Category: Tuck Stitches

Cross brand pattern interpretations: Dubied to Brother

Reviewing Brother carriages: I am drawn to published pattern books for different brand machines at different periods of time and enjoy the puzzle of converting their designs to machines I have ready access to.
At this point in time most of my swatches are produced on a 930 using img2track to download files when needed while still making an attempt to share repeats usable on punchcard knitting machines when possible.
I have never been in the same space as a Dubied, but have been researching online trying to gather any information that might help me translate more of the patterns presented in the manual “for developing your hand and machine sampling”. These are my personal notes, not meant as accurate teaching tools, but shared to perhaps serve some use to others when decoding cross-brand pattern instructions.
Close to the completion of this post, I acquired the manual for the Dubied N4 model from a friend, with these images and some variations of the text. The associated tools from an online sale site: Manuals available online for free download 

Another source of inspiration for a different machine, Italian text only available, with many similar stitch structures: The Coppo numbering for settings in a box format My initial attempts to develop an understanding of functions began with an illustration from the Dubied N4 parts manual Some related functions, the term cardigan is used to refer to what many of us know as tuck stitch.   Visualizations of mirrored matching cam lever positions on opposite beds.  These machines do not create patterns via punchcards, instead, cams inside the carriages are controlled by switches that alter stitch formations. They are classified by the inclusion of the following symbols
N: equipped with rib and tube cams
F: equipped with cardigan cams for the execution of all tuck stitch fabrics
H: fitted with high and low butt needles. The raising cams operate either all the needles or high butt needles only. All machines with these needles are equipped with cam-plates allowing all the knit-and-tuck or all-tuck combination fabrics to be formed
4: 4 yarn carriers, which can be placed on either side and allow the manufacture of different pieces at once.
Basic rib structures are modified further by positioning needles in specific needle arrangements.
Functions and settings are often represented in manuals and publications in varied ways. The N4 manual supplement shows an undercarriage numbering system that uses a different sequence than my illustrations. The particular model introduced the addition of auto cams, allowing for alternate function patterning on needles in different positions.  I find it easier to think of settings on each bed separately, especially in cases where bed instructions also need to be reversed.
This is my initial effort at illustrating comparisons between the Dubied and Brother settings for knitting specific swatches.
Any fabrics acting on stitches occurring on selective tuck or slip stitches on one or both beds would need to be programmed in Brother machines for patterning on the top bed. On the ribber, the use of lili buttons will automate card 1 needle selection in the pattern on an even number of needles, but in many instances, in executing the Dubied patterns, hand selection in specific needle arrangements may be required as often as every row.  Information from N4 pub after I had created the above, with additions and some paraphrasing: the numbering system for “keys and levers”  Key positions:
1. closed if turned toward the inside of the carriage, no rows will be knitted ie slip stitch in both directions for a free pass, no knitting, with no yarn using Brother
2. opened if turned toward the outside/ away from the carriage, rows will knit
3. central position for floating threads on the low-heel needles, knit/slip, programming for needle selection in upper work, Brother D, and lower, Brother B, or limited Brother ribber selections using lili buttons
Stitch size dials:
Numbering from 1-20, two on the front carriage, two on the rear carriage, three  lengths can be set using the stitch size dial, indicated by three colors red, black, and green  (Cardigan) Levers: each lever can be positioned separately:   pointing toward the outside of the carriages/ back: the space between them  neutral/middle: if activated will hold the thread on all needles (tuck loops across all needles in work)pointing toward the inside of the carriage/ forward: if activated will hold the thread (form tuck loops) on the low heel (non-selected needles in Brother)Sliding unladen (no yarn) carriage/ free pass: made with keys 1, 2, 3, 4 closed/ Brother carriages set to slip in the direction of knitting
Plain knit or any rib setting: Keys  1, 2, 3, and 4 open the carriages work on selected needles, levers facing outward/ Brother with both beds set for plain knitting

Combining knit carriage needle selection with racking 2017 and
A racking tale: Passap/Brother 3  in 2019 used this repeat as the springboard for textures that did not match the original in stitch and row counts or racking sequences. The racking handle position is referred to as up or down, similar to the Passap system.  The ribber is used as the front bed.
I initially interpreted a round as a single row of knitting and held onto that for a while, and my arrangement for needles in and out of work on either bed was reduced.
Sometimes there are good reasons why our swatches do not match the inspiration one, a bit like changing ingredients in a recipe and wondering why the result is different.
The first test: in practice, I was simply unable to get the ribber to rack by 4 positions after only 3 knit rows, the problem was solved by a change in the needle arrangement and racking by only 3 positions in either direction. Another option would have been to add more all-knit rows between racking sequences as seen in the subsequent Coppo machine pattern adaptation, creating deeper folds.
The tension was adjusted to the tightest possible and remained fixed with no variations on either bed.
The gauge is likely looser than that in the Dubied manual, forming larger stitches and resulting in a softer shape definition.
Brother tension adjustments can only be made on one dial on either carriage, while the Dubied offers multiple settings on both beds.
To knit manually changing ribber settings, cast on with racking position on 7.
After casting on and transferring stitches up to the top bed the needles are arranged as follows, blank cells represent needles placed out of work back to A position: 1. Knit 3 rows on both beds
2. Set the ribber to slip in both directions, knit 3 rows on top bed only, and rack to position 10
3. Set the ribber to knit, knit 3 rows on both beds
4. Set the ribber to slip in both directions, knit 3 rows on top bed only, and rack back to position 7.
Repeat the 4 steps, ending with 3 knit rows before binding off.
Elongated stitches happen on the bed with needles out of work, in this case, the ribber, and the texture will appear on the knit side.
The needed racking positions become easy to identify as the knitting begins to grow. If one wishes to track hand techniques along with their respective row numbers and racking positions a spreadsheet can quickly be created including specifics ie in this case row counts, ribber settings changes, and racking positions:  Automating the selection, and swapping beds make the process easier to track: begin on racking position 7, inverting the needle arrangement in order to keep the same racking sequence.  Cancel end needle selection whenever any needles are out of work on the main bed and the knit carriage is set to slip in both directions. It is not always necessary, but a good habit to develop.  The width of the main bed is programmed using a repeat that has 3 rows of punched holes/black pixels, followed by 3 unpunched rows/white pixels repeated X2, for a total of 12 rows. Emptied needles on the knit bed are pushed back out of work to the A position. All ribber needles are in the work position.
Needle preselection in Brother on the knit bed will not interfere with racking since ribber needles are continuously in the B position.
Cancel end needle selection, KCII, as in any fabric with slip stitch selection on the top bed combined with needles out of work.
After the repeat is programmed and the first preselection row has been made, racking will happen every 6 rows, first to position 10, and then back to 7.
Starting side does not matter unless color changes are intended on every even number of rows.
Elongated stitches happen on the bed with needles out of work, the texture will appear on the reverse side, where all needles are in work (NOOW). The blue is knit with NOOW and with setting changes on the ribber every 3 rows, while the yellow swatch is knit with the main bed programmed with NOOW and a 12-row repeat using the slip stitch setting in both directions. When a round is interpreted as 2 rows of knitting, the carriages leave and return to the same side, color changes can be considered. The out-of-work/in-work needle arrangements now match the published counts, along with the repeat for knitting with the top bed set to slip and knit rather than the ribber. The method is the same as previously described.
Racking is now planned by four positions, and occurs every 12 rows once the needles are all preselected on the top bed, starting at racking position 6, to 10, and back to 6, producing a swatch matching the original.  What about adding color changes? An easy place to change color is when the needle selection changes from slip to knit, with each color knitting for 6 rows, remembering to also rack after every 12 rows.
The brown yarn was hard to see clearly on the needle bed. When off the machine there were interesting unplanned areas of dropped stitch lace where dropped stitches on the top bed had been missed.
Tabling the idea of adding other colors to this particular pattern, at least for now, but never say never in knitting (and baking).  And then there is this related pattern in the manual that involves racking by 4 positions and deliberately dropping stitches With some experience needle setups can be varied to suit, while achieving the same results as published illustrations.
I prefer to start with racking to left, as a result, the shapes in my swatches are mirrored horizontally when compared to those in the manual’s photo.
There are ways to make casting-on quick for testing small swatches when permanent edging starts do not matter.
One method to do so was described in the post: Ribber cast on comb/ open stitch single bed cast-on and was used here.
Ribber cast on combs traditionally came in different colors. I happened to try to use one of my grey ones presumably a Studio 4.5 mm one and found the spaces between its teeth not matching that between my Brother machine needles evenly. There were no issues when using the “silver” Brother comb. Here it is shown in position, with stitches cast only on the top bed,  and picking up loops for stitches on the ribber as the carriages travel to the opposite side. The plan is to move ribber stitches to the left by two positions three times before returning them to their original position.
The ribber carriage is set manually to knit on dark yarn rows and to slip on light yarn rows.
The ribber setting “song”: light/ slip levers up, dark / slip levers down.
The dark forms the dropped stitch lace pattern, it is thinner than the light yarn and the knit steams fairly flat.
Stitches are dropped by disconnecting the ribber carriage and making passes with no yarn, first to drop the stitches, and then to couple it once more with the knit carriage to continue knitting.  Automating the pattern, switching beds: program a 12-row repeat for 2 rows slipped, 2 knitted across all needles in work.
Note to self, when you swap beds and the ribber is forming all the knit stitches, do not use the ribber carriage to drop all the stitches on it!
Both yarns here are thin, and steam/press fairly flat.
If a ribber cast on for every other needle is used, remember to change the pitch from P to H after the transfers between the beds have taken place. A check to confirm that indeed needles will not smash into each other is quick to perform and well worth doing before continuing.
My needle arrangement:

It is interesting that the swatch photographs accompanying directions in the Coppo manual are not “perfect”, some showing pattern adjustments or even sporting holes not part of the design. This texture is very similar to the above

I initially interpreted 4 rounds as meaning 4 rows of knitting.
The resulting adaptation: cast on with the racking indicator on 6. The red numbers illustrate the guide provided in the publication and the bold black count adjustments in the actual knitting of the pattern. if attempting to match the original the 6 rows knit on the top bed should actually be 8 prior to racking.
The racking handle is set to 6
1. Knit 4 rows on both beds
2. Knit 4 6 rows on the top bed only
Rack by 4 positions, no direction given, I chose left to 10
3. Knit 4 rows on both beds
4. Knit 4 6 rows on the top bed only
Rack by 4 positions, I chose right to 6
Repeat steps 1-4
The elongated, slipped stitches are formed on the ribber, the bed with needles out of work, and the texture will appear on the knit side.
In any racking, the ribber bed may move beyond the stitches on the knit bed as the carriages move past the needles originally cast on and past the end stitch on one side or the other. This can help create some interesting side edgings.
That said, the first test swatch is knit changing ribber settings from knit to slip. If all needles are in work and the slip stitch setting is used, a float will be formed on the ribber if it has moved beyond the last needles in work on the opposite bed until the yarn reaches the stitches on the main bed as well.
It will not be an issue if stitches on that side are transferred up to the main bed. Automating the process, the beds are reversed, the repeat is now 20 rows high, and the knit carriage will be set to slip in both directions. The needle setup matches that given by the manufacturer.  Empty needles are pushed back to the A position after transfers.
Racking happens every 10 rows, just after every needle in work preselection on the main bed. This pattern utilizes the cardigan/tuck function and requires thicker yarn. The wool used here is a 2/8 weight, knit at as tight tension on the ribber as possible, in this case, 6. Here the instructions for knitting include references to specific numbers of rows rather than rounds. I was unable to reproduce anything like this sample in the manual with the illustrated needle arrangement, revised it.
The revised needle arrangement allowed for forming a vertical single-stitch column as in the swatch, and the racked patterns occurred at the center of a purl ground.
The swatches are knit in different wool weights. Racking happened by 2 positions after each round/ pair of knit rows, starting side did not matter.  The above were knit using the slip stitch setting.
Reviewing the manual once more, it was noted that the sample was in the center of a page with the heading: racked fabrics in the cardigan/ tuck stitch. The stitch formations using tuck stitch on alternating Brother and Passap beds are reviewed in the post on Fisherman and English rib.
No specific lever or key instructions were provided. The general advice given to knit the cardigan aka fisherman’s rib is to start with the Dubied carriage on the right, all keys open, and push lever 8 (front left) and lever 6 (rear right) to a neutral position (9). In the outward direction, the carriage knits along the rear needle bed and holds the thread on all the needles of the front needle bed; on the return, it alternates the processes, a tubular tuck.
On Brother, it would be done by selecting opposite tuck buttons, making either the selections on the left or on the right That is simply not happening with the pattern needle arrangement on a Brother machine, there are not enough stitches on opposing beds to anchor down tuck loops.
Half fisherman, aka English rib, tucks on every needle in work on one pass and knits every needle on the same bed on the return pass.
The new swatch is knitted using the same modified needle arrangement as added to the photo from the manual, starting from the right, with the ribber carriage set to tuck to left, knit to right, and the main bed set to knit every needle.  The swatch is shown in progress on the machine with needle placement as it would appear in the starting setup prior to knitting 2 rows.
The first row tucks on ribber needles when traveling to the left, the second knits on them when returning to the right, followed by racking 2 positions to the left.
Two more tuck/knit rows are followed by racking by two positions back to the right, in the starting needle arrangement.
The manual image is shown on the left, and the Brother swatch, mirrored horizontally, is shown on the right.  The following Dubied knit was particularly interesting to me and reminded me of this sample knit single bed in a previous post. Autocams are drum pattern devices that attach in pairs to the Dubied carriage that modify the stitches much like a punchcard would. It is a drum with pegs of different sizes and positions which rotates with a pass to the opposite side. The cams are selected by fingers.  The description is evocative of the Passap needle pattern selection in response to its pusher placements.
To execute this swatch, the top bed was programmed with a repeat suitable for punch card machines.
Guilloche fabrics are made with rows of stitches where tuck and knit stitches are combined and alternated for multiple fixed needle selection rows.
The working theory on converting the published instructions:  While the program eliminates having to change cam buttons manually on the top bed, the ribber settings need to be changed with each color change.
The tucks happen on both beds for 6 rows, so it is a necessity that any Brother sampling is knit using thin yarns. Here the dark is a 2/20 wool, and the light is a 2/28 unknown fiber, possibly acrylic, knit at tension 4 on both beds.
End needle selection is on, KCI.
The repeat is 12 rows in height.
Color changes and carriage settings happen every 6 rows.
The first preselection row is toward the color changer, the design will begin with a tuck pattern on the top bed and the ribber set to knit. On completion of the first 6 rows, COL, every needle on the top bed will have been preselected to the D position, the warning that a color carriage setting changes are due before continuing to knit. The top bed remains set to tuck but will subsequently knit every needle. The ribber needs to be manually set to tuck in both directions.  Upon completion of the 12-row repeat, with COL once more, the top bed will have been preselected in the tuck pattern, the warning that color and carriage setting changes are due before continuing to knit.
The ribber is set to knit once more, and the process is repeated.
Two views of the needle setup:  A small proof of concept One from the Italian language supplement:  For this fabric, the ribber needles need to be manually selected for every other pair of rows. Needle selections on the top bed provide clues as to what the settings should be on the ribber as in the previous swatch.
The top bed is programmed with a repeat suitable for punchcard machines The needle arrangement was set up as given. The end needle selection is on,  set to KCI.
The main bed remains set to tuck in both directions.
The colors and settings on the ribber are both changed after each 2-row sequence.
The ribber needles need to be manually selected with 1 needle up to the E position for knit stitches followed by 2 needles in the B position for tuck stitches repeating across the knitting width.
The ribber settings also need to be changed and set to tuck in both directions so that the needle selection will knit on the “high”, and tuck on the “low” needles as in the Dubied.
When the two ribber tuck rows have been completed, with the next color change, COL, the ribber carriage is set to knit in both directions once more and patterning reverses beds. 

A simple plaid idea using the slip setting: the 32-row repeat shown on the far right was programmed, and color changes happen after altered preselection on the top bed.
The dominant color (white cells) knits on all needles, while the contrast (dark cells) knits on the ribber only while stitches skipped on the top bed become elongated as they are skipped. Things to consider:
A. when first changing colors, the yarn may drop the first few stitches or for other reasons even drop a whole row. If the knitting is started on waste yarn prior to any permanent cast-on for the piece, one can insure that color changes happen properly and asses the proper tensions for the yarn used on the specific needle arrangements.
B. the ground color in this instance is changed after 16 rows, the contrast at far shorter intervals. Lengths will form on the color changer side of each contrasting color. They can be intentionally lengthened further so that at the completion of the piece they may in turn be cut, resulting in yarn ends long enough to be woven into the rib. If doing so, make certain those first few stitches after the color change form properly. There are other ways to handle yarn loops and ends like these, test any favorite on long enough swatches first.
C: all rib areas will be slightly wider than those where only a single bed knits
D: in the areas where only a single bed knits there will be some narrowing. Revisiting Large eyelet lace, hand transferred (or not) 2013
It would appear the original cast-on for this is performed on the double bed with transfer to the front of all rear stitches.
To duplicate in Brother, cast on every other needle, and transfer all stitches to the knit, top bed, or cast on the top bed. The fabric benefits from the use of even weight.
This sample uses 2/8 wool, tension 8. The setup was changed slightly, resulting in empty needles at alternating side edges.
Planning out the repeats on a multiple of 4+2
The edge stitch is moved as well. As recommended in the instructions, all empty needles are left in work position B or pushed to E prior to knitting the next row. Knit one round translates to knit 2 rows, which happens after each row of transfers, the carriage will move from and return to the same side.
The swatch in progress, watch for any loop formation on either side: As with any time in knitting when there are 2 side-by-side empty needles, the loops on those needles will not form stitches, but rather, ladders with each carriage pass. The transferred stitches have been knit for 2 rows, so the transfers are made again of single stitches onto the loops on either side of them, securing the loops before knitting continues. Here there is an empty needle on the far left, and here on the far right The resulting swatch, with a dropped stitch I missed on a row shortly after casting on Before binding off, after a single row is knit, drop one of the double loops, insert a single eye tool back to front, turn it clockwise, and lift the result onto the now empty needle, essentially creating an e-wrap. Work across the row, knit at least 2 rows, and bind off loosely.

Gimp Update for Mac 3_more on color separations

The latest version Gimp Download site
I am self-taught. As I learn new tools, my workarounds may be convoluted and more complicated than they need to be and evolve with time. I do not delete older posts or their content, but do occasionally add links to later posts or dated notes.
I began designing and charting in the days of having to draw on graph paper and cutting up results to see if the repeats would tile properly when knit, or to place them for alignment variations such as half drop or brick.
Scanning amounted to tracing with a marker onto blank sheets of acetate or tracing paper.
The availability of commercial acetates for purchase at seminars, printed in pairs of matching horizontally striped sheets in lines separated in a variety of widths, offered an advance in scaling designs to a knit aspect ratio. Copy machines became useful friends.
DBJ designs in the punchcard studio, when I began teaching, were accomplished at first with the use of cards themselves as templates and overlays, involving a series of time-consuming methods for each type of separation ie.  So many such processes are now nearly instantaneous by comparison.
Earlier this year the post Using Layers in Gimp for color separations explored several fabrics beginning with B/W motifs.
Sometimes lightbulbs go off leading to other ideas for achieving results in quicker or easier ways.
This color separation method for mosaics continues to use Layers but in a different approach.
A spreadsheet may still be used if preferred to draw the initial draft of the design, working in black and white only would be fine, and the import could then be processed in Gimp.
Mosaics and Mazes are generally knit with color changes every 2 rows using either the slip stitch or tuck carriage setting in both directions. Beginning with any DIY or published design, to knit the motif using the tuck setting, there are basic rules to remember.
This illustrates possibilities using a random 6-stitch repeat, A.
If the plan is to set the knit carriage to tuck in both directions, the design would need to be color-reversed to B. The white cells in B represent loops held on corresponding knitting machine needles, the limit in Japanese standard machines is often 4. Black cells represent knit stitches, generally seen in groups or on either side of tuck stitches/ white cells, to anchor the loops down for proper stitch formation. There are some infrequent exceptions to that rule.
When uncertain as to results in developing DIY designs, begin with a published repeat to build up confidence. This is a hand-knitting resource for endless inspiration, no separations are provided in the book text.  There are always many ways to achieve the same task depending on the specific program used, one’s level of skill, and individual thought process.
This method uses multiple windows in progression.
When starting out, save the result in each step for added practice or in case any step is accidentally deleted.
This is by Kathleen Kinder, published in Floatless Fair Isle, p. 87 Though the final designs are saved as black and white pngs or bmps, to work using colors in separations, the mode needs to be set to RGB. For very small repeats, use view, show grid,
magnify 1800X, type in a number for a preferred value,  or use the command key in Mac and the scroll wheel of your mouse to do so. Using the pencil tool draw the repeat in black and white Selecting file, new, open a canvas in the same size and magnification, with each step a new icon appears at the top left of the Gimp window to select any file, simply click on the corresponding icon, use Edit Copy or command C, and then edit, paste or command V to place files onto new selections.
Copy and paste the first image onto the blank canvas and colors-invert the result  To draw straight lines on a Mac, use the pencil tool to place the starting pixel. Hold and drag the mouse to the desired endpoint. As this is done, a guiding line will appear. When the endpoint is reached and the mouse is released, that line disappears and the selected area will fill with the chosen color.
When using the 2-pixel brush, the mouse must be placed slightly into the second row of cells before dragging it for the line to remain straight and in the proper rows. If an error is made, choose Edit, Undo, to eliminate any step.  Continue to work on the color inverted file, and beginning with row 1 fill in every other row with a distinctly different color. To fix any layer before continuing, click on the rectangle select tool, and then again anywhere in the work window.
Getting rid of the red: this will be the immediate appearance of the image in the window, disregard it.
Right-click on Color/white, choose the foreground or background color or left-click on the Color bar, and click again to choose the color from the palette window. Choose rectangle-select cool, click on the result to fix the image, and the color window will disappear. The result: Copy and paste the file onto the initial image, there will be dotted lines upon the placement,  Click on the rectangle tool again, and then in the work window for the final png repeat. Change the image Mode to Indexed BW if its end use is a download to an electronic machine  Why is it different than the Kinder repeat? It is easier in drawing to color in white squares as opposed to black, so the repeat in the pub is the above, color reversed.  Punchcard machine users may mark the black squares and then punch all others.
The last step: if colors are to be changed every 2 rows, remember to use double length or to program/punch the last png double length.  An illustration for the full double-length punchcard repeat. The above, 12X36 repeat was color reversed and tiled twice to meet the 24-stitch width requirement. The 36-row height also meets the minimum height requirement for punchcards to roll in continuous patterning.
Mark the black cells in the image below on the card, and punch all the white ones. These fabrics are often more interesting using the tuck setting than the slip stitch one.
I have a lifetime supply of copper yarns from my jewelry-making days. This repeat is more a maze than a mosaic. Using a fishing line or wire can sometimes also produce interesting effects.
The blue yarn is composed of 3 strands of 2/48 cashmere/ wool.
The wire is a 32 gauge coated copper magnet wire which tends to flatten the final knit. On the machine, it is hard to recognize repeats due to the very short floats, and the unusual fiber rows can appear to be see-through Using a light color wool rayon as the second color. Using a separated 16X16 repeat from the 2020 post to knit a swatch for Instagram, I noticed a solid 3X3 block in the center of one of the shapes. Because the wire is see-through to some extent, the white stitch floats behind the blocks are noticeable. The copper wire used was 40 gauge, 3 plied. The higher the gauge number the thinner the wire strands, nearly invisible when threaded and while being used. Because the knit tension was as tight as possible, the stitch definition is lost in a few spots.
The original design motif, on the left, was missing a white cell in the location of the red cell. It was quickly converted using only Gimp.  Comparing the old repeat to the new, that problem pixel may easily be located. The corrected file before lengthening X2,  double length  Proofing a pattern is best done using comparable weight, familiar yarns. Here thin poly and 4-pound fishing line are used as the second color It takes a bit of squinting to see the match.  Testing the same repeat in more “friendly” and equal-thickness yarns This 24X28 repeat from the earlier post is reworked in this method repeating the process described here, it took longer to render the repeat than to perform the color separation.  The tiled alignment check
The steps are in sequence and produce a result matching that achieved in the previous post. A reminder: step #6 result would need to be doubled in height, whether by altering the file prior to download or by using the built-in functions in the machine after the download. The theoretical color separation to knit the mosaic as DBJ where each color knits twice, the repeat single length, 24X56 double length, 24X112

Double jacquard using punchcard machines shared manual methods for including one avoiding the elongation by matching the electronic built-in KRC color separation. Using Layers in Gimp for color separations introduced an approach using only Gimp.
There are times that the 2-color separation for DBJ which knits each color in each design row twice is necessary for the intended knit technique.
When testing new methods, one may begin with files that have already been proofed. This file is created so no elongation is required, beginning with the shape elongated X4.
From the layers post, the double-length separation where each color in each design row knits twice Duplicating the result using layer/ transparency  Longer repeats can become more complicated to separate. Testing the results by necessity requires larger swatches.
Using Stitchworld #548, a 24X40 repeat, as with mosaics1: draw the desired repeat in Gimp
2: when the drawing is completed, tile the repeat to check alignment, save the image if desired, or discard it
3: in the original window, scale the image to double its original height, now 24X80
4: using file, new, open an image on a white ground in the same size and magnification, a minimum of 800X, with grid view, as the first window
color invert
continuing on the same image, changing magnification as needed for ease of visibility ie 1800 X, choose a palette color, and using the pencil tool fill in every other row beginning with design row 1 using it
5. using color to alpha will remove the blue color in this case, and the image will change in appearance, the blue is now transparent. Copy the result.
6: use the second image, and paste it directly onto the one in the first work window.
For the repeat to knit successfully as DBJ, the resulting  24X80 file will need to be lengthened X2 to 160 rows in height for accurate patterning to occur. The design lengthened X4, using a 2-pixel pencil beginning on rows 3 and 4,
produces a 24X160 file that requires no elongation.  In this DBJ version, the first preselection row is made toward the color changer, followed by color changes every 2 rows.
My proof of concept is knit with the knit carriage set to slip/slip and the ribber setting left to N/N, creating long stitches.
The height of the design, any bleed-through, elongation, drape, and stretch, are variables influenced by carriage setting changes on either or both knit and ribber carriages.
By default, DBJ knitting requires many more carriage passes than 2 color patterns knit single bed as fair isle.
My swatch does not begin at design row 1 because I forgot to set the knit carriage to slip after the first preselection row and color changing on the left.  Scaling the knit for a sense of the degree of elongation The above separation is the default one in Passap knitting machines.
Japanese electronic knitting machines perform the separation where each color in each design row knits only once automatically by engaging the KRC function.
Punchcard users can achieve the same results for repeats that meet the width constraints using a maximum of 24 stitches or factors of 24 in width.
The separation where each color only knits once from the layers post began with the result where each color in each design row knits twice: My first effort using layer transparency to separate for each design row color knitting only once begins with the double length separation opened in Gimp, not necessary as seen in notes that follow.
Using the pencil tools, marking begins on the second and then even numbered design rows.
When # 5 is color reversed, it matches the separation using layers in the above far right  Using the same concept, the first test began with the separation already completed for the repeat that would knit each color in each row twice.
Toggling magnification helps to make the height of the repeat manageable. Errors are easy to spot and correct if noticed early, a few rows of pencil marks can simply be undone. Save the final png, also 24X160. The separated design is suitable for punchcard machines, my swatch is knit on a 930. Since these separated designs are programmed as fair isle designs, there will not be any color change prompts provided by some machine models.
The first preselection row, as when using the KRC function, is made from left to right. The knit carriage is set to slip both ways. The ribber carriage is also set to slip both ways on an even number of needles, and lili buttons are in use. The visual difference in scale between the two different techniques and color separations.  The simplified method begins with the original design scaled X2 to 24X80. The 2-pixel pencil tool is used to mark the resulting design beginning on rows 2 and 3, skipping the next 2 rows, and repeating the process
Committing to a larger test swatch: The repeat though successful in this case is different from half the first one obtained the long way, the concept merits testing with other motifs.   Years ago I shared the way punchcard knitters may create a DBJ card using a series of templates. The starting 8X8 design was often used in my 2 color DBJ posts. On the right, it is repeated across 24 cells, as it would be in a punch card.  Using layer/Transparency/Alpha the same results can as when using the card templates may be attained in just minutes. Here each color in each row would be knit only once:  In this case, the final result would need to be elongated X2 in order to knit each color in each design row twice. This separation requires no elongation. If the plan is to print a template to aid in marking a card prior to punching, one way to determine the required template size is to measure a punchcard with a ruler in mm.
The width of the card is fixed to a print width of 108 mm since the card will always be 24 cells wide. No calculation is required.
In height, the 60 rows on the factory blank card measure 300mm, 5mm for each cell.
I cropped the chosen image to the top 39 rows and scaled it to 108X195 mm.
(39X5).
When printing on US letter size, with no adjustments other than to the image, the limit appears to be no more than 45 rows per page. I was not able to print directly from Gimp.
The file, exported, opened in Preview, and then printed, is shown with a card superimposed on the printout over a makeshift light box, ready for easy punchcard marking even though the printed cells were not all of the same ink density.   2024 the subject of elongation in DBJ designs recently made the rounds in forum again. I was not quite sure where to share this, settled on here
Vertical striper backing on Brother machines is rendered possible by manipulating ribber needles in conjunction with the use of lili buttons.
This swatch uses the same 40X44 pixels design The tension and yarn selection choices remained fixed.
1: conventional striper backing, with the ribber set to knit in both directions
2: half striper backing, with the ribber set to knit from left to right and to slip from right to left. In this technique as the carriages move from right to left, floats will be formed on the top bed. As larger number of needles are knit on either bed, the tension should be adjusted accordingly, here it was not, resulting in those dropped stitches. The floats peek through behind the resulting hole.
3: the traditional birdseye backing, resulting in the narrowest portion of the swatch.

 

 

 

Another racking tale: Passap/Brother 5

I taught in a design school in a lab with Brother Punchcard models, four 910s, and 2 bulky machines. My previous experience had been using Passap and Studio electronics, and a crash course in Brother models followed my being hired.
My E 6000 was purchased from a sewing machine center at a time when the owner decided knitting was not for her.
The 560 Studio model was later upgraded with a change in their box in exchange for my publishing some patterns for the Studio Design Magazine but was sold years ago.
There were years the Passap was my production machine for garments and accessories knit double-bed. Single-bed knits for the same end use were easier to knit on Brother, with a clear view of stitch formations vs the issues with seeing the fabric or correcting errors when working with the ribber in place.
The immediacy of easy testing with img2track on the 930 results in nearly all of my recent blog swatches.
There are still days I admit I do love the E6. The console commands along with the lock setting and pusher options on the back bed make a range of fabrics possible that are far harder to achieve in Japanese model KMs.
Looking back, these are some of my previous shares including Passap mentions
Machine cross reference chart 3/18
Brother/Passap: traveling between brands  11/18
Pile knitting on Passap/ Brother KMs 4 1/20
A racking tale: Passap/Brother 3  9/19
Translating Passap model book pattern/use on Brother 1 8/19
Fisherman_ English tuck stitch rib 1_ checks patterns_ Brother, Passap 10/18
Tubular machine knit fabrics: fair isle, Brother/Passap 11/17
Pile knitting on Passap and Brother KMs 2  7/15
Pile knitting on Passap, Brother, and Studio KMs 1 7/15
Drop stitch lace, 2 colors per row, Passap KM 10/13
Back to leaf lace, add rib, and take it to the Passap 3/12
Japanese punchcard motifs used in Passap E 6000 machines  4/11
FB shares have led me down rabbit holes I may not otherwise have entered.
In the machine knitting group, someone recently shared a series of scarves knit using the E6, providing the Duo80 diagram and the E6 technique number.  The setup is for a 2/2 rib, reverses the pusher positions, but produces the same knitDuo 80 symbols AX = Tuck, setting is the same in both the Duo and the Passap back locks
AX  serves the same function in the Duo, and is replaced by KX on the E6 front lock
The arrow keys on the back lock work the same on both machines.
Passap preselects and works on pushers initially placed in work or rest on both beds, whether manually or by console selections in the E6.
Brother preselects needles in the planned pattern on the knit bed subject to punched holes or programmed pixels, but not on the ribber, other when using lili buttons, and that comes with rules and the sole automatic repeat ie the that the number of needles in use on the ribber must be even. On the Passaps there are no such rules on the back bed.
With no arrow keys selected the same action is repeated until the lock setting is changed, so in the above, the change is made by manually setting the back lock to N for 2 rows, then back to AX for tuck on both Passap models.
The front bed in the Duo also has a fixed pattern selection, requiring the lock change to N there as well. The E6 built-in pattern selects the all-knit rows, so its lock remains in the KX setting.
The initial pusher setup is manual on both models but not location-dependent in this particular design.
The E 6 console will select the proper pattern based on the pushers in the work position. A look at pusher positions from the E6 manual. Each machine brand has its own specific vocabulary for parts and techniques. Things get a little more complicated on Brother, it is helpful to have an understanding of stitch formation on both beds before tackling more complex knits.
In Brother the needle placement on the main bed matters as it does in tuck lace, so it needs to be verified before any knitting. “Air knitting” is one easy way to do that. Rows 5 or 6 would provide the necessary preselection.
In any punchcard model or Japanese electronic machine, the knitter is usually in charge of keeping track of racking. The E6 provides console prompts for racking positions in this design, facilitating the process.
An attempt to visualize what actions need to happen on the Brother models: the needle setup will match the Duo or the rotated E6 version Considering the required patterning for each bed, empty columns in my charts represent needles that need to be pushed back to A and left out of work on both beds. Textured ladder spaces will not be formed on either bed as is seen when using similar repeats on the single bed. Adding the ribber position and configuration  The top bed can be programmed, this 24-stitch version is suitable for use in punchcard machines. The main bed will knit all needles programmed with punched holes or black pixels and will tuck unpunched squares or white pixels.
The ribber requires setting changes after the initial four and after the last 2 rows of each 6-row repeat.
In addition, there are racking changes after each repeating segment.
In this setup, there will be a knit stitch beside each tuck one up to the all knit rows, helping to anchor the tuck loops. Ribber carriage settings are noted.  Anytime there are needles out of work, cancel the end needle selection. Depending on the machine model being used the repeat may need to be mirrored horizontally to match my in-process photos, true in my 930.
Using design row 5 or 6, air knit a row to find needles that need to be in work on the knit bed. Push non-selected needles out of work, and back to the A position. After doing so, reset the pattern to design row one.
The setting for the racking indicator does not specifically matter. It is often best to consider this before casting on. Here racking is only by one position, avoid 1 or 10. Starting at 5 centers stitches in relationship to each other stitches. As knitting progresses, where the ribber needle positions become obvious and less reliant on checking numbers. Cast on bringing appropriate needles into work on the ribber.
The original needle setup.  Use any favorite cast-on method.
Starting side does not matter unless one is planning on using a color changer, in which case the first preselection row needs to happen from right to left.
Since needles will be manually pushed up to the hold position, make certain that the ribber carriage is not set to hold. In a test swatch, knit several all-knit rows before beginning the pattern. If planning a piece, start with waste yarn and ravel cord prior to casting on with “garment” yarn.
A tool that aids in selecting every third needle is extremely helpful The initial carriage setups used for rows 1-4 The placement of the first needle on the ribber with respect to that of the first on the main bed The first needle in each pair of rows on the ribber needs to be brought up to the E position in every row for the first 4 rows of the 6-row repeat, I began with the first ribber needle on the left. The needles brought up to E will knit, and help anchor down the knit bed tuck stitch on their left, and the needles on their right will tuck. In turn, the main bed selected needles will anchor loops formed on the ribber, the nonselected will tuck.
The appearance after the tuck loops have all been formed and the needles holding them up to that point are preselected forward just prior to the 2 all knit rows. The knit carriage is left on tuck in both directions, while the ribber is set to knit for 2 rows. It is not necessary to change the P lever to R, with the other buttons set to N, knit is king.  Time to rack so that the first needle on the ribber will now be to the left of the first on the main bed. Push down lightly on the first 2 ribber needles on the left before racking in case those first stitches are a bit snug, to avoid starting needles crashing into each other as you move needle positions.  Knit 2 rows.
Rack again to the initial position,  change ribber settings again, and repeat the process as described. The proof of concept: the error shows what happens when one misses changing the ribber settings back to tuck.  If that is not challenging enough, add a color change, knitting the first 4 rows using color one, and the 2 all-knit rows with color 2.  I used to tell my students to develop a sort of tune that could be sung (mentally) as a reminder of the steps in complex fabrics ie bring up 1, 2, 3, 4, rack, change color, change settings, knit 2, rack, change color, change settings, bring up, etc. but my advice if you really want to knit this fabric in a full piece is to borrow and E6 or pay someone else to knit it for you 😉

Ribber trims 4

Ribber trims 2  presented a series of ideas for edgings I meant to return to. Rather than adding more to that post presently, I am expanding on the topic here.
Scalloped trims are popular in single-bed knits. Preventing any needles from knitting for any number of rows will form a wave. If automatic needle selection is used, they may be formed using both the tuck and slip stitch settings.
This version from the Brother Ribber Techniques, with knitting directions included in Ribber trims and edgings 1 If there is a problem in double bed versions using loops formed by holding stitches or tuck patterning, try completing a tubular cast-on before starting either sequence.
Using tuck stitch rows created manually way can work as a cast-on method:
Begin with a familiar yarn and tensions to form the usual zig-zag row from right to left
Set the ribber to slip in both directions
Bring every 6th needle on the top bed out to hold, and set the knit carriage to knit. At that point the yarn will be knitting solely on the top bed, so tension needs to be adjusted closer to what may be normally used in knitting it in stocking stitch.
Set the ribber to slip in both directions. 
Make at least 4 passes on the main bed, 6 will yield more of an effect but may be hard to manage on Japanese machines while in Passap, the strippers facilitate the process.
My first swatches were knit using 2/8 wool, which pushes the limits for smooth knitting in every needle rib on the 4.5mm machine. After knitting 5 rows the top bed stitches began riding up.  The next row needs to be knit across both beds, sealing the scallop.
Bringing the top bed needles all the way forward can help with that, but to ensure gathered loops will knit off properly, a bit of fiddling may be required, any tool can be used to push down lightly on alternating sides of the loops to keep the stitches to their side from unraveling. Release the hold lever on the top bed, set the ribber to knit in both directions, and continue in every needle rib to the desired length
The top images show the result of forgetting to set the ribber to knit, so there are 2 extra all-knit rows on the top bed, the bottom images were knit with the proper setting transition Since the top bed only knits for several rows, the ribber stitches can be seen elongated on this side of the knit Switching to a 2/20 wool, the same needle spacing, and holding stitches for 6 rows: One last fiber switch, a different 2/20 wool shade.
Here the detail is used at the bottom of the stocking stitch swatch rather than a ribbed one.
Watch for loops hung up on gatepegs, seen below in the top swatch.
The scallop shape wanted to turn toward the knit side but did set with some steaming.
Upon completing the holding sequence, transfer all ribber stitches to the top bed.
The tension in the swatch remained the same throughout, but in the bottom views, a loose joining row (perhaps too loose) was knit after transferring all ribber stitches to the top bed, as is often done for smoother transitions in single-bed hems. After the single loosely knit row, the tension is adjusted set to a number appropriate for the specific yarn in single-bed work.  This information and pngs expand on the knit charts in the 2019 post. If the pngs are copied, check that mode has not been altered to RGB automatically, and index back to BW mode prior to downloading them to machines for knitting.
Though, in general, starting side does not often matter, when testing techniques consistently beginning on the same side and leaving a yarn end will help identify which surface is knit facing or purl facing and whether that is of implications in the specific design.
Designing the repeat tiled for the width of the bed when working on electronic machines allows one the opportunity to add all knit borders in specific widths and to program the result as single motifs without concerns about needle placements on the knit bed or how to influence edges.
Punchcard knitters are faced with fixed 24-stitch locations on the needle bed, all knit borders would require manually bringing the needles involved out to E before each carriage pass.
As always, white pixels/unpunched areas tuck, and black pixels/ punched holes knit.
These repeats can make for interesting all-over fabrics as well as serve for edgings that flair and form bottoms that are wavy to different degrees.
12X18Knit using a superfine 2/18 merino: the tension on either or both beds may need to be adjusted repeatedly for stitches to form and knit off properly, reflected in stitch size variations here.  What happens when one is so engrossed with watching stitch formation that the fact that the cone has just run out of yarn is completely missed 12X24 Switching yarn to 2/18 silk wool at the same tension produces knit with a very different density and drape. Light bounces off this yarn interestingly, making it harder to photograph in sharper focus.  Here the same brand and weight yarn, steamed and pressed lightly, resulting in some flattening of the tuck texture’s 3D effect. Different colors or even different dye-lots of the same color in any yarn can behave differently with all else being equal.  The relaxed and stretched view and an attempt at showing its ruffling effect.  A very interesting surprise: a few years ago during one of my temporary obsessions I developed racked scale-like 3D patterns, this series reflects some of my first attempts One of several illustrated repeats designed for assistance from needle patterning preselections  I wondered whether the triangular repeat for the trim above modified to a diamond shape might produce similar results. The proof of concept swatch was far easier to knit, with no racking, and no critical tracking of all-knit row locations than the every needle rib version.12X24, rendered suitable for punchcard use The tiled repeat for a sense of resulting pattern movement 10X24 is missing the single all-knit vertical column seen above also tiled for visualizing the pattern’s movement 12X12 knit using the tuck setting,  or the slip stitch setting, making for more subtle results

Working with diagonal patterning in machine knitting

After a slow down in my blog posts for a variety of reasons I find myself playing catch up with the eternal list of knit fabrics that I wish to explore out of my own curiosity and the attempt to answer questions from knitters who contacted me directly via the blog or have asked them in the online forums in which I am a member.
Stephen West is a prolific designer of colorful hand knits in a variety of techniques and complexity. This honey-striped scarf is an example.   Slip-stitch patterning is a likely way of knitting a similar effect combined with
the use of the concept familiar to many when making bias cast-on rags.
A fixed number of stitches is cast on and positioned as far to one side of the machine as possible. They are then decreased on a fixed side and increased on the opposite one.
The strip moves across the needle bed, when far enough on the side opposite to the starting one, it is returned to the original needle bed position and the process is repeated until the desired length is reached.
If the moves to and from are performed on solid color rows matching needle selections may not be an issue. If the repeats in other cam settings are to match, then proper needle placement can be assisted by marking the metal bed, the factory-supplied needle tape, or a custom-printed one, and hand-selection for the first design row may be required and planned.
This chart attempts to visualize the proposed movement using colored stripes. Stitches are bound off on one side and cast-on on the other to maintain a fixed width with shaped edges.  If the goal is to maintain straight bias edges, the design repeat would need to be rendered wider in order to compensate for the shifts on the needle bed in turn modifying increases and decreases at a different rate The black cells represent the adjusted stitch counts needed for each pattern band.  When an item such as a scarf is worn, both options will appear as diagonals. If any picture knitting is included and the direction of it matters when the piece is worn, appreciated particularly in representational fair isle, such accessories are best knit as 2 pieces knit from the bottom up, and grafted together at their center after the fact.
Increases and decreases are calculated carefully based on the knit gauge for garments. The approach to accessories may be more casual.
Stripe heights are varied to accommodate specific design motifs or cam settings, and they are, in turn, added to the base visualization charts.
Here an attempt at 45-degree striping is made by beginning on a 3-stitch tab.  Increasing on the carriage side creates loops, while those opposite the carriage form knots.
Increases and decreases are indicated by arrows.
Increases are made on alternating sides, opposite the carriage, to produce matching edges.
The red cells in the chart represent the carriage side before each pass.
Table cells have been rendered rectangular in a 4 to 3 ratio, estimating the difference in gauge between stitches and rows.
Striping for an even number of rows matters if color changes are made on a fixed side ie if a color changer is in use. Yarn ends at color changes may be cut or the yarn can be carried up the side depending on preference and the number of rows involved. If carried up for long stretches, the alternate color yarn not in use may be secured by e wrapping it on the end needle periodically. Care needs to be taken that the float up the side is not so short as to have an effect on the swatch length and having an effort to remedy that will leave yarn ends too short to be secured.
The result will not produce a proper square, garter stitch is the only knit stitch that results in approximately true square shapes.
If the center of the needle bed is used for swatches while keeping an eye on the stitch formation. If loops are formed repeatedly on specific needles akin to tuck stitches or problem areas such as those in the center of this swatch are encountered, they can be caused by damaged needles or sticky latches that may result from frequent use. Diagonal lines in knits that maintain straight sides are also achieved using short row/holding intarsia techniques. Segments are planned in specific orders which can be varied to form added shapes.  Chevrons would be more easily created by knitting separate strips and seaming as you knit or after the fact. The addition of small-repeat fair isle patterns is also possible. Keep in mind when bringing needles back into work to reverse shaping, needle preselection for accurate patterning in Brother machines needs to be maintained by hand selection.  Some of the published punchcard patterns can serve as a source for diagonal lines that may be tiled and programmed for the full design in addition to being used for their original intent. Numbers 52, 384, and 328 (published with error), are suitable for tuck, slip, and FI with moderately wide floats, while 335 would fail as a tuck stitch.
For added ways to develop diagonal patterns using brush fill see post on developing designs using pattern fill for use on a range of machine models

Tiling as in any patterning will reveal errors, such as here for 328.  The latter was edited to a 22-stitch wide repeat, becoming suitable for only electronic machine models.
The charts with the red grid on the top row were rendered as tables in Numbers. Since their end use is different, they are the color-reversed version of the cards, whose screengrabs were in turn processed in Gimp to create knittable pngs.
The smallest repeats suitable for electronics are given in the center row of images, the amended 328 cannot be reduced in size. The last row illustrates tiling for all files as BW images that may be opened and amended to suit the size of the pieces planned.
Files in png formats for the group: if pngs generated by me in BW indexed mode are downloaded and opened in editors such as Gimp, they will open in RGB mode. To make them suitable for download programs, convert them to indexed BW mode again and save the result. There should be no loss of data.
384, 12X2412X48 144X144328, 22X44
176X176
335, 12X24
24X48 144X144  52, 8X16
24X48 192X192 The black lines formed by units 2 rows in height can be followed or erased to establish short rows shaping a stitch at a time every two rows, given at least 2X2 full repeats to check color placement. The method was used to isolate the previous ungridded color illustrations. Another instance of a published Toyota 901#11diagonal tuck card, in this case, incorporates a combination of 2 and 4-row tuck patterning. The repeat is 24X48 The previews may be used to replace color selections with those matching yarn colors used in the project to develop some idea as to how color shifts might affect the final piece.
EON diagonal patterning surrounding blocks containing other shapes may be maintained with slight variations in the size of the shapes used to fill those blocks  References published for weaving can be a source of charts usable for this type of design.
The repeats are provided regarding width (shafts) and height (picks). For proper alignments, the provided charts must be reproduced in full, or in DIY adaptations careful editing with erasures or additions can still maintain the proper tiling.
A page from an 1898 pub   Playing with using #20 and #16 mirrored, isolating, erasing, or combining elements of each while keeping fixed some of the details that move diagonally to touch sides of the repeats, with the process illustrated in color.
Consider the width of the floats if planning for fair isle patterning.
Check the original for any errors, marked in the color chart in black. They are often not noticeable until the design is drawn in repeat.   The editable PNG for the center 24X24 design is tiled on the far right above. It is also suitable for punchcards  A 16X16 electronic repeat tiled to 128X128
Handweaving drafts such as those found at handweaving. net provides endless inspiration for designs, including diagonals.
8X812X12
drawn in repeat X712X12drawn in repeat X715X15
color reversed  using color invert and quarter rotations to 30X30  16X16
16X16
16X24
drawn in repeat to 160X168 20X20
32X32 with rotated segments  playing with rectangles, squares, and fill-ins24X24
30X30 A 32X32 diagonal DBJ design built with small color-reversed blocks
16X16 color-reversed A seasonal sample, 40X41The movement is not as evident until the tiled repeat becomes quite large, the start, 168X150 Chevrons can be developed from partial repeats. This is from Toyota 950#12, 24X20 drawn in repeat to 144X140 Combined with added shapes 28X32 56X32 rotated 180 degrees combined and trimmed to 56X62 tiled and with an added frame, 124X134 for a blanket-sized project Cropping the frameless large design in different places vertically could provide a collection of accessories ie scarves, ie in this start, 86X132 png with 2 stitch vertical borders on both sides  Whether in use for a punchcard model or an electronic one, the convention if the end goal is a tuck stitch fabric, is to color reverse the design  It is possible to generate DIY designs easily using ArahPaint.
Taking diagonal patterning to the double bed for creating pintuck effects using the slip-stitch setting, this 24X48 repeat explores some of the potential spacings and the resulting ridges.  The next 2 repeats tested, both 24 stitches X 48 rows:  The red line is a reminder that the slipped stitches are being held for as many as 8 rows. It is best to use thin yarn that does not break easily and to watch for the knit stitches riding up.
Slipping in one direction produces a very subtle texture,  while the color-reversed design produces even-sized identifiable folds Adding lettering or small shapes and maintaining the diagonal can result in distortion of the motifs.
One option to add such motifs is to form the knit by beginning on 3 stitches as in this shared swatch and planning the stripes to heights and widths that accommodate adding designs or fonts. Short-row intarsia will also produce diagonal striping, from simple to complex as seen in this chart, with knitting sequence numbered for each segment.  complex_number_01A limited number of rows may be knit in stocking stitch in areas following shapes not simply to travel to the opposite side and reverse shaping,  but also to add small rolls or hems.
Another use might be to add small vertical motif details or patterning in their usual orientation.
The limit appears to be a maximum of 8 rows of alternative patterns, in order to keep the short-rowed areas from developing into distorted edges, which may be variable depending on the yarn and pattern used.
This first swatch was knit using progressively thinner yarns, wool, wool rayon, and a 2/24 acrylic in the FI segment. FI is a slip stitch that narrows the knit. The dark acrylic color stitch definition here gets lost. The band is seen pulling in the short-row segments on both sides. The shaping in both the top and bottom segments is by 2 stitches at a time.  The result in different yarns of equal thickness, with the FI band knit at a tension one full number looser than the stocking stitch areas, with the top and bottom solid color segments now shaped 3 stitches at a time. There is a trick when making A-line skirts to change the triangles that would poke out normally at the bottom if shaping were to begin immediately used as a design feature in many runway knits recently. If between an inch or 2 are actually knit up straight before shaping starts, the problem is eliminated. Depending on the design this may be a solution or it may read as a patterning error.
There are some conventions and “rules” for short-row techniques, but they do not always apply.
Keeping good notes helps to make successful experiments reproducible.
Two more tries began to experiment with working on the first and last groups in the holding techniques on a different number of stitches than the remaining shapes, noting differences. In the first an all-knit row is made across the short-row eyelets, reducing the planned FI band from 6 rows to 5. A rough spot in maintaining even stitches on one side is noticeable.  Progress: holding happened at the start of the bottom wedge, the FI was knit at 2 tension numbers looser than the stocking stitch, for 6 rows.  The goal in the short row shaping for the triangles is to maintain vertical edges that appear as straight as possible to the eye. One need not work on large swatches, small ones can provide clues as to differences resulting from variations in the starting side of the short-row shapings.  Studying the results can lead to many variations. There are student theses and careers based on exploring limited techniques to the max.
Building a theoretical true square or other predictable shapes is subject to the yarn and tension used. Beginning with a small sample, this shows the order of knitting 2 triangular shapes with the carriage beginning to knit each shape from alternate sides. In this case, 2 stitches are to be brought in and out of holding at a time. Because each color knits for 2 rows, small slits happen in the fabric resulting in eyelets. They may be used as design features, or attempts can be made to reduce their size. One way to do so is to have plain knit rows between holding selections to keep the small slits from intersecting and becoming double height. On the left swatch, one yellow row was knit to the left before reverse shaping in the same color. In the swatch on the right, in addition, 2 rows were knit in the blue prior to reverse shaping.  Reviewing the concept and developing a chart for larger swatches: the cyan color cells represent stitches in the hold position and the white cells stitches that will be knit.
At the top of the first wedge, most needles will be in the hold position, return them all to the B position manually before knitting the next row.
With the carriage on either side, set it for KCI with the cam buttons to slip for a free pass to the opposite side, the first FI pattern row will pre-select. Holding need not be canceled, since no needles are brought far enough out for the technique.
Cancel the slip setting, change the cam setting for FI knitting, place the pairs of colors in their corresponding feeders, and knit 6-8 rows of pattern.
Bring all needles out to hold except for the first desired group, if the holding lever has been canceled, reset it and commence reverse shaping.  Merrily knitting along and you forget to loosen the tension for the fair isle stripe: And what if the FI were to actually follow diagonal colored stripes? The approach is the same. I am right-handed, my default is often to begin on the right. Left-handed knitters can mirror charts as needed to make them easier to follow.
The first triangle is shaped from the right toward the left, subsequent ones begin on the left, then to wrap or not wrap becomes the question. Review of wrapping, which does not disturb the stitch on or the position of the wrapped needle:   bothI obstinately use random yarns at hand, sometimes too thin for the task, true here. Any type of intarsia, of which holding is one, will be accompanied by lots of yarn ends that will require weaving in. Some of the stitches were wrapped here, some not, and maybe the eyelets could be considered a pleasing design feature. The 8 rows of FI, knit at 2 full tension numbers higher than that used for stocking stitch, minimizes the size of the eyelets all on their own on both sides of its stripe. Errors in bringing an added group or not into work may not always be immediately visible, frogging this type of knitting can be painful.
I would not use the last 6 stitch modification in any future swatches. Elizabeth Zimmermann published many patterns for hand knitting utilizing garter stitch and striped diagonal wedges for garment shaping.
Multiple colors per row patterning may be maintained by beginning planning with diagonal straight lines, seen here in a 32X32 repeat.  Opened in img2track The design will be elongated, and 256 passes are required to finish a single repeat Each color may be edited to suit. Quick visualizations of a few of the possible repeat arrangements using the file as is Avoiding lots of extra knit rows by eliminating one of the colors.  The larger designs may need to be knit in sections depending on the available memory in the knitting machine model being used.

Machine-knit stitches do not form as close to square ones found in garter stitches. Rendering the full-scale garment on a knit leader would make knitting to gauge while avoiding tons of math calculations possible.
DIY is a bit like assembling paper cut-outs that are required to fit together, first attempts at planning do not always succeed. One may begin at different parts of the piece and seam two halves together if necessary in order to keep matching stitch formations in both directions. Stripes may be added to form secondary intersecting shapes. On the left is a simple one-piece vest concept with no miters in the back panel, which may be knit from the bottom up or as two pieces with a center seam.
The bolero style is repeated in 2 separate pieces with mirror shaping in the second and would be joined at the center back.
The knit gauge is easier to maintain in short or small wearables.   Many garments may be made following the concepts for creating “pies”.
Decades ago batwing sweaters based on a sideways circular knit concept were standard presentations at knit seminars. Short-row diagonal graduated wedges were followed by varying amounts of all knit rows.
This idea for a short sleeve garment is from a Japanese magazine. In creating such illustrations because of the scale of the publication, the aspect ratio is distorted. In the final garment, the bottom circumference can in fact be far narrower than it might appear to the eye in the sketch and may be gathered or left released depending on design goals. The neckline diameter at the end of the project, after joining one shoulder, is gathered with evenly distributed decreases to the desired measurement prior to knitting the collar.  A way to form a long sleeve item, using binding off and casting on stitches in addition to shaped wedges followed by all knit rows. Knitting a garment on the bias at 45 degrees will produce a knit fabric that drapes differently.
Horizontal patterning can turn into diagonals and chevrons, and fancy decreases may be used in the center shaping of the garment.
Pre-computer programs and knitleaders, an easy way to sort out shaping for garments, was to begin by drawing on large sheets of graph paper. An all-square grid is fine.
Calculate a 10 cm/4 inch knitting gauge to the second decimal point before any rounding off. For example, if the gauge works out to be 5.728, and the measurement needed is 19.5 inches, the multiplied value result is 111.696, which can be rounded off to a 112-row line on the graph paper.
Working in cm can actually lead to easier calculations and is required when using a charting device.
Each cell in the graph paper grid equals one stitch and one row.
For knitting on the straight grain, based on gauge, draw series dots placing them on the beginning and the ending pots for each measurement, and connect them with straight lines.
Curves such as those necessary for necklines may be composed of short straight-line segments.
When knitting from the bottom up, continue with a colored pencil, filling in squares as they jog in or out, maintaining the new outline as close to the first as possible.
For the bias knit, whether on graph paper, the computer, or a charting device, begin by drawing a 45-degree line.
Rotate and trace the unmodified original straight-line image in place, follow the lines, and mark in and out jogs once more in color for contrast.
This is a very small chart so outline jogs in far larger pieces cannot be reflected. They would produce edges not as straight as in standard knitting, which will need to be considered when joining finished pieces.
As the piece is rotated, a wider grid base is required. Consider that the motif images as they are worked on the purl side will be mirrored horizontally on the knit side, a particular consideration if any text is introduced. Comparing theoretical purl as opposed to knit views on the left, two purl views on the right.   Fonts in various stitch and row counts are useful when planning knit text.
The point at which the text or pattern is introduced needs to have enough stitches in work on the machine to contain the intended words, ie for the above, a minimum ground, independent of shaping, would need to contain more than 9 rows if solid color stripes are to be added above and below it, and 26 stitches in width in this case.
A proof of concept swatch with arbitrary shaping on every other row illustrates the need for shaping based on a calculated gauge if a square is indeed the aim.
I knit on a 930 where mirroring is automated for programmed designs, so the text was programmed as drawn.
Sometimes less information is more. It became evident very soon that the placement of the text on the left was wrong if the aim was to have it centered in the final shape, and that more rows were needed at the top of the design.
On the right, the purl side as it faces the knitter is shown, with black pixels used to represent increases and decreases. The center red line separates the needle placements on either side of 0, and the text is shown in the default mirroring. The respective swatches after their rotation preview one of the potential results A true diagonal repeat may be planned for motif patterning knit from the bottom up. The drawback is that for executing a fair isle using more than 2 colors or with multiple color changes, partially illustrated on the far right, the 32X32 repeat would need to be rotated and knit as above.  

From the Brother machine knitting techniques book, a suggestion for dividing a sweater front into diagonal halves created by using the holding technique  

The idea of chaining the eyelet areas to reduce the size of the slits is an interesting one that up to now I have not tested.

Diagonal pleats

Pretend/ mock cables 4

The blog post Pretend/ mock cables 3  presented the concept of using tuck stitch patterning and needle preselection, a Brother feature, as a guide to creating a version of mock cable crossings.
These designs are from an ancient Japanese publication.  Technically the results are not very cable-like for these three concepts, but they share the principles behind the technique. I am offering this information as a way of interpreting and adapting the suggestions in the publication. There has been some editing of the originally shared repeat suggestions after testing them in proof of concept swatches.
The scanned inspiration source:    The punchcard repeats: symbols are used in the above chart. The elongated short inverted U shapes, with some in bold type, represent the tuck stitch locations and needles that will hold loops in a pattern. The longer, thinner inverted Us suggest which tuck loop(s) will be raised and hooked up on new locations to create the desired textured effects.
Punchcards mirror the design horizontally when in use, so the texture will appear as shown in the swatch photos on the knit side when the design is worked based on the illustrated charts on the right.
When using the tuck setting, unpunched holes will create loops on nonselected needles, punched holes will create knit stitches. Electronic patterns will use black and white pixels to result in the same selections.
Deliberately not punching holes or adding white pixels may be used to provide a marker on all knit unpunched or black pixel rows for hand techniques to take place, ie in the repeat planned for 194.
With the charts as guides, partial punchcard repeats for the three designs: Punchcards ideally require a minimum of 36 punched pattern rows to roll accurately, the single, smallest repeat segment is adequate for knitting on electronic machines.
I knit primarily on a 930 and prefer to tile the repeats in width to the number of needles in my samples. The single motif button, default on the 930, need not then be reset and the design will be automatically centered. It is not a necessary step. Centering any single repeat across the needles in use or otherwise placing it may be achieved by programming its position. In punchcard machines, the selection is fixed across the 24 stitch markings on the needle tape, other positioning may be achieved by shifting the knitting in its position on the needle bed.

My illustrations are achieved by using both Mac Numbers and Gimp.
Adding color to help visualize hand techniques, and tiling to check alignments:
192 is 8 rows in height, more than that is needed to indicate the locations for hooking loops up. It appears this happens on white squares in the published original chart, which translate to knit stitch locations, the punched holes in the card.
For some transfer locations, no needle selection clues are provided, and they are made based on visual identification.
If the transfer is to be made onto a preselected needle, push the appropriate needle back to the B position.
Visually follow the rows down to locate the appropriate tuck loop(s),
lift them onto the needle just put it back to B,
and push that same needle out to the E position after the hook up in order to form a knit stitch with the next carriage pass.
The repeat with the most frequent hand technique is 192, with hookups every 8 rows    Using light color yarn makes it easier to identify the closely packed stitch structures.
The tool used to pick up and rehang stitches can vary depending on personal preference.
Programming the design as an 8-row pattern allows for easier tracking in a design that requires actions to be taken at that specific interval.
Another view: I had a hard time finding the proper spot for picking up loops and needed extra magnification in addition to my bifocals to sort that out.
The wool used for the test swatches is a 2/8 weight.
Because transfers in the scanned publication are made on a tuck stitch row, these designs may be easier to execute on a Studio machine.
As Brother knits that last tuck row, it preselects every needle for the knit row that will happen with the next carriage pass from the opposite side. I found the location easier to track for the hand technique a row early, before the every-needle preselection.
The effect is subtle and time-consuming, a consideration if planning larger pieces of knitting. 193 is 20 rows high, with hookups every 10. In the concept swatch, some of the tuck stitches were eliminated, seen here in a 48 stitch wide repeat, allowing for a released edge on either side. The tiled X2 in height repeat checks its vertical alignment.  This time as many of the compounded knit and tuck loops as possible were moved, producing more detailed surface textures on the knit side 194 is 48 rows high, with hookups also every 8 rows.  The single 24X 48 png is followed by the tiled 48 stitches wide version and the tiled Gimp alignment check   The visualization of stitch/loop movements The hand technique occurs after an all-knit row, which in cards would be all punched, in electronics all black pixels.
In Brother kms, while the first all-knit row is made, the next with isolated pairs of preselected needles will occur.
Prior to moving the carriage to the opposite side, hook up from highlighted locations, and bring needles out to E after doing so. As the carriage travels across the bed again, all knit stitches will form while preselecting for the subsequent tuck stitch row. A rhythm will develop eventually.
Notes to self:
some days it is not good to be near a knitting machine
cables and intensive hand techniques are still on my avoid if at all possible list
keep an eye on broken ends of yarn in old cones at least periodically before knitting across whole rows
if knitting lengths of this technique, or even a large swatch, removing the ribber if it is in use will facilitate the process. Remember to check its balance when it is recoupled with the main bed
while you are busy keeping an eye out on what to pick up and which stitches did not form properly or are jumping off the main bed, remember to look up at the yarn mast periodically, especially if the tension appears to change suddenly An improvement, however, over this masterpiece a decade ago when working in my attic supplementary studio space 😉 Although all hooking up aka ruching is in the same direction, there is no apparent biasing. This fabric is quite compressed, not for someone without a lot of focus, patience, and good eyesight. This pattern emulates the wishbone trim familiar to many knitters. It is the easiest in the series to execute, with the most textured result. The knit repeat used in the swatch is 26 stitches wide and can be trimmed easily to 24 stitches wide for use with punchcard machines.
The heels above the designated tucked stitches at the bottom of each repeat are lifted up and onto the single unselected needle of an all-knit row.
End needle selection is on, and the tuck setting in both directions is used after the initial preselection row.
Though initially an all-knit border was planned on each side, several knit stitches were eliminated on one side of the swatch. The difference is seen in the edges of the work, where all-knit stitches are allowed to roll, creating a very different “trim” than where tuck patterning was left uninterrupted. Such rolls can make satisfactory added details along accessories such as scarves, where a few rows of all knit stitches may also be allowed to roll to the purl side at the top and bottom of the piece as a finishing alternative.
The 26X16 single repeat.  Tiled repeat, checking alignment  Charted information   The proof of concept swatch A mock cable trim may be knit separately, in any color or even multiple colors, and applied as you knit on a large piece or stitched on after the fact.
One variation as a hand technique: after a closed cast-on on 10 stitches, knit 10 rows.
Pick up the second stitch from each side of the original cast-on row, and hook up on needles 5 and 6 on each side of the center. Knit 10 rows.
Pick up the second stitch from each side 10 rows below, hang on needles 5 and 6 on each side of the center, and repeat to the desired length.
Color changes may be added every 10 rows when all knit selection is made.
The slip stitch setting in this case is used to track and facilitate the process.
End needle selection is on, with the knit carriage set to slip in both directions, with the first preselection row made after at least one base knit row.
Weight may not be necessary depending on how comfortable one is with managing the knit without them and the yarn being used.
The repeat, in turn, is tiled twice in height in the shared png A short slip stitch float will form in the location of the white pixels at the bottom of the chart and when the selection is made to match the top row of the repeat, the single float is picked up and hung on the unselected needles, Those needles are brought out to E position after the transfers.
At that point, prior to the next carriage pass, the color may be changed. The short single skipped stitch floats are shown more clearly in this image. When changing colors it is best to use yarns of the same thickness that will knit easily at the same tension, not done in the first shape in this sample.
If using 2 carriages operating from opposite sides to carry different color(s) remember that extension rails will need to be used, as both will be selecting needles and will anchor onto the belt to do so.
Floats will happen at the side(s) as colors are carried up, but they and cut yarn ends can be hidden when the trim is applied. Here a fixed number of stitches +1=11 is knit for a fixed number of rows
an eyelet is created every 10 rows A
A single eyelet was sufficient to allow for feeding the trim through on the same side and from the bottom up, B and C, upon completion of the planned strip length. The red sample on the left is knit with 2/18 silk/wool, the blue is 2/wool. It is best to avoid any fiber that will pill easily.
The blue samples were knit for 65 rows each. In DIY, begin a test by casting on an odd number of needles (11, chart row 0)
if all needles are not properly formed after a permanent cast-on, bring all needles out to E for the first 2 or 3 rows
insert a claw weight
knit the same number of rows as cast on -1 (10)
transfer a needle to the left or right so as to maintain an even number of needles on each side after the transfer, making certain the empty needle is in the work position before the next carriage pass (chart row 10)
as you knit to the opposite side a loop will form on the empty needle, the eyelet location (chart row 11)
a carriage pass to the opposite side will form the full stitch in the loop location (chart row 12)
The charted working repeat for the trims below is outlined in red 

More shapes on ribber fabrics with tuck patterning, fantasy fair isle

Fantasy fair isle is the term often used to refer to dbj fabrics created using tuck settings on either or both beds. Typically in the required color separation used each design row in the repeat is expanded into 4 rows, with the same selection occurring for each color pair of consecutive rows. A tuck/plain combination is used here, with the backing essentially being a striper one, where each color knits every stitch on the ribber on every row.
In this illustration, the blue symbols represent knit stitches on either bed, the red, the tucked stitches on the top bed. The chart represents a single design row expanded into 4, the results would, in turn, be rendered double length in knitting the final fabric.  The last post related to this topic: 2021/09/07/geometric-shapes-on-ribber-fabrics-with-tuck-stitches-3/
Recently a friend shared images of a punchcard skull pattern she was using in a hat and followed with a query as to the possibility of using the pattern on a mesh grid. The inspiration for the conversation began with this image, the work of Claudia Scarpa. The possibility of adding images on a true mesh transfer lace or mesh-like thread lace images may be found in 2021/12/14/to-mesh-or-not-to-mesh-9-more-on-mock-filet-design/
My DIY skull image in a potential thread lace pattern, in a 100X92 pixel png.  Concurrently the topic of illusion knits on the machine has also resurfaced in FB with some spectacular panels executed using the Garter carriage and changing colors every 2 rows. Some small geometric shapes begin to have a somewhat “similar” appearance using this technique, but as with beauty, the success in the imitation is in the eye of the beholder.
The techniques involved: my proof of concept was knit using img2track on a 930. Traditionally two-color designs may be opened and then downloaded, using the standard dbj built-in KRC function for the color separation, not suitable for this dbj version, while for designs in 3 or more colors the program will separate the repeat in a way that each color for each design row is knit twice, the separation required here.
At this point, the color separation is executed by filling in pixels and observing a variety of rules. DAK produces templates of jacquard separations of varied types that may be printed for use outside its universe. The same file may be screengrabbed, traced, and redrawn pixel by pixel for use in a Brother download using other download software.
Passap by default separates knits for 2 color DBJ with each color for each design row knitting twice mode. Tucking on either or both beds is made easier because of the way stitches are formed on the Passap beds, along with the use of strippers which push down on tuck loops with each pass, ensuring that they will knit off properly. The fabric widens considerably when off the machine, requiring loose cast-ons and bind-offs. The dbj variant, dubbed fantasy fair isle, is often used to create lap or quilt blankets.
The Passap built-in reader techniques that are often recommended for large knit pieces ie blankets using the same design are 186 for throw size, 187 for lap blankets, and 183 for crib quilts. All three share the fact that the front bed pushers are selected in pattern in the up/knitting position alternating with the down/slip/tuck position alternating every 2 rows, producing the jacquard discussed here.
Slip settings produce narrow, short results, tuck short and wide ones. For non-Passap knitters, N is Passapese for plain knit, KX is tuck with patterning on the front/ knit bed, and AX for tuck patterning on the back/ribber bed.
Back in 2018, I began another post I meant to return to on traveling between the two brands.
My Passap E6000 manual is filled with scribbled notes from decades ago, expanding on how each technique may be used for a variety of fabrics.  In Fantasy Fairisle knitting using 187 with alternating up and down pushers on the back bed and AX with 2 arrow keys would match Brother ribber knitting with lili buttons used on an even number of needles set to tuck.
Working with the large skull image the setting of knit every row on the ribber and tuck in both directions on the knit bed is used as in technique 186, with a critical difference. Passap knitters may download the original black and white image while for Brother knitting a color separation is required.
The original skull image is 100 pixels wide by 92 high.
Converting the white ground layer behind the skull to alpha produces an image on a clear ground that can be placed exactly where desired on a new file with a white ground using the grid and guides
The alpha double long skull, now 100 by 184 pixels For the 1-pixel grid in Gimp to be visible on an editable image, a magnification of at least 800 is required. The options offered by default
can be changed to suit by simply typing in a new number.
As described in other posts including in Gimp update for Mac2, I chose to mark every other row with a red pixel, making it easier to track color-inverting every other row.  This is achieved by selecting the rows with red dots using the rectangle tool one row at a time and choosing Invert from the colors menu. The red dot will also change color, making it easy to locate converted rows in more complex patterns. The dotted blue line is a guide for placement. in progress   the processed image the trimmed 98X182 png doubled in length once more to 98X364 Knitting process on a 930 using img2track:
the 930 has a tiny brain, so the image is broken down by the software into multiple tracks of 96, 134, and 134 respectively. One of the critical differences when using this type of DBJ color separation is that the first preselection row is made from right to left toward the color changer rather than from left to right as in KRC separated 2 colors DBJ.
The first and last needles are in work on the ribber to ensure the edge stitch on that bed will knit every row.
The knit carriage is set to KCII, canceling the end needle selection.
Once the first row has been preselected and the planned color is chosen, with COL, set the main bed to tuck in both directions, leave the ribber set to knit, and continue knitting changing color every 2 rows.
In my swatch, the dark contrast color was used for the initial black pixel all-knit rows.
The work on the machine: A reminder: in my experience, the Brother cast-on combs are usually chrome-colored, Studio grey, and Passap, and I believe Superba ones were traditionally green. The first 2 were designed for 4.5 mm machines, the latter for 5mm. The different mm spacing does not make the 5 mm combs suitable for casting on on Brother, but they can be poked through the knit in progress. I like to leave the first comb and weights on, insert the new comb closer to the beds, and then move the weight up, and then remove the lower position comb.
There are lots of side-by-side stitches tucking on the main bed, made possible by the fact that each is anchored in place by a knit stitch on the opposite bed.
The tension needs to be set so that the stitches will knit off properly while having tuck loops not so loose as to get hung up on gate pegs. It can take a bit of trial and error to find proper settings and they, in turn, may need to be adjusted again when moving from small swatches to knitting on a far larger number of needles.
The finished piece measures 25 inches in width by 24 in height.
The appearance on the bed set to N, in this case, the ribber: Those white lines on the right are spots where the color changer picked up both color threads, a problem that does not occur in Passap knitting, where each color is picked up in its own yarn holder. In the Brother model, sometimes the yarn is left in the wrong place below eye level rather than its own individual one corresponding to its button, and both yarns are picked up with the next color change. The more textured knit side of the piece,  a close-up of the texture at an angle  Claudia Scarpa developed a skull variation using only layers in Gimp and has been kind enough to create a Youtube video illustrating the process. The separation is easy and quick as opposed to my more prolonged hack, and I will return to attempt to use it for various fabrics in a follow-up post.
This skull is more compact and better defined than mine. With the double-long original image superimposed on alternating pairs of black and white rows, the resulting png can not be lengthened again as tucking would then occur for 4 rows, not likely possible in a Brother machine. The variant is a very interesting cousin to mine.

In DAK using Method C color separation each color row separates into 2 rows of knitting and when using the result rows do not have to be repeated in pairs but the double-length switch will need to be used in Japanese knitting machines if working within the program. For those intending to use the separation outside the DAK universe, the color separation may be printed, traced/redrawn to create a png or bmp, scaled double length, and used as in the skull swatch. The template for the double long triangle in the post and the associated 24 stitches by 32 rows png, followed by the associated drawn png The png doubled in length, 24 stitches by 64 rows. This is a small repeat, suitable for punch card machines. The test swatch is knit with the main bed tucking both ways and the ribber knitting every row. It is possible to work some repeats on some machines with the ribber also set to tuck both ways with EON needle selection.
In Brother that is achieved by using lili buttons with an even number of needles in work on the ribber. The first and the last needle would be in work on the top bed, the KCI setting is used for end needle selection to ensure that the first and last needles on each side of the piece will knit. I did not find this method workable and soon had to stop because of a loopy mess. When using the Dak stitch design module, the color separation is automated. Choose any design repeat. This happens to be a 20X20 one, chosen from the thumbnail assortment, so not suitable for punchcard models. “Printing” the template using choosing the option of using dots rather than squares to represent knit stitches makes the resulting print screengrab easier to trace. the 20X20 repeat as a BW png The template was overlayed with a grid in numbers, filling in cells over the dotted areas.
A portion of the work in progress using the generated dbj option C template and tracing it transitioning from template to Numbers, to Gimp:  The result is screengrabbed, opened in Gimp, converted to BW mode, and scaled to the 20X40 expanded design size. Unless the double-length function in the machine is also used, it will need scaling again to double length prior to download.
Illustrations for the generated dbj option C template, tracing it in Numbers, processed in Gimp, The final image double length, showing the difference between the separation using the template, and that using layers as in Claudia’s video, which appears different but is actually the same repeat, color reversed.  Using bucket fill for the ground in the second layer, as described in the video, the captured clipboard image can be very small or stripes any width may be captured, even up to that of the full repeat widthRemember to click on the screen outside the area chosen with the rectangle tool before using the bucket fill in pattern tool.
The result is the same using either brush.
Alternately, the initial design may be scaled X4 to 20 X 80 pixels and it is superimposed on a ground flood-filled with 2 black rows alternating with 2 white rows the steps resulting in a match to the previous elongated version the 20X80 png In the related swatch patterning is used on  40 stitches by 100 rows. The relaxed fabric when off the machine measures 7 inches by 7 inches and the knit side view reflects the elongation of the design one might observe when using the same color separation in standard striper-backed DBJ. On the bottom, the swatch is stretched and the stitches are set with some casual steaming and pressing to 10.5 to 6.75 inches, gaining the familiar texture appearance seen in so many Passap blankets.
The color differences are due to lighting, with the photos being taken at different times of day.  For a loose cast-on row, I used a racked version at the same tension as the body of the knit.
For a loose bind-off to accommodate the stretch, I used this method, one of many taught in Passap seminars.
To perform the same on Brother machines: knit the piece, ending with the carriages on the right.
Transfer all the stitches up to the top bed, bring the ribber needles up into work between them set the ribber to a looser tension number, here it was increased from 4 to 7. Knit one row from right to left, picking up loops on the empty ribber needles drop the ribber slightly by using this bracket lever position to elongate the main bed stitches.  Using a latch tool, beginning with the first stitch on the right, insert the open latch tool into the first stitch on the right, then insert it into the second stitch moving down until the first stitch is behind the hook. Do not allow the second stitch to go behind the latch, keep it in the hook. Pull the latch hook up moving the second stitch through the one behind it, forming the first chain. Repeat across the row, going through the center of each stitch, continuing the chained bind-off. A yarn end is pulled through the last stitch and the now completed chained row is secured The beds are returned to the up position, and loops and stitches are dropped off all the needles.
An attempt at a more detailed look at the bound-off edge

To mesh or not to mesh 9: more on mock filet design

Previous posts with some related information:
A lace mesh series: using GIMP  8/17
To mesh or not to mesh 1  5/11
To mesh or not to mesh 2  5/11
To mesh or not to mesh 3  5/11
To mesh or not to mesh 4 5/11
To mesh or not to mesh 5 7/17 a collection of mesh design repeats
To mesh or not to mesh 6: chevrons 6/20
Lace knitting tips, to mesh or not to mesh 7  7/20
To mesh or not to mesh 8: more Numbers meet Gimp 5/21
Unconventional uses for punchcards 2: thread lace cards for “filet” mesh  8/17
It is hard for me to imagine a decade or more has passed since I began to blog. My approach to post content has evolved since then as has my shifting familiarity and use of software programs. Periodically topics resurface to my attention. Lace is one that crops up every few years, resurged after my purchase of Dak and my experiments with testing the lace module, and has persisted, so here I am once more looking at superimposing shapes onto a preferred mesh repeat.
There are always multiple ways to achieve a goal. Punchcard knitters are not excluded from the processes and without spreadsheets, similar planning may be executed on graph paper using colored pencils.
My go-tos now for planning out my charts on a new iMac with M1 chip and OS12 are
Mac Numbers 11.2
Gimp 2.10.24, Rosetta required
ArahPaint 6.0
img2track for download to a 930 to knit swatches, presently from a Windows 10 PC
InSync for file sharing between the Mac and the PC

The final repeats created with any of these methods need to be checked or edited to make certain they observe the rules for placement of punched holes or cells on proper rows for the specific brand and model knitting machine being used.
If the aspect ratio is particularly important, then more cautious planning may be needed.
For an indeterminate reason, the shape for superimposing on a mesh in these experiments is a heart, plotted out here in Gimp for use in a 24 stitch wide limit repeat. It is good to begin on a canvas longer than the estimated motif, magnification to 800-1800X with a 1X1grid and snap to grid make the execution and filling in of small-scale designs easy to plan and view.
In terms of drawing tools, the bucket-fill paint tool may be set to fill with the foreground color, background color, or pattern. The pencil tool normally uses the foreground color. If switching between the two tools, remember to choose the proper tool before continuing to edit repeats.
The heart was plotted out and cropped to 21 stitches by 15 rows, on a 24 stitch grid, and the image was saved, it is deliberately planned for an odd number of rows in width and height.  My chosen lace mesh repeat is 2 stitches by 6 rows. Planning a base mesh in Gimp with the above repeat saved as a pattern and used to bucket fill the canvas: The overall mesh repeat png is saved. Blank areas in every third row in the first and every third row will be skipping transfers in those areas and knitting the stitches composing the shape. The heart shape itself needs to be superimposed onto the mesh base. It is relatively small, with increases and decreases forming it easy to follow, so in the simplest method, red squares for each pattern row are filled in on the grid transfer rows, using the single-pixel pencil tool and working in RGB mode. If satisfied with the placement of the shape, use bucket-fill set to ground or foreground to eliminate red cells by filling them with white, and the mesh design is ready. If working with a card, punch black cells only. This placement is tested and kept in mind in other explorations. Using a spreadsheet: the same sort of chart may easily be created quickly in Numbers. In this instance, my table is still planned for 24 stitches in width, but 54 rows in height. An extra column is added and used on the far left to mark rows to be hidden. Beginning at the bottom left two rows were filled in a different color, the third row is left blank, all 3 cells are selected. When multiple cells are selected, depending on which side of the selection box one hovers over with the mouse, a yellow dot/  handle will appear. The tool acts on the selection. Clicking on it and dragging it with the mouse will, in this instance, repeat the selection until the mouse is released. This may be done in any direction and quickly fills in whole tables. It is not necessary to perform this extra step before hiding rows, but I find having that extra color makes it easier visually, especially when working on long repeats. It also makes for easy return to selection if hiding rows is done in shifts.
Beginning at the top of the table, holding down the command key, select rows marked with yellow cells, in this version of Numbers, table row numbers are green rather than blue,   continue to the bottom of the chart, and under the Table menu, choose to hide 36 rows. With rows hidden the mesh repeat shrinks from 6 rows to 2. A new 4 cell table is created. The 4 interior cells were chosen, copied, and pasted in the lower-left corner of the reduced height table. Once pasted, selecting the repeat again will allow one to use those yellow handles to fill the contents first toward the top, then to the right. The image on the left shows the results, with only the numbers for the unhidden rows shown on the left. In turn, the heart was the pencil tool to draw it using a third color in the chosen location. The unhiding rows function produces the expanded repeat with all knit stitches in red on the mesh grid ground. The column with the yellow cells is deleted before converting the Numbers repeat to an electronic or punchcard, the how-to discussed in other posts. Comparing the hand-drawn heart in Gimp alone on the left, to the spreadsheet results on the right, there appears to be a difference in the starting rows, and in only one other row, two black cells appear that can easily be altered in either repeat. Brother machine knitters would need to shift those 2 blank rows at the bottom of the repeat on the right to its top or to to start lace patterning on row 3.  Keep in mind that lace patterns in particular, with their infrequent markings, even in color reverse, grabbed from a spreadsheet and scaled in Gimp to final repeat size, often require a lot of “clean up. This repeat, intended for use in another post shows the difference between these 2 different programs once more. Superimposing shapes onto the same mesh requires that they be elongated X3. Gimp does not do this well, while ArahPaint does so elegantly. The result using Gimp, with the image Mode converted to 2 colors indexed and scaled in height X3 is shown on the left with marked error areas. The Arah YX3 result on the right is correct, created, and saved More choices exist, continuing to place the heart 3 rows up from the bottom, and not using multiple layers. For the heart to be pasted in place on the mesh, its white background needs to be made clear/ transparent. That is achieved by using Layer, Transparency, Color to Alpha, The layer-to-alpha image may be saved as a png with transparent background for any future use.
Work using 2 windows, A simple copy and paste will fix the image in an arbitrary location. Instead, click on the rectangle select tool, selecting and copying the heart image, paste it on the ground in the second window, where it remains as a floating selection that can be dragged to the desired location and is not anchored until the mouse is released. This may be undone and repeated multiple times.  A, copied and pasted in place on the ground, B, resulting in C
Even easier, working with the full-color, white ground heart repeat placed 3 rows up from the bottom, A, set red as the foreground color, and then use the bucket fill tool B to fill its ground with the mesh pattern, seen in C
Comparing the all in Gimp Drawing to either of the last 2 patterns, two differences appear, an extra row of transfers before removing transfer stitches to start the heart shape, and those 2 extra black pixels/eyelets Committing to the first design, 24X60, Proof of concept for the single repeat: Tiling the repeat before knitting helps one visualize secondary shapes that will be formed by it, here those pairs of extra dots are removed in areas marked with red lines, helping to make the decision about keeping them or not Developing brick repeats or half drop is possible with offset and brushes in Gimp, but, to my mind, easier in Arah. Using the Arah drawing in repeat, the design is now 24 stitches wide by 120 rows high in a brick arrangement offset by 12 stitches. The same heart, in half drop repeat, offset by 30 rows, now double wide, 48X60, suitable only for an electronic machine Changing the background grid for other stitch types: the heart is rescaled for use by 2 or 4 times in height. Again, the differences between Gimp’s incorrect scaling, A, and the Arah drawing in repeat, B The differences between the clear ground heart image dragged and dropped onto the new background or navigating between 2 windows and using the rectangle tool as described to copy and paste. Possible applications This begs the question of working on larger images. For use on a lace mesh, simpler designs apart from overall size are best, but if a mesh base is not your favorite fabric or goal, tuck, slip stitch, thread lace or even fair isle patterns may be created with more overall flexibility, using the same principles on backgrounds.
Thread lace, depending on the yarns and tension used, can provide the illusion of eyelets behind images of any size. The steps: image to alpha selected and pasted onto the ground, color reversed The final png is 129 stitches wide by 172 rows high This is the first attempt at a partial repeat test proof of concept. I have been telling people serger monofilament withstands ironing and light pressing, and periodically I test advice I have given formerly. To start with, the darn monofilament, which I even used in double bed garments, but nearly 2 decades ago, refused to feed properly or at all. Because it is nearly invisible, my knitting started with it pulling too tight, and I wiped out 12 needles out of 72 in different places on the needle bed in a single carriage pass. Determined, I sorted how to hand feed it, got the rhythm, complete a swatch. A marks an error I made in loading the second track in img2track, resulting in an added, wrong pattern row. The holes, B, C, and D were nonexistent until I tried flattening the fabric a bit with an iron, and the monofilament simply melted in various places. Other observations: there is some bubbling in the all knit areas. With ironing, that effect was lost and the areas with more mock holes widened as can be seen at the side edges. In thread lace, the end needle selection is canceled so as to have the paired yarns knit the end stitch, but pattern needles can still be selected, so if end needles are forward in pattern, it is best to push them back to B position by hand. One way to eliminate having to do that, which also reduces knitting time, is to create vertical all-white lines on either side, as in this version of the repeat now 144 X 200 pixels. I had interesting issues with having needle selection visually appear correct throughout, and the pattern itself appearing correct when checked at 1800 magnification. While the smaller sample was accurate until the filament began to melt, here I had 2 needles not knitting the yarns alternately but together, and an odd change in the center that looks as though yarn selection in those areas was reversed. The thicker yarn here is cotton, the thinner rayon. Troubleshooting is required. Unplanned tucking is a sign of damaged needles, but because the second yarn used herd is so thin, the effect was not obvious until the vertical pattern in the same area on the bed became apparent.
I am using a punchcard carriage on an orphaned 930 for the thread lace, and have not knit on more than 90 center needles in the past. Some days both operator and machine need a break. The cam buttons and undercarriage were oiled.  The first selection tests involved programming this as an all-over design. When only using part of the needle bed in a pattern, the center of the needle bed needs to be cleared by the knit carriage for the pattern selections to advance and knit properly. Doing so on part of each side of the center in thread lace and changing the culprit needles eliminated those single stitch issues. Before committing to a large width of fabric in thread lace, perhaps a practical, visible, and easy place to start for checking patterning and needle selection is to knit the ground in this pattern as a fair isle pattern before proceeding with the intended large-scale design. The finished test swatch: because of the disparity between the number of all knit stitches vs patterned ones where one of the colors is slipped on every pattern row for every other stitch, the fabric shrinks dramatically when off the machine. The knit areas pop out a bit, and a lengthwise tug makes enhances the effect  If the goal is a flat fabric panel, then blocking is a necessity. Here the piece is casually pressed, no pins, letters point out issues:
A: knit rows before any pattern selection
B: an attempt to knit stitches with a cast on comb, and no weights, lots of uneven float loops on the reverse
C: changing the amount of weight; if knitting in multiple tracks using img2track, remember to be outside the set mark with the knit carriages before selecting the next pattern row to avoid selection errors
D, E: there are occasional improperly formed tuck stitches
F: “My piece is almost finished, the weights are touching the floor but I have just a few rows left, too lazy to move the weight”, the price: some messy loops on the reverse again to match the start
G: all knit rows again, the latch tool bind off around single gate pegs was a bit snug The mesh effect was noticeable after resting, the piece measures 25 inches in width by 25 inches in height.
When moving weights up, using a ribber cast on comb carefully poked through the knit may cause less snagging and issues than using the single bed cast on comb.
This fabric evolved because of a discussion that began with a knitter who is working on sculptural shapes emerging from textured backgrounds.
I see thread lace as having potential for developing all sorts of blistered, 3D elements that have nothing to do with flowers or wearables and am planning follow-up posts using the technique for texture rather than mock lace. To be rendered usable, this piece would definitely need blocking, maybe even starching in order to be stable enough to hold its shape over time.
I have blocking wires, but over my decades of knitting have maybe used them twice, my blocking has been far more casual.

Friends lately have asked about skulls over thread lace mesh, this is an electronic repeat with room for resizing or border additions, keeping in mind that in thread lace the white areas knit both yarns, the dotted areas create the illusion of holes. The design was initially created working in black and white, with an alpha channel added a new file was opened, bucket-filled with the ground 2X2 pattern, the above was copied and pasted in the chosen position, resulting in this
The 100X92 png which in turn needs to be color reversed for use as a thread lace pattern

Geometric shapes on ribber fabrics with tuck stitches 3

Previous related posts:
2 color ribbed brioche stitch on Brother knitting machine 1
Geometric shapes on ribber fabrics with tuck stitches 1
Geometric shapes on ribber fabrics with tuck stitches 2; knitting with 4 carriages
The last post on using Gimp:  2021/07/18/gimp-update-for-mac-2/
The method for color separation used for mosaics

The sources of inspiration from hand knitting or industrial knitting machine designs are endless. There are many features that simply cannot be duplicated, sometimes compromises can be reached that can achieve only imitations of the original. To my mind when knitting garments or long pieces the greater the degree of automation, the less likely one is to have patterning errors occur, in ribber fabrics, they are also more complicated to correct than single bed knitting.
I recently came across a pin of a Ravelry hand knit pattern which led to my return to this topic once more, including perhaps the addition of more colors. The plan is to create a repeat which may be knit using color changes every 2 rows. Each design row knits each color twice, so the standard built-in KRC separation is not a consideration, though the same cam settings may be used in those fabrics as well.
The required color separation has been discussed in several posts on the various forms of DBJ, a review:
The initial test repeat is 18 stitches by 44 rows, designed using 2 X 2 blocks, to begin with. How it might appear knit in fair isle:  Transitions in charting visualizations:
A: FI repeat with pattern progression in two-row increments
B: every even-numbered row beginning with row 2 is color reversed
C: B repeat is doubled in length to 18X88 for initial samples
D: repeat adjustment for a first try at introducing 2 additional colors End needle selection is canceled, the first and last needles are in work on each side on the ribber knitting every row, the first preselection row is from right to left, cam buttons are set after the left side is reached. Knitting in these samples began with the blue yarn in the number 2 position in the color changer. The ribber remains set for knitting in both directions throughout, the images on the right do not reflect the amount of surface 3D textures.
with the main bed set to tuck in both directions: Lock settings are easier to achieve on the Passap than switching out cam buttons in Brother machines. This was knit using 4 carriages. Color one knits with the main bed set to tuck both ways, color two knits with the main bed set to slip both ways. The slip stitch reduces the width of the fabric considerably Here each color alternately tucks and slips. The choice of cam buttons matters, tucking first from left to right, slipping from right to left, with cam buttons set COL after the first preselection row This last cam setting appears to my eye to produce a texture “close enough” to the inspiration fabric. Attempting to add more colors: the repeat, D, is still 18 X 88 but is now shifted slightly.  Somehow the slip cam button was not set, so the knit carriage tucked in one direction while knitting in the other. I am vaguely reminded of illusion knits. Considering altering both the color choices and placements again. A way to imagine exact color change placements beginning with solid colors repeats once more, which can be followed by new color separations. The existing repeat may be reduced further to 18 X 64, eliminating some of those extra rows in the center of the chevron shape  The new BW image, tiled: Whether or not the design is intended to retain chevron shapes in alternating textures, actions may be plotted pre knitting in any way that visually makes sense to the person designing the pattern and tools available to them. Reversing the png so that the more textured stitches will begin with the color in yarn position 1Using either repeat, color changes now occur after every 32 rows knit. Another color change location clue is in the needle selection change above and immediately following the red border in the chart on the left.  Adding colors can be planned cautiously or allowed to happen randomly depending on the preferences of the designer and end-use. Ribber fabric designs are not visible until several inches have been knit, too late to catch color sequence errors. Some machines allow for memo placements or sounds to help track color changes, but only within the initially programmed repeats. A quick spreadsheet can provide customizable checkboxes or added information. For an attempt to retain chevron shapes in different textures: When using 3 colors, rather than 4, the texture of the zigzags on any specific color, will vary in placement. It is easy to change colors in any chart to approximate those that will actually be used in the knitting.  Proof of concept: each of my yarns is slightly different in both thickness or fiber content from the others, which can be a drawback in resulting textures. As in any 2 color dbj, if 4 consequent rows are knit in one of two colors the positive and negative portions of the image reverse, as seen at the top of the swatch. The green was not intended to be used originally, the white yarn simply ran out. Such accidents at times may provide pleasant improvements. There is bleed-through of each color behind the other in the tighter knit areas as well which contributes to visual color blending, noticeable even in the areas with fewer tucked stitches. Splitting zig-zags into triangles, working color 1 with color 2, followed by color 3 with color 4 pairings A PDF including row numbers and space for notations zig zag
An editable Excel spreadsheet created as an export from numbers zig zag
For Mac owners a Numbers doc. zig zag
A simpler repeat suitable punchcard owners as well using only 2 colors The test swatch and observations: patterning was begun with color 2, yellow.
The yellow yarn is 12/16, the maroon is 2/15 in thickness.
The triangle, because slip and tuck stitch settings are used, is compressed in height, while there is enough tuck happening to still make the knit wider.
The pattern is 24 stitches wide, the swatch was knit on 40 needles. Smaller swatches are fine for testing tension and colors. If committing to larger pieces, tests on at least 100 stitches by 100 rows are needed for gauge calculations in any double bed work or very textured patterns on the single bed.  On some occasions when a far larger number of needles are in use, problems may turn up that require going back to the drawing board in terms of items ie tension settings, weight used, etc.
A: patterning was begun with thicker yarn, the yellow, in color changer position 2, both yarns are 100% wool
B: KCI, end needle selection on, a 2 color “beaded” edge is created
C: KCII, end needle selection canceled, patterning occurs on end needles
D: transferring to the top bed and using the standard latch tool bind off for these fabrics is far too tight  The tiled repeat, 24X48, does keep the stitch quality constant for both colors, Assumptions based on optics of tiling are not always accurate clues to potential patterning errors, here those darker lines are part of the actual design Continuing on a 24 stitch repeat, the original design may be rendered at double height and separated once more, doubling the separation height to 96 rows There are days when either or both machine and knitter need a break. At the start of the first swatch, the cam buttons were not set, resulting in plain knit stripes. At its top, the purple did not get picked up properly from the color changer, and the knitting of course fell off the machine. On a second try, the same issue happened again with the purple yarn. Multiple incidences of such events were fondly nicknamed “dropitis” by my students. The test is on 24 stitches, the width of a single repeat, the triangles are much more balanced in size, this knitter is putting this pattern to rest.  Another try at the diamond shapes that began this topic. The first .png when tiled appeared to not have enough space between the shapes, was amended to this the differences when tiled the color separation can happen completely within Gimp using color invert the white yarn is an acrylic, slightly thicker than the purple toned one. Sometimes simply exchanging yarn positions can change the qualities of the overall fabric. The repeat begins with 2 blank rows. To achieve the tighter white shape as opposed to the honeycomb purple one, at the start of the repeat that color needs to be in use on rows where knit stitches happen as the KC, set on slip to the right, knits needles brought forward to D position. Red in this chart segment marks pertinent rowsBoth with hand knits and commercial knits because of the hand actions possible on both sides in the first, and as many as 4 beds selecting and knitting on the other may be in use at the same time with more complex needles as well, there are fabrics that are difficult or even impossible to duplicate. There often are obvious differences in the results, but the journey may still yield results that are pleasing and worth pursuing. Another even more complex inspiration from a sweater attributed to Falke, Spring 20 collection, using similar stitch structures, but in addition, also transferring stitches between beds exposing a purl striped ground.

Tuck lace trims and fabrics 3

The term lace is often used in publications to refer to fabrics created with techniques other than the familiar hand or machine stitch transfers. In turn, the ribber may be added to working most of the fabrics with varying degrees of complexity. Some variations are possible only on specific machine brands, at times possible in others with adaptation and addition of other techniques. Many combination fabrics may be achieved, mixing carriage settings or adding hand techniques. A list of common terms applied to “lace” that include tuck patterning:
Hand transfers: used to create eyelets, possibly in combination with pattern stitches out of work, and moving stitches singly or in groups
Tuck and lace: transfers combined with tuck stitch patterning
“Lace like patterns”: possible in machines such as Brother and Passap, which allow for the same stitches tucking in one direction, slipping on the return of the knit carriage to its starting side. It matters which function leads in the pattern
Tuck lace: tuck setting in both directions with specific needles out of work
Ladder Lace: worked with columns created by needles left out of work, tuck being an option in the knit portions
Punch tuck rib: every needle rib combined with tucking pattern on the knit bed Drive/ drop stitch lace: stitches start on either of the 2 beds, loops are picked up and dropped on the opposite bed
A list of the headings for most of the tuck stitch variants covered in my posts is now added to the start of my blog index

Once a stitch has been tested,  unusual yarns, including wire may be used Getting back to basics: a punchcard sometimes supplied in factory packs provided with machine purchases, is shown here in 1/3 of the minimum 36-row card repeat, while the minimum electronic repeat is outlined in red, measures 4 stitches by 4 rows Adding needles out of work by simply choosing to cast on and working on every other needle it does not matter whether even or odd needles are in use, the pattern will be identical but simply shifted over by one needle. For frequent color changes, make the first preselection row toward the color changer to start with, keep notes as to where the repeat color selections happen as experiments are expanded, evaluate color choice as a third or even fourth color are introduced Though casting on and binding off both need to be considered for extra width, having sections of the repeat knitting in plain knit will help sort the needle arrangement and loop structures when tucked knits appear similar-looking    The repeat on any tuck row can help test the number of rows a particular yarn will allow before the number of loops in the needle hooks become too many to knit off well. The added texture, or elimination of any, could be used in borders or occasional horizontal portions of the knit Some of the concepts in the visualization of more deliberate color placement through charting was discussed in the post: Single bed tuck and slip stitch fabrics 2: adding color
A starting repeat from a Pinterest image inspiration: the blue yarn will knit on every needle the third tuck row on the machine the fourth tuck row with needle preselection for the first all knit blue row one blue row knit Accommodating those blocks of knit stitches in the pin also changes the repeat to six stitches by 6 rows, making it usable on punchcard machines as well Two from one: the same tuck repeat was altered by changing the needle out of work arrangements. Slub yarn may be used but changes the value of the lines formed by the floats created in the needles out of work gaps. In my classes, I encouraged students to create long swatches testing out their patterns in a variety of stitch types with color changes as well. Thet can serve as a visual reference to duplicate effects when time has passed. Here the tuck pattern, not suitable for FI at all, is tested as DBJ, followed by needle transfers between beds and adding the tuck setting. There is a dramatic difference in width, the wool yarn has a lot of “spring”, wanting to narrow when at rest The self-designed stitch structures may be further changed visually and complicated in terms of execution by adding changes to the ribber setting so that it does not knit every rowPublications for electronic machines do not always include pertinent instructions, but they will include out of work needle diagrams below each appropriate repeat. The gray cells represent white squares, which correspond to non-selected needles but also in this case to out-of-work needle position areas where open spaces are created. The 4, 6, 8 stitch repeats are also usable in punchcard machines. These are from the Stitchworld pattern book, all with the exception of 282 are to be used with needles out of work