Category: Slip Stitches

Back to circles from squares

I actually posted on the topic of circular garments in knitting in June-August 2011. Hard to believe 2 years have gone by since I last played with this idea. Here is a version knit on the Passap, using tuck stitches both single and double bed, awaiting seaming and blocking (alpaca/silk)

a detail shot

and swatching for a variation on edging  with cotton, using rib tuck and slip throughout

side 1

side 2

viewed on a dress form

the other on a hanger prior to washing and blocking

in process of blocking, 40 inches diameter in this orientation

the blue cousin, 38 inches in diameter

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Fair Isle single bed 1: float control

Fair isle is the name given to a pattern knitted with 2 colors in each row.  The motifs are easily identified by looking at the holes in the punchcard, or squares on mylar, pixels in programs. While I will be referring to punch card knitting, the same principles apply. Your knit swatch will look like the card, but the design will be squashed, and these designs are generally knit at least one whole tension number looser than when using the same yarns for stocking stitch.  The length of floats created in knitting these fabrics is sometimes an issue, and following are some of the methods that help with “float control”.

Altering the pattern: random holes may be punched in addition to those in the motif and shorten the very long floats, providing this does not distort the pattern too much. Iris Bishop is a designer with an extensive library of such designs.

Hooking up floats: this method works best when the 2 colors used are similar. If they are strongly contrasting there is a possibility of show through where the float is knitted on the same needle as a contrasting stitch. Use the single transfer tool to hook up the float into a needle hook above while leaving the  needle in the position to which it has been selected. If it is a very long float, it may require “hooking up” several times. Show through can be reduced on machines that preselect the needles, if you can place the float on a needle about to knit in the same color as the float (the needle will be selected to upper working position).

Binding with fine yarn: using a fine yarn, even sewing thread, matching the main color of the design, break off a length for every place that will bind the float down, trying to keep unanchored floats to no more than 5 stitches if possible. Make a slip knot at one end, take it under the first float, and place it onto the needle above, leaving the  needle in the position to which it has been selected . Knit the next row, and lay the fine yarn into the needle hook, fastening down the next float by carrying each length horizontally up your fabric and hooking it over your needles as required. Add more pieces of yarn or change colors as needed.

While this method illustrates managing edges of single motif, it also illustrates managing additional threads.

When knitting only a small area in fair isle (single motif), the contrast yarn will pull away from the edge of the patterning. This may result in holes or ladders to either side of the design. The illustration above and the one below from the Brother 940 manual illustrate securing the edges with spare lengths of the main color yarn. The lines of the yarn are in black and pink respectively for the purposes of illustration. Program the machine for single motif, attach each length of spare yarn to a needle adjacent to those pre selected for single motif, in upper working position. Knit one row in pattern to opposite side. Take the extra yarn length between the knitting and the carriage and place it on the adjacent needle in B position (in background color), knit one row to opposite side, repeat wrapping on carriage side throughout the shape.

Latching: Using the latch tool, pick up a short float below the first long float. Slip it behind the latch, catch the next long float in the hook, and pull it through the first. Continue in this way, latching up all the long floats, and then place the last float pulled through into the hook of the closest needle above that is knit in the same color latched up. As the next row is knit, the float will be caught. The disadvantage to this method is that the hooked floats will pull across the fabric, making it pucker. This technique may be done off the machine as well, with the last float sewn in by hand.

Sewing: sew floats in by hand after completion of knitting by catch stitching the longer floats in on the reverse of the knit. As an alternative a sewing machine and “stitch in the ditch” with matching thread while placing the knitting on the machine and carefully stitching down the valleys between the rows of stitches at desired vertical spacing.

Knit linings: these may be in the form of hems or pieces of knit fabric that you attach as you knit, which could be in finer yarn, large stitches, and not necessarily on every needle. Color matching once again matters.

Bonding with fusibles: suitable for yarns that can take hot, damp ironing. It also stiffens the fabric. Some bonding materials are knit, with stretch in one way and not the other, woven ones have no stretch.

Fringing: long floats may be cut and made into fringes. In this instance, the punchcard may be intentionally masked to cover holes and create intended long floats, which may be later cut. The purl side will now become the “public one”.

Mock weaving: use the reverse side of the fabric for a knit woven effect, one example. The pattern on the knit side may become distorted in a way that could be considered an added design feature.

Decorative floats: use the long floats and twist them, or bind, pick up, tuck behind stitches to make decorative fabrics highlighting the purl side.

Ruching in pattern: hooking up stitches as in hems to enclose part or all of the long floats. For this technique, if a lot of ruching is to occur, it may be best to elongate the original pattern to at least X2.

“Stitching in the ditch”: after the piece is finished floats may be anchored by using a straight, medium-sized stitch on the sewing machine. Use thread that matches the main color as much as possible. Place knitting on the machine knit side up. Stitch carefully and slowly in the valleys between rows of knitting in areas with longer spaces between ground and contrast. The same method is sometimes used at standard intervals to secure FI floats when using yarn such as chenille to help avoid “worming” (yarn slipping out in loops) along motif edges as time passes.

Fringing: deliberately planning long floats with the intent of cutting them to create fringed effects. The purl side of the fabric would be used as the “right” side. Specific areas of punchcards could be masked with tape to create wide float areas amid smaller designs, and electronic machine users can control the placement of pixels. Both can vary the designs by exchanging yarn positions in the sinker plate feeder and/or adding additional color striping.

Please note: try any of these techniques on swatches first. There may be changes in the surface of the knit on the knit side such as puckering or bleed through that may require changes. If combining techniques in a garment, each should be tested. If combining FI and “plain knit” one possible solution is to knit the latter in a simple FI pattern using the same color in both feeders, keeping similar texture and weight in both areas. If using several color changes, the card may be marked to help track them.  If self-drawn, repeats lining up in width and height should be knit tested as well.

Combining patterned stripes in stocking stitch: the latter will be single density and different weight than FI. In FI two yarns knit simultaneously, producing a double-thickness fabric. Test on swatches whether doubling the yarn for single color rows works for you. Another option is to knit “plain” bands in a 1X1 fair isle pattern, using the same color yarn in both feeders.

Double jacquard separations 4_ making them “work”

Working back to the repeat from post # 3 on this subject, I returned to the drawing board and edited the separations.  Tetris is a tile-matching puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. The objective of the game is to manipulate tiles, by moving each one sideways and rotating it by 90 degree units, with the aim of creating a horizontal line of ten blocks without gaps. The principle at use for the separated “squares” shapes is to achieve the same result for each of color separation groups (highlighted by dark borders in the charts), by moving them up and down, or changing their positions in the color sequence. The first method (beginning with only one row of ground color) has eluded me in terms of an “error free” result. More than one version consistently in a missing single stitch of color. The latest method shows the problem color “tiles” marked in dark ovals. The column on left is the original separation, A shows the juggled colors, B the pixels, squares, or punched holes for the repeat, and the far column on the right shows markings that may be used to track the color change sequences, which may be transferred to punchcard, mylar, or for any cues in change of sequence your program can provide. The swatch approaches the original intended design far more than any of the previous attempts. It is expected that the background color will be the majority or main color of the design; it gets separated out as first color. By splitting the knitting of most of the needles to the beginning and the end of the sequence (japanese 2 color default) this way, one supposedly eliminates the chance that the needles knitting the second row of each color will knit over, blocking a space yet to be knit in the first row of the design by a color that has not yet been knit. In this small pattern no colors knit more than 3 consecutive stitches at any one time. With some motifs the final alternative is to redesign the motif.

the test swatch (striping was the result of forgetting to set the KM for slip <—>)

Using the alternative method for decreased elongation of motif upon knitting, here are the working charts for beginning with 2 rows of color 1

the swatch: got it!

my mylar sheet markings

A&B show my marks corresponding to color positions in the color changer, the first 3 repeats on left are the ones used to knit  the swatches. Separations are suitable for DBJ, but I chose to knit trials in single bed slip stitch.

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Illusion /shadow knitting DIY designs_HK

I have played with excel (and Numbers) before to create charts for various fabrics requiring color separations. My latest efforts relating to this knit group have gone in a different direction; I have also attempted to simplify the technique in terms of following the instructions for knitting them. This sample began with the use of Intwined to create the document and graphs. The first chart is set up with alternate row color striping, color 1=dark, color 2 = light. Blank-colored squares are used as knit symbols, and horizontal dash for the symbol for purl stitches. Beginning on light-colored, even-numbered rows, the design is marked in purl stitches. On odd-numbered rows beginning with row 1, mark all empty squares in the even-numbered light-colored row immediately above it with purl symbols. All unmarked stitches throughout the design are knit, whether, on the “wrong/right” sides, all dashes are purled, patterning occurs on the second row of each color. To visualize the full pattern one may use the add row below feature to expand the graph (the chart below is missing the very first row). Now add the second row of each color and grounding stripe (s) at bottom of the repeat. Most patterns will start the illusion immediately after casting on with dark color, row 1 above. I was interested in my sample having a border of sorts on its top and bottom. The resulting knit swatch shadow sideIntwinded had the capacity for building row by row written instructions for patterns, but there were discrepancies on some rows for these charts, and I opted not to include them.
Note: the program quickly became buggy, unsupported, and unusable on the Mac during the remainder of 2013.

Another program I have just acquired and begun to use is GIMP; it is free, and now also available for use in Mac OS Mountain Lion. Both Gimp and Photoshop make it possible to design using single-pixel pencil and grids to build motifs from scratch as well as gridding of preexisting images. I have a different method for these fabrics using GIMP, which is easier for more complex, overall shapes. The same series of steps may be used for mosaic knitting (the color inversion sequence is different). Below are images generated for a different illusion pattern, I will share my “how-to” for designing the motifs later, referencing mosaics and mazes. To achieve such motifs one is drawing in magnification of multiple hundreds and more, there is no way to number within a one-pixel space, so these charts as generated are lacking numbers for stitches and rows, one drawback. Another is that this color inversion works only in black and white. One advantage: the proper repeat may be cropped and saved with the grid removed in various formats that may be used to import to various machine knitting download programs, and gridded may be used to establish punchcards or mylar repeats.  Screengrabs of magnified charts were saved, and are shown below. Black squares represent purl stitches in the second row of each color. The first row of each color is always knit, not represented in these charts
The red squares are guidelines for no color inversion rows, the yellow ones isolate the repeat the actual repeat color inversion begins on row 1 and follows every other row (if numbered these would be odd rows)  testing the repeat through filter/ map/ tile a working chart that can be printed to suit with dark/light row markings and blank squares for tracking knitting rows in the execution of the pattern A larger version with stitch and row counts marked. The chart represents half the rows in the actual knit. The cast on row counts as knit row 1, color 1, and following the chart beginning with row 2 knit the black squares and purl the white squares. *Change color, knit one row (odd#), on the next row follow the chart, knitting the black squares and purling the white (even#).** Repeat from * to **. the knit swatch: “shadow side” its reverse side for online tutorials, patterns, and inspiration see Woolly Thoughts

Feb 18, 2017, I have recently become curious about creating illusions such as these in crochet, am developing ideas, and returned to this chart. The image below is intended to have symbols and notes superimposed on it. It shows the tiling in a different way, so I thought I would add it to this post as well. Repeats are highlighted with darker borders. The repeat on the right needs to be trimmed if the goal is to achieve matching edges. Row counts on the right would differ in knitting, the plan is to execute this pattern in Tunisian crochet, which handles rows in a very different manner than knitting or standard crochet. Follow up: 2017/03/06/illusion-DIY-patterns-in-crochet/

2/2019 from the first in a series of posts on geometric shapes on ribber fabrics using tuck settings, a mock variation with the ribber set for knitting in both directions throughout, and the main bed set to tuck in both directions:

Multiple downloadable pngs for optical illusion designs may be found in the 2023 post on Developing tiled repeats suitable for multiple stitch types, including tuck

2024 the process described in More separations for various knits using Gimp, color to alpha was used on this file, beginning with the 24X28 PNG The initial separated design, also 24X28,  tiled X6, rendered double length to 24 X56 for knitting with color changes every 2 rows   tiled X6 Developing a circular design using the same approach a 24X24 repeat color separated 24X24 double height 24X48 A single row height brick repeat, developed in ArahPaint, also 24X48 double length, 24X96   its half crop companion, 48X24 double height, 48X48

Quilting on the Brother KM 2, solid color back DBJ

Quilting books may give inspiration for varied shapes. The illustration below is a diamond variant, another may be found in the brother ribber technique book p. 33, different color and KC knitting sequence.

On orange rows, the main bed knits lots of needles, selects sealing stitches for the next row of knitting, on green rows the ribber does most of the knitting and will select the stitches the main bed will knit on the subsequent row, and so on
The first preselection row direction does not necessarily matter in single color fabrics as long part buttons in both beds are set appropriately, unless double length is used, in which case KC row needs to be toward the color changer and the design needs to be in 2-row “color” repeats whether as actually punched, “drawn” and programmed, or with elongations used. The above repeat is suitable for punchcard machines as well. If knit without elongation one may use the same carriage settings as the previous sample above. KC –> with card/pattern locked, knit one row to right, set card/pattern to advance, opposite part buttons in use, results in knitting tubular for nearly square diamond shapes. The “stuffing” below is small cut-up pieces of waste knitting.

For longer diamonds or 2 color knitting, KC<– row is toward the color changer. Settings on the ribber need to be changed manually every 2 rows for both single color and 2 color patterning.

When lots of needles are selected on MB, knit 2 rs using settings pictured on left, the ribber slips for 2 rows. If only a few needles are selected, knit 2 rs with settings pictured on right. The ribber will knit all needles, MB only those providing the outline of the shape in the front of the knit, sealing the layers. All ribber carriage slip setting changes happen with carriage on left, prior to the next pair of knit rows, before or after the color change. Errors are less likely if a sequence of the steps involved is developed and followed.

settings, col 1               settings, col 2

The sample below was knit in 2/48 cash wool at T 3/3 using the above repeat. The fabric is sheer, and the joined sections of fabric are lacey.

This method allows for knitting large shapes without the distortion resulting from many double bed techniques. A series of swatches using the technique:

front view rear view

Once the principles are worked out, very thin yarn or monofilament in front may be used with a thicker or contrasting color in the back, with viewable inclusions against the ground. A wool backing and a non-felting front can achieve interesting blister-like looks without some of the issues of double bed blisters and patterning, large shapes of plain knit could be contrasted against all rib backgrounds, and so on

a few more experiments

a monofilament cocoon with paillettes in its pockets

It is also possible to use an altered knit carriage to knit rows on the main bed only, while leaving the couple carriages on the left instead of changing ribber settings from slip to knit and back with color changes, see later post on ribber-fabrics-produced-with-2-knit-carriages-selecting-needles/

A Ravelry question raised the possibility of knitting a flat tube with a different solid color on each side. This may be achieved using the same principle as quilting. The programmed pattern is for 2 rows of punched holes or black pixel rows followed by two unpunched or all blank rows. When all main bed needles are preselected, the ribber is set to slip for 2 rows, only the main bed will knit. When there is no preselection on the main bed, the ribber is set to knit, no stitches will be formed on the main bed, so each surface remains separate. The knit carriage is set to KC1 to ensure the sides of the tube will be sealed. If two knit carriages are used to select needles, then it is possible to easily adjust tension for the alternate color if that is deemed needed.

Knitting again, more block stitch, color changes

Two more of my scarves, rayon chenille, knit single bed

still working out the last repeat, now double bed

more studies

the final scarf detail for fabric on bottom left knit in tencel and Nomi Lee, 8″ X 63″, + 4 ” i-cord fringe; a detail shot

and yet another variant, knit in alpaca/silk blend and Tencel, 9″ X 58″ + 4 ” i-cord fringe

A recent Ravelry post brought up the use of the brother double bed color changer, which may actually be used on both bulky machines and on standard ones. The placement for the setting plate needs to be swapped when switching from one gauge to another

The knob on the left under my text is what screws into place to anchor the setting place in either spot. There is no single bed color changer for the bulky. This color changer may be used to knit single bed fabrics as long as they are weighted enough (ribber cast on comb through waste yarn single bed), since there are no wheels and brushes on the ribber sinker plate. There are limits to the amount of texture one may create, and having the ribber engaged reduces visibility, but the trade-off is speed. The 2 carriage trick on the 260 is a problem because the punchcard machines do not advance a row when the opposing carriage makes its first pass in the opposite direction of the last row knit.

Quilting on the knitting machine 1

ice-station.com.mx viagra SINGLE BED QUILTING for straight-edged pockets, hand technique only: leave needles OOW creating vertical ladders in location to correspond to side edges of pockets, have a loose tension row (at least 2 numbers higher, more if possible) to mark their tops. Both will serve to pick up stitches, loose rows help for the turning of any hem when joinings begin.

Knit half the length of the fabric required (create a small hem that will, in turn, be at the lower edge of the finished piece if preferred), continue knitting, picking up ladder loops closest to bottom turn prior to each pass of the carriage, continue until the loose tension row is reached, pick up all stitches as in a hem to seal the knit pockets, repeating the process throughout.

Hand technique combined with punchcard: slip stitches are a familiar tool in marking rows for picking up hems such as at the top of knitted skirts. They can also serve to create pick-up bars, and the slightly narrower, shorter lining for a quilted fabric. Nearly all stitches and rows in the card need to be punched, empty spots (non-selected needles) will skip, creating marking “floats” for rehanging after completion of the first half of the piece. KC pattern selection is on, part <—>. Non-selected needles on the second half of the piece will give a clue as to where to hang the floats, in turn bringing selected needles out to holding if desired. KC: needle selection is left on, no part buttons, the carriage is now set to knit every row throughout. The fabric will be knit together in those spots on the next pass of the carriage. Decisions can be made as to whether to do this every row or every other. A self-drawn possibility is below on the left in which instance all white squares would need to be punched out, a possible factory pre-punched on right. Not to be forgotten is appliqué, where separate shapes may be knit and joined onto the ground (knit in any desired stitch) technique by a seam as you knit method.

DOUBLE BED QUILTING: carriage settings on brother are for circular knitting. Cast on for every needle rib with a familiar yarn, knit one or 2 rows, and to make a trial piece, set the main carriage to slip to right, ribber carriage to slip to left. The ribber tends to knit tighter than the main bed since large numbers of needles will be knitting side by side, the tension should be loosened at least one or 2 numbers while on the main bed the tension used should be closer to that used for the same yarn when knitting stocking stitch. Bring every X needle on the main bed to hold position, knit 2 rows, and repeat to the desired length of the pocket. When the latter is reached, lower the ribber slightly, “stuff” pocket, bring all needles to hold position, the needle set up is with needles at halfway between each other (racking handle H as for every needle cast on ), so main bed may be brought to hold as well, knit 2 rows, and repeat process adjusting cam settings. The same principle applies here whether patterning is used or not. With slip setting non-selected needles (B pos) slip, do not knit, and needles in D position or holding in hand tech, will knit and in this fabric seal the fabric. In the chart, the symbols represent the stitches as they are formed on each bed to create a tube. The carriage icons show that opposite part buttons are in use on both beds. The ribber (odd-numbered, white rows) knits left to right, slips right to left, MB (yellow rows) slips left to right, knits right to left, creating a tube.

Automating the function brings us to another color separation of sorts. In single color quilting using simple tubular setting: Knitmaster machines work a bit differently than Brother, so cards/ mylars would have to be designed accordingly, Passap has some built-in techs that can help with this. The settings below are for brother, and the card, for narrow vertical tubes. The width between punched holes could be adjusted to any factor of and up to every 24. Every row or every other row can be marked. Cast on for every needle rib. In this repeat when rows with no needle selection occur at its top, set both carriages to knit 2 rows (or bring all needles manually out to hold) to seal pockets. MB is set to slip in one direction, will knit on even rows,  to slip on odd rows as punched. The ribber is set to slip from right to left and knit from left to right. With carriages at KM’s left insert the card, lock on row 1. KC –> knit 1 row in rib from left to right, release card, and continue knitting. In Brother machines, the tucking lever must be in the down, N position as well. When possible, the tension on the main bed should be as loose as it will allow, if stuffing the pockets is planned. Without wadding, the face can have a crumpled look with a smooth back.
A small test with a 15 stitch wide pocket

Going further in automating the repeat: this card portion includes the sealing rows (1 and 2): extend repetitions of rows 3 and 4 until the length of the desired pocket is reached for your DIY repeat. The ribber is set to slip from right to left and knit from left to right, the main carriage to knit from left to right, and to slip from right to left (opposite part buttons). With carriages at right insert the card, lock on row 1. KC <–, knit 1 row in rib from right to left, release card (or mylar), and continue knitting to the desired length. Make certain there is an even number of rows between each pair of sealing rows in your own design. It takes pairs of carriage passes to complete each circular round. To use the repeat below as a continuing pattern, one row in its height would need to be removed or added. A test  of the repeat

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Vertical striper backing on Brother KM

I reviewed and edited this post in mid March 2019, with plans to add a part 2 post on use of llili buttons when I am able. The content here explores one of the possible lili settings, where slip stitch is used in both directions for every other needle pattern selection on the ribber.

If one chooses to hand manipulate needle selection on either bed, bringing needles to be knit out to hold with the carriage in use set to slip, one can make knit stitches happen wherever one chooses. Automating any part of the process speeds things up, but comes with built in KM limitations. lili buttons enable every other needle selection on the Brother ribber carriage, behave in the same manner as when using the following card single bed.

Another way to look at it, showing the isolated smallest repeat bordered in red on the right side, and action on needles in work on the ribber, K for knit, S for slip. Movement of the carriages shown is from left to right and back to left, the color changer side

The usual rule when working with lili buttons and slip <– –> setting is to have an even number of needles in work on the ribber bed. The markings on the corresponding needle tape consist of dashes with spaces between them. For an even number of needles, if the first needle is positioned over a dash, then the last must be positioned over a blank space.
The charts below take into consideration duplicate rows, knit first away from, and then back to the color changer resulting in striping every 2 rows. Patterning is fixed, beginning with the second needle from the left when traveling from left to right, and the second needle from the right when traveling from right to left. The second needle in each instance knits. This is true whether one starts on a “blank” or “dash” needle tape position. With an even number of needles in use, needles in work begin and end on opposing symbols in pairs ie dash and blank, or blank and dash

Dashes and spaces on the needle tape are shown in the yellow row in the chart with the first needle on a “dash”. Needles (colored squares in repeat) are numbered reflecting the sequence in which they are knit as the ribber carriage moves in the direction of arrows. 

If an odd number of needles is in use, the same needles will slip/knit respectively. Grey squares represent the needle location for which the ribber carriage thinks it is selecting, including the missing needle location to keep the number of stitches even. Unless settings are changed patterning is fixed on the same stitches.

To create vertical stripes using slipstitch, this would need to be the repeat, not “automatically” possible on the ribber

The card that is being imitated is card one elongated X2, here shown in the studio version  “Fooling the machine” into thinking a continued number of odd needles are in work is achieved by bringing an extra needle in work on the ribber carriage side on left, and then right in turn on the carriage side, or one empty needle on each side at the same time. The knitting happens on the needles represented by yellow squares, but the carriage thinks it is knitting the pink repeat

Odd needle setups begin and end on the same symbol ie. Dash or blank on the needle tape, in this case, the “dash”

If knitting begins with an even number of needles in work, extra needles are brought into work with a starting even number of knit stitches, each 2 passes produce a single row of knit with alternating slipped stitches, resulting in a narrow stripe alternating with small checks, or plain stripes in each color on the fabric backing. Again, the movement here is away from and back to the left side The overall design is interrupted by knit stripes, depending on whether one or 2 extra needles are brought into work, here is one sample.  Working with an odd number of needles on the ribber

2023 :
Repeat steps between * and **.
To test the technique choose easily identified contrasting colors.
The main bed will be set to simply knit every needle, resulting in stripes in 2 rows of each color.
Cast on using the light yarn on an uneven number of needles on the ribber, with the first and last needle in work on the top bed. Set the ribber to slip with the lili buttons set for both directions.
COL, dark color: the second needle will be knit in it. Do nothing, knit 2 rows
*COL, light color: the goal is to fool the machine into thinking the light color will knit on the second needle. Bring an empty needle into work on the ribber on each side, shown here on the right. Knit to right.  COR: do nothing, knit to left.
COL: there is now a pair of empty needles, they need to be taken out of work so as not to add new stitches. Change to the dark color and knit 2 rows** A sort of tune: light yarn cast on, follow with dark yarn, knit 2 rows
*light yarn: empty needles up, knit 2 rows
dark yarn: empty needles down, knit 2 rows**
For wider stripes, release the lili buttons.
Set the ribber to slip in both directions on an even number of needles.
Pairs of needles will need to be hand selected on every row on the ribber and brought up to E so they will be knit. The remaining needles will be skipped. Beginning from the same side, I chose the left,
*COL: bring up the first needle pair, #1 and 2, for color 1, continue across the row, knit to the right
COR: repeat the same selection, knit to left
COL: change color. Begin selecting pairs with needles #2 and 4 from the same side, and continue across the row. Knit to the right.
COR: repeat the same selection, knit to the left. **
The yarn used is thin, thicker yarns will fill in. Because alternate colors are slipped for 2 rows, the stitches that are skipped are elongated compared to those that are not. These methods may cause distortions on the knit side if used in patterned DBJ, seen slightly in the horizontal stripes. 2013 To knit:
*COL (carriage on left): color 1 knits to set up the base in pattern for 2 rows, ending on the color changer side.
Before knitting with color 2 COL, bring an extra needle into work before moving from left to right. Knit one row.
COR: drop the extra empty needle on the left OOW, and bring an extra needle on right into work. Knit to the left, return to the color changer, drop the extra needle on the right OOW, and change colors*
Repeat the * *process throughout. Check regularly to make certain that the extra needle does not become an unintended increase.
Having an extra needle in work on both sides of those on the ribber on the main bed will insure end stitches knit off and side edges are cleaner, with less noticeable elongated stitches on each side.
If loops are formed on needles brought into work, they need to be released before knitting the next row.  This did not occur in the samples knit using the method described in 2023.
The fabric swatch from the original post illustrates the vertical striping. The thin yarn clearly shows the lengthening of slipped stitches, and why some DBJ fabrics are referred to as “long stitch” ones, with color bleed or grin through from colors traveling behind them.
The plain rib at the bottom is significantly wider than areas where slipstitch is used, an issue if plain rib is to be combined with DBJ created with slipped stitches. On the knit side in this instance, the fabric is knit stripes.
When using the color changer starting with waste yarn and testing yarns, gives one the opportunity to make any adjustments necessary including on occasion doing a bit of metal bending where needed.

A subsequent proof of concept for inclusion in the later post It is also possible to work with the same approach, using tuck settings. A first experimental test lili buttons may be used with needles out of work when using thicker yarns, or for the resulting effect on that side of the fabric. A vertical stripe in that instance produced with hand needle selection on the ribber bed.  Lastly, here is a tiny swatch in an arrangement beginning to explore the odd number of needles in work on the ribber in conjunction with the use of lili buttons, and adding needles to “fool the machine” as described above

Block slip stitch separations

“Pinning” has become part of my daily routine. This image was pinned by someone else, and brought back memories of my block stitch scarves, along with the temptation for working out a new repeat, similar to that seen on the top of this jacket credited to Forquet.

The term block stitch is one used in published references with instructions for related stitch variations.
Following are some ideas for developing designs for these fabrics, the basic principles work for both punchcards and electronics. Using the motif in a punchcard will make the striping surrounding it fixed, and involves a lot of punching holes. On a mylar or in a download the width of the ground behind the shape can be easily changed, and only the non-selecting, “empty ” squares need to be drawn or entered into a program that is capable of color reverse. One needs to be mindful of the size of the overall repeat when faced with so much “blank space”.

Until one sorts out what happens with the stitches, and where the colors are placed during knitting, it is a good idea to start with a simple shape.

I use Excel as my “graph” paper when I want to easily play with color on a grid. Below is a simple motif as a design start, besides it is an expanded graph leaving every other row blank. Some books suggest erasing horizontal EOR stripes, I prefer the visual cues in the method below. The yellow marks the rows on which the motif will be created.

There are a number of ways to go on from this point. Layering the repeat on a colored ground can give a sense of the resulting shape, help plan the type of overall pattern repeat, and ensure that enough rows are allowed to travel to and from the color changer. For sampling I prefer to work on an electronic machine, using the elongation feature and color reverse to minimize drawing in lots of black squares. The grid on the left shows the split motif layered over a striped ground. In the center grid, the motif separation color becomes white/ blank, color one (yellow) is different than on the left simply to allow the white to become more visible.
I use 2 carriages as opposed to the color changer when knitting these fabrics, so the L and R row markings help ensure that indeed there are enough rows in the repeat for both carriages to travel to and from each side, with stripes lining up where required.
The blank squares represent slipped stitches, and they normally are left blank whether, in a card, mylar, or program, all other colored squares are knit stitches, corresponding to punched holes, and black squares on mylar. On the far right is all that is required to be filled in with a mylar sheet or program capable of lengthening X2 and color reverse. The marks are actually the same as the expanded motif first shown above. For a punchcard, the same motif on the far right could be drawn this way centered, and every other square surrounding the now black lines would need to become a punched hole.

Looking at the graph: color 2 will slip in locations where needles are not selected (white squares). The stitches on non-selected needles get longer in the front of the fabric, the alternate color floats behind them. The next color change will knit the held stitches off, so the motif color in the above design will actually be “green” in the final fabric. Because the colors on either side of the motif are actually knitting every stitch and every row, there will be some distortion in striping around the motif, and potentially even some “bubbling” in those areas

The next choice becomes sorting out how far apart to place motifs from each other, and in what distribution on the resulting fabric. Both are subject to personal preference and taste. Below is only one of many such possible layouts

if elongation is not possible or to be avoided, then the option below shows a possible repeat, including a “punchcard” 24-stitch version. Where color reverse is not an option, all but the white squares must be marked/ programmed, and in the case of a punchcard, all but the white squares would need to be punched

It is also possible to offset/ shift the color of motifs themselves so they would alternate colors between the 2 striping colors as well

The following chart illustrates the idea: the magenta stripes are not part of the repeat, they are markers to show where the slip stitches for the alternate color need to occur in the repeats

As for the motif that started this thread: below is the test swatch so far, obviously in a different gauge and repeat, but in the same spirit. There is a long float on the back/purl side spanning 8 stitches. If the goal is to produce an unlined item, this could pose a problem in wearing it. Hooking up the floats may be too time-consuming in production, an added stitch in the non-motif color (see marked dots) on either side of the central bar may solve the problem, but alter the design. There are lots more factors to consider and play with in test knitting. The yarn colors in these swatches are chosen for throw-away tests, not for any type of final item.

more swatches using both old and new repeats

The final, new scarf fabric: knit on Passap, every needle rib, Tencel, and “Nomi Lee”.

The top and bottom edgings are to be worked out; the fabric is soft, drapes well, and has no side curl.

Double jacquard 3/ single bed multi color slip

Double jacquard knitting allows one to design and knit multiple color patterns without the worry of floats. The color changer (standard machines hold a limit is of 4 colors at any one time) and the ribber is required. The ribber knits the floats into the second layer of fabric on the ribber side, resulting in the term double knit. Often the main bed is set to slip throughout. Slipped (or first-row tuck) stitches become elongated until nonselected stitches knit off. The more the colors in any one row, the more all the stitches on the front face of the fabric must stretch in order to accommodate the number of colors laid behind in the backing fabric. The elongated stitches may allow for the other colors to be seen, and this is often referred to as “grin/bleed-through”. Different ribber settings may help with some of the elongation (depending on separation method) and grin through issues. The same principles used for DBJ separations apply to single bed multiple color slip stitch, and creating the initial swatches single bed can serve as a test for the DBJ pattern separation. In the series below some of the potential issues become obvious

the design repeat

The simplest color separation expands each row of the design to X times its original length based on the number of colors per row; in this case, 3 design rows expand to 6. In addition, in order to knit the fabric, the elongation function (X2) must be used, and each color for each design row will be knit twice, with color changes every 2 rows. This is necessary if the color changer is to be used since it takes 2 passes of the knit carriage to travel away from and back to it in order to pick up the next color. The result is a very elongated design. It is possible to knit the same motif without elongation, but then the yarn needs to be cut and changed on the appropriate side and each row, creating side edges not suitable for garments. One can separate any design with this method, and the motif may even have an odd number of rows. The sequence below is for the expansion of the first 2 motif rows

The graph below shows the motif in repeat, the next column the color separation, with expanded rows, and in the third, the black indicates the knit stitches (black squares on mylar, punched holes in card)

Testing the design single bed slip stitch: the resulting fabric is dense, with lots of floats, and narrow in final width, with little if any stretch. In the knit swatch: elongation is marked, would remain so even if the fabric were knit double bed and settings on ribber to reduce elongation were used

There are 2 other options for separating colors that deal with the problem of elongation, but they do not work on every design. The separation on the left is set up in sequential 2 two row units. In a 3 color pattern, each row of the design expands into 6. The selection row is made toward the color changer. The separation on the right also retains the knit scale. In using either one must often be willing to adapt and edit the original design motif. The total number of rows is the same as the previous method, but the sequence for color one is split as seen in numbers beside the color column in the chart. The selection row is made away from the color changer, knitting a single row in the pattern for color 1. In these separation methods, the motif must have an even number of rows

The respective resulting swatches: the elongation problem is solved, but the repeat is off in the upper third of the design. Some separation programs are able to scan through your design and locate the problem areas, even shuffle the order in which the colors are knit in order to allow the separation to work, but manual solutions may be quite time consuming or at times not possible

A redesign: one method to avoid pattern shift problems and ensure success is to use units in the design that are 2 stitches high, as seen in the motif and its separation below.

In knitting, the selection row is made toward the color changer. In rows where color 3 is not represented, only the first and last needles are selected, and manually pushed back to the B position. Eliminating end needle selection can cause problems at the outer edge of other colors, eliminating blank rows from graph and knitting would require much more attention to where in repeat one is actually working, and lead to possible frequent mistakes in color sequence.

the resulting fabric, knit, and purl views

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