Knit bubbles and “stitch ditchers/dumpers”

I encountered a photo of a commercial sweater not too long ago while knit surfing the web

and a bubble blanket available at Nordstrom’s during 2012

I had already been considering laces other than transfer ones for yarns that have been too crotchety to knit in that particular technique, and my Passap has been knitting idol for far too long.  The fabric above seems to alter between purl and knit sequences that would require transferring all stitches to the opposite bed for every other pattern sequence: out of my range of patience and time. The number of fabrics involving “lace” produced using the ribber involves a series of names with sometimes variations simply being specific to the technique performed on a particular brand, though possible on all. On the list: drive lace, pick rib, summer fair isle, drop stitch lace, etc. The above commercially produced knits seemed to be good candidates for drop stitch lace.

Since I recently posted on knitting long loops/stitches single bed, it seems natural to follow up that post as well with creating long stitches using the ribber and using automatic patterning as well. The following photo is familiar to most Brother users:

In this instance the fabric is produced as a hand technique, requiring racking and row counting. The process is easier if all stitches are transferred to ribber in Japanese KMs or back bed on Passap, and long stitches are then created by selected stitches knitting on the opposing bed, and in turn, being dropped. Punching a card, drawing on mylar, or downloading to machines makes it possible to do so in a pattern much more easily.

Punchcard books have several useable examples for such patterns. Two methods of release are used. One is end release, where the pattern is knit until the piece is completed, and stitches are dropped then. This works in friendly yarns and continuous repeats uninterrupted by rows of stocking stitch. If the design is interrupted, then the regular dropping of stitches whether at the end of the repeat or intermittently throughout is either required or preferable, depending on the design.

As for dropping those loops that will form the long stitches, one can do so “manually” with improvised tools. For more “automatic” dropping of stitches using knit carriage in Brother patterning, one may punch a card or draw a mylar with a method akin to the color separation that will allow for a pass of the KH carriage across the knit with no yarn in the feeder, “color 2” is actually “no yarn/empty” while establishing the proper needle selection on its return. Studio selects and knits in the same row, so needle selection disruption is not an issue, and in Passap techniques are built into the console that allows for “free/no yarn” passes. Both instances involve extra “knit” rows per item. Other alternative tools may be used that help the stitch ditching process. Studio brand had their P carriage and Brother their own “D slider” for the bulky KM.

The Studio P carriage pulls needles on the main bed from B to C position going from right to left, then returning them back to B position going from left to right. On the ribber, it may be used to bring the needles up to C position for “safe knitting. (Studio needle positions are A, B, C, D, while Brother skipped the letter C, continuing with D and E). A video from Susan Guagliumi shows a later model than the one pictured below, used as well to bring needles out after hand techniques as opposed to pulling them out by hand or to insure thicker yarn knitting.

The Brother Bulky KR 260 D slider only moves in one direction, from left to right, completing the in and out needle position operation in one pass. End needle selection needs to be canceled. It is not usable on ribbers. After operating it from left to right, it is simply lifted off.  The knit carriage position while the transfers are occurring may vary depending on personal preference and whether the yarn changer is in use or not.

Studio 4.5 mm/ Bro 9 mm bulky viewed from the front

Studio 4.5mm/ Bro 9 mm bulky viewed from the back

Directions on altering the studio tool for use on Brother machines

Passap’s need was answered by an Australian woman: Faye Butcher,  who developed the item shown below. Such tools were often discussed in seminars and publications of the time, in conjunction with pile or “carpet” knitting, so “P” for such knitting in Studio, and “carpet stitch tool” for Passap, seen below

front view

rear view

in use on the front rail

If patterning for long stitches occurs on the front bed, the Passap tool sits on the rail where you see it in the photo, it will release all stitches from needles in its path. Often directions for using it recommend its use for 2 passes with locks on right. Passap preselects pushers for the next row of knitting as Brother preselects needles, pushers are below the rail, so in theory, they should be unaffected bypasses of its travels. Once things are up, going, and “working” I have found it possible to align the tool as seen in the photo ahead of the next lock pass, so on the right of the lock from left to right, to its left from right to left, a bit of pressure will keep it in its place, and stitches are released each pass of the lock. This may result in having to operate the lock with one hand. There is also an optimum speed: if the movement is not smooth and regular and needles are jostled, pusher selection may be altered in response, thus resulting in a patterning “mistake” on the next row. Challenging yarns may make this method impossible.

Some samples follow: the yarn used was acrylic, I attempted to press it on swatch completion, and this flattened the fabric considerably. Of note: the disparity in width between the stockinette portions of the swatches, and the dropped stitch segments

too open

a bit closer, much more so before steaming

a “mistake” that may lead to a future accessory, with some revising and planning

I am using Stitch Painter to plot out my repeats, exporting files as .cut files, using wincrea to import them, and downloading to the console with a cable purchased from England. I replaced an ill tower dell with a 64-bit dell laptop half its age, and am now running Windows XP instead of 98! My leaps into the present technologies/software are made using apple products. Technique 129 will work, color may need to be reversed using the alter loop, or within wincrea depending on how the pattern is drawn in the original graph, but that is a topic for another day (see April 2011 post: a bit on Passap for some information on Tech129). Back lock on N throughout, front lock on LX (slip/part on the main bed for Japanese KMs). Single bed slip and tuck stitches may also produce “bubbles” of a different quality.

Coincidentally the 10th-anniversary issue of Knitty has just been released, arriving in my virtual mailbox this AM. There are 2 patterns in the issue that may be of interest, one is tin roof, the other employs ribbed/bobble/bubble for hand knitters. Another hand knit version by Kieran Foley may be found here

The tarn knit on Brother 260

Knitting the T-shirt yarn on the 260 is possible. As when using any other unknown yarn it is a good idea to begin to knit with a familiar one. Space dyed segments are knit with worsted weight wool. An every needle tarn knit is hard to push for both the operator and the KM, making a wide, taut fabric. The transition multi-colored stripe is to allow for the transfer of stitches in use to every other needle set up. Subsequent tarn sections follow in plain knit, every other needle tucking in alternate needles in one direction, knitting in other, by pulling them to hold-position, and after some plain knitting lastly by tucking on alternate EON in one direction, knitting in opposite direction, using the studio #2 card and automatic needle selection. Most of the swatch is knit at T8, the very top at T4, all with lots of weight. The last segment was harder to knit, is stiffer, but stitches get forced apart on the knit side, making it more interesting.

the purl side

the bits of color are from a faded image printed on the Tshirt’s exterior

the punchcard repeat

Using Studio mylar sheets on brother KMs 1

Factory “drawn” Studio mylar sheets ie for 560 model KMs will work on the Brother 910 with some adjustments. Just as when using punchcards, the card reader drum as well as the mylar scanner “see” a different row as row 1 than the alternate brand KM.
The image below is a quick scan of positions of black/white squares on Studio mylar with a superimposed, unmarked one for Brother. The holes for movement of the mylar occur in just about nearly the same location. The first issue at hand is to draw a set line in the proper position for Brother pattern reading (traces of pencil line on the red studio mylar may be seen underneath the blue brother markings). Some machines are fussier than others with the set position, and I found drawing the line by placing the denser studio card over the brother one on a light_box surface made that very easy.
The second issue is that as can be seen above, the first design row on Brother is actually 3 rows below that on Studio, so when programming the repeat 3 rows should be added to the first row of studio repeat, and 3 also added to its top. For example in the studio mylar #1 segment below#4 pattern in Studio programming would begin on row 11, ending on row 14, to program same in Brother beginning row is 14, ending row is 17; stitch locations remain unchanged, but a reminder: Brother sheet is marked in 5X5 blocks of squares, Studio in 6X5.
Hand drawn studio mylars when using the pencil appropriate for them will not read, so sheets need to be marked with any tools you have used for doing so in brother markings in the past. One oddity I encountered is that with the drawn repeat below I had no needle selection until I programmed rows beginning above row 5, using rows # 9-12 as top and bottom of the repeat, not an issue with the factory mylar. I used a sharpie to draw the first pair of squares (has never worked for me), number 2 pencil on the reverse of the sheet for the second (my preferred method), and template marking pencil on the mylar front for the third. Drawing with the latter over hand-drawn studio mylars enabled those markings, in turn, to be read by my 910. One problem with the template pencils is that small pieces of the coating they produce may shed with use. The issue with bottom rows not reading did not repeat when I used a different blank mylar sheet and drew the identical repeat, nor did it occur with factory drawn. Sometimes there are no explanations…

On my crochet hook

Lots of crochet patterns of late have featured chains and bobbles as components. I have been playing around with the idea of combining both. The fabric could be shaped by varying the number of chains and double crochets creating bobbles, and with very thick yarn the fabric may appear nearly solid. This is my working graph. Ovals represent chain stitches, beginning at the left chain is created, first bobble row is represented in red/orange; second bobble row is represented in green, crochet after work is turned over, and when the opposite side is reached, visually it will appear as though a single row of 5 bobbles has been completed. The numbers represent the number of triple crochets in each popcorn, the crosses are joining single crochets for anchoring chains to previous rows, and closing off popcorns. The graph was created in Excel.

The yarn in use here is a very soft acrylic, intended for someone who cannot wear wool.

a thicker wool, less open space

Nearly any crochet fabric has the potential to be incorporated into knit items of clothing and accessories.

Long loops: a bit on method

Below are some ideas for creating long loops on the machine using only a single bed. The essential difference between stitches and loops as mentioned before is that long stitches must be individually knit through the previous row, loops sit on the purl side surface. Yarn weight, loop concentration, number of looped stitches, and their locations open up endless possibilities. If loops for any reason are wanted on the knit side, the garter bar may be used to take knitting off the machine and hold them, loops are formed, the piece of knitting is then returned onto the machine, and continued. Swatching helps determine operator tolerance and preference as well. Some of the old manuals and pattern books such as the very early Brother Home Course offer this guide under the category of “weaving” while others refer to the same technique as “pile”. Punchcards may be used to preselect needles for patterning with the technique.  Working single bed:
1. knitting in place on the machine with its cast on edge weighted to keep it from curling up (use waste yarn if loops need to be close to the same edge), paper clips and weighted cast on the comb in place

this technique may be used on every needle, or only on selected parts of the needle bed; for the sake of speed for this ‘demo’ I will be working on EON; desired pattern area needles are brought out to the hold position

the loop yarn is mohair; slip knot secures start to cast on comb, yarn is wrapped counterclockwise in this instance up, around EON selected needle, and back down and around corresponding EON cast on comb tooth; if desired this could be done multiple times on anyone needle depending on the tolerance of KM in knitting next pass

the carriage now knits across all needles, yarn is secured

the cast on comb is removed, plain knit continues until the next set of loops

2. a ruler or other tool may be used to determine loop length; I prefer to use 2 rulers, yarn is secured, and wrapping follows as above around selected needles and then rulers

the second ruler is removed, allowing the first to drop down a bit, which will hold loops in place, while in most instances allowing the knit carriage to move across that row with the alternate ruler still in place

knit at least one row to secure loops, remove the ruler

3. once again using 2 rulers secure yarn, and wrap, creating a crochet chain with tested size crochet or latch hook

remove the second ruler, this will give you some ease along the chain edge

hook chained edge onto selected KM needles

knit at least one row across the area, remove the ruler

4. the samples: as can be imagined EON may be sufficient for a thick pile if fewer rows of knitting occur between looped rows
It is possible to cover a knit with long loops of any sort. Using the same mohair, here the swatch is covered with loops, and the mohair is brushed If loops out of thin or slippery yarns are desired, as an alternative, create wide ladders with narrow outside edges of the single or double stitch, fold in half, rehanging the sides of the strip onto the body of the knit
later post with tips for creating long stitches, no photos
long stitch swatches

A 2020 FB post led me to quickly explore another method for creating loops using ribber gate pegs. Normally one would begin with waste yarn, ravel cord, at least one row of knitting before beginning in any pattern. In tests that is not necessarily relevant. Begin with some knitting on the machine. Ribber setting on P, ribber brackets set to middle position

Have an every other needle pusher tool on hand and yarns of different thicknesses, knit a few rows and hang weight evenly across all stitches at any time in that process bring every other needle out to E (Studio D)/ aka holding position *work your way across the beds, wrapping every other E position needle clockwise and the gate peg directly below it, resulting in the twist knit one row, repeat wraps counterclockwise in the opposite direction knit  3 rows, returning to starting side use a tool to lift loops off the ribber sinker posts push loops down between the beds**repeat * to **,  knit at least one more row across any loops at the top of the piece and bind off.
The loops are directional, so if this were a scarf, their “lean” would be down at one end, and up onto the other. My loops are formed using a loose twist acrylic yarn, one less so would avoid any splitting issues as the piece grows. Steaming acrylic can flatten it permanently. I did steam my swatch to try to keep it from rolling as much, so the resulting loops are a bit flattened.
This technique is a variation of weaving. The heavier yarn will tend to force the stitches in the background apart, resulting in “bleed-through”. The frequency of creating the loops can vary, and just as in single bed knitting their location as well, but they will be fixed height throughout. After testing consideration may be given to automating the needle selection to make the process faster and perhaps more accurate. Brother preselects, so after that is done for each row, bring only the selected needles out to D consistently, and proceed as above. Below is a possible repeat to imitate my swatch based on the 24 stitch width restriction for punchcard machine users, remembering that any punchcard height minimum is 36 rows The minimum electronic repeat:

Some long stitch / loop swatches/ single bed

These date back to my teaching days, are not resolved fabrics, were part of my demos, have been shot straight from storage, with no additional care to them ie pressing or steaming

tension changes

selective loops

moved in groups

some with beads

combined with e wraps and beading

combined with ladders

felted wool, ladders treated with water proofing agent did not felt

both loops and stitches in one below, along with beading

chenille worms and is a poor choice for loops unless that is the desired effect

selective looping and e wraps

combined with twisting of loops on knit surface

weaving ribbon into ladder spaces rather than long stitches

Long stitches on KM (single bed)

Though long stitches in a pattern may be created by a variety of methods, I will begin the topic by discussing long stitch stripes across the width of the knit.
The easiest, quickest long stitches are produced by simply working with extremes in knitting tension. There are size limitations in this technique. One example would be fabric produced by knitting 2 rows at as tight tension as possible for the yarn ie. 2, and one row at the loosest tension possible: 10. Testing the yarn will help define the limits.
The loose stitches may have a tendency to jump off, so even weight is required. The tension dial must be adjusted for the appropriate stitch formation. Playing with the number in sequences will change the look of the fabric.
Adding stripes: if 2 carriages appropriate to the machine model are available, each tension dial may be set to different tension numbers. Keeping 2-row sequences or even multiples will get carriages back to the desired location on right or left. The same color may be used, and threading with different color yarns will produce stripes easily, while also making it possible to avoid cut ends that must be woven in.
Another single bed method is to knit stitches back to A position, in turn pulling down on the knit since A position is an alternative one for holding and needles pulled back there will not knit; again, care and weight will avoid the long stitches created jumping off the needles. Weights need to be moved up at frequent intervals.
Leaving needles empty and out of work in either of the above methods will create ladders intersecting the long stitches, opening yet another series of patterning possibilities.
Rows of long stitches may, in turn, be manipulated ie. by cabling, stringing beads at intervals onto selected loops, and solid knit rows may incorporate patterning ie. lace, or tuck. As a larger number of continuous rows are knit or patterning is introduced, the tight tension may have to be adjusted accordingly, and long stitches may then appear inadequate in their height for the desired effect.
The single bed cast-on comb or ribber sinker posts may be used to create longer loops. If using a cast-on comb, secure it with paper clips or lengths of yarn just outside the width of your knit, hanging enough weight on it to keep it from shifting. On the knit carriage side, the item used to secure the comb must be either adjacent to the first stitch to avoid loops on that edge or the yarn may be placed in front of it to avoid them.
Ribbons may be threaded through loops, and drawn threadwork may be imitated. “Cable” groups may be crossed, twisted, pulled through each other, and otherwise manipulated, some such groupings may evoke broomstick lace.
Some people find it easier to wrap yarn around an item of fixed width such as a ruler to achieve the desired loop length.
If a ribber is in use its gate pegs may be used for wrapping the yarn. Enough knit rows then need to happen on the main bed so the loops may be released from the gate pegs.
The yarn is wrapped counterclockwise in most instances for loops, and swatch results to test the desired effect for any twist in stitches.
Long stitches are knit through the preceding row one at a time, long surface loops sit on the surface of the knit, and may need to be e wrapped as they are created to further secure their placement.
Simple horizontal rows of elongated stitches may also be accomplished by knitting with the ribber in use, knitting fabric on the main bed; the ribber is set to slip throughout except for the “long stitch” row where the ribber knits across all the stitches, and at the end of the row those same stitches are dropped by any preferred method.
Any of these methods may be combined with hand manipulation and holding to vary loop sizes, locations, fiber content, color, etc. Susan Guagliumi’s book “Hand Manipulated Stitches for Machine Knitters” is a good reference for several variations.
Transferring all stitches to ribber and having the main bed knit in selective patterns and techniques opens up a whole other area of textured, lacy fabrics, referred to as drop stitch lace.
On the Passap long stitches of even size across a whole row may be further manipulated ie to imitate broomstick lace begin by casting on every other needle, some weight may be useful, and transfer all stitches to the back bed.
With a strand of yarn taken from the feeding eyelet manually knit every stitch one at a time to the out-of-work position, carefully pulling to keep the stitch length even.
Pull down on the fabric. Rear bed needles will now be returned to the work position.
Depending on the specific variation in grouping loops the locks may be brought to the opposite side before knitting the next row. Since the stitches are in the out-of-work position, they should remain unaffected. Alternately if there are wide open spaces as part of the design the yarn on the left may be used to cast-on across the row while knitting together gathered stitches, and then return to the right side for additional knitting will have been achieved.
For swatch photos please see the post and for how-tos see a bit on the method 

My newest lace patterns

In the past, I knit several shawls using the alpaca and silk blend mentioned in my posts. The colors purchased in the latest shipment for some reason, however, have refused to knit without creating enough problems in dropping stitches that I gave up on each of the projects attempted using them.

My latest two shawls proved to be one of those instructive cases where the knit behaves just fine in smaller samples and is cranky and hard to manage when a larger number of needles is in use, resulting in switching fiber content to get the piece made

space-dyed that was unsuccessful

the finished shawl in wool/rayon blend

one disadvantage in deeply colored space-dyed is that some of the surface texture I lost, and patterns may become less evident

here is another version in wool crepe in what I am now calling my “firecracker” pattern

Below is my latest effort. The card that produces it is 90 rows in length and 22 knit rows are completed at the end of each of its rotations. The blue yarn is actually a multi-strand rayon, thicker than the alpaca/silk, was knitting pretty well until the individual thin strands began to break frequently and the partial shawl got added to the future “do something else with” stash of UFOs. There are many rows where 2 or 3 stitches are moved together onto the adjacent needle. I have some Tencel blends that are lovely colors, that when swatched consistently dropped stitches in areas of those transfers, probably because of lack of any “give” in the fiber. Going back to a wool rayon blend, I was able to actually complete a piece, which now awaits blocking.

the rayon multi-strand rayon swatch

the blocked, completed piece in wool crepe,  20X76 inches

With the huge supply of alpaca/silk and other yarns that will not transfer well, I am now considering taking a break from transfer lace and returning to tuck, tuck lace with NOOW, and similar fabrics for a “break” from the routine of this past year.

Large diagonal eyelet lace

This card may appear vaguely like the one used in my previous post using tuck stitches to fill in some “extra” empty needles to create large eyelets (April 15th, 2011: so hard to believe more than a year has passed!). I wanted to create a large, diagonal mesh for some trial new shapes that would allow me to get the movement without short row holding or angling the fabric 45 degrees.

This was the original card, using a repurposed one with “mistakes”, taped over, and more tape over new punching errors. OK for short term use, but probably not for any extended knitting

Here is the final card: orange lines are visual marking rows where knit carriage travels for 2 rows from right to left and back, pencil lines mark each design pattern repeat, blue lines the visual marking row for the end of each pattern repeat. The latter becomes important if one wants to flip the card over to get the eyelets traveling in the opposite direction, and knitting the fabric with lace carriage on right, knit carriage on left, keeping the repeat intact. In this instance, the first preselection row with the LC moving from left to right is made with the card locked.

The lace is created by single transfers in opposing directions, resulting in 2 adjacent needles being left empty immediately prior to knit row sequences. When 2 needles are empty, ladders occur unless they are alternately filled in. If the lace carriage is not engaged and the knit carriage continues to make passes, ladder stripes will break up the pattern and can be a design feature. Here the problem is eliminated because the lace transfers to the left help anchor down one of the two loops. The diagonal mesh sequence is easy: 4 transfer rows followed by 2 knit. The KC is set to knit throughout. The selection with alternating groups of pairs of needles do not affect the pattern, they provide a clue to the fact the opposite carriage is used on the next carriage pass and from the opposite, right side. Proper tension and weight for the used fiber are important to keep the fabric from getting hung up on gate pegs. The patterns using the concept may be varied by knitting more rows between transfers, creating smaller eyelets by changing sequences, starting transfers from row 2 and with lace carriage on right, and more. Two sample trial swatches:

A brief return in 2020 analyzing the actions of the lace carriage a different way and a new test swatch