Swatches and Experiments – Page 7

Carpet or pile stitch knitting on Passap and Brother KMs 1

Pile, carpet, or loop stitch are terms used for a raised relief fabric made on KMs using both beds, with or without programmed patterning motifs on either bed. Two-color patterns are sometimes also called “punch pile”. Depending on the machine brand and on the thickness of the yarn, loops may be formed every row or every other, varying the pile density. Beds are always at half-pitch, the same setting used for every needle rib. The “needle rule” is disregarded. The first and the last needle are always on the non-patterning bed, to anchor down any loops close to the edge of the fabric. In machines with automatic end needle selection, the function is canceled. Some yarns and designs will even tolerate loops being dropped at the end of knitting. Sometimes dropping them every few rows will work. If any yarn splitting or fussy knitting off because of fiber content occurs, then dropping stitches may be needed after every row of loops formed. If using multiple colors of yarn on either of these 2 brands, having them equal gauge/weight is helpful.

The Passap knitting machines, as well as the Brother, did not have a built-in yarn feeder to facilitate knitting this fabric such as that possible in the Studio brand. Particularly with the advent of the E6000 Passap model, for a while, there was keen interest in how to produce similar fabrics. Susanna Lewis was among the first to describe knitting pile across multiple brands, whether punchcard models or, later, electronics.

The fabric loops are created with one pass of the carriage, the next row of knitting is intended to anchor down those loops, and with no needle or pusher selection, no stitches knit on the patterning bed. This fact gives one the opportunity to drop loops without disturbing pattern selection. Some of my drop stitch lace previous blog posts discuss designing such fabrics. Color separations are required. The E 6000 console performs many of these automatically, one simply has to plug in the appropriate “technique” number. The default DBJ separation made by the console in Brother electronics may not be used because blank rows for no needle selection need to be added in order to attempt the long loop or stitch fabrics. This, in turn, requires the knitter to do the work. Design rows are expanded

Graph Motif Color
Row 1 Row 1 Color 1
Row 2 Row 1 Color 2
a blank row is inserted on top of each of the separated rows, so for each 2 color design row, there will now be 4 charted rows

The E 6000 has some built-in technique choice options for knitting and automatically adding blank rows in charts where needed. This allows for the locks, empty of any yarn, to travel from and then back to the color changer achieving stitch dropping. My preference is to work with stitch dropping tools instead of the extra rows “knit” without yarn. Also, if the goal is to work between KM brands, keeping the separations more compact is practical, particularly if one plans to use the end chart with a punchcard or a mylar sheet for programming.

I had tried some pile fabrics on the E 6000 in the past, found the knitting too loose for my liking, but by light felting (wool yarn) result, I had a stable, attractive fabric that could easily be cut and sewn in combination with other knit companion DBJ fabrics. Another option in wearables to add stability may be an iron-on knit interfacing used on areas of pile knit. When I pushed the back bed tension as much as physically possible with the yarn used and was happier with the result. The only problem I encountered was in thinking I could knit a few extra rows on the back bed only before dropping the knit off the machine for inspection. The old adage still applies: if more than a row or 2 are to be knit across all stitches on any single machine bed, each yarn has an optimum tension required for stitches to form properly. Pushing limits will lead to problems. I had a lovely lock jam. For wide ribs, the same principle applies the more stitches on either bed, the closer tension on that bed to what number would apply to stocking stitch on that bed.

CARPET STITCH KNITTING ON PASSAP E-6000 with release stitch tool. Use any 2 color Fairisle pattern from the pattern book that accompanies the machine. Both Passap manuals are now available for free download online. I randomly chose # 1407 for my test.
Start with all stitches on the back bed. If the piece is started with ribbing, transfer all the front bed stitches to the back bed. For test swatches, if open stitches do not matter, it is possible to do a quick single bed cast on the Passap in a couple of ways, the “broken toe” cast on will work across brands. Have an extra needle and pusher on each side of the back bed when setting up work for patterning. Set the back bed tension as tight as possible, with the front bed 1 – 1.5 tension numbers looser than the back bed. As always test a small swatch before committing to a larger one.
Start with all stitches on the back bed, with an extra pusher on each side on the back bed when setting up for patterning

One-color carpet stitch in design: Technique 256, handle down, black strippers are recommended. I rarely if ever use black, go for orange first, sometimes combining with one blue or switching to 2 blues if the fabric calls for it. Ignore console instructions. The back bed is set to FX left arrow key <–, not BX as instructed. Do not use the AX setting by mistake. FX will tuck right to left, knit left to right (toward the color changer, which in Passap sits on the right side rather than on the left as in Brother machines). Knit rows help anchor loops. Back bed pushers are in 1 up, 1 down set up.
Using one arrow key means the same selection is repeated for 2 rows before the switch is made to the adjacent pusher and the corresponding needle. The front bed is set to LX (slip) throughout. The racking handle is down (setting for every needle rib). Two rows are knit, then the front bed stitches are dropped (Passap knitting beds are in reverse position to Japanese machines set up with their ribbers). If loops are long they may need to be pushed between the beds before knitting the next row. Passap machines have pushers for this purpose, in Brother rulers or any number of tools may be used for the same purpose.

Two-color carpet stitch: Technique 185, black (or other) strippers, 184 may also be used, its graphic gives the added reminder for 1X1 pusher set up on the back bed. The back bed tension setting is the same as for the one color pattern, the front bed knits in LX throughout. In theory, stitches may be dropped every 4 rows. Some yarns may split and catch the alternate color requiring dropping after each color is used, others will tolerate much less frequent dropping. It is all an experiment to start with.

Again: the back bed tension must be as tight as possible, the front bed at least 1.5 tension numbers higher until tests determine what is best for the yarn being used. Multiple strands of some thinner yarn may also be worth a shot. Weights are needed on the knitting, no matter what brand machine is in use.

One-color trial: back tension too loose, note change in texture after tightening back lock tension; the loops are formed on the purl side

the 2 color version, with adjusted tension on the back bed

note vertical stripes in backing

At the end of knitting the pile, add anchoring rows of knitting on the back bed only (tension may need to be changed after a couple of rows), proceed as preferred.

embossed one color pile (black 2/8 wool) Passap black pile

One-color pile, striped background:
Technique 185, black strippers, handle down. Locks set as for above.
Knit two rows with the pile color
Set all front bed pushers down to rest position, change to the second color
Knit 2 rows, the back bed only will knit
Drop the front bed stitches, set all front bed pushers to work position-

Previous posts with info on accessories useful for dropping stitches and loops 1, 2, 3.

This method is a hack intended to emulate pile knitting created on the Studio machine. The ribber features had specific options for such fabrics. These pages are from the Singer SRP-50 ribber manual and one of their punchcard books and share some principles while illustrating setting and card design. Food for thought on any adaptation for use on other brands. Studio settings were reviewed in post-2015/02/20/pile-knitting/.

The comment on this post, clarified in an email, was actually in reference to knitting a solid single–color pile on the Passap. Tech 256 is intended to be used with a stitch pattern. This is a fabric that is slow to knit. My Passap had long been unused, and I had issues with yarn splitting and the yarn mast not maintaining even tension, which accounts for the occasionally pulled loops where they did not drop off properly, and the changes in some of the stitch sizes in a few rows on the reverse side. Looking at the Studio information again, I went back to the drawing board for a solution and a proof of concept swatch
1. cast on so that all stitches are on the back bed
2. knit a few rows in stocking stitch sorting the tightest tension at which your yarn will knit, also experiment with the front lock tension in order to produce as large a loop as possible that will also drop off properly, end to begin your test with locks on the right side:
3. bring back bed pushers to the up position, set the back lock to EX with the left arrow key. All needles will tuck moving to the left, and knit on their return to the right
3. the front lock is set to CX, it will knit on all needles to the left creating loops on the front bed, while the back lock does the same, slips all needles moving to the right.
When the locks reach the left side there will be loops on every needle on both beds. As they move from left to right, the needles on the back bed will knit, securing the loops there and anchoring the ones on the front bed while the front bed is slipped
4. with locks again on the right side, use stitch ditcher or another tool to drop off loops on the front bed, returning needles to proper work position, follow with a pass using a single eye tool to push loops between the beds, checking that none are left in the needle hooks
*make 2 more passes with locks from and returning to the right, drop off loops**, and continue from * to **
The difference in the size of the long stitches between loop rows in the photo was eliminated by tightening the tension on the back lock, it is evident that even are anchored even in those segments. As with any fabric, the larger the intended piece, the more likely some further adjustments may have to be made.

Geometric shapes in drop stitch lace 3, end release

I began to think about color separations again, in reference to pile knitting and returned to the chart used in the circular shape in the #1 blog post in this thread. While studying it, it occurred to me that the fabric might be created by releasing the stitches at the end of the knitting. Brother punchcard books (now downloadable for free online), at the back, usually had a page with “lace-like patterns by KR” illustrating some of the possibilities in what I have been referring to as drop stitch lace. Once again, all stitches are transferred to the non-patterning bed. Selected needles whether by hand or by the machine, are in this instance, not released until the very top of the piece is reached. In long pieces of this type of lace, I find dropping stitches at regular intervals rather than waiting until the end helps things run smoothly, and gives one the episodic opportunity to evaluate proper stitch formation, to move up weights, etc. I found in my first swatch my inexpensive grey wool was really sticky and kept trying to knit with the white after the color was changed, explaining the mess on the left of the purl side image. Also, it pays to have some weight on, or at least to keep an eye on, the color changer side. As yarn colors are carried up (every 2 rows) between color changes if they are not long enough they will pull in the fabric on that side. If the end product is to be gathered at one end i.e. in a skirt, that could be an asset, but not so if the intent is to have it lie flat.

The pattern is programmed beginning on a row with black squares in it, ends on a blank row. The selection row in this instance is done from right to left (toward the color changer), the next color is picked up, and the process repeats every 2 rows. At the desired height I like to have the ribber knit the last row on only its needles before the stitches on the main bed are dropped across the width of the knit. Tugging on the comb and weights will speed things up. The fabric grows significantly in length, so watch where those weights are headed.

my first try, purl side

knit side

Along with changing the “nasty” grey yarn in the next swatch, I moved the knit further away from the color changer, and things went very smoothly. If where the repeat is placed in the knit matters, however, then the needle bed would need to be programmable as well to change the center needle position

the illusion knit inspired method of charting and working the released stitches does not work for this technique, the result is simply very large, striped, single color per 2 rows, loose stitchesEnd release does not work in every design. Sometimes in long pieces, portions of some rows will simply not release, fuzzy yarns may result in the same. In addition, if long stitch shapes are distributed on knit striped grounds, the release needs to happen at a minimum when the top of each shape is reached. A sample with drop-stitch interrupted by all knit rows and with only one color released 500_986

Geometric shapes in drop stitch lace 2, Brother KM

Occasionally I do play with hand knitting and charting for it. A couple of years ago I wrote on the topic of illusion / shadow knitting. The repeat is 24 stitches wide, so it is suitable for use on punchcard machines as well.

a chart from that blog post

the resulting hand knit, on the purl side

While working out the circle in the previous post it occurred to me that the results were quite similar to shadow knits, where depending on the angle from which the fabric is viewed, images begin to appear in the striped fabric. The above chart is missing those all blank rows that result in no needle selection. The solution for using this type of color separation for drop stitch on the machine is to use double length. Other KM settings remain the same as in the previous post. The first selection row is from left to right. The big difference is that once again, there will be the same needle selection on the next row. With some needles in B and some in D, a slider or pusher will not move across the needle bed. In the past, I tried to drop stitches selectively on the main bed with rulers or whatever was handy. Now, instead, I found pushing the whole row back to B, allowed me to use my new tool to move back and forth across the needle bed, making faster work of the process, and returning needles in position for the next main bed row to be selected on the first pass, knit on the second. The swatch was casually steamed

knit side

purl side, viewed as it would appear in a sideways knit

Without the “tool”, all stitches can be brought to E and back to B with a ruler, piece of garter bar, ribber cast on comb, or another handy toy. Dropping stitches is done while carriages are on the right, they return to the left knitting only on the ribber. In the previous post, the ribber only knit first, both beds knit on the second row, and stitches were, in turn, dropped with carriages and yarn on the color changer side (L), after no needle pre-selection across the main bed.

Geometric shapes in drop stitch lace 1, Brother KM

These pattern repeats may become quite large, and are suitable for designing and downloading with software. Testing repeats in a small section to start with insures methods and accuracy when planning the larger ones. Here I would prefer a wider, brick repeat, however, I am working with mylar on a 910 so in this test, settled for a vertical repeat, the result is shown below. The pattern reminds me of shadow knits.

knit side purl side purl side, as it would appear in a sideways knit 500 charting things out

As it stands, the repeat is 32 stitches wide, 32 rows high. The colored 3-row segments on right, if collapsed would result in an all-black row, with no overlap. Colors are changed every 2 rows unless the repeat is designed differently. Care is needed on the color changer side, making certain both colors are not picked up together as the color is changed, resulting in the ribber knitting both yarns together. KCII is used, canceling needle selection. An extra needle is put into work at each end on the main bed. This fabric widens considerably, so casting on and binding off need special consideration. Before pattern knitting starts, all stitches must be on the ribber bed alone, with needles in work, but empty, on the main bed.

I chose to knit my swatch with a first-row selection from left to right. The KC is set to slip in both directions, the ribber N/N throughout. This knits all stitches on the ribber, selects needles for main bed stitches to be knit on the next row. On RC 2, selected stitches will knit, while preselection for the next row will place all main bed needles in B position as the carriage moves to the left, leaving them ready to get “dropped”. Use your tool of choice to drop stitches and return them to the B position once again. Color is changed, and the sequence repeats.

Previous blog posts on the topic: 2 colors per row, Japanese machines, on the Passap, an edging, stitch dropping tools, and occasional bits of info in other threads, ie. on drop stitch “bubbles”.

I prefer to automate needle selection whenever possible. Published material often requires hand techniques. Some samples are readily available for inspiration: the first image shows basic settings and some variations from the Brother pattern books. Stitches to be dropped are created on the ribber. Pattern 942 may be released at end of knitting. Cards (or mylars) may be marked to track racking handle positions, addressed in my previous post: 2015/11/07/unconventional-uses-for-punchcards-1/, or rows marked in color for other repetitive functions

from the ribber techniques book page 23:For a cumulative list of related posts please see: 2017/11/04/revisiting-drop-release-stitch-lace/

A block lace pattern on KM 3 (punchcard, LC, HT)

This is the original lace working repeat as seen in previous post. It needs to be reduced in repeat width, with segments then moved to accommodate the required changes in height as well

getting things down to 12 sts repeat width, eliminating sts and rows: easy task with software and virtual “graph paper”the segments, collaged together; black squares now to become punched holesmarking out borders to suit mylar or brand of blank punchcard makes placing the markings for transfers accurately easier ie.

every 5 squares every 6 squares

chart with actions of lace carriage included, the 14 stitch by 24 rows electronic repeat now reduced to a 12 stitch by 16 row repeat; see previous post for symbols keya brief test of the resulting fabric: blue circles highlight a couple of the intersecting spots where the punchcard produced lace fabric looks different from the electronic version, because of its shortened and narrowed repeats

A block lace pattern on KM 2 (electronic LC, HT)

Sometimes I begin by analyzing the moves on large print paper to get a sense of the direction for the required transfer moves. This pattern is fairly straightforward, single moves to the right or to the left. What makes it different is what I have referred to as the knit side “chain” in the previous post. To achieve this, sets of stitches are transferred, doubled up, and moved back to the original position to create the proper eyelet placement.

Tension may have to be adjusted to accommodate the double travel of stitches. If it is just a tad off and occasional stitches sit on a closed latch, that may not be noticed, and runs in lace are no fun. Edge stitches get fussy as the knitting grows, edge weights moved up at regular intervals can help with that problem. Where 2 stitches need to move to their right or left, I have chosen to do so by hand rather than relying on the lace carriage to move them onto the single needle, and in turn back onto the center one of the group of 3. My initial notes on paper:Assigning colors for transfer, charting in excel: green to left, pink to right, checking where markings need to be for full KM repeat:

Expanding the repeat, adding 2 blank rows between pairs of transfers with the intent to white out square for “wrong” transfer rows places transfers to right on wrong chart row

all markings, shifted to proper location

symbols used: black squares = mylar markings

The lace carriage begins on left as usual, makes 4 passes before each 2 rows knit. The first sequence hand transfer occurs on row 2 of the 4 LC passes. The second sequence hand transfer on row 1 of 4 passes. After the 3 onto one hand transfer, be certain all 3 needles line up in B position before the lace carriage makes its transfers as well.

the resulting fabric’s knit side

purl side

A block lace pattern on the KM 1

A friend recently posted a forum query on a published pattern that has led to my exploring another hand to machine knit transfer lace. The “flemish block lace” design from the second treasury of knitting patterns by Barbara Walker, p. 270 seemed to be the lace pattern motif used. Here is a partial detail from the fabric that began the discussion

Below is a chart for the Walker repeat produced with Intwined. The repeat is a multiple of 14 + 3 border stitches, the first row is purl, but I could not enter an all purl for row one and not have the remaining symbols altered by the program, which assumes in lace the first row is knitthe program’s generated HK instructions for one repeat plus 3 border stitches In attempting the machine knit version I chose to use the HK chart for my transfers as it stood, the directions of the transfers being mirrored vertically did not matter to me.

This design has “chains” traveling along some of the edges of the diagonal shapes. A lot of moving stitches in groups of 2 or 3 is required to achieve the look. It may be possible to achieve the fabric knitting with the aid of a lace carriage, but planning the punchcard or electronic repeat and correcting any dropped stitches pose special challenges. My first samples were knit on the bulky KM, working in width of the 17 sts illustrated above.

I began to test transfers by moving stitches every row. Interesting things happen when single rows are knit on the machine as opposed to the traditional 2 in multiple transfer lace, as well as the resulting shape being half the number of rows long. The eyelet yarn lies single, without the twist usually seen, and begins to look more like ladders (see previous posts on zig zag ladder lace).

knit sidepurl side

with 2 knit rows between transfers (the missing eyelet in marked spot is due to operator error) the familiar look of multiple transfer lace appears

below the swatch image is flipped horizontally for a different perspective, approaching the original hand-knit inspiration 1940 looking at charting differently, back to Excel: single repeat

checking alignment, adding border stitches adding color

checking alignment, adding border stitchesThe next consideration might be how to make executing the pattern easier on a standard machine. Needle pre-selection may be used to guide hand transfers. Working out the electronic repeat, represented by black squares: the transfer directions

the chart in repeat , including bordersThere is no transfer on row 3 of the repeat next to border on the chart left, it is omitted in the bottom of the chart, shown on the top half. End needle selection is canceled throughout. The resulting test swatch, one operator error transfer missing on mid left:

knit side purl sideOne of the issues I encountered during the initial tests was that of occasional needles “sneaking”/ dropping back on the machine, so ladders rather than eyelets were formed. The needle retainer bar is old, and I like to work lace with the ribber off and a tilted main bed, explaining the possible cause.

A lace WIP

A WIP using a punchcard developed in the previous post. I missed a dropped stitch and wound up with a glorious run and giant hole, one of the ultimate joys of lace knitting. I find repairing such is more easily done if the knit is dropped off the machine, pressed lightly, and knitting is unraveled to the point where it can be re-hung on an all knit row. Lace traditionally is shown blocked, perhaps to maximize the eyelet pattern. If “left alone” it can have an interesting 3-dimensional surface. The latter is more likely to be retained if one uses yarn with “memory”, such as wool, and knits the fabric in as low tension as possible.

The images below show my WIP and the difference in the untreated vs. the pressed and steamed portions of the piece. The yarn is a hand/ machine knitting super-wash wool/ polyamide blend. The manufacturer’s suggested machine knitting tension was 7-5, my cowl in progress is knit at 8.2 to make the transfers manageable.

“Button holes” and “make many – increase” “lace”

An image often found on Pinterest, with its source attributed to a Vero Moda garment and accompanied by a “how-to” request, led me to give “designing” it a shot. Here, I believe, 2 layers of a garment are pictured, resulting in the stocking stitch knit that appears behind the eyelets. Analyzing the fabric: a wide, flat rib is created. The equivalent of “buttonholes” with a fewer cast on than bound off stitches is in use, creating the narrowing effect at the top of each slit, four stitches are “lost”. Making multiple stitches from one (4 in this case) restores the original stitch count and returns width to the fabric. To make 4: Knit 1, purl 1, knit 1, purl 1 into the same stitch, or in this case, the bar between the 2 center stitches. Executing this is not “practical” on the knitting machine. Below is one possible method that could be adapted for groupings with slits of varying sizes.

My chart, showing 4 repeats (black border) and 3 added starting rows. Green numbers on the bottom indicate the repeat’s width (20 stitches), and on the left its height (12 rows). Slits are created every 6th row, with the right side facing. Two more stitches would be added on the far right for each side to match in the finished piece. Side borders and top and bottom bands could be made wider and longer respectively, knit in garter stitch to keep edges flat.

the symbols used

my unblocked sample, knit on 32 stitches in worsted weight acrylic, using #8 needles

Zig Zag ladder lace 2: hand knit

I work primarily on a Mac, Maverick OS. Intwined software has had some issues operating in Mac consistently in the latest OS versions. The chart to text can be a really nice feature. The repeat, drawn here with symbols in the built in stitch library, shows errors in row 2 and 4 of the accompanying text.

On a larger canvas, the original repeat is outlined below in red. Yellow indicates knit border stitches around ladder lace pattern repeats; row 22 is absent from the text that accompanied the larger chart.

Skitch is a free program, available for both Mac and Windows, that allows the opportunity for of highlighting or further editing a graphic. Taking the information above, here I added numbers that reflect actual repeat rows, used the arrows as a reminder of change in direction of zig zag, and the red outlines vs green indicate changes in type of knit decrease. It is easy to add as much or as little additional information as one feels helpful. There are controls for line thickness, shadows, etc.

JKnit is another program that may be of interest to anyone who prefers to track their projects, progress, and much more on their iPad or iPhone. The Lite version is free for both devices.

Below is an image of the hand knit swatch, unblocked, which appears three dimensional; transfer lace has traditionally been blocked to lie flat and maximize eyelets. The fabric may be very interesting without blocking. If a slightly thicker yarn with “memory” is used, the piece may be steamed lightly, and the pattern segments will tend to shift in and out from the flat surface, whether the piece is hand or machine knit.

The yarn used was a “throw away” swatch testing acrylic. A very quick, light press and a bit of steam and here it is in the resulting killed, forever flattened version

and it reverse side