unless very thin yarn is used, is often 4 rows. There is greater tolerance in tucks created by hand techniques, but as with any fabric, it is best to test on swatches prior to committing to significant lengths of fabric.
When knitting trims and ruffles, end with several rows of waste yarn in a contrasting color, allowing for unraveling and binding off after application if the trim is too long, or for unraveling to a knit row and knitting more if the initial length is too short. Seam-as-you-knit might not be the best method to use if the intent is to retain the shell-shaped forms trim sides.
It is possible to visualize repeats both singly and in groups using tools from simple graph paper to spreadsheets. Japanese machines may not tolerate more than 4 rows of held or tucked loops unless the yarn is on the thin side, machines like Passap or Superba have a far greater tolerance.
Pivoting around a center stitch and adding width in vertical trims makes them foldable around a finished edge. When using electronic machines the garment’s finished edge may be picked up and the repeat for some of the trims can be programmed on the width of the piece for a predetermined height and bound off. If one is using a punchcard with single repeat vertical patterning or for more than one vertical trim with blank spaces in between them, the card would not be suitable for a finish on a horizontal knit edge.

To knit: bring needles in positions represented by yellow squares out to hold, push back to knit by the number of rows indicated in the chart.
A good source for pattern ideas can be found in punchcard volumes in the sections marked for thread lace. To add to the mix, once the repeat is worked out, transferring needles intended to be left out of work on the main bed may be transferred to the ribber when knitting trims as well.
Segments marked with green cells may be grouped in a variety of ways to create repeats in different widths, asymmetrical ones are also a possible consideration
Two repeats on a single cardThe process for knitting a sample as a hand technique: Cast on the 7 stitches marked in work, bring needles2, 6, and 10 to holding position set the knit carriage to hold
knit 4 or chosen number of rows
push needles back into work position and knit one or chosen number of rows
return needles 2, 6, and 10 to hold
repeat the process for the desired length
bind off or remove onto waste yarn
An electronic or punchcard repeat for 4 tuck row: I like to start my repeats with an all knit row when possible. The design may be knit as a single motif, and though it is symmetrical whether the machine model used flips the image horizontally or not can have an effect on whether the uneven number of needles will be to the left or to the right of 0. If there is any question a few air knit rows will clarify pattern needle placement.
The automated repeat: The samples below were knit using a 2/8 wool, at T4, are shown folded along their center on the right of the photos, with the open edge on the left as they came off the machine. The usual single bed tension for this yarn might be 7 or 8, depending on stitch type. The greater the number of knit stitches on either bed, the closer the tension will have to be adjusted to that used in stocking stitch for the same yarn. Wool also has memory, will want to roll to knit side at the top and bottom, to the purl side along vertical edges, steps often need to be taken to reduce the rolls. Using this repeat as a stand-alone, the roll is severe, with the cast-off edge picked up, continue from there, a rolled edge with no stitching required is formed, no further finishing required, is shown after light steaming Even if a repeat for automating the trim or edging is designed and may have been used before, it is best to test the repeat as a hand technique in any new or untested yarn first to see how many loops can build up before the stitches on each side may not knit, or the loops themselves might not knit off properly as a group on the next all knit row. Five rows were the limit for this yarn A bound off edge was picked up, purl side facing, a side edge could be as well. Test to see which side facing may suit your piece best. Ten plain knit rows were followed by holding for 5 rows on every sixth needle, followed by a central single all knit row, 5 more rows held on the same needles locations, ending with 9 rows knit on all needles, and the trim was bound off. It may be folded to the purl or the knit side before being stitched into place and is likely to require some blocking. A variety of edgings may be produced by simply hooking up ladder floats created by leaving needles out of work after X number of rows. In this instance chain cast on over 11 needles, dropping the center 5 chains and taking the corresponding needles out of work.
Knit 12 rows.
Pick up six floats and the chain from the start of the piece, bring them to the front of the knit, and place them on the needle marked with red cells at the right.
Knit 6 rows, pick up 6 floats again, place them on needle marked with red cells to the left,
repeat This variation uses the thicker blue yarn, knit at tension 4; 12 rows are knit before hooking up the lower groups of six ladders, which makes the floats easier to pick up or count using a single eye tool. Repeating selection on the same side allows the trim to be easily bent around corners Trims using holding alone border on the possibility of automation using slip stitch programming. A simple one to start: cast on 7 stitches, with the center needle out of work. Knit a few rows, set knit carriage to hold.
COR: push needles at left out to hold position
knit 8 or chosen even number of rows on needles 5, 6, and 7 on the right
COR: push needles 1, 2, and 3 on left to D position, knit 3 or a preferred odd number of rows, ending with the carriage on the left
COL: reverse the holding sequence The single out-of-work needle produces a ladder that nearly disappears after the trim relaxes, any our of work needle arrangement may be tried between the two groups of 3 needles in work.
Adding holding: cast on needle arrangement shown. The 3 stitches will roll to the purl side creating an edge that looks very similar on both sides of the trim. knit 3 or more rows, end COL
bring the 3 needles on the right out to hold, knit a row
COR wrap the inside needle of the 3 in holding, knit back to left 5 times
COR knit 5 rows (or DIY odd number), ending on the opposite side
COL reverse shaping

Intarsia without an intarsia carriage on Brother machines

I recently have been browsing through some of my machine manuals and found these references on methods for executing simple intarsia patterns, the type I usually associate with holding hand techniques. The knit carriage is used, and the yarn is placed on the floor in front of the machine rather than fed through the yarn mast. These illustrations are from the 892 punchcard manual, the same capability was built into the Knitking 893, and Brother 930-940 electronic models. The related positions on the 892 carriages: If the setting has not been used for long periods of time, the holding cam lever may not move to the desired position. LPS1 platinum-grade spray can be used successfully on stuck buttons and was used on my carriage. It will take a little while for the full release, do not overspray. Following the instructions, the setup row will ready the knit for the usual intarsia techniques.
The stitch location is just behind the latches prior to laying yarn over needle hooks in the initial color positions.More info on traditional intarsia methods includes how to use the intarsia carriage accessory. This is from a Japanese language manual for the 891(1987-89) punchcard machine, which appears to introduce the idea of replacing the use of the knit carriage and plaiting feeder with one specifically designed for intarsia

Double bed embossed patterns

Some of the previous blog posts containing applicable samples:
Ribber fabrics with stitch transfers between beds 1 Slip stitch patterns with hand transferred stitches, double bed Brother shadow lace, rib transfer carriage Combining knit carriage needle selection with racking Racked patterns 5: Passap/Brother 2
directions and samples from manuals including racking on tuck stitch and other ground variations, this on a tucked ground, in a thin yarn

Embossed, raised textures are familiar in single bed work using stitch structures such as tuck, slip, weaving, gathered and ruched hand techniques, and in double bed as pile, blister, lace, and ripple patterns.
When embossing is done double bed, the background fabric is knitted in purl stitches on one bed, and the raised design or panel in knit stitches on the other. The first method produces double knit patterns where all needles are working on the back bed, coupled with selected needles for the pattern on the opposite be. The raised, embossed portion is a double knit, showing relief on a purl ground. The second method is to use knit/ purl combinations, easiest to execute with a G carriage.
The striped ground occurs in areas where there are no needles in work and selected for patterning on the main bed. A cabled pattern to try: color changes in these instances are every 2 rows.
Because there are needles completely out of work on the main bed along with pattern selection, this is an instance where end needle selection must be canceled.
The first preselection row is from right to left toward the color changer.
Any transfers or stitch manipulations between or on either bed are made before the first pass to the right with the next color.
The knit carriage is set to slip both ways on the first pass in pattern from the left and stays there, the ribber is set to knit in both directions throughout. Depending on the yarn and the pattern distribution the all striped areas will be longer than those gathered by slipped rows. As usual, begin with a plan. After the first preselection row, transfers are made down to the ribber as indicated at the top of the chart. Cable transfers are made after every 14 knit rows, with stitches crossed on rows 15 and 31. After the cable cables are twisted, the stitches in the color that is going to knit in the next pass are brought out to E so they will knit in that color before the pass to the right, and again before the pass to the left, rows 16 and 32, Y.If the intent is to have solid vertical columns of color, those areas as in column marked A, need to be adjusted for using alternating colors as well. Using the repeat on the left of the chart After the first preselection row to left, transfers are made down to the ribber, stitches that will compose cables are selected in the pattern,
colors are changed after return to the left, and every 2 rows, stitches in the color that does not knit become elongated. Because column A was not color separated for alternating colors, each color in the corresponding needles will knit with every two carriage passes, and the result will be a striped vertical column Cable twists should be planned to retain the correct movent, can alternate each time or repeat in series, charts for location and direction of twists are helpful to avoid errors. The solid vertical columns here are planned in only one color, could be programmed to alternate as well. The repeat used in my swatch includes a solid column on each side of the finished piece, the color swap in the twist at the top can be an unplanned error or serve as a deliberate design change

Analyzing the stitch structures involved for planning 2 color DIY:
two-color ribs on a striped ground require cards or electronic repeats that select each color alternately. Fabric where the backing on the ribber or back bed in machines such as Passap knits all stitches every row is often referred to as half or full Milano. The backing may be also be knit using slip/ tuck settings.
Working in a single color, in half Milano and every needle rib course is followed by a plain knit row on the opposite bed, it is a 2-row repeat. In full Milano fabric, a row of every needle rib is followed by a plain knit row on one side of the fabric, and then by a plain knit course on the other. The repeat is three rows high. On every third row, the ribber carriage must be set to slip for one row, in the direction in which the carriage will be moving, prior to knitting a row with every needle preselection on the top bed. The setting is changed back to knit for 2 rows when the carriages reach the opposite side. The required cam change will happen on alternate sides. Both sides of the fabric have small stitches alternating with longer ones formed by slipped rows. half Milano full MilanoOften an all slip setting is used on the top or front bed, the result has less elasticity than a full needle rib, and the knit will have a tendency to curl toward the side which shows fewer knit rows, so in a finished piece side borders in the same stitch type should be considered.
Adding color changes in the ground requires altering the repeats.
Hand techniques may be used to modify ribs by cabling, racking, transferring stitches to the backing. When knitting again on empty needles, if you want eyelets, simply keep knitting. If not, hang the pull loop from the adjacent stitches on the opposite bed before resuming knitting.
Cable color placement must be reversed at the cable crossing.
Racked sequences are made along with stitch transfers.
To emboss other than vertical ribs the needle selection needs to be changed every 2 rows. This can be done manually, following a chart, or with programmed patterning whether with punchcard or electronic options.
Plaiting can produce 2 color variations without color separations.
When increasing stitches, moving the adjacent stitch onto the new needle, leaving it empty, will change the eyelet location a stitch away from the edge.
When moving stitches for decreases, lateral transfers may be made with multiple stitch transfer tools for different effects.
Transfer carriages can speed up the process.
To start the pattern one can begin with a cast on only on the ribber or back bed, or transfer non-selected stitches after the first preselection row on Brother as seen in most of my previous swatches, with 2 rows knitting on the backing alone, and 2 rows of the main color knitting on both beds. With either cast on, the preselection row is made toward the color changer with needles in work position on the main bed, so the knit carriage needs to be set to slip so as not to pick up unwanted loops on the top bed as it moves toward the color changer, and will remain set to slip both ways throughout the pieces.
As mentioned, the term Milano refers to ribs composing weft knit structures where one side of the fabric knits more rows than the other.
In half Milano, a single long stitch is created in the pattern color, in full Milano small stitches alternate with a row of longer stitches created when traveling back to the color changer.
The preselection start is determined by the type of long stitch, and how the repeat is programmed. I prefer to start my repeats with knit rows.
A half Milano swatch is begun with all stitches on the ribber bed, COR: the needle actions for each design row if patterning were on every needle are shown below. Designing may be easier to plan or chart on a template, followed by actions for each pattern design row with the second color. Half Milano on left, full Milano on right for use in 2- color-work. Half Milano stitch formation on the left, full on the right Planning for a half Milano shape design outlined with added borders and with vertical columns at intervals in the alternate color: every 4th row is marked in yellow as the underlying template. A simple shape is charted out, marked with black cells, the pattern starts with a knit row. Preselection in slip stitch is made toward color changer, black pixels will pick up stitches moving to the right, slip top row moving to the left. Decreasing to maintain the dominant color shape is not necessary, while the border, in this case, is shaped by decreases made by transferring non-selected needles to the ribber before knitting with that color from left to right. Border cells are added immediately up and to the side of those planned for knitting on the previous row, their respective cells are outlined in green. Software programs make it easy to alter the repeats and add borders if wanted
Actual knitting will indicate whether adjustments are needed in making the repeat continuous vertically or with some added striped ground only rows in between. I had not noticed a stitch hung up on a gatepeg, explaining the distortion in the row marked by yellow arrows, where the yarn was caught and pulled up.

These techniques share some features with the category of double bed appliqué, where one bed knits the main fabric while the other creates the shapes, which are attached to the fabric as you knit. In the finished fabric the purl side is the right side, the ground may be created in a solid color or striped. Both shapes are knit at the same time, as opposed to performing the technique on a single bed. As usual, the color changers should be threaded so that yarns feed smoothly and do not cross. With simple shapes as in shadow lace, no punchcard may be necessary, while cards or electronic repeats simplify the steps and help prevent mistakes.
In Japanese machines, for each row in the charts 2 rows are knit in the background first on the ribber, followed by 2 rows in the shape color on the alternate bed.
Smooth yarns and contrasting colors that still allow identifying knit structures easily are best. There is a limit to the number of colors that may be knit at once. Beginning with hand techniques: it is good to chart out the design before tackling it, and with color changers limited to holding 4 colors, if planning several shapes, the sequences in the color changes may need to be plotted out ahead of knitting as well.
Purl loops are the tops of the stitches in the row immediately below the stitches on the needle on the opposite bed, marked in green, while sinker loops consist of the yarn that is between the stitches on the needles, marked in red. Hanging the purl loops will help to eliminate or reduce the size of the eyelets. Take care not to use the sinker loops between the stitches, marked in red. In executing the fabric as a hand technique, the main bed is still set to slip in both directions, the ribber to knit every row
1. Knit 2 rows on the ribber alone
2. Bring needles to be worked in the pattern at the upper working position D or E, hang loops from ribber if there are increases if preferred, knit a row
3. Bring needles in pattern manually to D or E again, knit the second row of the appliqué
Repeat steps one and 2
In published directions color 1 usually refers to the ground color, which knits on the ribber only. Color 2 generally knits on the patterning bed as well. When most needles are in work on either bed, the tension for the yarn on that bed approaches the one used for that same yarn if it were being used single bed.
Punching all squares in 2 consecutive rows, or programming 2 all-pixel rows filled in completely across followed by two unpunched blank or all white pixel rows makes the process quicker. Punching or filling in single rows may be done as well, but requires elongation X2. Increases or decreases may be done on more than single stitches, and less frequently than with every pattern pass.
Fully fashioned shaping alters the edge of the appliques and places the eyelets in pattern, at or away from the edges. In Brother machines preselection of needles needs to be retained after any stitch manipulations.
Adding shapes with additional eyelets: practice shaping, keep notes, fully fashioned=FF Begin with simple shapes, examining the quality of increases and decreases, whether single or multiple, eyelet formation. Picking up from the row below before the next pass with the contrast color eliminates eyelets
picking up from row below at any point during knitting decreases in the number of stitches, in contrast, may be made by transferring down to the ribber prior to changing back to the ground color Simple increases or decreases are made by moving stitches laterally in either or both directions. Increases may be made by moving contrast color stitches laterally, followed by the choice as to whether to fill in the empty needle or allow it to create an eyelet. Fully fashioned increases or decreases are made by moving a stitch or a group of them to the adjacent needle/s to the left or the right and then taking the double stitches back to the original position, leaving a single empty needle for the planned eyelet formation. There should not be multiple needles with no stitches on them unless the goal is to expose a stripe of ground typically, in these exercises, there should be single empty needles after transfers, making certain proper needle selection for the pattern group is maintained Combining eyelets with lateral increases When transferring stitches, watch for any loops getting caught on gate pegs, as seen on the left below, increases and decreases may be pre-formed on more than single stitches

Planning a medallion: cyan cells represent transfers to the left, the magenta to the right. At the top of the single medallion, the stitches were transferred to the ribber prior to knitting with the same color once there was no needle preselection for it on the top bed.
Programming repeats to help track needle transfers as well: it is possible to start with a published repeat, though once the principle is understood, required markings for DIY become easier. Electronic machines leave one free in planning repeat width. In this test, a repeat from the Stitchworld pattern was used. In its built-in memory format, it will not work, the repeat needs to be altered. Each sequence of passes with the LC consists of 4 passes, followed by two rows knit with the KC. Two rows are added to each lace passes sequence, which will knit on the ribber only, in the contrasting color. Transfers to left and right are marked in cyan and magenta. The specific software used or machine model may require that the repeat be flipped horizontally prior to being knit, true on my 930. Markings on the left are for ribber actions and settings, those on the right for the main bed. K indicates that that bed will be slipping, K that it will knit. The first preselection row after the chosen cast on is from right to left with end needle selection canceled and the knit carriage already set to slip in both directions, with all required needles on the top bed in the B position.
Transfers are made prior to carriage passes made with the pattern color, in this case, white. If a transfer patterning row follows a white row on the ribber, extra white rows will appear on the striped ground seen in this test, where the ribber remained set to knit every row in both colors To eliminate the extra white rows, the main bed stays set to slip every row, the ribber settings alternate. It is set to slip for two rows immediately after knitting with the red yarn, then will be reset and knits for 4 consecutive rows. Transfers to create eyelets are made on selected needles on each of those two rows, always toward the carriage, even as the transfers themselves change directions as the angles of the shape decrease toward its center on the top half of the design. After the first transfer and the carriages travel to the right, a long float will be evident, will “disappear” on the return to the left. Patterning selection will reappear as the carriages return to the left. The color is not changed. The ribber is set to knit in both directions again, forming stitches on both beds for the first two rows, followed by a color change and knitting in the red, on the ribber only for 2 rows, completing a sequence of 4 knit rows before the ribber being set once more to slip. For consistency, I changed the settings on it to slip before picking up the white, changed it again after preselection of lots of needles meant the top bed stitches needed to be knit on both beds again. The first proof of concept, observing choices: as with other samples, the first patterning row after all stitches are transferred to the ribber requires a choice as to whether to pick up from the row below or simply allow empty needles to pick up loops on the next pass, the choice throughout here, marked A. Reducing stitches may be done by transferring down to ribber, B, or lateral transfers, C. D marks the spot for a possible shape design shape. Arrows on the purl side point to the direction of transfers, cyan to left, magenta to the right As with single bed lace, the first pass after transfers creates loops on empty needles, which here need to be kept in upper work, D position after transfers. For non Brother knitters, Brother positions are A, B, D, E, skipping C. Knitting over the loops on the next pass on that bed completes the stitch. This design is knit as continuous, the striping at the bottom is wrong because the red was not picked up after the first 2 rows knit in pattern with white, most sequences for the remaining fabric are 4 passes with white in the feeder, followed by 2 in the red. All eyelets here are reduced in size by picking up from the row below, all transfers for decreases are made laterally, the border is set to a width of 4 stitches, the pivot point for the repeat has been narrowed the differences at the edges of the shapes. Many of the same principles may be applied to designs using tuck stitch settings, where the striping will appear vertically rather than horizontally
2 color ribbed brioche stitch on Brother knitting machine 1
Lace transfers meet fisherman rib, 2 color ribbed brioche on Brother machines 2
Geometric shapes on ribber fabrics with tuck stitches 1
More on Lace transfers in single color rib

Large scale mesh, a punchcard repeat adapted for electronic

Previous posts including fabrics in this family:
2011: Large-scale mesh, breaking the rules
2013: Large eyelet lace, hand transferred (or not)
2020: Revisiting large eyelet lace, hand transferred (or not)

This was the punchcard provided in the first post, knit with 4 passes of each carriage, the knit carriage set to tuck in both directions Brother punchcard machines do not advance pattern rows when two carriages are used for needle selection as each carriage begins to move from the opposite side, the same preselection is repeated. This means editing is required at times if the same designs are to be used on electronic machines, particularly true in lace combination fabrics. The process has been discussed in posts on automating lace edgings with slip stitch settings.
End needle selection is canceled in both carriages, if any end needles are selected prior to a lace carriage pass, they need to be pushed back to B position manually in order to avoid transfers resulting in decreasing stitch counts or dropped stitches.
All versions proposed below share transfers that result in 3 stitches on a single needle, with two empty needles on each side of them. Here the needles are preselected for the next pass which will begin to fill in the double space, the needle in D position will knit, the one in B position will tuck; this is how the yarn is laid over those 2 needles after the first tuck row is completed, and both when using the card and in the first electronic repeat there will be a third tuck loop that is laid over the needle holding the 3 stitches. This is the appearance of the stitch formations just prior to an all-knit row Here analyzing the actions of the punchcard, marking rows according to card actions, the repeat is expanded to include the extra duplicate rows. Though the repeat remains 24 stitches wide, it is no longer usable for use on a punchcard machine. For knitting on the 930, the design requires flipping horizontally in order to knit properly. The third tuck row may be eliminated to produce an extra all-knit row, resulting in a slight difference in the shape of the eyelets Lastly, the repeat may be amended with extra stitches and rows between each eyelet

Origami inspired 2: more pleats and folds using ribber

Periodically I search out previous drafts, this post was started in September 2019. Drawn to folds in a variety of ways again, I am publishing it in progress with the intent of adding more information and related swatches.

Some previous posts with related topics and technique swatches:
origami-inspired pleats1, racked patterns Passap/Brother 2, ribber pleated fabrics, and some possible needle arrangements 3.
There are many considerations if long panels or wide ones are required when setting up repeats in addition to what happens at the edges of patterns in racking as one bed moves near or past the needles in work on the opposite bed. If something like a skirt is planned, the choice must be made as to which side of the knit is preferred, and the end stitches of each panel should be on the underside of the piece unless the join is a deliberate design feature. To achieve that, some panels may need to be wider than others. If the pleats are bulky and involve deep foldovers, panels may be attached to yokes to reduce bulk at the hips. If working from illustrations for pleats for another brand, the needle setups shown may need to be reversed, or, since many such fabrics are reversible if manually set up with no additional patterning on the Japanese machines knit bed or European true double bed they can be knit as illustrated. Lock settings for the Passap are given with the back lock first (ribber settings on Brother), then for the front bed lock (top, knit bed on Brother). Cast ons must be fairly tight so there is no flare at the bottom of the pleats. They usually start on a standard needle setting. Needle transfers are usually made after the cast-on is completed, sealing the stitches with one row of all knit stitches. Swatches should be a minimum of 100 stitches wide by 100 rows if the end goal is a gauge significant garment. All fabrics with texture may change in both appearance and gauge after a period of rest. Some shaping if needed may be obtained by tension changes, OOW needle arrangements on either or both beds, or stitch type within folds (ie adding fisherman, half fisherman, EON patterning, etc.)
Pleat formation on the double bed is “easy” because the pleats are formed “automatically” according to the needle arrangement on each bed. That is true if the resulting folds are created by stocking stitches in vertical bands. My goal is not to provide patterns. There are many well-written ones easily available.

How small can one go? A tiny pleat: It is easier to transfer stitches when the ribber is set to P (Passap handle up). Remember to return the setting to half-pitch before continuing. The pleat is reversible, shown on both sides, reminds me of shadow pleats racking by one position X3 at first, and then X 5 in each direction did not produce results worth the effort IMO, the result is subtle, the reverse side of the fabric is slightly stretched in the bottom photo. Here the fold is created by 2 stitches tucking for 2 consecutive, then knitting on the same needles for 2 rows on regularly spaced pairs of needles on either bed. Most knitting is on a single bed. A lacey series of eyelets begin to appear, and in some random racking at the top of the swatch, the possibility of developing a secondary pattern due to the combination of racking and tucking begins to show. The middle image is of the fabric slightly stretched. Passap Brother: the ribber can do the stocking stitch background, every needle in work, carriage set to knit. The setup is the same as the Passap diagram. A repeat with 2 black rows of squares followed by 2 white can be programmed on the top bed. On every needle selected rows, pairs of needles will knit, on the white, no selection rows the same pairs of needles will tuck for 2 rows. Moving away from vertical ribs becomes significantly easier if one has a G carriage. The alternative option is to create geometric folds that require transferring between beds. Any of these fabrics are best knit in a yarn that has memory and can spring back. Yarns such as acrylic can be permanently flattened by pressing, resulting in loss of texture. A quick experiment: black cells represent knit stitches, blue purl ones The needle setups: after casting on, transfer for a stitch configuration based in this case, of blocks that are 5 stitches wide. A single needle on the opposite bed is used on each outside edge of all needles in work. When there are no groups of stitches in work on both beds the pitch can be set to and remain on P, which also will make transfers easier, as needles will be point-to-point. The ratio used in the test was in multiples of 5. The groups were 5 stitches wide, 15 rows high, with all knit 10 rows in between the repeats. The fabric is shown first relaxed as immediately off the machine, then lightly steamed and stretched. The yarn is a 2/18 wool, far too thin for this use, and likely to flatten considerably with pressing. The close-up of the purl side offers a better view of the resulting folds The repeat, 10 stitches by 40 rows. More on Knit and purl blocks to create folding fabric_ “pleats” Pleated, plaited shadow lace Pleated one color “shadow lace” in Slip stitch patterns with hand transferred stitches, double bed

Pleated dbj A repeat that will spiral, usable in spiral socks Spaces between any and all blocks may be adjusted to suit one’s preferences.

Lace meets FI on Brother machines

Very little has been written on this topic.
The easiest method to produce the eyelet and fair isle combination is to create ladders in spaces between vertical FI motifs. The end needle selection is canceled. The swatches show the transitions in the development of the final design

Susanna in her Machine Knitter’s Guide offers a version knit in combination with the ribber on page 218, and a small amount of information on single bed versions on pp, 220-221.
Before any DIY, I like to start with a published pattern. Toyota, in this volume, offers 4 punchcards for use with this technique I chose to work with #170. The lace carriage in the Toyota models operates from the right side rather than the left as in Brother. The direction of the arrows marked on the card actually indicates movements for the carriage operating from that side. That fact is taken into consideration planning a possible Brother punchcard repeat. Lace direction arrows are matched based on the punchcard image being mirrored horizontally. The card in its original version is imaged on the left, mirrored on the far right, the proposed Brother punchcard in the center The proposed Brother punchcard repeat is now expanded for use on the electronic machine, ready for converting to .bmp in Gimp. Numbers in the middle of the chart on the left helped keep track of repeat segments. I also used red dots initially to mark segments as I had completed in the expanded the repeat, then erased them
The Gimp magnified punchcard repeat in turn in need of mirroring for the .bmp to be used in the 930the resulting fabric Observations and settings:
The knit carriage is set to FI patterning for the knit rows, the typical floats will be created. Commonly, when floats are wider than 5 pixels, anchoring the longer ones may become a preference or even a necessity. This would add time to an already complex fabric. Each FI design row is repeated twice.
The transfers in this design are made on the yarn in the color in the B feeder. I began my swatch using the light color yarn, failed to switch its position to the B with color 2 for the shape in A, accounting for the dark stripe at the swatch bottom
If KCI is used, end needle selection will be made prior to the lace carriage passes. Those preselected needles will have to be pushed back to B position by hand prior to using the LC or they will transfer on one side and drop on the other.
In this pattern, the LC operates for 8 passes, followed by 2 rows of FI throughout the piece. The first preselection row is made with the KC from the left as it moves toward its home on the right.

What of DIY? From working on the repeats for transfer lace combined with weaving, I understand patterns beginning with transfers to the right rather than the familiar to the left, are shortened considerably and carriage changes may be made as often as every 2 rows, saving many carriage passes. In order to understand the choices that need to be made, I began with a lace transfer pattern, thinking I could add contrasting color shapes in FI. I expected something like this however, the swatch had issues. The eyelets were not occurring in the same spot in both directions, the color transition at the repeat intersections was clumsy Regrouping: the easiest place to insert eyelets is in the dominant, background-color The 930 .pngA quick test: rows with no needle pre-selection will knit in only one color, end needle selection must be canceled before knitting to the other side Can the exchange of the color positions in the yarn feeder create colored shapes with eyelets on the white ground? not only does it not do so in a way I liked, but my machine was having none of it as well Coming up with a better plan resulted in the following repeat. The transfers are made in the wanted direction on the purl side of the fabric, so their location becomes easy to check and identify during knitting. In this exercise, they will be placed in the center or the previously knit fair isle rows. Magenta cells marking the doubled stitch after transfers to the right, the cyan one the doubled stitch after transfers to the left. The two blank rows at the top of the design will knit in the background only. Building the repeat in Numbers: the eyelets within the shapes in the contrast color need to begin and end with a pair of FI rows. They are placed taking into consideration the black cell blocks immediately below them, not the ones directly above It’s good to start with a small repeat.
A: one may begin with a planned repeat, in this case, 20 rows in height
B: create a table at least twice the planned height or start with a long template that in turn will have half its rows hidden. Holding the command key select every other pair of rows beginning with 2 blank ones at the top of the table, and hide them. The location for the options to hide and unhide rows and columns: C: Once the rows are hidden, the black cells are filled in
D: the repeat is tiled to check its alignment
E: the hidden rows are unhidden, I like to add colored cells as shown to ensure proper placement of eyelets
F: place black cells for stitches to be transferred where desired
Previous posts describe the steps to isolate the repeat as a screengrab and importing it into GIMP. The grab is cropped to content, image mode to indexed, scale to the proper size, mirror for use on the electronic if needed, save, and use the final image to download to the knitting machine for testing.
The first pair of rows are knit in FI, so the preselection for design row 1 is from left to right. The KCI setting will bring end needles out to D prior to lace rows, those needles need to be pushed back to B position prior to moving the LC from left to right. Continue with switching carriages every 2 rows. This repeat is 20 rows high. When knitting the last 2 rows, no needles will have been preselected, except for first and last. Push them back to B for those two rows, so only the color in the A feeder knits, and the preselected needles do not drop off the bed. The second color does not need to be removed from its location, but in executing a wide piece of knitting, the extra yarn pulled down from the tension mast as the knit carriage makes its passes may cause issues. If the yarn is removed and held aside, be sure to place it back after the 2 passes with the ground color so as to avoid forgetting to do so prior to resuming patterning using 2 colors per row. Taking it to continuous shapes and checking them in repeat: red cells represent transfers to the right, cyan ones the transfers to the left. The empty cells adjoining each of both colors represent the location of the doubled-up stitch after the transfer is made I like to check tiling for the repats along the whole process
Though the repeat is 24 stitches wide, it is not suitable for use on the punchcard machines in this format, its tiled test and .pngThe one area where the white got picked up with the contrast is not due to programming, but likely to operator error in “correcting” a dropped stitch Adding another contrast color stitch to shapes will make the number of stitches on either side of the eyelets consistent Adding lace shapes in the ground can follow the same concept The repeat does was not planned as a continuing pattern, but here it is knit and repeated in height X 2 and with the addition of two blank rows at the top of each segment.
The possibilities are endless, with some patience, they can be manipulated to meet personal preferences and taste.