I have probably owned this accessory since the early 90s. After making a faint-hearted attempt at using it at the time and failing, it has been stored in the original box in the interim and just came out of retirement. The multiple languages operating manual for its use may be downloaded from http://machineknittingetc.com/brother-ka7100-ka8300-transfer-carriage-user-guide.html. There are several video tutorials available on Youtube. As a group, they generally illustrate simple transfers across an entire row in structures such as ribs used for bands and cuffs. This one is offered by Knitology 1×1, Elena Berenghean, a young knitter publishing very good machine knitting video instruction on a huge range of techniques.
The tool is designed for the standard gauge and transfers only from the ribber up to the main bed. It is best to use yarn that has some stretch. The recommendation in the manual and in youtube videos is to perform the transfers with the pitch set to H. My own ribber is balanced, I found I had problems with transfers in that position, several carriage jams, and to get things to work properly in half-pitch I had to use the racking handle to move the ribber needles slightly more to the left for the transfers. The needles containing stitches to be moved, need to be slightly to the right of the needles with which they will share yarn, that spot may turn out to also be just wide enough to allow for the pattern to be worked without changing the ribber pitch. The yarn used is a 2/18 Merino, knit at tensions 3/5. 
In terms of positioning the carriage, a wire that is akin to that found on Passap strippers is on its underneath. In positioning the carriage on the beds, check visually that it is indeed lying between the gate pegs of both beds prior to attempting to travel with it to the opposite side 
If any carriage jam occurs, it takes cautious wriggling to release the wire and carriage. Upon completion of the transfers, simply lift up to remove it from the beds.
Generally, the ribber tension used needs to be set on 4 at the minimum. The last row just prior to transfers will likely need to be knit at a looser tension than the remaining rib. If the stitches are too small they will not be picked up for the transfer. Folks familiar with lace knitting are aware that just the right amount of weight can make a difference in forming proper transfers. With these fabrics, too little weight may result in loops forming on gate pegs, too much weight, and stitches may remain over closed latches on the ribber needles and not share their yarn for transfers. Again, the transfer carriage operates only from right to left.
Studio instructions for their version of the accessory actually offer some different and more specific recommendations. When knitting full needle rib all the needles or pattern segments the machine generally will be in Half Pitch. Though there are needles in work on both beds, the ribber should be set to full pitch, aka P position, “point to point” prior to transfers, bringing them in close alignment in order to facilitate the process. 
Passap machines accomplish the same by changing the angle of the racking handle to other than the full, up placement in order to achieve the necessary alignment.
The Brother accessory and its parts, have clear imprinted illustrations for use
The change lever has only 2 positions, up and down respectively 
Its position is determined by the number of needles on the ribber one wishes to transfer.
The carriage manual recommends its use after knitting a last ribbed row to the left, but it is possible to use it with both knitting carriages on either side, as long as there is generous space to clear all stitches when the accessory is placed on the bed, moved to the opposite side, and removed. An extension rail may be needed to achieve that amount of clearance.
Operating slowly, one can watch the process of transfers while moving from right to left. Though skeptical, I found the transfers happened easily, with occasional skips. I worked with hand-selection of needles on the ribber to create a pattern, first with hand-selection, then with racking the ribber position to change the relationship of needles on one bed to the other, initially transferred after every 2 rows knit. The knit carriage was set to knit both ways, the ribber to knit in one direction, creating loops on the selected needles, and securing them in the other, allowing for the loops on the ribber needles to be transferred up to the main bed, before working 2 more rows. The “errors” in patterning were operator errors in needle selection as stitches were dropped, and not all the required needles were then returned to work position. Not a technique I would use for all-over fabric, but good practice.
When the transfer occurs properly, the ribber needles will have yarn placed over closed latches, ready to be dropped, the yarn is shared and looped over stitches on the main bed, akin to tuck loops, outlined in the photo with the black oval. The first image is from the manual for the accessory, while in the photo, one improperly transferred stitch is outlined in red. To prevent dropped stitches from happening, any such locations will require a hand transfer to the opposite bed before dropping the remaining ribber bed shared stitches 
For my test I used EON needles on the ribber, planned alternating selection for each new transfer. This could be done by selecting dashes and blank spots on needle tape ie. dash in the above photo, blank spaces below 
It was faster to achieve the effect by changing the ribber relationship to the main bed using racking by one position ie 10, 9, 10, 9, etc. prior to picking up the subsequent set of loops. The errors in the test swatch were from failing to bring all the needles back up to work after dropping their stitches. Using a tool ie. a ribber comb placed over the out-of-work needles prior to dropping stitches made the racking process far less error-prone, will keep the appropriate needles from being accidentally taken out of work. 
My first attempt at creating shapes includes a band at the bottom where the EON transfers as above were made, but every row. Simply bringing needles into work on the opposite bed creates an eyelet. They can be eliminated by sharing stitch “bumps” on the opposite bed, but for the moment they are a design feature. The texture created appears in the areas involved on both sides of the knit 
It is possible to transfer single needles at sides of shapes ie 
or whole rows, but the change lever needs to be set to position accordingly.
Many knitters have one of these tools in their stash, they are sometimes referred to as “jaws”, intended to facilitate transferring between both beds, and patterning was intended for Studio punchcard machines. 
The enclosed punchcards: 
Shadow lace tools are marked side 1 and side 2. Some are blue on one side, cream or white on the other, the blue side is side 1. The process always begins with side 1, or blue. When the stitches have been removed, the jaws are closed, allowing the stitches to slide over to side 2. The jaws are once again opened, and the stitches are transferred to the opposite bed. Studio machines select and knit in single pass rows. Brother preselects for the next row of knitting while knitting any one row in pattern as well, so transferring in pattern from the top bed down with such a tool would be problematic to maintain proper pattern needle selection.
To transfer from the ribber up on any machine, place the teeth of the jaws on the needles on the ribber, holding it with both hands. Pull needles up until all stitches are behind the latches, then push down with another tool or one of your hands until all stitches are on the jaws.
Release the tool from the ribber needles, and rotate it away from you, toward the main bed. Close its teeth so the stitches are transferred onto side 2.
Open teeth, place eyelets over the main bed needles, and stitches are transferred onto the main bed by rotating the tool away from you just a little and tugging down a bit.
On Brother, the possibility of having patterning on the top bed to help track patterning on the ribber in some way comes to mind. This was my start, with the first draft of electronic repeats. 
I stopped when I began to have some tension issues, loops on gate pegs, and a distracted brain.
Transfers of stitch groups, whether by hand or using the accessories are made on rows where no needle preselection occurs on the main bed 
This series is a proof of concept for my approach to developing electronic cues
The original repeats were modified to include 2 blank rows between segments that allow for transfers between beds not hampered by needle preselection on the top bed. The motifs are color reversed, but not the blank rows between them. 
The knit carriage is set to select needles KC I or II, end needle selection does not matter. All needles on the top bed knit every stitch, every row, whether or not those design rows contain black pixels. No cam buttons are pushed in. Blank areas between black ones indicate the number of needles that actually need to pick up loops on the ribber to create shapes, filling in spaces between selected needles until an all-blank row is reached for making transfers. The chart on the far right illustrates a shape where the easiest method becomes one where stitches on the ribber are manually transferred to the top bed in order to reverse the shape and maintain every row preselection. The selected needle corresponding to the black square marked with the top of the red arrows is pushed back, the ribber stitch below is transferred onto it, the needle with the couples stitches is brought to E position, moving across the bed in proper locations prior to knitting the next row. 
In this repeat, the side vertical panels of ribbed stitches are added. The knit stitches on each side of them roll nicely to the purl side, creating what in some fabrics can actually be planned as an edging. 
My takeaway is to test the accessory with some patience, sort out the sweet spot for the ribber needles in relation to main bed ones in terms of handling transfers and yarn thickness, use colors that allow for easy recognition of proper stitch formation, keep good notes, and “go for it”.
One way to add color to the mix is to use the plating feeder.
In the first sample, equal thickness yarns were used, the colored yarn was a rayon slub with no stretch and slippery nature. 
The bottom of this test used a wool yarn of equal weight to the light color, which proved hard to knit. The red is a 2/48 cash-wooll 
A very narrow test for a possible pleated pattern 
It is possible to construct the same type of fabric on a striped background. It can be achieved low tech with graph paper and pencils if needed, using a simple paint program, Gimp alone, this is my process using Numbers and Gimp:
1. determine the desired shape, width, and height, checking that it also tiles properly
2. create a table with square cells the same width as the number of stitches in your design, twice its height; use an even cell size ie 20X20 pt
3. hide all odd-numbered rows from the top of the table down, the table will shrink from 20 rows to 10
4. draw your repeat
5. unhide all rows
6. copy and paste the table; double the cell pt height only to 40, making the repeat twice as long
7. mark corners or part of the edges with another color to make it easier for Gimp to identify them, select all and remove borders, grab the image with an added surrounding colorless border
8. open the screengrab in Gimp, use crop to content, fill colored squares with white, change the mode to indexed BW, scale the result to the appropriate size, in this case, 18X40, export png 
Cast on for EN or EON rib. Transfer all the main bed stitches down to the ribber. Extra stitches can be cast on and transferred in addition to the planned width of the repeats to create a border on either side of the designs. During patterning there will be stitches in work on both beds at intervals, so the pitch needs to be set to H while knitting. When the top of the piece is reached, transfer all ribber stitches to the main bed and bind off.
The first preselection row is knit from right to left in the contrast ground color.
With COR bring all the needles to be worked in the pattern color to B position on the top bed.
The knit carriage is set to slip in both directions. End needle selection is canceled. The ribber remains set to N/N for the duration. Knit to the left and begin changing colors every 2 rows.
The shape increases are created automatically, with eyelets at the edges where each stitch is picked up for the first time on the top bed. COL when the first needle is preselected in this case for the start of the next shape, transfer all previously formed design stitches on the main bed down to the ribber, continue knitting 
If any stitches are pushed all the way back or in mixed alignment during transfers, 
be sure to return them all to B position, not disturbing the needles already preselected for the next pattern row, 
repeat as needed. 
Because one color knits with every carriage pass while the other slips behind it not knitting for those 2 rows, the striped background fabric will become distorted depending on yarn and stitch size used, most likely particularly noticeable at the top and bottom edges of the piece.
A closer look 
The same repeat may be used to produce a tucked version. In many punchcard machines, a card is supplied with a 2X2 check. With the main color, in a suitable yarn, cast on for 1X1 rib. Set the knit carriage to tuck and the ribber carriage toknit. Knit 2 rows with the contrast color, followed by 2 rows with the main color, repeating for the desired length of the rib. Knit the last row in the main color with both carriages set to knit. Transfer the ribber stitches to the main bed to continue knitting single bed.
The repeat is suitable for punchcard machines as well. The first preselection row is toward the color changer, end needle selection is on. Cable crossings, 1 front, 3 back, are made every 4 rows except where the color reverses at the midpoint, where 4 all knit rows are preselected and occur. The fourth, extra non-selected needle, X, is removed on a tool and held in front of the work. The three adjacent stitches are then also removed on a tool, moved to fill in the now empty needle to the left in the bottom segment of the repeat, to the right in the top half. The remaining held stitch is then transferred onto the newly empty needle. All stitches in the transfer group are brought to D, the remaining needles should have been preselected. If any have been disturbed, line them up as well so all the needles will knit with the carriage set to slip. 
The color is changed, and the row with the completed transfers becomes the first all knit row in the next color pair or rows. 
Working on a single bed is, for me, more user-friendly than a double bed. I like to program the width of my repeats when possible; they can then be treated as single motifs, the default in the 930 with downloads using img2track, and I do not have to rely on notes, memory, or position programming to place the work predictably on the needle bed. My full repeat: 
The knit carriage was set to KC I and to slip in both directions; the same design and execution methods were used as for the first swatch. The yarn is 2/18 wool, the tension was set at 4.., the slipped and crossed stitches pull the fabric in both width and height, the swatch was steamed and pressed to flatten it. Small eyelets occur along the edges where the single stitches were moved to one side or the other across three needle positions. It was not possible to produce a 3X3 crossing at the center of the shapes. 
Over time, I have encountered illustrations of unraveled knit or slipped stitches being brought out to the purl side, creating thread patterns on the knit surface, and changing the color structure on the purl. This illustrates a slip stitch being created via a hand technique. 
Here, the dropped stitch is hooked up on the purl side. 
In testing techniques, a simple design that is recognizable with the preselection of needles makes it easier to track progress and accuracy. Though these patterns may be executed in a single color, working in contrasting, bright yarn colors is helpful in isolating stitch formations and understanding their structures. More than one stitch may be moved at any one time. I found that when using more than 2 rows of slip, the ground fabric began to look gathered and distorted, so my tests are knit using 2X2 pixel blocks.
push tool back toward the needle bed 
insert a latch tool from behind between the prongs of the multiple eye tool, 
lift the floats over the eyes of the tool, placing them behind it and the slipped stitches, being careful not to hook them up onto gatepegs,
now lift the original slipped stitches back onto their previous place on the needle bed, they will be part of the first all knit row in the contrasting color; 
bring the needles with the restored stitched out to E, thus making certain they will knit as the carriage makes its next pass 
The pattern is charted below in development, color changes were planned every 2 rows. The third blank row in each slip stitch location marks the spot for the above manipulations to take place, noted in the chart with grey cells marked with pink dots. After the initial preselection row toward the color changer, only for the first all-knit pattern row, push non-selected needles out to hold, E, to ensure all stitches will knit in the ground color. Subsequently, the first design row is part of the continuing repeat. The next color change will begin to form the floats. 
The sequence at the bottom of the swatch is off because I had a change of heart about which color I wanted to form the solid color shapes. 
To my surprise, the process became oddly meditative, and I moved onto a different motif built with 2X2 pixel blocks. As seen with mazes and mosaics, a design intended for standard fair isle, tuck, or slip, with color changes every 2 rows, will produce an altered final shape. 
Combining hand techniques: the starting chart begins to address the movement of stitches. On the left, the placement of crossed colors is shown, but technically, the design produced is different. On the rows marked with X and red cells, cable crossings are made. All stitches in that row are then pushed out to E, the color is changed, and the result is that row and the preselected next one are going to knit on every stitch; those rows are highlighted with red cells on the right as well. Black cells reflect punched holes or repeat for a 24 stitch brick repeat
Two types of crossings were used in the swatch, one moving the elongated slipped stitches on the knit side of the work, the simpler process, 
A design with each color being crossed: the attempted visualization and repetition. 
The repeat appears to use slip-stitch in a vertical column, not ever possible in standard knitting. The explanation is that on those blank rows, crossings are made before knitting the next row. The chart on the left reflects the needle placement of each color after the crossings. All pattern needles are then brought out to E, maintaining the needle selection. Slipped stitches will have been replaced by knit ones in the alternate color.
The charted repeat. 
A couple more ways to transfer those slip stitch floats to the front of the fabric: floats can be lifted on top of the needles that formed them and behind the stitches on them, a fine knitting needle or tool can be inserted through the stitches across the row, a few, or a pair at a time, being careful not to twist the stitches. In turn, the stitches can then be dropped off the main bed, held on the needle or tool, and replaced carefully on the needles in question across the row. Crossings are then made, the proper needle set up is manually chosen for the next carriage pass, and the process starts over again. Folks who like lifelines could thread a ravel cord through a needle and use it to remove the same stitches from the bed instead of the knitting needle. 
The charted repeats are for the red cable with the second spacing, illustrating options for cabling on row 7 or row 11, pulling needles out to E after making the transfers before knitting the last row of the design. Pairs of slipped and all knit rows are added to lengthen the distance between cables and to reduce some of the extra lengths in all striped areas. 
This idea may work in a border or a trim as well. I did not test bringing the slipped stitches to the purl side. The chart shows adjustments in the placement of the repeat to make tracking crossings easier. 
The actions taken: 
One more to try. 
Another approach is to bring elongated stitches created manually up on the purl side. The resulting fabric will be more gathered on the knit side, with no formation of slip stitch floats. It is referred to as 
Proof of concept: the bottom half is knit using the slip stitch setting, the top half in the tuck setting. The added texture on the tuck stitch purl side makes the fabric a more interesting, reversible one, and wider than its companion. 
For a different way of working with two-color initial images using only Gimp, see tips in 
Numbers processing to ready the repeat for final gimp editing: 
Getting back to clearer pattern results: when using electronics, it is possible to create far wider and taller repeats for download. The technique to achieve them uses the same process. That said, there are quicker ways to attain the final repeat illustrated in the 2024 posts on using Gimp color to alpha through the Layer> Transparency option or Colors> Color to Alpha.
the isolated repeat, double-length 
the color separation in progress
When knit, that white cell pair of rows break up the overall shapes and shifts the pattern in the top and bottom half 
The final adjusted repeat 
knit using the tuck stitch setting in both directions, KCI, first row left to right, leading with the dark color 
and here with the lighter color 
In progress, on the km 
the relaxed, 3D-ish view on the reverse 
why projects can take longer than planned 
The finished, relaxed scarf with pressed edges only, retaining the conical striped forms
The repeat knit double length, changing colors every 2 rows, becomes something quite different, with a sharp curl to the purl side 
with my color changer in this threading sequence throughout
where normally each color in each design row knits twice. Because selection occurs for pairs of rows, the first preselection row is from right to left. To decrease the backing rows, the ribber is set for birdseye. I prefer to have an end needle on each end on the ribber, keeping in mind that the total number of needles in use there needs to be even. The machine provides reminders as to which color should be knitted. My samples are knit using KCI on the top bed. Because the preselection happens twice, it is easy enough to knit in pattern from left to right. 
When the carriages have reached the right side, simply use a ribber comb to push all needles back to B. 
Speeding things up with color separation, beginning with the method that will have each color, each design row knitting twice. The repeat is 10 rows high, so it is expanded X6 to 10 by 60 rows. In the final result, the second row for each color in the separation is, in turn, erased. The red was added to make all 3 colors visible while working on the separation, avoiding confusion with the white ground. The knittable result, as usual, is in a black and white PNG. 
The img2track settings are for now for 2 color knitting; the prompts for the color changes are lost.
The ribber can also be set to knit every row, resulting in elongation on the knit side, while creating an interesting striper backing. 
Comparing this version to the birdseye-backed one for repeat height. 
Comparisons: HoP, pushing back needles to B, and color separation results. In the latter, the design is likely elongated in part due to a change in the distribution of thinner yarns to larger design areas, with no tension adjustments 
The Ayab lettering, as opposed to numbers move from right to left. The manual states that the color separation order is: white C, grey B, black A, with their sequence = C (3), B (2), A(1). If the prompts for changing colors as given are followed, it provides a very valuable tool in tracking them, but if, out of habit, one knits in the usual 1,2,3 sequence, the color placement occurs in an unexpected order and may result in errors. The on-screen letter prompt corresponding to the anticipated color change sometimes occurs with the knit carriage on the right, sometimes as it approaches the changer, and the size of the font was hard for me to see since the screen was not close enough for easy visibility.
If the PNG is copied from the post, it is likely to appear in RGB mode, and it will require conversion to 3 color bitmapped. Its grey color map entry is seen below. 
The small file makes for a quick test of proper color selection for each of the three colors used. 
Having some idea of stitch counts for each color in the design in the first few rows can help identify proper, planned color placement errors 
My first swatch using the heart of Pluto separation and a greyscale motif 
My tested color change sequence is #1, #2, #3 throughout. I disregarded the prompts for color changes at the bottom of the Ayab screen. Some things to ponder: in pieces that require color changes, starting with waste knitting in the same colors can help assess the best tension, whether each color will be picked up properly, and if the colors work well together. Looking at these 3 small tests, it appears that a choice should be made when casting on about using color 1 or 2 for the preselection and cast-on rows. If the setting to slip is forgotten for the first move to the left, the color in the feeder will knit every stitch rather than a pattern selection. Always check settings when on the right, making certain lili buttons are set as well. This pattern does not contain 3 colors on every row. In addition to that, when working with DBJ with other color separations, one is likely used to seeing knit bed needle selections on every row. That is not true here; it is a function of the technique, not a patterning error. On rows that have colors missing, when that color is in use, the main bed slips, the ribber works every other needle, first in one direction, then the other, adding to the row count on the purl side of the knit. 
The mess at the bottom was due to the green yarn getting caught on the needle bed and not knitting the necessary stitches on the ribber, so dropped stitches were formed 
The assumption is that if the C, B, A rotation and prompts are to be followed, the middle color 2 can stay in place, and the placement of 1 and 3 can be exchanged.
Generally when creating these patterns on Brother machines, patterning selection varies for each pairs of rows. I got distracted while making the above swatch by a phone call, got to the point where there is a very obvious solid black all knit row in the repeat, but “forgot” its presence. I assumed I was having a selection or a carriage issue and scrapped the knitting off. Note to self: “remember to always check the programmed design before you do that again in the future”.
The working design repeat is 16X16. Create a new table that is 16 cells wide, twice its height, 32. While holding down the command key, select all the odd-numbered rows planned for the final chart repeat, any errors can be corrected by clicking again on the same spot, still holding the key down. The process may be done in steps, releasing the key in between selecting groups 
Fill in cells the chosen 2 colors 
will swap black and white cells in that row. Continue the process on every other row. It is not necessary to select the tool each time, as you advance and select the next row, the one just left remains briefly outlined in white dashes, making it easier to advance correctly in the design.
This repeat posed by a quandary. The file may be used as-is and doubled in length after download. For doubling the height in Numbers, prior to importing the final screengrab into gimp, please see post: 
and 
adapted for maze knitting, eliminating long floats, to be lengthened to double-height 
drawn double-height via a paint program 
Because there are no more than 2 white squares on top of each other, and no two side by side, I tested the pattern in tuck stitch, which produced some added texture. I had a major aargh moment with yarn where dropped stitches are seen at the top of the swatch 
Using the maze generator by 
The proof of concept swatch for the version on the right, knit in tuck stitch 
the double-length BMP ready for knitting, 14X68
A planned color change on the next row would require needles that had been skipped, marked in red, being pre-selected forward for knitting back toward the color changer and returning to the previous or next planned color selection. 
Remember that punchcards knit the image as viewed on the purl side of the fabric, so to match any swatch photos given in published pattern books, the exact repeat unless it is perfectly symmetrical, will usually need to be mirrored horizontally for use in electronic machines.
tiling to check the alignment of the 8X10 repeat. 
other possibilities using checks rather than solid lines 
When evaluating published repeats, keep in mind the basics; these are suitable for electronic KMs that will allow for color reverse 
punchcard knitters would have to punch white squares, resulting in this arrangement 
The knit side is not necessarily always interesting. With knit stripes in a different color breaking up the textured segments, a secondary pattern will begin to emerge. A closer look at the samples below reveals that one repeat is actually the other, drawn double length. This is an easy option, even in punch card machines. When knitting long pieces, however, I prefer not to use double-length built-in features, finding it easier to sort out where I am in terms of design rows if errors occur. 
Depending on your machine, ie, Passap Duo requires 40 stitches punched repeats or modifying for electronics, vertical black columns or additional white squares may be added to the original design repeat units. The corresponding cells are filled with the color gray. 
I have begun including .pngs with some of my posts. Check that your import method does not automatically change the mode to RGB. It is a common problem with such grabs from FB. If that happens, index the image to B/W and save it again before using it in the download to the KM software.
From my long design studio inspiration swatches: the secondary shapes are created by varying the number of rows in the color change rotation and placement, the bottom swatch shows the purl side of part of the completed length. Float counts can help duplicate the repeat or color placements if notes are skipped during knitting. 
Working with multiple slip stitch “bars”: this shows my punchcard, marked with color changes once the final rotation was decided, remembering to begin markings 7 rows up from the bottom for Brother (5 for Studio). 
This design produces a fabric that is fairly flat on both sides: the .png is in the same orientation as the punchcard repeat, which you can see is produced with shapes reversed on the knit side in the swatches below it. Instructions on how the repeat was converted to .bmp for download using Gimp in
The working chart, along with an effort to visualize the location of possible color changes in order to create secondary patterns. Color changing on “wrong rows” or starting preselection from the left rather than the right will result in random, not necessarily successful designs 
This swatch segment illustrates the possibility of removing the slipped stitches from the needle bed and bringing them to the purl side, rehanging them on the same needles, bringing all needles out to hold before executing the next all knit row. The “floats” at the bottom of the swatch are from threads that were missed and not brought to the back of the slipped stitches 
Reducing the number of slipped rows 
reducing columns to produce a trim, being certain as to placement on the needle bed 
This repeat produces a ruched fabric when no all knit rows are included, and a sort of “honeycomb” effect when additional color changes on all knit rows are added. The first long swatch 
Shifting slip stitch units to form shapes
If the slip stitch units begin and end with the same color knitting just before them and immediately after, the color carried on the knit side will be consistent throughout. 
A sure way to get the shapes to match your design is to assign a number matching the number sequence in the color changer for your machine to each of the yarn colors. Imagining the results in a spreadsheet or even graph paper 
Expanding each section to 8 rows, the repeat now becomes 64 rows high and allows for 3 colors to show behind the slipped stitches in the chart on the left. On the right, the color-changing order shifts to 6 rows at a time in sequences 1,2,3,2,1,2,3. Design row 1 would begin the piece using the color red, the last row in the repeat is blue, shifting the color then carried up the front of the piece to blue. 
Once the basics are understood, changes in scale and amount of ruched textures along with fiber content are easier to execute 
The chart for the sample below is 30 stitches wide by 84 rows high, and is shown turned counterclockwise
This fabric has a more compressed shape, the blocks of slipped stitches are in a vertical arrangement directly above each other. A possible building unit for similar structures: 
An all-knit border on either edge automatically creates a ruffle on each side.
The 24X20 repeat for the swatch on the above right, with the floats easily identified on the purl side of the swatch 
Since the knit carriage needs to move to and from the left-hand side of the machine with each color change, an even number of rows in each repeating segment is recommended, but not necessarily required. The first preselection row generally moves from right to left. End needle selection helps the edge stitches knit. At times end needles will need to be pushed forward to the knitting position by hand. Depending on how the repeat is placed on the needle bed, with some experience with a tuck or slip stitch, one can decide whether keeping the end stitches in the pattern creates a better effect at vertical edges. Analyzing 2 random repeats 
and their respective PNGs. 
As with all punchcards, the first and last 2 pairs or rows are not part of the design; they are necessary for the punchcard to roll continuously in the drum. Keep in mind that the card is reading design row one while your eye sees the row marked #1 by the factory on the card outside of the machine. Following the suggested color changes to match the specific swatch takes the guesswork out of the equation. In DIY or in trying a different color sequence, such guides may have to be shifted and marked accordingly. Specific color suggestions are given in the samples above in the left-hand columns. In #327, the order is in a variable sequence, which requires a bit more attention than #328. Follow the line below the #1 mark to the left; each card begins with color 1. Color notations in 328 are also next to those 2 all punched rows at the top. That is because those 2 rows overlap the first 2 design rows as the ends of the card are clipped together, front over back, for smooth, continuous, advancing movement. In 327, the sequence at the bottom would need to be hand-marked.
Four tucked rows are probably the limit on Brother machines unless one is working in fine yarns. In the first interpretation, the ground knits for 2 rows on all preselected needles. In the second, the surrounds of the interior striping are knit for single rows only at the top and bottom of the repeat. Electronic repeats A and B on the right may be as small as a single 4X12 unit.
The “corrected” repeat without additional rows, some possible color changes can follow the colored chart suggestions. 
Moving on to electronics, playing with symmetry, the repeat now becomes 30 stitches wide, the tiled image check for the unaltered version on the left. 
Tuck knit in a solid color 
Slip stitch in all variations has purl side edges which curl to a greater degree, the short skipped areas were probably due to too tight tension of too quick a carriage pass to the opposite side 
slip stitch with the addition of a third color in the rotation 
The associated punchcard: 
Brother yarn changers are numbered, from right to left, and their published card designs color suggestions reflect that. The lace extension rail must be used as the knit carriage needs to clear the color changer on that side in order for the colors to change properly. 
This swatch pattern from a Japanese magazine illustrates the difference in the formation of the tucked loops when two blank squares exist side by side. The repeat is 10X22, and the colors are assigned letters rather than numbers here as well. 
Another rule breaker: odd numbers of tucked rows with no added all-knit rows. Experimenting with such repeats results in less organized all-over patterns, here colors are changed every 2 rows, 
These repeats take shapes in another direction which becomes more textural and interesting when blank stitch areas are expanded for use in slip stitch setting 
This pattern, with color changes every 2 rows and two-row tuck sequences has an offered interesting pattern shift. 
The tiled X2 horizontal repeats lined up side by side show that extra knit stitches have been added, shifting tuck stitch rows by one stitch in alternating directions, but just because it is published, it does not necessarily make the repeat correct. Those striped areas can only occur if there are solid all-punched areas. 
Keeping the constraints of a 24 stitch repeat, reducing the width of segments to 12 stitches rather than 24, the original repeat as amended 
The tiled results for each
An approach to designing such patterns can begin with a template for color changing every 2 rows and taking colored squares away to indicate stitches that will be slipped or tucked.
Japanese magazine publications, which often recommend many color changes, each for varying numbers of rows. Sometimes more is less. The number of colors may be reduced, and changing the number of rows used for each color as well can expand the number of fabrics produced from a single repeat. Good note-taking is a necessity if the intent is to easily reproduce the fabric at a later time.
Adapting punchcard designs for use in electronics becomes easier once one is familiar with the stitch structure. This is a cousin of 328, 13 stitches X 52 rows. Tiling, as in all designs, helps sort out errors or missing pixels.
and slip stitch changing colors alternately every 2 rows, then every 4: 
My blog posts on working with and designing mosaics (suitable for tuck and slip) and mazes (slip stitch only, multiple side by side unpunched holes or white squares in any row), in reverse historical order
