I still surf Pinterest daily and often encounter published punchcard repeats that catch my eye.
Many need some interpretation and editing for use in specific machine models.
The first inspiration: 
is knit using 4 colors, alternating 2 rows of a base color, then rotating color changes for 4 rows for each of 3 contrasting ones.
Counting up from the bottom of the illustration after the marks for the typical two all-punched rows, it would appear this is a Studio punchcard, but starting row 1 as visible outside the card reader can simply be changed for any other brand knitting machine.
The every other stitch configuration is for an every other needle repeat used in early machines such as the Juki.
A full reference volume 
An illustration of the card use 
If using thicker yarns on a standard machine that grinds at the loosest tension, this configuration can retain the full design while knitting every other needle/EON.
The adaptation began using Mac Numbers, the repeat was isolated and traced, and the 12 blank columns were then hidden 
producing a result scaled in indexed B/W mode to 12X36 pixels. The tiled design, checking alignments. 
The proof of concept 
Periodically tuck stitch designs that appear to break the usual rules for the stitch are discussed.
This design is intended for a push-button machine capable of 24 stitch repeats, uses symbols in the associated chart interpreted to mean tuck loops form for 2 rows and knit along with all other stitches every third row. 
The working repeat is made up of 8 pixels in width, and 36 pixels in height. 
This next design is likely published for use with the Studio color changer, which is marked with letters for each color, 
rather than with numbers as in Brother models. 
It is intended as a slip-stitch. The bottom swatch relies on color changes every 3 rows, which would need to be performed manually.
In the elongated version, colors are changed using the color changer, every 6 rows. 
The design was first tested in thin yarns using the electronic 24X84 elongated PNG 
tested for alignment 
and displays interesting 3D variations, the purl side is remindful of shadow pleating 
Changing colors every odd number of rows is a tad fiddly.
The use of the color changer is not an option.
With the three yarns fed through the yarn masts, it became hard to keep them from twisting around each other. Ultimately, that problem was solved by hand-feeding one of the three colors with the cone on the floor, in front of the machine, as one would place yarns for weaving.
Brother knitters are familiar with yarn placements in the sinker plate.
Position A is for knitting when using only one color or for the ground color in fair isle patterning. There is a “gate”, which is closed, and the B color/contrast motif color is placed in that front position, knitting the yarn in needles preselected to needle position D on the next carriage pass.
It is tempting to leave the gate open when switching colors by hand frequently, and that may work for a while, providing tension is placed on the yarn manually to keep the yarn back. If at any point the yarn shifts forward (green arrow), with no needles in position D, stitches will be dropped.
Textured stitches can make for more complicated correction of errors or dropped stitches.
Taking the extra seconds to close the gate (red markings) after each color change avoids what became fondly known as “dropitis” in my classes. 
The proof of concept: two of the yarns used were acrylic, so steaming to reduce the curling of the swatch flattened the texture. 
At one point Studio published a newsletter with cover art composed of simple drawings, such as this, for #143, which spiked my curiosity, 
and led to these explorations:
the pattern and symbols refer to tuck stitch, but technically the design is executed using short rows and transfer techniques.
The programmed repeat selects needles, making tracking actions easier.
End needle selection is canceled.
No cam buttons are in use.
The knit carriage is set to hold.
Stitches on the single needles selected on rows, 2, 12, 22, etc, are transferred onto the needle on their left. The empty needle is then pushed back to A position, out of work, creating a ladder.
The groups of 3 preselected needles are pushed out to hold, the D position, before continuing.
After every 2 rows knit, a stitch on the left is pushed back into work, until lastly, the empty needle is returned to the B position.
All needles will then knit for one row filling in the empty needle with a loop and a full knit stitch on the next pass where transfers begin again. 
A brief summary of stitch manipulations 
Images of the work in progress, a small claw weight single claw hung on edge stitch helps keep side edges equal in length:
preselected needles initially manually brought to hold position after the first carriage pass to the right
after the second carriage pass to the left, with the first needle on the left in each group pushed back into work 
the second needle on the left in each group is returned to work
one needle in each group remaining in hold pushed back into work 
at this point the empty needles have been brought to the B position, 
single preselected needles have been transferred to the left, and a pass is made forming loops on the empty needles/ eyelets 
The original 18X30 repeat, some machine models and download software may require that it be mirrored horizontally, 
repeated to 44X30 with a planned distribution of plain stitches at sides, knit in 2/18 wool blends: 
Converting random transfer lace designs poses different challenges, and since the time at which the reference post was published, there have been several Gimp updates.
Lace designs contain few black and white pixels and, at times are brand-specific. Multiple transfer lace in Studio models begins with 2 blank rows, while Brother begins with a design row, and ends with 2 blank rows. As given, the inspiration repeat is designed for Studio/Silver Reed.
When using any program, ie Gimp, ArahPaint, or even Dak, the original scanned or screengrabbed design needs to be aligned horizontally and vertically to window borders for accurate conversions.
Gimp:
Before any scaling of images, establish stitch and row counts. In this case, they are published as being 16 stitches X 96 rows.
The process for converting the same lace design using Gimp 2.10.34 on the Mac, beginning work in RGB mode:
1. drawing a straight line to the side of the cropped image reveals a slight lean to the right
2. using Image, Transform, and Arbitrary Rotation -0.30 improves the alignment 
3. using the rectangle tool, crop to the borders of the published image.
In this instance, the cropped image measuring 199X938 pixels is at first scaled to multiples of 10 for both width and height, note the broken chain link
4. 160X960 pixels. 
5. Image mode is changed to B/W indexed, and the image is scaled once more to 16X96, the size of the expected repeat, note the intact chain link 
6. the final repeat, when studied, matches that from the results in the previous post 
1: the result using ArahPaints tools, including its guess weave from grid, compared to
2: the Gimp final image and
3. borrowed from the previous post illustrating other considerations before actual knitting, 
which include:
if using the repeat on Brother machines, the first 2 blank rows of the design are shifted to the top.
The 16-stitch design width makes it suitable only for electronic models.
The final PNG is actually downloaded as a fair isle pattern while maintaining the required needle selection for lace, and the knit carriage remains set to knit throughout while the lace carriage selects and transfers.
The machine, depending on the model, may by default mirror the result vertically, so the final PNG can be mirrored and saved as here, prior to knitting on the 930, 
or the mirror function in the machine may be used after programming.
I prefer to save my files in the orientation required for the actual knitting as a means to avoid confusion or errors.
Working in Arahpaint, rotating an image turns it on its center point. To rotate a layer, selection, or image, from the Image menu, choose Rotate. 
Selections can be made at offered angles, or specified degrees can be entered in the degree field, or select an area, move the pointer outside the bounding border, and then drag on any one of the small boxes at each corner while pressing the left mouse button. 
To align the image,
1. load the lace inspiration
2. choose Image, select Rotate Image, and draw a line that follows the orientation of the image. The color will be based automatically on the palette being used, and altering the pencil pixel size or color has no effect.
The program then rotates the image and will inform you of the rotation angle, and the drawn line becomes straight.
To confirm alignment, click the OK or Close button in the Rotate Image window.
3. use the rectangle tool to select the content for the full design repeat, and crop the aligned image to the selection. 
4.-9. continue with the steps using the tool Guess Weave from Grid, producing the same final PNG. In summary, they are:
4. crop the selected image to size
5. change the color palette to 8-bit, adjust background and foreground colors
6. reduce the number of colors to B/W, adjust the threshold, and set the number of colors to 2
7. the resulting image
8. use the guess weave from the grid tool, crop the bounded image to the selection, magnify the results to visually check the repeat, and save the PNG if satisfied
9. the final 16X96 pattern design repeat, matching the Gimp result. 
The associated swatch 
This Pinterest find is credited to Tatiana Demina, and is intended for use on Studio punchcard machine models. 
Studio machines are capable of transferring and knitting in single carriage passes. Studying the image of the card, it can be seen that there are no blank rows anywhere, and punched holes on alternate rows indicate transfers alternating first to the left, and then to the right.
The swatch was knit using the same technique described recently in the post Unconventional uses for punchcards 2: thread lace cards for “filet” mesh
The original 24X56 design 
was lengthened X2 to, shown here also doubled in width to 48X112 
to match the direction of the transfers, the hint offered in the inspiration source can be followed down to indicate the first row of transfers need to be made to the right, 
hence the knitting begins with the knit carriage on the left, the lace carriage on the right. As the LC moves to the left it preselects needles, and as it returns to the right it transfers them to the right.
The LC is removed from the knit bed.
The KC knits a single pass to the right and remains there.
The LC is returned to the knit bed on the left, preselects needles on its pass to the right, and transfers them to the left as it returns to that side, and is removed from the bed.
The KC knits one row to the left and stays there.
The LC is returned to the bed on the right and the process is repeated.
Preselection of needles is made by the LC toward the knit carriage, transfers are made away from it.
Whether the repeat needs to be mirrored again may depend on the machine model or the software used to download the file to it.
The direction of the first row of transfers provides the necessary clue, they need to be to the right. If to the left, mirror the pattern horizontally and begin again.
The swatch was knit in a wool-rayon blend, the results point to the difference in appearance and gauge with a change in color and type of yarn used when compared to the inspiration image 
The context for this can be found in To mesh or not to mesh 8: more Numbers meet Gimp
the 60X74 png 
and the proof of concept 
Category: Swatches and Experiments
Revisiting fair isle, thread lace, 3D surface potential
WORK IN PROGRESS
Tuck and slip stitch are commonly used to produce very effective textured surfaces often accompanied by color changes. Those color changes require knitting with yarn always in the A position in the sinker plate, and color changes are made by replacing the yarn in that position by hand, or by using the color changer. Fair isle and thread lace operate differently, as they carry and work with two yarns at once. Some of these samples were also presented in the post on fair isle variations
For textured surfaces using wire for one of the two colors makes the fabric moldable, here 32 gauge stainless steel wire is used as color 2, card#2 
Using end needle selection when there are needles out of work results in single stitch width vertical columns of color that are planned in this instance as guides for sewing machine stitching lines. The width of the fabric is limited because of the number of needles actually knitting the pattern, but the technique offers the opportunity for a coordinated bicolor fringe with placement on the motif from casual to very deliberate, either side may be chosen as the “public one 
What may be firing in one piece could provide a tube for insertions on either side of the knit.
The fringing here is created by having needles out of work with one or two needles in work at their outer edge anchoring the deliberate floats on one side, trimmed when the piece is complete, before felting. The triangles are formed with single decreases followed by increases to reverse the shaping keeping the fringe edge needles in a fixed position. There is some rippling along the shaped edge, but the remainder of the fabric is fairly flat. Felting creates a reversible knit, shrinkage, possible stiffness, and potential limitations in the width of the final fabric are considerations when planning wearables. These factors become irrelevant when the goal is sculptural form. 
Creating blistered surfaces the easy way, leaf pattern variations: poly-cotton and raffia on the bottom, fishing line as the second yarn line on top. I have found the line for 6lb or fewer works best. The knit is flat. 
Felted rayon chainette and wool; when the main color is wool and the rayon renders the floats there is minimal blistering 
the result from reversing the yarn positions creates more bubbling
Here elastic is used as the second color in the thread lace setting. 
Using wool and acrylic non-felting yarn, the original mylar repeat was altered to twice as long 
and rendered twice as wide as well 
the difference in finished width 
The yarn positions in two color single-pass knitting, remain fixed in their relationship to punched holes. In fair isle patterning, the back feeder, usually labeled A, knits the ground on non-selected needles in the B position. The yarn (red) in the forward, B feeder, knits the stitches on needles selected to the D position which correspond to punched holes or black squares in a mylar, black pixels in a computer file for download. In thread lace, the back A position yarn knit both yarns together, while the forward B position yarn, red thread, knits the forward yarn/color, with the other yarn creating the single set of floats behind it.
Not all machines have a thread lace carriage, I use a punchcard model KC on my electronic machines
Sinker plates in different model years may also differ.
In terms of blistered fabrics in 2 colors using elastic yarn as one of the two fibers, the results in FI and its double sets of floats are shown on the left, the thread lace version with only the elastic creating the single float on the right. 
Thread lace patterning may also be used with a thin, non-felting yarn knitting the areas of the pattern intended for the 3D texture in the forward yarn position. The rear position yarn needs to be wool or other fiber that will felt and shrink with processing. In the finished piece, the wool floats may be left in place, trimmed, or the thin shapes may even be trimmed out leaving openings that do not ravel 
In addition, large thin fabric shapes can be stiffened over enclosures to create permanent effects in sculptural pieces.
My first non repetitive DBJ explorations on 930
I created large-scale nonrepetitive image garments very early in my knitting career using Cochenille Bitknitter and Commodore computers linked to a Passap E6000. Over time my focus changed considerably, with any production knitting moving onto accessories as I began to make items for sale in galleries and in shows, most often single-bed on a Brother 910. If knitting is a primary source of income, one needs to consider production time management, material costs, and what the local market will bear in terms of pricing.
A post, written in 2018, began to explore two-color-dbj-non-repetitive-images-electronic-kms/. At that time I did not have a machine model capable of using img2track.
An orphaned 930 entered my life, and with rare exceptions, over the past few years, my blog sample swatches have been knit using img2track, which I have found easy, and reliable, with any programming errors due to the operator issues including learning the differences from 910 programming and remembering to actually use them.
No matter how long any of us have been knitting, there can be many aaargh moments both in everyday knitting and when exploring new techniques.
I have a supply of lovely 2/48 cash wool in royal blue, black, and grey. Three strands worked predictably on my punchcard machine in a series of my spiky scarves, shown in progress on the machine. 
Nearly all my previous dbj pieces have been knit on a Passap E6000. The 930 experience for such repeats is new to me. With some help from Tanya Cunnigham in reviewing the steps required when using img2track, I returned to cellular automata repeat saved years ago.
I encountered problems with the triple strands of blue not feeding evenly, here both colors were picked up by the changer accidentally, I realized the issue, trying to unravel the row of knitting produced this 
That provided an opportunity to decide I preferred the reverse color placement as well as wanting a thicker ply for the white, resulting in twice the fun with 2 colors, and another scrapped sample 
Switching the white to a single-ply thicker yarn made its stitch formation far more manageable. The blue however seemed to have a single strand of the three with a propensity for catching on gate pegs. I tried tension adjustments, the usual tips in managing static. At about row 1,000 out of 1288 rows, I realized I had an issue with both yarns being caught on gate pegs. In trying to lift the stitches off, the yarn broke but gave no immediate visible clues, the dropped stitches and a lovely hole, as a result, appeared when knitting had progressed far enough below the current knit rows. On the left, the work is shown still on the machine, while on the right, it is off the machine, and in the process of a patch job with a temporary accessory and stitch holder in place. 
I was able to achieve a reasonable repair on the knit side, but the birdseye pattern on the reverse is a bit scrambled. 
For folks that are not familiar with electronics and are curious, the 930 has the smallest memory of the later Brother electronic models. My pattern repeat is 74 stitches wide by 644 rows in height. The user manual explains: the KH-930 takes just a few seconds to load the track because the memory holds only 2 KB of data (about 13000 stitches). Later models have a much larger memory (32 KB). The KH-940 and KH-950i require 42 seconds to load a track. The KH-965i and KH-970 load only the requested pattern, so the loading time depends on the size of the pattern. img2track indicates progress as the data is sent to the KM. When the pattern has finished loading, the KM should beep, and show the green READY light and a 1 in the display (for row 1). The program automatically chooses Selector 2 for a single image and centers it. You may change this by using the normal pattern-selecting process on the knitting machine, choosing Selector 1 for all-over patterning, or using Selector 2 and choosing a different location on the needle bed to center the pattern. If your pattern was divided into more than one track, you will have to load successive tracks when completing the previous track, specific instructions are given for programming subsequent tracks. My pattern was broken down into 4 tracks.
The cable used for downloads to the machine is used externally, no alterations to the machine’s hardware are required as when using Ayab on the 910. The pattern is stored in the machine, so the computer needs to be awake only during downloads, not constantly as in programs that use knit-from-screen.
Each track for 2-color DBJ using the KRC built-in separation is entered in numerical order as a new pattern with first-row preselection from the left to the right and the first row knit from right to left toward the color changer. If the repeat is not planned for the number of needles in use, any position or change to the all-over design needs to be re-entered, and the KRC button must also be set again.
Cam button settings are set according to the chosen dbj variations for either or both beds. End needle selection is usually canceled. In some patterns using it can create an interesting beaded edge on either side, which is worth testing on small samples to determine one’s preference.
I like to plan my pieces beginning with the dark color, plan my repeats with the deliberate placement of both colors and any scaling in the pattern BMP prior to download, using Gimp. I also prefer to have color 1 as the dark and color 2 as the light. The default in the Japanese DBJ separation uses the light color, white squares, as color 1. Out of habit I color reverse my images so my first preselected row from right to left can just knit my black squares rather than the white, and I can continue my motifs as I intended while having machine prompts for each color also match.
Pausing knitting is easy as long as the needle selection is not disturbed. Ending with COR avoids any confusion about which color should be used next. Starting outside the set mark, turn the machine back on, and simply continue in the pattern with appropriate color changes.
Tanya Cunningham manages and moderates the membership, settings, and posts for the Img2track – For Machine Knitters group on Facebook.
These were her tips and reminders to me for handling pauses in knitting immediately after the following track in the sequence is first downloaded: let’s say that either some needles got pushed in or repositioned, or for whatever reason, you don’t have certainty that the last row of needle selection is reliable, and you want to “re-select” the last row before you knit it, the last track you knitted should still be in the memory, even though you’ve completed that part of the pattern.
1. Push all needles back to Pos B.
2. remove the yarn from the feeder, and disconnect the K carriage from the R carriage.
3. Turn the Change/Selector knob from KCII to N (NOTE, this will cause your PART buttons to de-select)
4. press BOTH PART buttons.
5. Move the K carriage to the right. No needles will knit, since all are in POS B, and both PART buttons are depressed, AND no needles will select, since you’ve moved the change/selector knob to N, and the memo will not record any advancement of row. (However, if you’re using your mechanical row counter, it WILL record a row, and one on the way back so plan to either disable the ribber arm or turn the counter back 2 rows)
6. Now you will have to re-select the last row of needles for the track you’ve most recently knitted. First, verify that KRC is activated. Now, you will have to push the up/down arrow buttons to select the very last row of the pattern which will be an even number, and color 1. Depending on whether the carriage was moved in such a way as to activate the sensor enough to cause the memo to advance, you may be able to simply use the row that’s showing, but even beginning the movement of the carriage may advance it. To be sure, what I do is to advance (in this case to Row 1 Color 1), and then back up one row, using the arrow buttons.
7. Move your Change/Selector knob to KCII, be sure to move outside the turn mark. Verify KRC; memo says last row, color 1; both PART buttons in. Now, move your carriage right-to-left, to select the last row of the previous track.
8. Load color 1 in the carriage, load the next track into the machine, KRC selected.
9. Now, as you knit to the right, you will be knitting the last row of the previous track, and selecting needles for the first row of the next track. Carry on.
In terms of generating cellular automata math-based patterns, the Wolfram website is a great place to explore repeats. A player, temporarily unavailable to Mac users is presently available, allows for the download of interactive demos in .cdf format. In terms of knitting any of the repeats, the most suitable appear to be ones that are generated in black and white to start with. Not all are, and at times changing the mode to bitmapped in programs such as Gimp can produce a glitched effect. Though the latter may be interesting and desirable to some, I prefer clean lines and diagonals along with identifiable shifts in the scale of any triangular components.
I am often amazed at the speed with which time passes, previous related posts: 2015/12/09/cellular-automata-charts-for-knitting-etc/
Previously knit repeats 2017/09/11/my-new-knitting-projects/
Weaving drafts may also serve as inspiration for knitting repeats. Posts with related content: 2015/11/28/weaving-drafts-as-inspiration-for-other-textile-techniques/, and 2018/07/02/numbers-to-gimp-to-create-images-for-electronic-download/. These images are extracted from a draft for an advancing twill. One may explore segment placement and color reversals easily using programs such as Gimp. 
There is also potential for exchanging colors to get a sense of how the pattern might appear in different colorways 
My planned test repeat is 76 stitches wide by 556 rows high.
Single bed tuck/ mostly slip stitch fabrics 3
As with the tuck stitch, the knit carriage ignores the needles that are not selected in the pattern. All holes in a punchcard, black squares, or black pixels in electronic programming knit. A great deal of dimensionality may be achieved since the tuck restriction of the maximum amount of yarn being held in the hooks of the nonselected needles does not apply. The effects on the width and length of the fabric vary depending on the number of needles ignored in the pattern. If slipping in long vertical areas, the yarn that is held in the non-selected stitch(es) needs to be held for that long without breaking. Multiple colors per row patterns may in some cases require specific color separations, but as usual, a good place to start is with published patterns.
Stitch formation: the needle that is not worked holds a stitch that gets longer until that spot on the needle bed is selected again, resulting in a knit stitch being formed in that location with the next carriage pass. Floats are formed between knit stitches as the held stitches are skipped. The height and width of the bars created by unpunched squares or white squares or pixels need not be fixed and may be extended in both height and width, breaking tuck rules. Many patterns are impactful both with the use of single-color yarns or with color changes. With color changes, the elongated stitch carries its color up in that location on the knit side until it gets knit off (not always or necessarily in the same color).
Here stitches are held for 4 rows, 
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 
In textured knitting, fiber choice can be significant. It is best to use a yarn with some memory, such as wool. If yarns such as acrylics or rayons are used and in turn are pressed the fabric may become permanently flattened, which is not desirable unless it is a purposeful design choice.
Depending on the KM brand, the space between slipped repeats may be altered. In some cases, no matter what the programming method, and especially when using multiple colors, the length of the required repeats may grow exponentially no matter what machine is being used.
It is possible to use slip stitch in only one direction to create knitted cords, often referred to as i-cords. The technique is sometimes the introduction to using the stitch type. Used for all-over patterning the possibilities for textures and 3D effects and shaping are endless.
Slip stitch patterns tighten the work widthwise, as well as shorten it in length. To achieve more drape in the resulting knit use a tension dial number 2 higher than that used in stocking stitch for the same yarn.
To retain a flatter fabric shape off the machine it may be best to slip no more than 2 side-by-side stitches. The number of rows for which stitches are slipped contributes to density. Some of the single bed patterns may be used double-bed as well, but the discussion here is for single bed patterning.
Some repeat ideas for working with diagonals from a punchcard reference, and one from the basic factory pack supplied with machines: 
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.
Similar shapes to the above, arranged differently: in A, arrows point to punched holes that create a vertical line containing 2 slipped rows followed by 2 knit ones, B is problematic because the long vertical white lines would mean the stitches corresponding to those locations on the needle bed would slip for the height of the punchcard, C is B color reversed to solve the problem, and suitable for slip-stitch knitting. An alternative for using B as is would be to have needles not selected in those all blank locations out of work on the main bed creating ladders (or transferred down to and in use on the ribber). As in any pattern knitting, if needles on the top bed are out of work, end needle selection must be canceled. If it is not, the needles adjacent to out-of-work needles will knit on every row, altering the planned pattern.
The same shapes can be edited for use after rotating the original 
The 24-stitch repeat for the bottom option is shown, punchcard knitters would have to punch the height x4. The minimum electronic repeat is highlighted with a red border 
tiling to check the alignment of the 8X10 repeat. 
More repeats using similar lines, varying in density and consequently in their height: all knit rows (no white squares) make for easy to recognize color change possibilities and transitions 
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 one repeat is actually the other, drawn double length. This is an easy option, even in punch card machines. When knitting long pieces especially, 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. 
Returning to a couple of the tuck stitch illustrations, adjusting the repeats for use with the slip stitch setting. Some of the color change sequences are suggested on the right side of the charts 
The tuck stitch version,
modifying it for use in slip stitch B, adding all knit rows between repeats A, and visualizing color placements on the knit side of the fabric. 
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 
Testing the waters: a swatch using 4 colors, beginning with color changes every 6 rows, ending at the top with every 2, more variations are possible. 
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 download to KM software.
Making those shapes move: color striping variations for using 3 or 2 colors are seen on the right of the chart. The final surface may also work very well in a single color 
The resulting swatch is shown sideways for the sake of space. I usually begin tests with some striped knitting so I can be certain the color changer is threaded properly, that each color gets picked up without crossing or other issues, and that tension for any one color is not in conflict with that used with remaining colors. I am not a fan of the Brother single bed color changer, but it is a great convenience in fabrics such as these. A reminder when using it: add a lace extension rail on the left side. The carriage needs to clear the color changer far enough on its left for all colors to be picked up and changed properly 
From 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 post 
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 
Attempting to visualize color changes using a larger, staggered repeat 
which makes more sense when the image is tiled 
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 
The working repeat does not need to be symmetrical, using space-dyed yarn may result in a surface with an unrecognizable texture 
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 will automatically create a ruffle on each side.
Here the repeats on the left need to be color reversed prior to knitting, punchcard users will need to punch all white squares, leave the black ones unpunched, and repeat all once more in height. On the right, some rows are omitted, reversing the color placement for the “solid” shapes with the next knit row. 
The 24X20 repeat for the swatch on the above right, with the floats easily identified on the purl side of the swatch 
Blocks of slipped stitches (black squares in the chart, prior to color reverse) may be used to create 2 color fabrics that have no long floats in the ground color, electronics allow for more complicated shapes
If the goal is to produce specific shapes, then the way to achieve them is to use a color separation suitable for multiple color DBJ, knitting the fabric either on the single bed. The machine does not know whether the ribber is actually in use or not. Using DBJ software built-in options or even the Ayab middle color one twice merit their own future post.
Previous slip-stitch-related posts
2015/04/07/more-slip-stitch-experiments/
2013/09/02/a-random-slip-stitch/
2013/05/09/block-slip-stitch-separations/
For mosaic and mazes, execution, and design links to historical posts see 2020/09/21/single-bed-tuck-…s-2-adding-color/
The slip stitch setting may also be used to automate a variety of fabrics, some of which involve organized color striping as well, the topic is discussed in other blog posts
A quick review of plaiting on Brother machines
Over time plying yarns and the resulting color distribution come into question, which often leads to discussions on plaiting.
The plaited knit can be reversible, traditionally the main color will dominate the knit side, the contrast the purl.
The two yarns are threaded in separate yarn masts, with the thicker yarn on the right.
Plaiting is sometimes used in bringing scratchy yarns such as lurex can be plaited with softer yarns so that the latter is worn closer to the body in the final garment.
One of my ancient swatches shows some variations in using 2 different colored fibers in three ways. It was tagged for display with myriad other assorted swatches on corkboards in my classroom, which were usually covered with a variety of illustrations of stitches and techniques covered in weekly classes and in response to recent trends. As always, effects vary dramatically depending on the choice of yarn color, fiber content, and thickness. Here the 2 yarns were fed through separate tension masts, and knit together 
plaiting with yarns swapped in feeders for reversible striped effect 
yarns wound together with yarn twister and used as a “single strand” 
Striping created by reversing yarn positions in plaiting feeder 
Using the thread lace setting and plaiting feeder working in every needle rib 
A mock plaiting effect may also be obtained without a special feeder by locking the pattern on any all blank row, the standard yarn feeder with A and B yarn placement, and the fair isle setting. Results are not as consistent in color distribution.
True plaiting usually requires a special feeder unless the specific model km has a built-in option. Two yarns are used in the plaiting feeder. They pass by the needles in sequence. One yarn always passes first, and the other follows. The standard feeder that normally carries the 2 colors when knitting fair isle is replaced, so this technique may be used in fabrics using cam button combinations other than fair isle and thread lace. Looking into the plaiting feeder from above you will see a central hole that traditionally carries the “main yarn”, and a crescent-shaped opening that carries the second yarn, which will trail behind as the carriage moves across the knitting bed. The second yarn appears on the purl side of the fabric.
On days when lurex combination scratchy yarns, and in any situation where the fiber used is unpleasant if touching the skin, a softer yarn may be used and brought to the interior side of the piece for comfort. I once made a chenille sweater with traditional cap sleeves that refused to knit to gauge. Adding matching wooly nylon and knitting it with the chenille solved the problem permanently and stabilized the knit.
The contrasting color can provide a pleasant effect when fold-over collars, cuffs, etc. are part of the garment, and so on.
Brother plaiting feeders: 
The central hole holds the main yarn and the crescent-shaped hole behind it holds the second yarn. As the carriage moves across the row, the yarn in the crescent-shaped hole trails behind the other yarn and is always the second yarn picked up by the needles, showing on the purl side of your knit.
Be aware if considering purchasing one that other parts appear on eBay and other sale sites under this name, but are not the specific accessory. The following illustrations and directions are from Brother pubs easily found for free download.
For use on the main bed, images from the KnitKing 893 manual: 
If your sinker plate has rubber wheels, check them and move them to the proper position if needed. 
Canceling end needle selection applies in any situation and is used in tuck or slip stitch settings if there are needles out of work on the main bed for any reason to maintain proper patterning in needles in work. Electronic knitters have the KCII option in the change knob.
For use on the ribber:
More random, ancient swatches: stocking stitch using equal-weight yarns in a single bed tuck stitch
double bed every needle rib tuck stitch using the same pattern repeat 
a racked sample 
Shadow lace 
Pleated pattern 
When working on large pieces, the yarn in the front feeder may slip out.
This is one option to prevent that when the ribber is in use 
At one point, I produced several circular sweaters using equal-weight yarns to obtain the reversible 2-color look. I had more than one feeder, so I used a dab of glue in the slit below the yellow arrow 
The drawback to doing that is that the yarn cannot then be easily slid in and out of its position but rather has to be dropped through the remaining hole using a double eye needle.
These illustrations are from a Brother manual for the 860 punchcard machine, an idea for working intarsia. I have not tested the method myself, am sharing it as a possibility for working the fabric without an accessory carriage 
An experimental double bed fabric using the plaiting feeder and thread lace setting double bed 2015/12/05/thread-lace-and-punchcard-knit-carriage-use-on-brother-910_2/
Ribber fabrics with stitch transfers between beds 1
These images provide partial views of garments shown in a recent Facebook MK group post, followed by the “how-to” question 
A quick analysis leads to a list of assumptions that both are double bed fabrics, with stitches subtracted or added to create moving shapes on a striped ground. A color changer will be in use, so each color must be carried for 2 passes. The color used in the traveling shapes (red in my swatches) knits on both beds, the second color creating the alternate stripe on the background knits on only one bed. The second row of the red stitches is slipped while the white knits, so they become elongated, something that is reflected on the striping on the reverse, as well as on the knit side.
Though the ribber is in use, this is not a standard dbj fabric, so if automation is the goal, the color separation for the knit needs to be hand-drawn.
It is possible to move stitches to and from needle beds when knitting true DBJ with striper backing. This is one of my ancient swatches, every needle is in work on both beds except for areas where stitches have been transferred down to and up from the ribber. The main bed is set to slip in both directions, the ribber set to knit. 
The suitable dbj separation is the one where each color in each row knits for 2 rows, whether performed by hand, using the 3 colors per row separation in img2track or the default separation in Passap. The Ayab HOP separation is awesome, works for any 3 color design with as little elongation as possible, but is not suited for this purpose. How-tos for DIY separations and their automated versions by programs for knitting more than 2 colors per row have been discussed in other posts.
The process may be reversed between beds. Stitches can be picked from the opposing bed to fill in needles emptied by transfers or brought into work empty for increases. The resulting eyelets may be left as a design element or filled in by picking up from adjacent stitches or ones on the ribber bed.
In the first swatch, all stitches will be in work on the knitting bed, while patterning stitches will be in selected groups on the ribber. When testing a concept it is best to start with a simple shape, contrasting colors, on a limited number of stitches. To begin with, I went the easy route and tested the concept with a small racked pattern using only 5 ribber needles. The ribber slips for the 2 rows knit in the contrasting color in the ground, knits the pattern for 2 rows, requiring cams to be switched every 2 rows 
The goal is to be able to see and understand stitch formation. Production got cut short when I was faced with dropping individual stitches followed by the whole piece falling to the floor. In one of those drat it moments I realized that for the first time ever, with the knit carriage properly set to N, I had not, however, engaged it beneath the metal bar on the back of the bed, leaving it with its rear floating freely. 
A similar process on the Passap allows for playing easily with both racked colors because of the possible arrow and pusher settings on the back bed, but on Brother, this would require hand selection on the ribber on every row or a specific color separation for needle selection on the top bed
Seeking automation, keeping things simple, here is a basic zigzag pattern in a repeat also executable on punchcard machines. The ribber is now set to knit throughout (N/N), the main bed to slip in both directions. End needle selection must be canceled when using the slip setting selectively or when working patterning with needles completely out of work 
The color separation: the desired design needs to be expanded, with 2 blank rows between each pair of design rows 
The pattern on my 930 is knit as it appears in the chart, on the purl side. Punchcard knitters or users of other programs may need to mirror it to match my output 
The process using 3 colors: the patterning color will be knit on needles preselected on the top bed. As shaping is about to begin, in this pattern, one needle preselected out indicates the location for an “increase”, one preselected back to B position a decrease 
To perform the decrease, using a double eye tool to transfer the B position stitch down onto the ribber needle adjacent to the first needle in D position on the top bed
As the carriages move to the opposite side a loop will form on the preselected empty needle, creating the increase on that side, keeping the width of the patterning stitches constant 
In order for the patterning to remain correct, all needles on the top bed must be maintained in B position while not in use, or preselection may be incorrect, and increase loops will not be created, so, not this 
A sideways view (for space consideration) of the knit still on the KM begins to show the distortion in the knit created by the movement of the stitches. The red yarn creates a single line where stitches are skipped on the reverse, a double one when it knits for 2 rows 
The repeat and the knit shown on both sides: 
Comparing the 2 color and 3 color versions: aside from the obvious increase in length, note that the slipped segments in red on the 3 color swatch are now composed of longer stitches since they are held for 2 additional rows, and the overall fabric is more puckered than the 2 color version. The curling at the sides is the nature of edge stitches, especially if the yarn used is wool. At times that may be used intentionally, as a decorative edge.
Repeats where the design charts require expansion to accommodate techniques quickly grow in length. The simple zig-zag doubled in length from 32 to 64 rows. I work things out in a spreadsheet, open a screengrab of the final choice in GIMP, index mode the result, scale it, and save the PNG for download to the 930. Long color separations are harder to achieve cleanly in GIMP alone but are also possible.
Returning to the 2 color pattern in the inspiration image and limiting the width to the 24 stitch punchcard restriction: a way to begin is to design a 2 color shape to approximate the repeat in the desired fabric and as in any other designs, check for repeat alignment by tiling prior to knitting to find any easily visible errors. The first single (ultimately 24X32) repeat, suitable for standard DBJ, has not been cropped properly in the top illustration. It is followed by the correct one 
Using the same color separation as for the simple zig-zag shape, the design is expanded to include knit bed rows that will be skipped completely, resulting in the ribber alone knitting in the second color for those rows. It is now twice as long as the original, 24X64
The planned proof of concept added a 4 stitch border on the right for a 28 stitch swatch centered with 14 stitches either side of 0. Tiling the repeat X2 again in height made it easier for me to plan how to manage transfers to expose the varying stripes in the ground. Visual comparison to the movement in the inspiration knit: 
As the number of needles in work on either of the 2 beds is increased, it is likely tension or yarn changes may be required. The first preselection row is from the right, toward the color changer. The stitches on the non selected needles are transferred to the bottom bed 
with the color change, only preselected needles will knit on both the top and bottom beds moving to the right 
and will do so again on the return to the left while preselecting an all blank row 
on the next pass to the right only the ribber knits in the ground color; 
on the following pass to the left the second ground color row is knit on the ribber, with preselection happening at the same time for the next row in the pattern color 
The red, 3 strand cash-wool was giving me grief, so I switched it out for the blue. Both yarns are on the thin side but OK for testing the concept. The initial partial striped lozenge shape is finished with straightforward knitting 
The solid ground stitches in the inspiration fabric, however, have a sideways movement as the next striped lozenge gets shaped. In any standard knit such movements are achieved manually by using multiple stitch transfer tools. Planning ahead in a spreadsheet helps. My first test of the full repeat approaches the desired result, but the transitions beginning at design row 30 for the decreasing angle in the white yarn is a bit clumsy and requires a redo to make it easier and with clearer instructions 
Back to the drawing board in order to reduce the number of hand manipulations involved, with a shift in the center transition, the repeat in my spreadsheet is now 24 stitches wide, plus an additional 4 stitch border, and gets marked up with colors. I prefer to program the width of my knitting as opposed to a single repeat for all over patterning 
The resulting final 24 stitch repeat with the added 4 stitch border, now 68 rows high
The choice can be made based upon the preference of moving stitch groups to the right or to the left with the horizontal direction of the repeat adjusted for your KM model or software used. 
I planned the transfers in this swatch toward the color changer after picking up the proper color, white, and before knitting the next row using it. The 930 png: 
The preselection row is from right to the left, toward the color changer. End needle selection is canceled. All stitches not selected on the main bed are moved down onto ribber needles beneath them. Needle selection takes care of the increasing angle in the surface yarn (white), as less of the striped ground becomes exposed. At this point, row 34 on the 930 counter, the single elongated slipped stitch is moved down onto the ribber. 
The next preselection will require the first transfer on the top bed, row 38. In my case, the movement was to the left. After the transfer is made, be certain to leave any empty needles in B position, and to bring all transferred stitch needles out to hold so they will knit in the slip setting as the carriage moves across the bed to the other side. The preselection will insure all necessary stitches will knit on the way back to the left 
When the top of the repeat is reached, row 68, the only needles selected will be those of the 4 stitch vertical columns and the design repeat will return to its start
My proof of concept swatch is 3.75 inches wide 
The inspiration sweater was knit using a wider repeat and significantly thicker yarn, reflected here in the small number of repeats composing the sweater body front 
Amending the 24 stitch repeat is possible, its length will grow in proportion to the increase in its width. The ratio of rows/ stitches to maintaining shaping by single stitch increases or decreases as in the original remains at 2.8. The lozenge is likely to remain elongated. Since at any point, the ribber will be knitting a large number of stitches single bed, the tension on its carriage needs to accommodate that. When the majority of needles are selected on the top bed, the fabric is knitting in every needle rib, which requires a tighter tension than when using the same yarns single bed. As a result tension adjustment to reduce the height of the knit repeat may be very limited.
The last test is now 84 rows high, with 5 stitch vertical bands. An added 6 stitch border on one side changes the programmed width up to 36 stitches so I don’t have to think about positioning the pattern on the needle bed. The extra stitch was eliminated at the start of the piece: 
The off white yarn used here was the same thickness but not fiber content as in the previous swatch, 2/18 wool-silk vs Australian wool in the former. It is not as smoothly spun. The result shows an interesting similarity in length, though there are 16 additional rows in the pattern repeat. This time I programmed my repeat for stitch transfers on the knit bed to move away from the color changer. 
Eliminating the border on one side, a double repeat (30 stitches) measure 4 inches in width. To put the difference in scale to the sweater in perspective, an oversize garment with 40 inches in chest diameter would require 20 inches in width for the front piece. Ten single repeats, as opposed to the inspiration’s sweater 4, bring the total required the number of stitches to 150. With the added border of 5 stitches for matching side edges, the fabric is in the realm of possibility for producing a garment on the home knitting machine. My tension was set at 3/3 for all the swatches, with some teasing required on occasion to encourage stitches on the main bed to knit off properly. Ribber height adjustment can also have an effect on those numbers. I tend to do all my knitting with the slide lever in the center position. The double 30X84 repeat with no added border
Knitting with “unusual” fibers/ elastic 2
My first DBJ tests from a previous post on knitting with elastic. used an axometric shape, with the tentative repeat worked out and in turn, elongated X2 and tiled to check alignment.
Until doubled in height the original repeat is composed of an odd number of rows in height. Usually, double bed knitting relying on color changes or automatic DBJ KRC separations require an even number of rows in the motif. The first sample was knit using single-ply cotton and elastic yarns respectively, fed through separate upper tension disks but knit together as a single color. The swatch is 72 stitches in width but measures only 14.5 mm (5.7 inches) in width, producing a gauge of nearly 13 stitches for inch, not achievable when knitting with standard fibers on a standard 4.5 mm machine. The pattern is subtle, more visible on the knit side, hard to tell there are pockets in the knit. The cotton is space-dyed, and as true when using such yarns, that causes some confusion in immediately identifying a clear pattern. The ruffled effect is simply from a plain knit start and color-changing stripes to test tension and knittability on the planned needle width. Machine settings: opposite part buttons, no lili
Here the same pattern was executed on the same number of stitches with the white wool used above, but the elastic was plied with a 2/24 acrylic yarn and knit as DBJ with the blue, stretchy combination creating the solid color backing. 
A comparison in scale 
The same pattern repeat knit with striper backing is far less interesting 
The solid color backing in DBJ can be produced by changing ribber settings with each color change from N/N to slip <– –> and back. I have sometimes knit DBJ with 4 carriages or with a third, knit-only carriage working the rows normally slipped by the ribber. The sinker plate for one knit carriage is altered as described in the post. The knitting requires that the ribber stops be removed, and that carriage(s) be off the bed on extension rails while the other(s) are in use so as not to damage the belt. The maximum width of the fabric is limited by the necessity of having the knit cleared on both sides with all carriage passes.
My mongrel setup includes a 930 bed, an 892 punchcard carriage with a magnet attached coupled with the 850 ribber carriage, and a 910 carriage with the modified sinker plate. As a bit of possible disaster prevention, the knit/ribber combo has an elastic to ensure the ribber stays on its own bed as well, while I grabbed extras to help support the rail on the other side just in case the 910 carriage went too far. 
Because when using the KRC separation the white squares knit first, I planned the repeat for 64 stitches color reversing the repeat used the FI and thread lace samples in the previous post.
to this, 
I used a 2/18 wool at tensions 3/3 for the backing fabric and two strands of the elastic with no added changes to its yarn mast tension, at tension 7 in the single knit carriage.
Using this method of DBJ, which is the same as that used in 2 color quilting, when the ribber and knit carriage both knit, the fabric is sealed where there are needles selected on the main bed. When the ribber is set to slip in both directions, or the method here is used, the main bed only knits selected needles and skips the nonselected ones, creating floats and pockets in the fabric in those areas. 
The appearance of the fabric when stretched and weighted, still between the beds 
and off 
Going the far more traditional route of traditional dbj with the use of the color changer, striper backing with the ribber set to N/N yields a wider, flatter fabric with an interesting purl side 
while my very brief effort at attempting to knit with one side of the ribber set to knit, the other to slip, met with immediate dropped stitches by the elastic. 
The birdseye version had more of a bent on
the surfaces of both colors. I stopped knitting when a few of the elastic stitches on the left purl side dropped off. It would appear at this point that the most interesting effects in the simplest to execute DBJ setting are ones with balanced positive and negative spaces in the design.
Previously I used the repeat on the top left, also shown tiled. The subsequent swatch was knit using the bottom 66X22 tiled repeat, planning to start KRC preselection from the left on a white square, the ribber set to N/N
I found the fabric attractive on the purl side, but I was having issues with dropped stitches I could not explain that would need sorting out if producing larger swatches. 
Adding a third ply of elastic was disastrous at any tension. Better results occurred simply by increasing the ribber tension by 2 whole numbers, the knit tension by 1, and reverting to the previous yarn usage. There is a single dropped stitch in the elastic, and the result has much more of a 3D effect. 
Single bed scales made with stitch transfers
In the past, I have explored several ways to knit scale-like fabrics aka dragon teeth/scales, and a multitude of other names. My test swatches were created using racking, pattern repeats were provided for both punchcard and electronic machines. Some of the archived material:
2018/07/19/more scales and chevrons racked fabrics 4
2016/02/22/ hand knit dragon scales
2016/02/02/ vertical racking 3: automating half fisherman in pattern-2
2016/01/13/ racking 2: vertical chevrons and herringbone
With summer here and a long absence from lace knitting, I was curious about producing scaly fabrics for the single bed. Lace transfers may be used to create folding fabrics with permanent pleats, so what about 3D shapes? I began with a repeat suitable for a punchcard machine and its limitations, adjusting it in 3 different ways 
A variation of Card C, with 2 rows blank after each pair of transfers throughout was used in borders in some of my lace shawls including these, made in 2011. 
All 3 card designs share the fact that the lace carriage (LC) makes 4 passes followed by 2 rows using the knit carriage set for normal knit to complete the eyelets with exceptions. The exceptions are in areas where there are extra blank rows, where the lace carriage will make 6 passes in order to reverse the direction of transfers. Brother lace cards usually start with punched holes on the very first row, have 2 blank rows between LC passes that complete one sequence (here each sequence is 2 rows in height), and 2 blank rows at the top of the card. Lace markings are few and far between, errors are easy to make when punching long cards and working in designings with pixels in particular. In this case, I did not notice until I began composing the post, and after I had completed the first test swatches that the repeat on the left has an extra 4-row segment in the top half, making it 24 stitches X 54 rows as opposed to the other two at 24 X 50.
In any lace patterning if a zig-zag is wanted in parts of the design, having 3 blank rows in planned locations will reverse the direction of the transfers from those below them. Blank squares in rows containing no punched holes (or pixels) will have no transfers, so in their absence stitches in those areas will be knit, producing extra stocking stitch rows. The spacing for such knit areas on the card may be adjusted to suit. This segment of the above designs identifies the areas in both rows and columns with no punched holes (or pixels)
The knit side of the fabric is the most interesting. The swatches were first photographed as they were immediately after their removal from the knitting machine. I also tried to photograph them at an angle to show the protrusions from the surface. Pattern A: 
A short test version using cards B, and C 
When using card A, the shapes alternate vertically between all mesh ones with all knit rows at the outer edge of the folds. Using Card B, all protrusions have a fixed number of knit stitch rows at the outer fold. Card C produces an all-mesh fabric that made me think of ocean waves somehow. Turned sideways, and pressed to set the folds, the resulting fabric could provide a springboard for a host of other, different ideas: 
A larger swatch started on waste yarn, with 2 rows of knitting at the bottom and at the top before binding off. The design is card B, with 4 rows added to each half of the design. I am still working with the constraints of a punchcard machine, and for the moment, of retaining symmetry in the width of the “scales”. The working chart, turned counterclockwise to save space 
Planning for 3 repeats based on 24 stitch widths 
the above arrangement will, in turn, need to be mirrored for the lace pattern. My sample was knit using 2/15 wool at tension 7, using needles 36 left to 35 right 
The actions are reviewed here once more
The knitting in progress 
I cast on loosely enough, but the bind off was too tight at the top, which should always be tested on swatches before committing to a project. The resulting fabric was photographed immediately as it was removed from the machine. I tried to touch the edges only with an iron, and mine is now overheating and doing a good job of burning my wool, thus the color changes in spots 
With an attempt at some steaming and pressing, the folds are retained 
Often the question of what fine lace is and how it is made comes up. Fine lace is a fabric against which I have a personal bias. It seems to involve a lot of work for the result unless one is using a light-colored yarn with a smooth surface to show the subtle and at times hard to observe surface changes. It fares better visually when mixed with eyelets. The yarn is shared between the needle that would normally be left empty and the one with the formed stitch already on it to its right or left depending on the direction of the transfer. If the shared yarn is dropped instead of staying in the hook of the transfer needle, as the next 2 rows are knit there will be eyelets on the ground lacking them anywhere else. Card C, knit using only the fine lace setting on the LC, looks very different from the previous fabrics, both knit and purl sides are shown, with a couple of spots where the yarn was not shared by 2 adjacent needles, forming eyelets
Now evaluating the possibility of mimicking my hand-knit version: 
Planning out a repeat in chart form: 
Knitting began with working in a 2/15 wool, tension 6, using a 7 prong tool with all prongs engaged to transfer groups of stitches onto their new positions on the needle bed. The first two images review picking up from the row below to fill in needles emptied by transfers. It is one of the machine-knit equivalents for the M1 direction in hand-knitting patterns. As a result, the number of stitches being knit remains constant throughout the piece. 
The stitch structure so far appeared too loose to me, so I then switched to a 2/8 wool, at tension 7 with the intent to test knitting as tightly as possible while still facilitating the multiple moves of stitch groups on each row. The resulting fabric was stiff and wanted to curl strongly to the purl side, needed pins to help it lie flatter. The shapes refused to stay poked out to the knit side.
I seldom wash my swatches, viewing them simply as proof of concept of technique concepts, not usually as springboards for finished pieces. Generally, I stop at steaming or ironing if needed.
When I made garments for sale in wool I usually tested the swatches and washed the finished garments as well. The “hand” and the behavior of the finished piece can change considerably. The hand-washed sample in the second illustration below lies flat and has a soft, drapey feel absent in the unwashed, and retains the flatter shape with no encouragement needed. In its 2/15 portion, the “scales” also became more flattened.
Washing wool removes any sizing and excess dye. Open spaces in the knitting become reduced in fulling, as opposed to closing tightly in felting. Using a constant temperature in both the wash and rinse and avoiding excessive friction, in turn, avoids excess shrinkage. 
On electronic machines, one does not have the same limitations in terms of the width of the repeat maxing out at 24. For example, the number of eyelets on either side of the block components of the repeats may differ, the greater the number of eyelets, the wider the spacing between the 3D shapes. Graduations may be planned in height and width of repeat blocks across the full needle bed, limited only by patience in designing, the capacity to download, and the tolerance for both the yarn and the operator to complete wide, long pieces using the technique.
Experimentation can yield quick results, sometimes with unexpected but pleasant surprises. One of my best-selling felted items for a couple of decades was an accessory that was planned deliberately to mimic a test piece that had almost been tossed in the trash. It’s good to return to things after a break for another look, and then it is really helpful if notes were kept. Another variation of the A-C cards in single repeat was tested at the bottom of the swatch below 
and in a staggered one, tested at the top of the swatch 
The “scales” were more like twisty bumps, with subtle variations vertically in some of the stitch groups. That said the results were dramatically different when color changes were added to the pattern knitting in the shorter repeat. Blocking may make an even more marked difference depending on whether the mesh (lightly steamed) or the tighter knit (vertically pulled, should be washed) produces the preferred effect. The looser stitches at the top outside edge ie at the top left corner are the result of a stitch that got away from me. The cast on was a bit too loose, I knit 4 rows at the bottom after the cast on and 4 rows at the top of the repeat before binding off. 
The differences in the width of the same fabric are dramatic. Any overall mesh/ lace fabric blocked for openness such as on the left will grow in length over time, is best stored flat, and will benefit from episodic pressing/ steaming to reset the width. Then I began counting eyelets, which were equal in number in the schematic for the repeat, but not equal in number on either side of the center pivot for the bend in the herringbone shape when the piece was finished. Any extra eyelet rows in the same direction will result in increased biasing in those sections.
Time to test more mesh variations, a topic for another day.
Machine knit leaves using slip stitch with holding
In 2012 I had a sort of leaf obsession, which led to my exploring a range of shapes created in both hand and machine knitting, including a series of shawls that were machine knit, using the lace carriage, intended for both gifts and sale.
Online resources were not as abundant back then, searches are more productive now via browser searches, pinboards, and Ravelry.
I have always been interested in holding techniques and automating them on both punchcard and electronic machines. In recently revisiting shell shapes I was reminded of leaves once more and thought I would return to working with them.
An early abandoned effort in trying to construct leaf shapes automating their shaping using holding in combination with slip stitch followed other earlier posts is shown below. In all honesty, I have been blogging long enough so I often do not recall previous writings on a recent spark of interest and execute a personal version of reinventing the wheel, starting from scratch, or executed poor note-keeping which in turn requires it.
A variety of lozenge and “leaf”-shaped forms may be found in previous posts on holding intarsia, some are strictly hand-selected, others are automated. There is a series of 5:
2016/06/21/a-bit-of-holding-1/
2016/06/29/a-bit-of-holding-2-moving-shapes-around/
2016/07/12/a-bit-of-holding-3-shape-variations-and-more/
2016/07/24/a-bit-of-holding-4-intarsia-and-more/
/2016/08/13/a-bit-of-holding-5-intarsia-and-more-2/
Checking the repeat for a single shape 
Adding a second color and reversing directions of shapes brings lots of yarn ends and its “price to pay”
Some handknit large scale inspiration to begin my revisit to MKing them: Garnstudio 1 
and Garnstudio 2, which introduces lace transfer stripes between leaf forms 
A free hand knitting pattern, “Papagena“, that takes similar shapes to a triangular layout for shawl shaping 
Stitch Maps is an online source for hand knitters with interesting graphics that include some for held shapes, such as this 
The chart is actually rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise, could serve as inspiration for an electronic pattern.
Returning to a possible far smaller repeat that may be executable on a punchcard machine as well. The central vein in the forms is created by having held stitches with no wraps along and up to its center in height, creating 2 continuous shapes that mirror horizontally and repeat
Automated holding sequences may be planned for single or multiple stitches in width, as well as for single and multiple rows in height. For the new initial test, which proved to need editing, this was my repeat
A tiny test in too thin a yarn 
I am knitting on a 930, the image needs to be mirrored in order for it to appear in the direction I intend on the knit side. The above repeat did not work properly when knitting a whole row of shapes. With some patience, a final, edited, and mirrored repeat was developed that enabled a completed a full row of shapes using the slip setting and holding, and starting with working it from right to left. Sometimes differences are subtle, especially in designing using single-pixel units. The new repeat proved to also work for rows of shapes in the reverse direction after horizontal mirroring and restarting the pattern or design row 1. When working from right to left, the initial preselection row is from left to right, while when working from left to right, the first preselection row is from right to left. After a full row of repeats is completed, the pattern is rolled back to row 1 and mirrored. Punchcard knitters could turn the card over and start again on the proper row. I used contrast color knit rows initially in between rows of shapes to help me note transitions more clearly. The “leaf” is not pointy enough for me, but at times what was not planned may lead to a pleasing result of a different sort.
The amended, corrected repeat is shown on the right 
To knit: cast on with a multiple of 12 stitches on each side of the center 24 on the needle bed
Cancel end needle selection
COL: first preselection row from left to right
COR: set machine for both slip <– –> and hold
all needles will have been preselected, knitting every stitch, knit 2 rows, return to the right, as the row is knit, patterned preselection occurs
COR: bring all needles to the left of the first 12 on the right into hold position, knit until all needles in the group of 12 are preselected again, the carriage will be on the right
*COR: bring a group of 6 needles to the left of the 12 stitch group just completed into work, knit one row to left
COL: bring 6 stitches from the completed shape on the right to hold, continue in the pattern on the new 12 stitch group until all 12 stitches are once again preselected, stopping with COR***
repeat * to *** end working the full last group of 12 stitches on the left, including the last 12 stitch preselection
At the completion of a row of shapes COL: make a decision about the transition, whether any extra rows knit are a problem or not, and whether added rows in contrasting colors are wanted. To proceed with no changes in cam settings and 4 rows of knitting between the rows of shapes remembering that the first preselection row needs to be made from right to left.
COL: manually return all needles to upper work position (D). They will knit row 1 of the stripe
COR: manually push all needles to D again, return program to design row one, check settings, as the first design row pattern is preselected an all knit row 2 will be added. As patterning resumes from the left another 2 all knit rows will be produced before selective patterning occurs.
If any extra all knit rows are wanted cancel patterning on the knit carriage, set it to N, knit the extra rows, remember to end on the proper side for the first preselection row, and what options may be necessary to complete that row correctly.
To reverse patterns without extra knit rows:
COL: store yarn. The carriage can be removed and brought to the opposite side, or stitches need to be manually be placed in the B position for a free pass to the right. This involves placing the cam selector button on N, returning the cams set to slip in both directions.
COR, all needles also need to be in work in B position, no yarn, in order to make a free pass to preselect from right to left, ending COL
COL: pick up yarn and continue in pattern. These textures require a lot of carriage passes, which tend to fuzz up the yarn on the purl side of the knit a bit. The shape I created was not very leafy to my mind, but still interesting, especially on the purl side. The yarn used in a 2/15 wool, knit on Tension 5
Moving on to a wider version, using 24 stitches in width to allow for using the pattern on a punchcard: this repeats works both as-is and mirrored, the groups of stitches moved in and out of work is now half of the new design repeat = 12. 
Making the repeat work in any number for this shape involves lining up the needle selection in each group of needles and constant counts for holding sequences. Punchard knitters would need 2 separate cards. 
The lovely mess in the swatch happened when I stopped paying attention to everything but what was happening on the needle bed and missed the tangle of yarns in my yarn mast. There is enough knitting, however, to note that the repeat is sound and that the edges on both sides are formed by the narrowest part of the shapes in each direction. One way to solve that is by casting on and binding off along tops and bottoms of shapes as seen in the yellow and green swatch at the top of the post. 
Planning things out to release those edges as seen at the top of the post
Working on outlining the shapes with contrast color: 
Problems to solve: maintaining an even number of rows in-between shapes and a straight edge along both sides. The latter could happen with triangles prior to knitting full shapes at either or both ends, the first sample failed on the left side due to both triangles being knit in the same sequence; 
that may be solved by beginning shaping on 2 stitches on the left rather than the full 12, mirrored. The proper sequence for actual knit stitches for the first, bottom set, and mirrored for the second, top set 
still only partway there 
I am presently knitting with my left hand in a splint that has exposed velcro teeth, which has caused some interesting issues with actual knitting and with yarn snags. To end this latest effort, in yet another knitting aaargh! moment, it appears my iron is now overheating and burned the wool! From observing the above swatch on the purl side it looks as though each row of shapes needs to have a triangular shape at each end. Also, the contrasting color line thickness is not constant. The purpose of automation should be to make things easier, not confounding. After yet another trial, I decided to give up on attempting to use the automated repeat to produce an effect that was consistent and made me happy.
Setup for a leaf in each color is far less fiddly and simpler to execute. A tentative layout and knitting sequence:
Begin on waste yarn, decide on the color of the cast on, and any additional knit rows prior to beginning in the pattern. Each of the side triangles is shaped using manual holding techniques over 12 stitches. If starting on the right, the first preselection row needs to be made moving from left to right as above on the first 24 stitches. With knit carriage set to both slip in both directions and holding with COL make certain the first 24 stitches on the right in B position make a free pass to the right.
COR: cut yarn, change color, knit the first shape repeat, end COR
COR: when all needles in the group are preselected, push the first 12 needles on the carriage side out to holding position, push 12 stitches on their left back into upper work position as you would in any holding pattern, they will knit in the slip setting as well. Cut the yarn, change color, repeat across the row of shapes
COR: when the last group of 12 needles on the left is preselected with all needles out to hold or removing the carriage and positioning it on the other side, begin knitting COL.
COL: manually knit triangle at top of the previous row of shapes
If a contrasting color stripe or any other pattern is intended between a full row of shapes, execute them and end COL
COL: shape the second triangle for the start of the reversed row of shapes, get the carriage to the right side by a pass over all needles in holding position or removing the carriage and bringing it to the opposite side
COR: the second pattern is programmed. Punchcard knitters use the second card, electronics mirror the shape. With the first 24 stitches on the left in B position and the knit carriage set for holding and to slip in both directions, make a preselection pass to left.
COL: change color, knit shape, and continue on as described above reversing shaping
As with intarsia, there will be lots of yarn ends to weave in and clean up those eyelets at the start of each color change. The swatch after a quick pressing
The possibilities could be endless. Electronic machines do not have the limitation of working within the 24 stitches maximum design width. Shapes can be fully automated using only slip stitch setting, no holding, but repeats become exponentially wide and long. The technique merits its own post.
A hand knit consult to machine knit slip stitch
I was contacted via a comment here about the possible methods for reproducing this handknit pattern 
Observations: there are elongated loops on the knit side of the fabric, likely created with slipped stitches. There appear to be eyelets on the purl side. The total number of stitches remains constant throughout the knit. The row repeat spacing is fairly close, so at least to start with I tried single repeats to achieve the look, was not pleased with any of the initial results. That led me to an online search for what would visually appear to have similar qualities in handknit samples. Knittingfool.com is an extensive resource and, to my eye, this slip stitch pattern, “little birds”, shares similarities with the above swatch 
as do “oats” found in a 1984 handknitting publication 
I have a hard time with longhand written instructions for patterns nowadays, have grown so used to creating or working from published charts. As usual, I plan out tentative repeats and ideas, began with this, toying with where to place slipped stitches 
and then transitioned to translating any repeats for use in machine knitting, keeping in mind that in hand knitting actions are made as the row is being knit, while in machine knitting they take place prior to returning the carriage to the opposite side thus knitting that row. This was my first repeat after replacing cells with squares representing knit stitches with black and white planned pixels for electronic download.
On the machine, the distance between stitches is fixed, so for any crossings or lots of movement across the needle bed it is best to use yarn with a bit of stretch, and a stitch size large enough to allow for the desired actions. I found slipping for 2 rows only did not create enough loop length, so I changed the slip stitch areas to 3 rows in height. 
The slip stitch setting is used in both directions throughout. White squares represent areas where needles on the bed are skipped/slipped, not being selected forward and thus knit. This happens for 3 rows, resulting in the required elongated stitches. On the 4th pattern row, the group of 3 not selected needles is where the stitch transfers and crossings occur. Any cabling, eyelet fill-in, etc, needs to be performed prior to knitting that row and moving the carriage to the opposite side. The work is always done with purl side facing, so matching the direction of patterning to a hand-knit may also require mirroring of crossings, depending on your knitting machine model. The goal is to have the K3tog with the long loops in front of the single knit stitch in the center position.
To execute the slip stitch crossings in front of the center knit stitch on the knit side of the fabric transfer the center stitch in the group of 3 and hold aside, take the left elongated stitch and move it onto the now empty needle at the center position of the group of 3
transfer the elongated stitch on the right onto that same center stitch. This may be done in the reverse order to have loops move in the opposite direction on the knit side of the fabric. 
Move the stored original center stitch back onto that center position, there will now be 3 stitch loops held on the single needle 
fill in the empty needles to avoid large eyelets, picking up from the row below 
repeat the process across the bed, bring all the needles used out to hold position prior to knitting the next row 
The yarn used was 3/8 wool at loosest tension possible, the result is subtle as any spaces between stitches get pretty well filled in. Moving on to denser patterning 
The elongated stitch crossings now happen every 4 rows, but across two needles, not one. I used a tightly twisted rayon for the test swatch thinking they might be more visible, but the openness in the stitch formation because of the fixed spacing on the metal bed confuses the texture a bit. Simply leaving the empty needle out of work and continuing to knit (1) created too large an eyelet to my taste. Trying to pick up the third slipped loop (2) had the same effect. The best result was obtained by picking up from the row below on each side of the three stitches that are removed and then returned to the needle bed (3).
When pattern row 4 is reached, the not selected stitches are removed on a 3 prong tool, the elongated stitches are moved onto the center needle of the now resulting group of 5
e wrapping the third row of floats can be tested by inserting a single eye tool front to back, twisting either counter or clockwise and rehanging on an empty needle, thus casting on an “extra” stitch 
going back to picking up from row below 
this shows the number of skip stitch floats in each test 
the appearance on the knit side 
comparison to the handknit. 
Charting the actions for a hand-knit version: the top images illustrate the moves on the purl side while on the machine, below it those on the knit side when hand knitting the pattern
Plotting out borders and repeats for a small test including make-1 increases in order to keep the total stitch count constant. I do little hand knitting nowadays, so when doing so I add as much information as possible including some stitch counts until the pattern is established and I can visually follow it more easily. 
The resulting test swatch 
Comparison with the original: I knit 3 together through front loops, so my long stitches are crossed in the opposite direction of the original. Knitting through the back of the 3 stitches would reverse it and yield a matching result. 
This is an illustration of the method I used to “make one”, in my swatch I kept the direction constant
A later post that includes color explorations: Slip stitch patterns with hand transferred stitches, single bed