Knitting with “unusual” fibers/ elastic 2

My first DBJ tests from a previous post on knitting with elastic. used an axometric shape, with the tentative repeat worked out and in turn, elongated X2 and tiled to check alignment. Until doubled in height the original repeat is composed of an odd number of rows in height. Usually, double bed knitting relying on color changes or automatic DBJ KRC separations require an even number of rows in the motif. The first sample was knit using single-ply cotton and elastic yarns respectively, fed through separate upper tension disks but knit together as a single color. The swatch is 72 stitches in width but measures only 14.5 mm (5.7 inches) in width, producing a gauge of nearly 13 stitches for inch, not achievable when knitting with standard fibers on a standard 4.5 mm machine. The pattern is subtle, more visible on the knit side, hard to tell there are pockets in the knit. The cotton is space-dyed, and as true when using such yarns, that causes some confusion in immediately identifying a clear pattern. The ruffled effect is simply from a plain knit start and color-changing stripes to test tension and knittability on the planned needle width. Machine settings: opposite part buttons,  no liliHere the same pattern was executed on the same number of stitches with the white wool used above, but the elastic was plied with a 2/24 acrylic yarn and knit as DBJ with the blue, stretchy combination creating the solid color backing. A comparison in scale The same pattern repeat knit with striper backing is far less interesting 

The solid color backing in DBJ can be produced by changing ribber settings with each color change from N/N to slip <– –> and back. I have sometimes knit DBJ with 4 carriages or with a third, knit-only carriage working the rows normally slipped by the ribber. The sinker plate for one knit carriage is altered as described in the post. The knitting requires that the ribber stops be removed, and that carriage(s) be off the bed on extension rails while the other(s) are in use so as not to damage the belt. The maximum width of the fabric is limited by the necessity of having the knit cleared on both sides with all carriage passes.
My mongrel setup includes a 930 bed, an 892 punchcard carriage with a magnet attached coupled with the 850 ribber carriage, and a 910 carriage with the modified sinker plate. As a bit of possible disaster prevention, the knit/ribber combo has an elastic to ensure the ribber stays on its own bed as well, while I grabbed extras to help support the rail on the other side just in case the 910 carriage went too far. Because when using the KRC separation the white squares knit first, I planned the repeat for 64 stitches color reversing the repeat used the FI and thread lace samples in the previous post.to this, I used a 2/18 wool at tensions 3/3 for the backing fabric and two strands of the elastic with no added changes to its yarn mast tension, at tension 7 in the single knit carriage.
Using this method of DBJ, which is the same as that used in 2 color quilting, when the ribber and knit carriage both knit, the fabric is sealed where there are needles selected on the main bed. When the ribber is set to slip in both directions, or the method here is used, the main bed only knits selected needles and skips the nonselected ones, creating floats and pockets in the fabric in those areas. The appearance of the fabric when stretched and weighted, still between the beds and off Going the far more traditional route of traditional dbj with the use of the color changer, striper backing with the ribber set to N/N yields a wider, flatter fabric with an interesting purl side while my very brief effort at attempting to knit with one side of the ribber set to knit, the other to slip, met with immediate dropped stitches by the elastic. The birdseye version had more of a bent on the surfaces of both colors. I stopped knitting when a few of the elastic stitches on the left purl side dropped off. It would appear at this point that the most interesting effects in the simplest to execute DBJ setting are ones with balanced positive and negative spaces in the design.

Previously I used the repeat on the top left, also shown tiled. The subsequent swatch was knit using the bottom 66X22 tiled repeat, planning to start KRC preselection from the left on a white square, the ribber set to N/NI found the fabric attractive on the purl side, but I was having issues with dropped stitches I could not explain that would need sorting out if producing larger swatches. Adding a third ply of elastic was disastrous at any tension. Better results occurred simply by increasing the ribber tension by 2 whole numbers, the knit tension by 1, and reverting to the previous yarn usage. There is a single dropped stitch in the elastic, and the result has much more of a 3D effect.

From automated lace edging pattern to doilies and ruffles

This information follows that provided in  lace edgings on Brother machines- automated with slip stitch 2 and lace meets hold and goes round 
More on holding techniques: back to that pie,
Revisiting miters, spirals, going square, round, and more, and
Holding/short rows: hand tech to chart to automating with slip stitch 1

These repeats are designed for use on electronic model knitting machines. Because of the mechanical difference in the way that 2 carriage selection works on punchcard machines, though some are presented as 24 stitch repeats, the designs would need to be modified prior to use on punchcard models. For a discussion of the required differences please see the post Doilies: Lace meets hold and goes round

Plotting out changes to a randomly selected previous repeat

The process can also be worked out directly in GIMP, ie in the orientation in which the repeats will be used for download to my 930. The original repeat was mirrored (A), eyelets created by transfers to the right were considered (B), 4 stitches in width were added to the 24 stitch width, transfers to the right began to be eliminated (C). The final repeat D, with all transfers to the left, was used to knit the sample. The test swatch in progress I used a short cast on comb for weight across the piece, moving it up cautiously on a regular basis It is helpful when starting in waste yarn or simply using plain knit rows at the bottom of a test swatch to choose a clearly contrasting color. Here I did not do so, the drawn line is to help define the start of the shape formation created by the holding sequences and eyelets. The eyelet on the outermost edge of the circumference “disappears” as that edge gets stretched to the max. Two eyelets in the diamond shapes are not formed properly

Switching to a rayon yarn for knitting the “doily”, made for easy and quick knitting.  The comb used for weight in the wool swatch was not necessary. A single claw from a small weight on the edge stitch a few rows below the knitting and moved up frequently helped insure that the last stitch on that side knit off properly and maintained its length knitting without a knit gauge can be dangerous, here a guess is made as to how many more units might be required to make the final shape go round
I committed to 8 wedges,  another attempt at a check for size prior to seaming the shape.Before joining the stitches permanently, a quick look to see if there was enough knitting to form that pie With the knit side as the expected public side of the piece, the work was scrapped off the machine after some wast knitting, one end was rehung with knit side facing and the  waste yarn was removed and the process was repeated with the open stitches at the other end of the piece
The least satisfactory and most visible join is the latch tool bind off. Grafting by hand off the machine is the least so. For the sake of ease in identifying open stitches easily, both methods would benefit from a couple more all knit rows between each segment as seen in the repeat in the original doily post in spite of the fact that the shape around the very center opening will change.
I choose to remove waste yarn before binding off, some prefer to wait. One row was knit across all the stitches. Things were in great shape until the yarn snagged on the far right in my closing knit row, so there is a bit of added bulk there from the rescue attempts to correct the problem.
The center opening was gathered. The stitches on its side knit together so infrequently the opening beside them is larger than in any other held areas. The ladders in those spaces were latched up to get rid of those holes.  The doily after a very quick and casual press:

Not a doily person but fond of ruffles? they will be shaped with added all knit rows. The first test for adjustments in a spreadsheet The resulting pattern and reject:
A: if the design is programmed in the wrong direction, the eyelets for the outside circumference should appear on the right of the purl side, not the left
B: the last pass by the knit carriage preselects no needles moving to the right, LC makes its first pass consistently on a row with no needles selected
C: remember to set the knit carriage to slip in both directions, or knitting will continue across the whole row and “holding” is lost
D: keep an eye on the resulting shape and consider if worth pursuing Planning for diamond rather than bow shapes, the repeat was changed from a 28X68 one to a wider, 32 X 64  The extra knit stitches on the “held” side make for easier joining of the ruffle to the body of the piece. The “diamond shape” is restored. Its shape has some distortion as the spiral is created. The test swatch was lightly pressed after its removal from the machine, just enough to help it stay flat. In yarns with “no memory” (possibilities other than wool) stitches will be set permanently with pressing and steaming. If the basic principle is understood, other stitch types may be combined with slip stitch rows including tuck stitch, slip stitch, and 2 color patterning, seen here in some seam as you knit ruffles I added to some of my shawls and garments 

Revisiting large eyelet lace, hand transferred (or not)

My recent blog post on adapting lace edgings from published sources containing studio punchcard patterns led me back to reviewing a blog post from 2013, Large eyelet lace, hand transferred (or not) that included a hand technique and an automated mesh pattern.
Since then I have moved beyond mylar sheets on the 910 or using punchcards. The present swatches are knit on a 930 using img2track. The pattern images and corresponding direction of transfers, in this case, occur on the purl side, therefore lace motifs need to be reversed either in the original image processing before download, or after download by remembering to use the mirror button to reverse the image horizontally, which is an episodic forgotten detail on my part. Adjustments in the horizontal repeats as charted here may need to be made depending on the other KM models as well.
Before my using Excel and now Numbers to produce my design charts, images such as this one were created using Intwined, a software program that became quickly unsupported, buggy, and then with no updates for use on Mac. It has long since been abandoned by me.
The first revisited repeat was edited for automation on the 930 The lace carriage makes 4 passes, followed by 2 rows knit. The arrangement at the end of each transfer sequence will have pairs of double stitches moved onto the adjacent needles, leaving 2 empty needles in between them. Placement on the needle bed should be planned, and added “border” stitches can be moved away and toward the starting number of stitches to keep eyelets forming at the side edges for all-over uniformity  the result will produce 2 pairs of doubled stitches achieved by the repeated transfers with 2 empty needles between each pair where loops and floats will form. Their locations alternate as each sequence is completed Blank rows between transfer segments are there to make certain the knit rows will happen in the proper locations at the top of each transfer sequence. The first design row transfers are to the left, the transfers to the left begin on design row 8.
LCOR is ready for the first row of transfers to the left LCOL is ready to make transfers to the right after the transfers single needles are empty, with double stitches in adjacent ones, and transfers to the left are repeated once more, this is the result, with transfer needles pushed out to show doubled up stitches After all the sequence transfers are completed, there will be adjacent pairs of doubled up stitches with 2 empty needles between each pair. As the following 2 rows are knit, the first row creates loops in the empty needles, the second pass skips those needles, forming a “float”. Looking a bit closer after the knit rows as the process repeats, the first transfer and the second transfer The pairs of stitches that have been moved anchor the 2 side-by-side loops and result in the 3-strand stitch pairs, with every other remaining pair of needles empty between them.  The LC returns to the left with no needle selection Knit 2 rows, continue in pattern.
Adjusting the tension will make for a tighter knit, I decreased it by a full number halfway up the swatch below. There is one “operator error” where I attempted to correct a dropped stitch. This fabric is composed of myriad double stitch transfers in both directions and definitely a challenge to produce in any significant size. Making those transfers by hand may wind up being the solution if yarns and automation refuse to work properly. Those short “floats” at the top and bottom of the eyelets can be reduced. This adds a hand technique to every opening, whether results are worth it becomes a personal decision. After the 2 knit rows use a tool to lift the float onto the needles holding the side by side loops Before the 2 knit rows, there will be the doubled-up loops in each of those needles, and the 2 doubled-up stitches made from the transfers are added to them as transfers continue. For all those strands to knit off properly, the whole row might best be brought out to the E position before using the knit carriage. The differences between the hooked-up float version of the pattern and the let it be one are shown in areas below the lines in the bottom corners and by arrows in the close-up Much easier and quicker to knit, though quite different, is large mesh combined with tuck stitches This chart was used in 2013 as a guide for hand technique using a 2/8 wool Knitting lace sequences in a single orientation produces a mesh that is biased. It could be the start for one more chevron shape but was not the intended fabric.
The adapted repeat: the odd number of passes between each repeating segment ensures that the following selections reverse the direction of the transfers the proper orientation for use on the 930Working out the actions in a spreadsheet, border stitches outside the fabric width may be added and subtracted to keep mesh formation along both side edges.
Needles preselected for transfer to the left during transfer, needles are preselected for transfer to the right. Doubled up stitches will now be moved during transfer, needles are preselected for transfer to the left. Doubled up stitches will now be moved during transfer, needles are preselected for transfer to the right. Doubled up stitches will now be moved during transfer, no needles are preselected. Doubled up stitches will now be moved, resulting in doubled up stitches on every other needle. Pairs of knit rows follow each of these sequences. A repeat that produces a smaller mesh with the swing right to left is found in other posts and references. Below part of a published punchcard is shown,  with the resulting swatch, and in turn, compared with the large scale version of the same mesh structure knit on the same number of stitches.  A large-scale mesh in a heart design

Lace edgings on Brother machines- automated with slip stitch 2

Recently (2024) I have begun to review my lace edgings once more.
The repeats are planned so that the first row of lace transfers happens to the right rather than the traditional left. This fact allows for
1: consistent knitting with 2 passes of each carriage and fewer passes of wheels and brushes on the yarn being used
2: end needle selection being canceled on the knit carriage, and turned on on the lace carriage, with no manual adjustments in end needle positions necessary at any point.
PNGs are provided, they may need to be mirrored depending on your machine model and download software. When copying the pngs they may be changed to RGB mode by default, use any program to switch them back to indexed, BW, 2 colors and save in the new format prior to attempting to knit them.
Edgings may be also produced beginning with the first row of LC transfers to the left, but the designs will be longer, requiring extra blank rows to place the respective carriages properly on their respective sides, a topic that can be addressed in a future post.
Looking back at my post from 2018, written while using the older version of Ayab software and working on a 910, another including an edging written this month(7/20).
The mirrored repeat
its 22X48 png
Most of the more recent proof of concept swatches have been knit on a 930 using img2track for downloads.
A reminder: although I make an effort to include punchcard knitters in my writings, the full repeats as given and used for my test swatches and knit on an electronic are not suitable for use on punchcard machines as they are.
Electronic machines advance the pattern a design row with each carriage pass. Punchcard machines do not advance the card as the second carriage comes into use from the opposite side, repeating the action produced on the previous row.
For a discussion of some of the required design differences when using cards please see the post: Doilies: Lace meets hold and goes round, where short rows are combined with lace transfers, as in this sample. When using the slip stitch setting and changing the number of needles in work, or having ladders created by having needles out of work in the A position, the knit carriage end needle selection needs to be canceled (KCII).
Many early published trim repeats were intended for use with hand transfers combined with plain knit rows. Such designs may be translated for use on electronics and automated with this method.
At first I used a punchcard machine knit (KC) carriage with an added magnet as my KC, then on the 930 I found I could use one of my 910 carriages but not the other, the second fit the bed too snugly to make it usable.
The arrows indicate the direction of the adjustable slots in the LC mechanisms.In a working later model LC, end needle selection is in work (W) with the slots in the horizontal position, out of work (OW) in the vertical position.The 910 LC is also missing its magnet (left), gluing on a magnet in the position shown below made it usable again on the electronic Reworking some of the former swatches in no particular order, beginning with this one: The 2018 repeat is charted on the left, the amended 24 stitches wide repeat is in the center, and the mirrored image for download to my 930 is on the right. Having the repeat 24 stitch width allows for positioning the knitting other than on the very center of the machine following the markings on any 4.5 mm punchcard machine needle tape. If this is done in electronics, the design should then be programmed for all-over patterning, not for single-motif.
Splitting the bottom 2 all-black rows of pixels/punched holes and moving the one row to the very top of the design is another of the new changes.
I prefer to plot out these repeats at the start of the decreasing angle. The first row then sets up the needle bed preselection on the widest stitch count of the pattern. The original repeat was charted using Numbers and scaled in Gimp to produce a downloadable file.
The method as it was worked out in chart form, and symbols usedThe resulting, more successful swatch revisited 2024, the repeat PNG with added eyelets formed with all transfers in the same direction along the straight edge the proof of concept swatch: 2018 failed attempt at a continuous patternCharting it out anew: on the right is the amended repeat adding 4 more rows to the top of the originalThe resulting swatches:
A= the LC  switched to fine lace “accidentally” for a few rows.
B= on the very edge eyelets are single on decreasing angles, and double on increasing ones.
C= Though the very edge has those differences, the number of knit stitches between the inner shape on the left and the outer one on the right is fixed.
D= the lines created by the transfer sequences to create the diamond shapes are far more successful.These charts illustrate the above repeat on the left. On the right, the edge transfers are imagined reduced to single eyelets on the increasing angle. In turn they would result in a wider area of knitting in the zigzag shape between the curved edge and the diamond shape. Another possible solution follows, using expanded graphs with extra LC passes Returning to the above repeats after a break in 2024, a new design, 24X48 is more resolved, columns of knit may be added along the straight edge, with or without planned eyelets, and the shape at the center of the XX also offers enough room for forming a DIY smaller shape.  
“A Machine Knitter’s Guide to Creating Fabrics” by Susanna Lewis (1981) is the ultimate resource for punchcard knitting for knitters with any amount of experience. On page 223 she offers a repeat for a lace trim. It is shown on the left below, after being reorganized to start on the full 24 stitch width row of the edging. In the center chart, rows of black pixels are added, and on the right, the full electronic repeat is shown mirrored for download to the 9302018, a 26X70 stitches wide repeat beginning at the narrowest part of the trim2020, a 24 X70 stitch version beginning at the widest part   The curved edge is noticeably different and more uniform than in edgings where the increasing angle is formed only by a single stitch being transferred to the next needle on the left, creating an eyelet immediately to its right.
The above design, as well as the Brother one published and shared at the bottom of the 2018 post, add two more passes of the LC for stepped decrease/ increase shaping. Three needle positions are involved in each sequence. The decreasing angle will have a single edge stitch, followed by a right-hand transfer with 2 stitches on that needle, and an eyelet to their right after the four LC passes are completed. The increasing angle will be formed by two single edge stitches with an eyelet to their right as well after those four LC passes are completed. Moving on to the Brother published chart at the bottom of the 2018 post: the original is on the left, readjusted for planning to begin with the decreasing curve in the center, and charted for download on the right (mirrored in turn for use on the 930). The original was said to be 68 rows high but proved to be 72. It is also 18 stitches at the widest point, not 24.  I did not follow the publication’s directions for alternating between fine and normal lace either, simply left the LC set to N.the png for the repeat as drawn, 18X72 pixels
The test swatch A fellow Ravelry member reminded me of Tessa Lorant’s lace publications. I had forgotten I actually owned this single one from 1981. Upon examining it, I rediscovered her patterns, many for hand knitting with accompanying written row by row instructions and charts, others at the back of the pub, with punchcard machine repeats.
The 24 stitch card designs provided were for use on Knitmaster/Studio 260 and 360 machines. The repeats are typical of lace often referred to as “simple”, a specialty of carriages that are capable of transferring and knitting in single carriage passes. For some ways to use such cards on Brother models please see post, or search subsequent shares.
The increases and decreases are achieved through row tracking and hand manipulation. Many of the edgings pictured are very open, and the suggestion is made that they be starched. Using different yarns and working in trims that contain more stocking stitches in their body make for more practical use nowadays.
Transfers are made in the same direction, which may factor into the results biasing. The edges in some, in addition,  are shaped with multiple increases and decreases. If knitting long strips, a small piece of scrap yarn with weight on it may help keep the cast on stitches knitting and transferring properly.
I am not sharing any of her published directions, only providing ideas for analyzing and converting some of the punchcard repeats.
The first is from page 48, marked up for identifying transfers to the right (later decreases, magenta line), and transfers to the left (later increases, cyan line). A template with solid black pairs of rows to indicate slip stitch knitting sequences is a good place to start and can be expanded to suit the repeat. The yellow squares on the right indicate a beginning plan for increases and decreases. They and black squares to their left would be eliminated from the final design. Working one chart through to knitting: the bottom left image shows part of the original card. Magenta squares indicate transfers to the right and cyan ones to the left. The straight edge border with the larger number of eyelets was a bit fiddly to knit, so the second option is also offered and tested. The repeats were mirrored for actual knitting on my 930, the 24X24 pngs: I knit to the left after all the needles were preselected at the end of the decreases and then cast on over the empty needles on the left, bringing them out to hold so they would be knit for the second row as the knit carriage returned to the right side. A garter carriage weight seemed to be enough to help anchor down the newly formed stitches during subsequent transfers. Making a pattern design more one’s own: part of the original design from p. 52, split so the pattern may begin on the widest part of the repeat, punchcard “holes” marked for left and right transfers Here it was charted out in Numbers with the intent to produce the 2 stitches stitch edge along the outer curve and a less open one on the straight vertical side This sort of knitting can be a bit fiddly. I believe if I were to produce any such trims in great lengths and had the option, I would choose to dedicate a punchcard KM to the project so it would be easier to step away from and return to it as the spirit moved me.
If any loops are formed (A) and rows are not unraveled to correct the situation, it is best not to tug hard with the work on the machine. Stitch sizes on several needles may be altered, and the movement of the pairs of eyelets may become distorted. Because the knit carriage must be moved to the far right to be disengaged from the belt, this will tend to pull down extra yarn from the tension mast. A very gentle tug at the start of the first knit row should keep loops from forming.
The condition of the latches and needles is important. In stocking stitch knitting one of the signs of a “bad needle” is stitches tucking repeatedly on a needle that is not intended to be patterning in any way. The stitch in the hook is joined by a loop that does not knit off properly.  It helps to start in a light color and a “friendly” yarn. Clearly identifiable stitch formation helps to develop an understanding of its structure. Eyeing the row of transfers upon their completion helps pick up improperly transferred or dropped stitches, saves runs that result if the latter go unnoticed before continuing to knit. At times there may appear to be a needle problem with a loop sitting over a needle or a dropped stitch and attempts to form “properly” knit stitches in transfer rows will create simple stockinette.  Eyelets will not form properly, and stitches will want to get longer and not maintain their shapes. B and C point to the resulting differences in structures. The last Tessa sample, from page 60, brings up the topic of large eyelet lace, also revisited in a recent post.  I thought the 24-stitch repeat too narrow, I expanded it to 32 and added eyelets on the straight edge.
I began by splitting the card in order to begin the pattern at its widest point and decreased the number of eyelets in the shapes to allow for automatic shaping. In these punchcards, rows with no transfers are part of the program, are free of any holes. Black pixels are used to program slip stitch all knit rows. More transitions in planning, a 32X32 repeat: two of the rejected swatches Consideration needs to be made in terms of whether some small ladders are a design element or not, hooking up “floats” helps reduce or eliminate them on decreasing angles on both sides of the shape, but the resulting eyelets appear a bit larger and different than the rest.
When at first I attempted 2 single eyelets following each other at the intersection of the shaps I needed to cast on after a single float was created between the center needles and followed by the first all knit row from right to left. That turned out to be unnecessary in the final swatch with the number of eyelets increases immediately after the single one in the final repeat.  Using it will place a transfer left and a transfer right, holding down the loops in the 2 hooks affected on the second knit pass to the right. Leaving the bottom float alone echoes the remaining fabric.
The image on the left illustrates the result of not casting on on that center eyelet if it is to be repeated. The other photos show picking up floats and hooking them up in needles not receiving any transfers. The Tessa trims are knit in fine yarns. This shows a portion the inspiration large eyelet trim, note the appearance of the space between the two center eyelets is different My version with the floats hooked up and onto the needles with no multiple stitches already on them at the center eyelet as the pattern shifts:
Sometimes less is more, here extra hookups are not used, making the trim quicker and easier to knit. At this point, I am experiencing sticky latches, not improved by light oiling, likely to be fatigued from constant use of the center 24 stitches. The needles do not look obviously in need of replacement. One alternative is to swap and shift the center 24 needles to a less used part of the needle bed.
Another image of the Tessa sample in repeat followed by my own test swatch At the top of the piece I did have to deal with closing the eyelets to facilitate 2 knit rows and binding off. I prefer to work from left to right, dealing with the right side of the loops first: drop loop on the right side, use a tool to enter the float created from its back twist tool and yarn clockwise lift the e-wrap onto the empty needle on the right Repeat the process with the loop on the left of that needle pair, and do so across the bed before continuing to knit. The wraps will create full stitches on the next pass of the knit carriage.

An example working with a randomly selected pattern from Stitchworld, #156: A: the pattern is divided and shifted to plan the trim beginning with decreases rather than increases
B: with the superimposed table grid in numbers, the eyelet transfer squares were traced, adding all black rows for slip stitch selection of all knit stitches in between each transfer sequence
C: increases and decreases are planned by removing black squares
The image was then scaled in GIMP, and downloaded with img2track.
The straight-edge eyelet detail alternates the direction of transfers to the right and in turn to the left in each segment.
On the curved edge, increases and decreases were performed manually before each 2 knit rows. Empty needles need to remain in work positions throughout.
I chose to use the fully fashioned method for shaping, moving 2 stitches to the left for decreases, and two to the right for increases, then picking up from below the adjacent stitch to their left to fill in the empty needle. This was slower than having planned needle selection for eyelets do the work of shaping.

A very similar charting process may be used to construct circular “doilies”, where the slip stitch rows are used as a substitute for hand-selecting needles to holding/ short row positions. I have revised my 2011 post on lace meets hold and goes round/, and plan on following that up with one using edging repeats to achieve that type of shape.

 

To mesh or not to mesh 7, lace knitting tips

Early versions of the Brother Lace Carriage (LC) for machines such as the 830 and 860, even for the 890 did not offer options for choosing to using end needle selection, the default was none. From the 890 manual: That said, they are present in the LC that accompanied my 892E punchcard model which match the 930 LC ones in appearance and operation and can override the selection made by the patterning device on the end needles. The two carriages, side by side, seen here with the slot in the horizontal position, indicating end needle selection is on. The slot in the very center can be turned with a transfer tool, OW/out of work/ off, and W/work/on. In lace knitting, if any needles are selected for transfer to an end needle not in use in the piece, the LC still will attempt to transfer that stitch, and if no needle hook is there to accept it, the stitch will drop.
With all over patterning across the needle bed, when an end needle has been selected on either or both edges, those needles must be pushed back to B position manually.
Since such selection is not likely to happen on every row, it may be an easy thing to forget as the length of the piece grows.

There are also point cams, that help to change the spacing between vertical lengths of design repeats. For images of the Lace carriage and use of point cams please see posts 2017/10/05/lace-point-cams-…brother-machines ..
Electronic carriages are equipped with a magnet, and must always travel past the center needle 0 position center mark on the needle tape.
Markings on factory punchcards give clues as to which carriage to use and for how many passes.
They also may vary depending on the year the punchcards or mylars were issued. To review, here are some of the markings commonly found The graphic from the KH 860 punchcard model manual Illustration modified and adapted from multiple decades-old  Japanese magazines of fine lace
single complete transfers   Multiple transfers may be made either as a hand technique or expanded for use in electronics. Because single stitches are moved with each carriage pass, pattern repeats can become quite long, with few punched holes or black pixels Use a smooth yarn that has some stretch and does not break easily. Because the yarn will be transferred to and from or in addition also being shared between needles in fine lace, some extra yarn may be needed for proper stitch formation. In overall meshes begin testing using a tension at least one whole number higher than when using the same yarn for stocking stitch.  Too loose a tension can result in dropped stitches or loops getting hung up on gate pegs, too tight and the stitches will not knit off properly or drop, or the yarn may even break. When eyelets are few, tension adjustments may not be needed.

Begin with waste yarn and ravel cord, then followed by casting on and knitting at least 2 rows before beginning to use the LC.
The cast-on will need to stretch to accommodate the growth in width which increases with increasing numbers of eyelets. The same applies to the bind-off. One option for matching both is seen in this “Answer Lady”  video.

It is only when the knit carriage is operated that actual knitting takes place.
The movements of the lace carriage serve only to move or transfer stitches across the surface of the fabric. The card does not advance when the KC knits a row, so the movement of the card does not reflect the progress of actual knitting.

In most punchcard repeats, if when the row of transfers is completed there are two or more empty needles side by side, troubleshooting is required to solve the problem unless they are intentionally planned in the design, with deliberate adjustments to components of the overall pattern repeat.

The needles need to be in good condition, with latches that open and close smoothly and easily. Also, check for any bent gate pegs, and use a tool to even out the spacing between them if needed.
Error corrections need to be made to match the proper stitch formation.
As in any other knit, if tuck stitches occur in the same location and are not part of the planned fabric, it is likely the needle is damaged and needs to be replaced.
If a loop is sitting on top of a needle with a closed latch before knitting the following row, that stitch will drop. If it is noticed before knitting the row, the loop can be knit through the stitch manually while being mindful of what action that same stitch should take in the progression of the pattern.
The appearance of tuck loops, red rowTo form eyelets a loop is created on the needles emptied by the transfers on the first pass with the knit carriage to the left (red), the stitch on that needle is completed as the knit carriage returns to the right (cyan)If when trying to correct the direction of a transfer or a dropped stitch the transfer is not formed properly and the stitch in that location is knit manually the eyelet will be absent

The traditional placement is for the LC (Lace Carriage) on the left, and the KC (knit carriage) on the right, but some patterns can work with their placement reversed or even swapped at regular intervals as knitting progresses.

Bringing needles out to E before the all-knit row may help avoid additional dropped stitches when there are multiple stitches on any needles.
Though knitting may proceed smoothly, checking the work frequently visually will make the rescue of problem areas possible as opposed to having to restart the project.
If test swatches are hard to knit, the problems will likely multiply when a larger group of needles is in use and the project should be put aside.

Because there are so few markings in lace, the lace card does not necessarily resemble the finished stitch appearance.
Needle pre-selection does not make as much sense as in other types of patterns. Where knit stitches occur in vertical stripes may also not be immediately evident. Needle selection on punchcard models is fixed, some shifting on the needle bed rather than centering may be required to have a specific repeat placement or a cleaner edge, which also matters in seaming.

There are definite top and bottom directions to lace, so in knitting scarves or sleeves that is a consideration. One solution is to knit 2 pieces in mirrored directions with many possibilities for methods to join them.
No top-down knitting on sleeves if you wish to match the body and it has been knit from the bottom up.

It is possible to use short rows combined with lace patterns, but any shapes created are likely to change visually, so planning is required unless those changes are deemed suitable.
Traditional holding by changing the knit carriage setting may not be used. Needles to be put on hold need to be knit back to A position and brought back into work as needed.
Ravel cord or any tightly twisted cotton may be used.
If needles have a tendency to slide forward when holding large sections or at the hold starting side as the piece progresses, some tape may need to be placed in front of the needle butts on the metal bed to hold those needles in place.
These illustrations of the process are from an early Brother machine manual Lace and holding effects may be produced by combining LC use with the knit carriage set to slip stitch and also selecting needles in pieces such as automated edgings or doilies. The design repeats are not interchangeable between punchcard and electronic models.
When two carriages in Brother punchcard machines first move in the same direction selecting needles, ie. the knit carriage moves from left to right, the LC follows it also moving from left to right, the card does not advance. The same needles are re-selected on the next pass, repeating the design row.
On electronic machines, the mylar or memory/downloaded patterns are triggered by the magnet at the rear of the knit carriage to advance on every row.
The designs need to be planned or adapted based on the type of machine.

As with any knitting, there are times when nothing seems to work for no good reason after intervals of smooth knitting and no other changes, and a break is best for both the operator and the machine.

The greater the number of eyelets in the pattern, the wider the finished knitting. Blocking in some form will usually be required to set the stitches, and may be required if the piece grows in length and narrows as it is worn or hung when stored.

Out of habit I usually leave weaving and tuck brushes in use for all my knitting, but particularly when creating textured stitches and lace.
Gauge swatches should be larger than usual, all in the pattern, and treated as the final piece will be in terms of pressing, blocking, washing, and allowed to rest before obtaining measurements for garment calculations.

When stitch symbols first appeared in Japanese publications they were represented as the stitch formation occurring on the knit side of the fabric, which could be confusing since in machine knitting we are looking at the purl side. Eventually, Nihon publications made the transition and other pubs followed. A comparison of hand-to-machine stitch symbols with illustrations and more information: hand-to-machine-symbols-5-lace/
For cross-brand use: 2019/02/23/revisiting-use-of-lace-patterns-studio-vs-brother-machines/

I have been blogging for years and sometimes return to topics after long absences. In terms of more information on lace design and some tips on translating hand-knitting instructions for machine knitting please see: 2013/07/23/from-hand-knit-lace-chart-to-punchcard-1/
2013/07/24/from-lace-chart-to-punchcard-2/
2013/07/26/from-lace-chart-…3-adding-stripes/
2013/07/27/from-lace-chart…-4-a-border-tale/
2013/07/29/from-lace-chart-to-punchcard-5-to-electronic/
2013/08/29/from-lace-chart-to-punchcard-6-to-electronic/

Transfer lace cards have very few black squares to avoid transcribing errors for punching holes or generating electronic repeats, work with a reproduction of the graph that makes it easy to view squares or pixel placements ie using Gimp, X800+.

Blank Brother cards are dotted in lines dividing the cards into 6X6 blocks.
Mark graph paper or software grids) if possible, in 6X6 blocks.
In ArahPaint the latter can be done by adjusting grid properties  

The Brother, Toyota, and Studio fashion lace punchcards may be used on all 3 brands as long as there are 2 blank rows after each transfer sequence. 
The first row on Brother is preselected from left to right and transferred from right to left, while on Toyota it is transferred from left to right. Brother and Toyota cards are interchangeable provided the repeat is mirrored vertically or knitting starts with and operates with the carriages on the opposite sides recommended by the alternate brand.
Studio knitting begins with 2 blank rows, Brother starts with a punched row and ends with 2 blank rows, the first preselection row on the cards with locked selection needs to be adjusted accordingly.
The Brother LC does not advance the row counter, only the KC does.
Stitches are transferred in the direction that the lace carriage is moving. In most cases, the LC preselects toward the KC and transfers when moving away from it. Brother and Toyota cards are marked with U-shaped arrows to identify when to knit with the knit carriage.
Studio simple lace cards where stitch transfers and knitting occur in the same carriage pass may also be used on Brother machines, but require special handling discussed in other posts.

One of many methods to deal with dropped stitches: secure them by going through them using a needle threaded with a ravel cord.
Unravel back to an all-knit row undoing lace transfers carefully, to the point where stitches were dropped, rehang the dropped stitches, and remove the ravel cord.
Roll back the card, mylar, or electronic row count to match the number of rows unraveled.
Unless the knitting carriage is also set to select needles, only the LC advances the design rows. I prefer to roll back cards or electronic counts after each row is unraveled.

A punchcard tale: after the chevron post, single-color sideways chevrons appealed to me. Two variations from a Brother Punchcard Volume  A the full 24 stitches wide repeat, half the required height for the punchcard user.
B  the single electronic repeat.
C  the single electronic repeat tiled X3, checking to see that pixel actually line up properly.
Punchcard markings of note:
A  design row 1
B mark for the first row visible on the exterior of the machine, the card reader is reading 7 rows down
C typical markings for the direction of the LC movement on that row, and for knit rowsThe two rows at the bottom of the card reflect the overlap when punchcard snaps are in use to keep the pattern continuous. Looking at it in more detail Column identification at the bottom of the chart:
A direction of the lace carriage, pixels, or punched holes preselected on that carriage pass
B direction of transfers; note there are extra blank rows where their direction is reversed indicated also by the change in the color of the arrows. Multiple rows in one direction only, happening here in a series of 5, will result in biased knitting. As bias is reversed, the zigzag shape begins to be created.
C  markings for 2 rows worked with the  knit carriage, the pattern does not advance on those rows on any machine
D  markings on factory punchcard
E  design rows
When working with electronics, the actions need to match those indicated on the factory design beginning with the row one punchcard marking on the right.
The width of the planned swatch or piece may be programmed for use with the single motif setting in img2track or the required default in Ayab. Adding a blank square at each end ensures the end needle will knit on every row, no pushing back needles by hand will be required. Changing fibers opens up a brand new world: this swatch (unblocked) is knit in a tightly twisted rayon, and edges also begin to create clearer shapes than that achieved by knitting the same design using wool. Spacing out the zigzags, another 24X30 repeat. This is the minimum repeat for electronic KMs as well, knit stitch spacing (white squares) can be planned to suit 

Once again, one must be aware of whether the lace repeat needs to be mirrored on the specific model machine. I initially forgot to do this on my 930, which results in error with the lace carriage operated from the left.
Planning the placement on the needle bed controls the number of knit stitches on either side of the resulting mesh shape.  Today the rayon was having no part of knitting properly, this swatch is once again in wool.

Ideas for automating mesh patterns in lace edgings using the LC and the KC (knit carriage) set for slip stitch

Changing the above repeat for a zigzag border: in my first experiment, I tried keeping the number of eyelets in the zigzags across rows constant, did not like the visual “extra” line away from the edge, and was happier with my second try. This fabric would do better with a yarn that can be blocked to shape, the wool used here is a tad too thin. There will be some tendency on the part of the eyelets on the very edge to appear smaller as the edge stitches are stretched into shape. It appears I also have a needle that needs to be changed The transfers of the stitches by the LC while using the knit carriage set to slip in both directions to create the knit rows, and will automatically create increases and decreases along the left edge. Due to this fact, there will be one less eyelet in each transferred row than the number of pixels/punched holes in its corresponding pattern row.
The knit carriage in this instance preselects rows for the lace carriage, the lace carriage preselects all needles required on its way back to the left for the knit carriage to knit on its next pass.
This chart attempts to show the movements of the carriages and the location of stitches after they have been moved along with eyelet symbols in their locations after the transfers The pattern repeat on the left below is as I drew it and intended it, on the right, it is mirrored for use to knit it on my 930The first preselection row is from right to left, the knit is centered with 10 stitches on each side of 0.
In edgings beginning with a single all black pixels row, end needle selection is canceled on the knit carriage (KCII), turned on in the lace carriage (LC).
The first row is knit, when the KC reaches the left side, set it to slip in both directions. As it returns to the right it will form a second knit row on all needles in work, and preselect for the first LC pass.
Extension rails must be used as both carriages will lock onto the belt for pattern selection.
At the start of the piece, as the LC moves from left to right it will transfer preselected needles to the right. On its return to the left, it preselects needles that will knit as the KC returns to action from the right.
Each carriage in this design makes alternating pairs of passes.
When the top half of the pattern repeat is reached, the LC makes its pass to the right on a blank design row. As it does it preselects for the next row of transfers, which are made to the left as the LC returns to its home there (A). Though the Brother LC does not knit and transfer on the same row as the Studio one can, it can transfer and preselect for the next row of knitting (B). The above fact allows for planning transfers in both directions while still keeping the routine of 2 passes for each carriage to and from their original home.
Based on that concept, here is another trim with eyelets in alternating directions along the side opposite the zigzag shape.
The repeat is now adjusted to 22 stitches X 48 rows to accommodate the reversing eyelets arrangement.
It is shown here mirrored for download to my 930.
There is a blank square at the top right corner, the corresponding stitch will be cast on by the knit carriage on its move to the left and transferred automatically when there is a return to transfers at the bottom of the design repeat. The yarn used or the swatch is a 2/18 wool silk. There will be 2 stitches on each needle (A) at the very edge where stitches are transferred for decreases and look different than where the edge stitch is simply moved one needle to its left (B), leaving behind an empty needle. A parallel, similar difference is also noted at the inner edge of the zigzag shape. The sample is pictured turned 90 degrees counter-clockwise, and its bottom edge appears on the right Transfer lace on the Passap: the console will be used to select needles for hand transferring stitches. The technique will determine the number of plain rows between transfers. Use tech 137 for two rows between transfers. The pushers will set the corresponding black cells for transfers, they will stay in that position until the next set of transfers. Many tuck patterns may be used to make the selections, they are not designed to knit on adjacent needles, choose ones that have white columns for nonselected pushers 2 rows in height. Stitches are worked on the front bed. The front lock is set to N and the back lock to GX. Move selected pushers up so that the corresponding needles are easily identified, and use a tool to move stitches right or left. Move all stitches in the same direction, first across a row to the right, then across a row to the left to avoid biasing if the pattern is an all-over one, for borders all transfers in the same direction may work as well. Leave the needles in the work position, return the pushers to rest, and continue in the pattern.

To mesh or not to mesh 6: chevrons

While creating the test swatches for a version of single bed 3D scales using the lace carriage I was intrigued by the chevron effect that became more obvious with color changes The fabric was capable of changing considerably in look and width that could be encouraged to remain more permanent with blocking. There is a visible asymmetry, with one side of the chevron actually containing an extra eyelet. Still trying to retain the 24 stitches in width design constraint, I began to work with simply counting eyelet transfers matching in number, guessing rather than planning. Tiling the repeats can help get a sense of how things line up horizontally and vertically. Electronic repeats can be minimal unless one is programming the pattern as a single motif that includes edge knit stitches etc when downloading via cable to an electronic or using the Ayab interface. A and B continue to produce uneven numbers of eyelets on each half of the resulting “V” shapes. The greater the number of row repeats of eyelets in a single direction, the more the resulting bias. If asymmetry is the goal, then this may meet the need. I knit most of the swatches on 48 stitches, with more needles added on the right if needed to ensure the edge stitch will be a knit one. Larger shapes require wider tests. The photo is rotated to reduce its length on the page This effort produced uneven sides of the Vs, and the eyelets along one of the vertical center columns were not properly formed, resulting in an added knit stitch The added eyelets in pattern C produce an interesting change from a sort of V shape to more of a W, but the fabric is still unbalanced Back to the drawing board: a different mesh, with eyelets in alternating numbers, resulting in a  more balanced fabric. Here the charted repeat is shown X2, side by side. Different day, same yarns, both were having none of it. When knitting progresses in this manner, it’s a good time for the machine and its operator to practice social distancing.  The quality of the lines produced by the mesh was different and heavier than the one I was seeking, though the number of eyelets remained constant on both sides of the center stitches, alternating on the alternate pairs of design rows. Back to charting things out in Numbers: though the LC, usually (but not always) starts located on the left, preselects on its first pass to the right, and begins to transfer to the left on its second pass back to the left, in order to visualize the direction,  the repeat is mirrored. Cyan cells indicate actual transfers to the left, and magenta transfers to the right. This 24 stitch repeat shows where 2 transfers wind up on a single needle while an extra knit stitch is also formed in the blank vertical column, seen in the swatch above. In programming an electronic KM the black pixels alone with 2 blank rows above the second set of transfers is enough. I like to program repeats that are a bit larger, and usually will tile them as well, looking for any errors my eye might notice before any actual knitting Using electronics one may expand or reduce the number of stitches in the repeat to reach an estimated equal number of eyelets With any mesh, the number of knit rows may be varied between each pair of transfers. My swatch was knit using a 26 stitch repeat width The cast on used is a temporary one. In final pieces, the quality of any bind off and cast on should be tested as well to accommodate the changes in width lace fabrics may have, increasing the number of total eyelets exponentially. The knitting this time went smoothly. The eyelet count was as planned. That said, I was 6 stitches away from completing the bind off when the yarn simply ran away from me, and chose not to make any effort at rehanging the piece. In the top blue stripe, the number of knit rows between transfers was increased from 2 to 4, while in the top white stripe I alternated between 4 and 2 rows of knitting. Playing with such intervals between rows of transfers can produce interesting differences and perhaps a more static quality in the fabric after blocking the completed item. The knit carriage is set to N, so it has no effect on the advancement of the programmed lace pattern. The white yarn used here is a tightly twisted cotton knit at tension 9, the green a softly spun, slightly thinner rayon On a lighter background behind the swatch, 2 areas at the center are marked: on the left, there are extra knit stitches, which happened because the yarn had gotten caught on a gate peg affecting selection, and that had been missed.
With lace as with any textured knits, running a finger behind the knit along where the stitches meet the top needle bed periodically helps to find and troubleshoot the problem early.
On the right, there is a small diamond shape beginning to appear which is absent from the much crisper transfers and eyelets created by the cotton.
With these patterns, the number of rows in the striped sequences may be varied throughout the piece A repeat in this family of stitch repeats was used as a border in some of my shawls Exploring a smaller repeat, also 24 stitches wide The lace carriage makes 4 passes followed by 2 rows knit throughout
The white yarn used is the same cotton as in the previous sample, knit at tension 9, the chenille is rayon, 1450 yards per pound, the eyelet patterns are stable and distinct, Here 2 thin yarns are used, and the spacing between color changing is varied in height Another variation Adding more rows of plain knitting between lace transfers stabilizes the width of the fabric and reduces the number of transfer rows.
Here the first row after the planned number of transfers is knit using the white yarn, 4 rows in the contrast color follow it, and a single last row in white is knit before returning to transfers.
Dropped stitches do not run the way they might in other fabrics, and may not be noticed until after knit rows. Such errors here are marked with red dots.  As often can happen in machine knitting, on a different day, the same yarns, same tension, same operator, and stitches drop, get hung up on gatepegs, and perform other unwanted actions.
This test aimed for that “W” shape using the thinner yarns.
I downloaded an image that accounted for all needles in use for my swatch, so in the 930 using the isolation button on by default with img2track was OK.
Your machine may vary as to which side of the center the extra stitch will be placed when the total number of stitches in width is an odd one. If uncertain, plan the repeat for the next even number, in this case, 52, divide it evenly on each side, and either air knit to sort out selections before casting on or simply transfer that extra knit stitch over one as you begin to knit.
In a final piece, good notes will provide reminders for such small details The blue yarn refused to knit off properly, so the different added colors were tried to see if I fared any better using them.
My first swath was discarded, and the second one is shown.
The repeat is sound, the visible “errors” are the result of stitch formation issues. The swatch at first is shown stretched in length, its size could be set with blocking, and has a very different appearance when lightly touched with my now fiber burning iron On a different day, all other things being equal, the same needle locations resulted in easy success. I programmed for a 60 X 24 repeat, planning for different size V shapes. During knitting, these fabrics will appear to be producing straight color stripes It takes a while for the change to begin to be noticeable This was the result as the work came off the machine, relaxed, with no treatment of any sort the ribber is in place there are avid beliefs expressed by folks in terms of whether or not to bring the knitting to the front of the ribber, I am a between the beds’ advocate. Also, even with the ribber off my machines’ top beds have always been set up with ribber table clamps in place since having them flat simply never worked as well for me in any of my knit experiments. Taking the guesswork out of repeats, one may begin with or use published cards as they are, this is from a Japanese magazine,  the charted repeat on a grid marked in 6X6 blocks, typical of Brother blank punchcard the 24X56 png from Brother punchcard volume 5, click on the images for larger views  the charted repeat  the 24X40 png

the charted repeat  the 24X48 png A knit tested Pinterest find, a Studio lace pattern  For use on Brother, shift the 2 blank rows at the bottom of the chart to the top,
the LC makes four passes starting from the left, the KC follows with 2 passes, operating from the right throughout
the charted repeat
the 24X40 png the proof of concept, including a dropped stitch  Zig_zags are essentially chevrons rotated counterclockwise, I am including some here. The repeats for knitting them are quite different.
A one-color zig-zag from the Brother punchcard volume 5 book with a different approach could serve as trim or for knitting accessories, note the markings for the location of knit rows and varying numbers of LC carriage passes as typically seen in published lace cards. There are limitations in producible width. The stretch of the cast on and bind off and the fact they need to match as closely as possible while allowing the mesh to stretch sideways in blocking must be taken into consideration, as is the fact that every end needle selection will occur regularly and those selected end needles must be pushed back consistently.
Not all lace carriages have the option of canceling end needle selection, found in later models. Point cams could provide another alternative, I personally do not like to use them.
In this attempt, the cast-on followed knit rows in pattern, the manual end needle canceling was inconsistent at the sides, and LTBO (latch tool bind off) around single gate pegs was simply not stretchy enough. Here the cast on and bind off match very closely. I used the looser cast-on method described by the “answer lady” in the video, but I bound off around 2 gate pegs instead rather than wrapping the needles as shown in the video, a method often used on the Passap2021 visualizing the punchcard in an added way, using Numbers: transfers to the left occur with LC making 2 passes, the transfers to the right occur with the LC making 4 passes, and both sets are followed by the KC knitting for two rows the full punchcard 24X60 repeat  the 24X30 png  A new, 48 stitch test in the crisp, tightly twisted cotton knit at tension 9 produced a transfer texture that is more noticeable and clearly retaining the mesh grid.  A variation in the shape formation with a number of added knit rows in specific locations which are hard to decipher even in the original paper pub, where the suggestion is for 8 rows of knitting at punchcard rows marked 56 and 24. A personal choice can easily be made both as to the number of knit rows and their location(s). the charted repeat  the 24X56 png Spacing transfers so zig zags are actually created in knit stitches and transfers are made with the LC passes alternating for 2 rows, and then followed by 4 rows, with each set followed by 2 rows knit.   From a Brother magazine, a repeat moving toward a very different type of line, with an echo of the chevron movement  a more visible chart  the 24X36 png More information on striping options: a hand transfer lace variant 2014/03/27/striping-in-lace-fabrics-1/, and another using a stock punchcard 2013/07/26/from-lace-chart-to-punchcard-3-adding-stripes/A very different chevron in an advanced technique combining tuck stitches with lace and fine lace patterning

Single bed scales made with stitch transfers

In the past, I have explored several ways to knit scale-like fabrics aka dragon teeth/scales, and a multitude of other names. My test swatches were created using racking, pattern repeats were provided for both punchcard and electronic machines. Some of the archived material:
2018/07/19/more scales and chevrons racked fabrics 4
2016/02/22/ hand knit dragon scales
2016/02/02/ vertical racking 3: automating half fisherman in pattern-2
2016/01/13/ racking 2: vertical chevrons and herringbone

With summer here and a long absence from lace knitting, I was curious about producing scaly fabrics for the single bed. Lace transfers may be used to create folding fabrics with permanent pleats, so what about 3D shapes? I began with a repeat suitable for a punchcard machine and its limitations, adjusting it in 3 different ways A variation of Card C, with 2 rows blank after each pair of transfers throughout was used in borders in some of my lace shawls including these, made in 2011.  All 3 card designs share the fact that the lace carriage (LC) makes 4 passes followed by 2 rows using the knit carriage set for normal knit to complete the eyelets with exceptions. The exceptions are in areas where there are extra blank rows, where the lace carriage will make 6 passes in order to reverse the direction of transfers. Brother lace cards usually start with punched holes on the very first row, have 2 blank rows between LC passes that complete one sequence (here each sequence is 2 rows in height), and 2 blank rows at the top of the card.  Lace markings are few and far between, errors are easy to make when punching long cards and working in designings with pixels in particular. In this case, I did not notice until I began composing the post, and after I had completed the first test swatches that the repeat on the left has an extra 4-row segment in the top half, making it 24 stitches X 54 rows as opposed to the other two at 24 X 50.
In any lace patterning if a zig-zag is wanted in parts of the design, having 3 blank rows in planned locations will reverse the direction of the transfers from those below them. Blank squares in rows containing no punched holes (or pixels) will have no transfers, so in their absence stitches in those areas will be knit, producing extra stocking stitch rows. The spacing for such knit areas on the card may be adjusted to suit. This segment of the above designs identifies the areas in both rows and columns with no punched holes (or pixels)The knit side of the fabric is the most interesting. The swatches were first photographed as they were immediately after their removal from the knitting machine. I also tried to photograph them at an angle to show the protrusions from the surface. Pattern A: A short test version using cards B, and C When using card A, the shapes alternate vertically between all mesh ones with all knit rows at the outer edge of the folds. Using Card B, all protrusions have a fixed number of knit stitch rows at the outer fold. Card C produces an all-mesh fabric that made me think of ocean waves somehow. Turned sideways, and pressed to set the folds, the resulting fabric could provide a springboard for a host of other, different ideas: A larger swatch started on waste yarn, with 2 rows of knitting at the bottom and at the top before binding off. The design is card B, with 4 rows added to each half of the design. I am still working with the constraints of a punchcard machine, and for the moment, of retaining symmetry in the width of the “scales”. The working chart, turned counterclockwise to save space Planning for 3 repeats based on 24 stitch widths the above arrangement will, in turn, need to be mirrored for the lace pattern. My sample was knit using 2/15 wool at tension 7, using needles 36 left to 35 right The actions are reviewed here once more
The knitting in progress  I cast on loosely enough, but the bind off was too tight at the top, which should always be tested on swatches before committing to a project. The resulting fabric was photographed immediately as it was removed from the machine. I tried to touch the edges only with an iron, and mine is now overheating and doing a good job of burning my wool, thus the color changes in spots With an attempt at some steaming and pressing, the folds are retained Often the question of what fine lace is and how it is made comes up. Fine lace is a fabric against which I have a personal bias. It seems to involve a lot of work for the result unless one is using a light-colored yarn with a smooth surface to show the subtle and at times hard to observe surface changes. It fares better visually when mixed with eyelets. The yarn is shared between the needle that would normally be left empty and the one with the formed stitch already on it to its right or left depending on the direction of the transfer. If the shared yarn is dropped instead of staying in the hook of the transfer needle, as the next 2 rows are knit there will be eyelets on the ground lacking them anywhere else. Card C, knit using only the fine lace setting on the LC, looks very different from the previous fabrics, both knit and purl sides are shown, with a couple of spots where the yarn was not shared by 2 adjacent needles, forming eyeletsNow evaluating the possibility of mimicking my hand-knit versionPlanning out a repeat in chart form: Knitting began with working in a 2/15 wool, tension 6, using a 7 prong tool with all prongs engaged to transfer groups of stitches onto their new positions on the needle bed. The first two images review picking up from the row below to fill in needles emptied by transfers. It is one of the machine-knit equivalents for the M1 direction in hand-knitting patterns. As a result, the number of stitches being knit remains constant throughout the piece. The stitch structure so far appeared too loose to me, so I then switched to a 2/8 wool, at tension 7 with the intent to test knitting as tightly as possible while still facilitating the multiple moves of stitch groups on each row. The resulting fabric was stiff and wanted to curl strongly to the purl side, needed pins to help it lie flatter. The shapes refused to stay poked out to the knit side.
I seldom wash my swatches, viewing them simply as proof of concept of technique concepts, not usually as springboards for finished pieces. Generally, I stop at steaming or ironing if needed.
When I made garments for sale in wool I usually tested the swatches and washed the finished garments as well. The “hand” and the behavior of the finished piece can change considerably. The hand-washed sample in the second illustration below lies flat and has a soft, drapey feel absent in the unwashed, and retains the flatter shape with no encouragement needed. In its 2/15 portion, the “scales” also became more flattened.
Washing wool removes any sizing and excess dye. Open spaces in the knitting become reduced in fulling, as opposed to closing tightly in felting. Using a constant temperature in both the wash and rinse and avoiding excessive friction, in turn, avoids excess shrinkage. On electronic machines, one does not have the same limitations in terms of the width of the repeat maxing out at 24. For example, the number of eyelets on either side of the block components of the repeats may differ, the greater the number of eyelets, the wider the spacing between the 3D shapes. Graduations may be planned in height and width of repeat blocks across the full needle bed, limited only by patience in designing, the capacity to download, and the tolerance for both the yarn and the operator to complete wide, long pieces using the technique.

Experimentation can yield quick results, sometimes with unexpected but pleasant surprises. One of my best-selling felted items for a couple of decades was an accessory that was planned deliberately to mimic a test piece that had almost been tossed in the trash. It’s good to return to things after a break for another look, and then it is really helpful if notes were kept. Another variation of the A-C cards in single repeat was tested at the bottom of the swatch below and in a staggered one, tested at the top of the swatch The “scales” were more like twisty bumps, with subtle variations vertically in some of the stitch groups. That said the results were dramatically different when color changes were added to the pattern knitting in the shorter repeat. Blocking may make an even more marked difference depending on whether the mesh (lightly steamed) or the tighter knit (vertically pulled, should be washed) produces the preferred effect. The looser stitches at the top outside edge ie at the top left corner are the result of a stitch that got away from me. The cast on was a bit too loose, I knit 4 rows at the bottom after the cast on and 4 rows at the top of the repeat before binding off. The differences in the width of the same fabric are dramatic. Any overall mesh/ lace fabric blocked for openness such as on the left will grow in length over time, is best stored flat, and will benefit from episodic pressing/ steaming to reset the width. Then I began counting eyelets, which were equal in number in the schematic for the repeat, but not equal in number on either side of the center pivot for the bend in the herringbone shape when the piece was finished. Any extra eyelet rows in the same direction will result in increased biasing in those sections.
Time to test more mesh variations, a topic for another day.

Machine knit leaves using slip stitch with holding

In 2012 I had a sort of leaf obsession, which led to my exploring a range of shapes created in both hand and machine knitting, including a series of shawls that were machine knit, using the lace carriage, intended for both gifts and sale.
Online resources were not as abundant back then, searches are more productive now via browser searches, pinboards, and Ravelry.
I have always been interested in holding techniques and automating them on both punchcard and electronic machines. In recently revisiting shell shapes I was reminded of leaves once more and thought I would return to working with them.
An early abandoned effort in trying to construct leaf shapes automating their shaping using holding in combination with slip stitch followed other earlier posts is shown below. In all honesty, I have been blogging long enough so I often do not recall previous writings on a recent spark of interest and execute a personal version of reinventing the wheel, starting from scratch, or executed poor note-keeping which in turn requires it.
A variety of lozenge and “leaf”-shaped forms may be found in previous posts on holding intarsia, some are strictly hand-selected, others are automated. There is a series of 5:
2016/06/21/a-bit-of-holding-1/
2016/06/29/a-bit-of-holding-2-moving-shapes-around/
2016/07/12/a-bit-of-holding-3-shape-variations-and-more/
2016/07/24/a-bit-of-holding-4-intarsia-and-more/
/2016/08/13/a-bit-of-holding-5-intarsia-and-more-2/

Checking the repeat for a single shape Adding a second color and reversing directions of shapes brings lots of yarn ends and its “price to pay”Some handknit large scale inspiration to begin my revisit to MKing them: Garnstudio 1 and Garnstudio 2, which introduces lace transfer stripes between leaf forms  A free hand knitting pattern, “Papagena“, that takes similar shapes to a triangular layout for shawl shaping Stitch Maps is an online source for hand knitters with interesting graphics that include some for held shapes, such as this The chart is actually rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise, could serve as inspiration for an electronic pattern.

Returning to a possible far smaller repeat that may be executable on a  punchcard machine as well. The central vein in the forms is created by having held stitches with no wraps along and up to its center in height, creating 2 continuous shapes that mirror horizontally and repeatAutomated holding sequences may be planned for single or multiple stitches in width, as well as for single and multiple rows in height. For the new initial test, which proved to need editing, this was my repeatA tiny test in too thin a yarn I am knitting on a 930, the image needs to be mirrored in order for it to appear in the direction I intend on the knit side. The above repeat did not work properly when knitting a whole row of shapes. With some patience, a final, edited, and mirrored repeat was developed that enabled a completed a full row of shapes using the slip setting and holding, and starting with working it from right to left. Sometimes differences are subtle, especially in designing using single-pixel units. The new repeat proved to also work for rows of shapes in the reverse direction after horizontal mirroring and restarting the pattern or design row 1. When working from right to left, the initial preselection row is from left to right, while when working from left to right, the first preselection row is from right to left. After a full row of repeats is completed, the pattern is rolled back to row 1 and mirrored. Punchcard knitters could turn the card over and start again on the proper row. I used contrast color knit rows initially in between rows of shapes to help me note transitions more clearly. The “leaf” is not pointy enough for me, but at times what was not planned may lead to a pleasing result of a different sort.
The amended, corrected repeat is shown on the right To knit: cast on with a multiple of 12 stitches on each side of the center 24 on the needle bed
Cancel end needle selection
COL: first preselection row from left to right
COR: set machine for both slip <– –> and hold
all needles will have been preselected, knitting every stitch, knit 2 rows, return to the right, as the row is knit, patterned preselection occurs
COR: bring all needles to the left of the first 12 on the right into hold position, knit until all needles in the group of 12 are preselected again, the carriage will be on the right
*COR: bring a group of 6 needles to the left of the 12 stitch group just completed into work, knit one row to left
COL: bring 6 stitches from the completed shape on the right to hold, continue in the pattern on the new  12 stitch group until all 12 stitches are once again preselected, stopping with COR***
repeat * to *** end working the full last group of 12 stitches on the left, including the last 12 stitch preselection

At the completion of a row of shapes COL: make a decision about the transition, whether any extra rows knit are a problem or not, and whether added rows in contrasting colors are wanted. To proceed with no changes in cam settings and 4 rows of knitting between the rows of shapes remembering that the first preselection row needs to be made from right to left.
COL: manually return all needles to upper work position (D). They will knit row 1 of the stripe
COR: manually push all needles to D again, return program to design row one, check settings, as the first design row pattern is preselected an all knit row 2 will be added. As patterning resumes from the left another 2 all knit rows will be produced before selective patterning occurs.
If any extra all knit rows are wanted cancel patterning on the knit carriage, set it to N, knit the extra rows, remember to end on the proper side for the first preselection row, and what options may be necessary to complete that row correctly.
To reverse patterns without extra knit rows:
COL: store yarn.  The carriage can be removed and brought to the opposite side, or stitches need to be manually be placed in the B position for a free pass to the right. This involves placing the cam selector button on N, returning the cams set to slip in both directions.
COR, all needles also need to be in work in B position, no yarn, in order to make a free pass to preselect from right to left, ending COL
COL: pick up yarn and continue in pattern. These textures require a lot of carriage passes, which tend to fuzz up the yarn on the purl side of the knit a bit. The shape I created was not very leafy to my mind, but still interesting, especially on the purl side. The yarn used in a 2/15 wool, knit on Tension 5Moving on to a wider version, using 24 stitches in width to allow for using the pattern on a punchcard: this repeats works both as-is and mirrored, the groups of stitches moved in and out of work is now half of the new design repeat = 12. Making the repeat work in any number for this shape involves lining up the needle selection in each group of needles and constant counts for holding sequences. Punchard knitters would need 2 separate cards. The lovely mess in the swatch happened when I stopped paying attention to everything but what was happening on the needle bed and missed the tangle of yarns in my yarn mast. There is enough knitting, however,  to note that the repeat is sound and that the edges on both sides are formed by the narrowest part of the shapes in each direction. One way to solve that is by casting on and binding off along tops and bottoms of shapes as seen in the yellow and green swatch at the top of the post. Planning things out to release those edges as seen at the top of the post

Working on outlining the shapes with contrast color: Problems to solve: maintaining an even number of rows in-between shapes and a straight edge along both sides. The latter could happen with triangles prior to knitting full shapes at either or both ends, the first sample failed on the left side due to both triangles being knit in the same sequence;   that may be solved by beginning shaping on 2 stitches on the left rather than the full 12, mirrored. The proper sequence for actual knit stitches for the first, bottom set, and mirrored for the second, top set still only partway there I am presently knitting with my left hand in a splint that has exposed velcro teeth, which has caused some interesting issues with actual knitting and with yarn snags. To end this latest effort, in yet another knitting aaargh! moment, it appears my iron is now overheating and burned the wool! From observing the above swatch on the purl side it looks as though each row of shapes needs to have a triangular shape at each end. Also, the contrasting color line thickness is not constant. The purpose of automation should be to make things easier, not confounding. After yet another trial, I decided to give up on attempting to use the automated repeat to produce an effect that was consistent and made me happy.

Setup for a leaf in each color is far less fiddly and simpler to execute. A tentative layout and knitting sequence:
Begin on waste yarn, decide on the color of the cast on, and any additional knit rows prior to beginning in the pattern. Each of the side triangles is shaped using manual holding techniques over 12 stitches. If starting on the right, the first preselection row needs to be made moving from left to right as above on the first 24 stitches. With knit carriage set to both slip in both directions and holding with COL make certain the first 24 stitches on the right in B position make a free pass to the right.
COR: cut yarn, change color, knit the first shape repeat, end COR
COR: when all needles in the group are preselected, push the first 12 needles on the carriage side out to holding position, push 12 stitches on their left back into upper work position as you would in any holding pattern, they will knit in the slip setting as well. Cut the yarn, change color, repeat across the row of shapes
COR: when the last group of 12 needles on the left is preselected with all needles out to hold or removing the carriage and positioning it on the other side, begin knitting COL.
COL: manually knit triangle at top of the previous row of shapes
If a contrasting color stripe or any other pattern is intended between a full row of shapes, execute them and end COL
COL: shape the second triangle for the start of the reversed row of shapes, get the carriage to the right side by a pass over all needles in holding position or removing the carriage and bringing it to the opposite side
COR: the second pattern is programmed. Punchcard knitters use the second card, electronics mirror the shape. With the first 24 stitches on the left in B position and the knit carriage set for holding and to slip in both directions, make a preselection pass to left.
COL: change color, knit shape, and continue on as described above reversing shaping
As with intarsia, there will be lots of yarn ends to weave in and clean up those eyelets at the start of each color change. The swatch after a quick pressing

The possibilities could be endless.  Electronic machines do not have the limitation of working within the 24 stitches maximum design width. Shapes can be fully automated using only slip stitch setting, no holding, but repeats become exponentially wide and long. The technique merits its own post.

 

 

 

 

A hand knit consult to machine knit slip stitch

I was contacted via a comment here about the possible methods for reproducing this handknit pattern Observations: there are elongated loops on the knit side of the fabric, likely created with slipped stitches. There appear to be eyelets on the purl side. The total number of stitches remains constant throughout the knit. The row repeat spacing is fairly close, so at least to start with I tried single repeats to achieve the look, was not pleased with any of the initial results. That led me to an online search for what would visually appear to have similar qualities in handknit samples.  Knittingfool.com is an extensive resource and, to my eye, this slip stitch pattern, “little birds”,  shares similarities with the above swatch as do “oats” found in a 1984 handknitting publication  I have a hard time with longhand written instructions for patterns nowadays, have grown so used to creating or working from published charts. As usual, I plan out tentative repeats and ideas, began with this,  toying with where to place slipped stitches and then transitioned to translating any repeats for use in machine knitting, keeping in mind that in hand knitting actions are made as the row is being knit, while in machine knitting they take place prior to returning the carriage to the opposite side thus knitting that row. This was my first repeat after replacing cells with squares representing knit stitches with black and white planned pixels for electronic download.
On the machine, the distance between stitches is fixed, so for any crossings or lots of movement across the needle bed it is best to use yarn with a bit of stretch, and a stitch size large enough to allow for the desired actions. I found slipping for 2 rows only did not create enough loop length, so I changed the slip stitch areas to 3 rows in height. The slip stitch setting is used in both directions throughout. White squares represent areas where needles on the bed are skipped/slipped, not being selected forward and thus knit. This happens for 3 rows, resulting in the required elongated stitches. On the 4th pattern row, the group of 3 not selected needles is where the stitch transfers and crossings occur. Any cabling, eyelet fill-in, etc, needs to be performed prior to knitting that row and moving the carriage to the opposite side. The work is always done with purl side facing, so matching the direction of patterning to a hand-knit may also require mirroring of crossings, depending on your knitting machine model. The goal is to have the K3tog with the long loops in front of the single knit stitch in the center position.

To execute the slip stitch crossings in front of the center knit stitch on the knit side of the fabric transfer the center stitch in the group of 3 and hold aside, take the left elongated stitch and move it onto the now empty needle at the center position of the group of 3transfer the elongated stitch on the right onto that same center stitch. This may be done in the reverse order to have loops move in the opposite direction on the knit side of the fabric. Move the stored original center stitch back onto that center position, there will now be 3 stitch loops held on the single needle fill in the empty needles to avoid large eyelets, picking up from the row below repeat the process across the bed, bring all the needles used out to hold position prior to knitting the next row The yarn used was 3/8 wool at loosest tension possible, the result is subtle as any spaces between stitches get pretty well filled in. Moving on to denser patterning The elongated stitch crossings now happen every 4 rows, but across two needles, not one. I used a tightly twisted rayon for the test swatch thinking they might be more visible, but the openness in the stitch formation because of the fixed spacing on the metal bed confuses the texture a bit. Simply leaving the empty needle out of work and continuing to knit (1) created too large an eyelet to my taste. Trying to pick up the third slipped loop (2) had the same effect. The best result was obtained by picking up from the row below on each side of the three stitches that are removed and then returned to the needle bed (3).
When pattern row 4 is reached, the not selected stitches are removed on a 3 prong tool, the elongated stitches are moved onto the center needle of the now resulting group of 5e wrapping the third row of floats can be tested by inserting a single eye tool front to back, twisting either counter or clockwise and rehanging on an empty needle, thus casting on an “extra” stitch going back to picking up from row below this shows the number of skip stitch floats in each test the appearance on the knit side comparison to the handknit. Charting the actions for a hand-knit version: the top images illustrate the moves on the purl side while on the machine, below it those on the knit side when hand knitting the patternPlotting out borders and repeats for a small test including make-1 increases in order to keep the total stitch count constant. I do little hand knitting nowadays, so when doing so I add as much information as possible including some stitch counts until the pattern is established and I can visually follow it more easily. The resulting test swatch Comparison with the original: I knit 3 together through front loops, so my long stitches are crossed in the opposite direction of the original. Knitting through the back of the 3 stitches would reverse it and yield a matching result. This is an  illustration of the method I used to “make one”,  in my swatch I kept the direction constant

A later post that includes color explorations: Slip stitch patterns with hand transferred stitches, single bed

Revisiting automated shell shapes

My original posts on exploring automating shell shapes were written in my 910 electronic days using mylar sheets in early 2013: Thinking of modules: a shell “diary”“Automated” shell shapes
The repeat produced a visually successful fabric. I received a question on FB about executing the shells on a punchcard machine, and another on how I “come up with these things”. The repeats are not quick inventions, they take working out, sometimes through several first failed attempts.
Since the early posts posts my approach to explanations has changed as I became increasingly familiar with newly available software and updates, and a 930 and img2track made downloading pngs possible in a new way.
iPhone cameras make it far easier to “shoot and share”.
My original mylar repeat entered as separate programs in days when each mylar sheet was precious. The 910 in my default setting produced the “image’ as drawn on the knit side of the resulting fabric. The post was written prior to my tiling the repeats as a matter of routine to check their alignments. Doing so would have shown a couple of missing pixels, and pointed to any other errors in filling in mylar squares.All transfers were made in the same direction.
The start of the visualizing  the shell shapes with errors later observed and resolved. As always, ideas need error-proofing and refining, easier done in a chart if possible prior to any actual knitting.
This type of design begins to address an uninterrupted repeat on the electronic on a limited stitch count, whether all in a single direction or reversing every other full row of shapes. It is applicable to joining several punchcards, but only on single 24 stitch widths.
There are a number of changes to make if it is necessary to get the pattern to reverse direction in alternate rows of completed shapes in a brick layout.
My first tests were planned with knitting moving only from left to right. To execute such a pattern on a punchcard KM, the repeat needs to be altered from 14X2 to 12X2 in width. This is the start of sorting that out:Attempts to visualize holding can happen in spreadsheets, documents, image processing canvases, or even simply on graph paper, moving/ “drawing” back and forth across the cells mimicking carriage movements and marking them accordingly.
Large staggered repeats can be programmed in electronic models
All shapes are limited in terms of the width of the repeat occurring across the number of available needles on any machine.
Some previous posts on electronic knitting such repeats:
Holding/short rows: hand tech to chart to automating with slip stitch 1
Ayab: short rows automated with slipstitch
A return to short row shapings: bumps and slits

The 910 produced the design as programmed on the knit side. On the punchcard machines, the image-as-drawn is produce on the purl side.
Lettering is likely the most familiar instance where mirroring is required for punchcard machines to produce it correctly, a consideration here as well. The 930 automatically mirrors downloaded motifs, if direction matters, as in these samples, either mirror the design horizontally prior to saving the png for download to the machine, or use the mirror button selection on the operation panel after the download.
I find it easier to fill in the shapes in the direction I wish to have them appear on the knit side.
An attempt at a continuous 24 stitch repeat, with the same technique applicable to electronic models  while avoiding programming 2 different repeats and having shapes in different colors across full repeat segments.
This proved to be a fail.With larger gaps between changes, the yarn may be changed every X rows manually, making an easy fix to breaking rules for when using the color changer.
The next step is working out 12 stitch repeats with patterning needles to be brought in and out of holding position as well. The options on a punchcard would include 8, 12, and 24 stitch motif widths.
The machines will be set to slip in both directions throughout, end needle selection must be canceled. This method is not executable easily on km models that do not offer that option, electronics use KC II.
Note that machines sold in Europe in comparable models may have different names for the same functions, ie. SM in some instances is the equivalent of KC II, whereas in US it signifies a Single Motif.
Punchcard settings for end needle selection:  I do not have any blank punchcards to test a repeat on at the moment.
The 930 essentially behaves the same way by producing the entered pattern on the purl side, making it possible to use the unaltered final designs.
The starting 24 stitch brick repeat   Other shapes have previously been explored using slip stitch, and later, slip stitch combined with holding. A brief return to previous turns at holding and slip stitch used to create alternating color shapes: in 2013/02/12/an-entrelac-pretender/, a continuous slip stitch only card was used. The result on the knit side,while on the reverse floats between alternating shapes are the norm Results with no floats are found in the swatches in the posts, two designs are programmed alternately upon completion of each full row of shapes : 2013/02/21/entrelac-pretender-2/and a larger, 24 stitch motif used on a punchchard machine as a continuous repeat : 2013/04/11/entrelac-pretender-3/

Returning to the goal of the moment: to knit the shells in a float-less way, using a technique executable on a punchcard machine as well. The repeat as initially drawn is 28 rows high.
If the punchcard or the electronic advance every row with each pass of the carriage, the alternating shifting blocks of the repeat will be selected in full with every 28 passes.
In this instance, one returns to the start of the design repeat every 28 rows. Identical shell full shapes are created across the knitting rather than the shifting shapes desired in alternating full row repeats.
Separating the 28-row repeat into 2-14 row ones.
The 12 stitch repeat is tiled X2 horizontally, beginning with a half shape, while here the repeat for all full-size shells is planned,  Marking up the needle bed with water-soluble markers or pencils helps track placements of repeats across the desired number of needles in work: dark lines indicate placement beginning with the mark for half a repeat to maintain straight side edges on the finished piece. Red lines mark the placement of the stitches when they are moved to the left in order to knit the full shells across the bed. On a 930, the image will be knit in the direction of the pattern as drawn on the knit side, as it would be on a punchcard machine.
To begin knitting the shells with COR, since the pattern is fixed on the needle bed, one option is to move the work in one direction or the other on the needle bed using a garter bar, so that the knitting is in the proper place for the desired anticipated needle selection. This was easier in my own mind than reprogramming the pattern repeat for each full row of shells whether by entering a new download or altering placement using the position option at the start of each row. One of my first working repeats amended later in several steps is shown here mirrored in black and whiteVisualizing the process on the needle bedScaling the image to render it a bit more legible:The machine will be set for slip stitch in both directions and holding. End needle selection is canceled.
The first preselection row is from left to right. Every needle will be preselected and will knit every stitch for the first 2 rows in the desired shell color.
Color changes are made manually.
At the completion of a row of shells, its corresponding color ends on the left side, a free pass is made, returning to the right. Knitting with the new color for the alternate groups of shells begins again on the right side.
After the first 2 all knit rows, as the carriage works its way back to the right on the following pass, preselecting will occur for a decreasing number of stitches. This is the first-row holding selection when using the above repeat:
Moving stitches on the needle bed avoids having to program separate repeats after each full stripe of shells.
Beginning piece with half a shell on each side: all but the first 6 stitches are brought out to hold. When more than the single needle is selected at the top of the first half-shell (6 sts to start, 1 at the end), COR: bring the next group of 12 stitches to the left into work, knit to left.
COL: bring original 6 needles out to hold. Bring into work any needles not selected in the group of 12 into work as well.
Continue knitting, repeating the process across the bed.
On design row 14 of the last half-shell remove work on a garter bar.
To execute full shells across the next row of shapes: using a garter bar move the work 6 stitches to the left.
Return emptied needles to A position (out of work, OOW).
With all remaining needles in B preselect the next row (1) from left to right. Cam settings need not be changed.
Change color if desired, knitting 2 rows across all the stitches.
Bring all needles out to hold except for the first group of 12 sts between red marks, and repeat the process previously described across the bed.
When the last shell is completed, design row 14, remove the work on the garter bar again, shift it 6 stitches to the right.
Push back the now emptied needles back to A (OOW).
With all stitches in the B position, make a free pass to the right, row 1 of the half shell row will be preselected, change color, continue across the pattern row as described. This yarn is far too thin but makes stitch formation easy to identify.I used two repeats side by side to eliminate having to consider and choose the position option on the 930 needle bed, resulting in having the pattern centered in each 24 stitch fixed segment of needle selection.
Using a needle tape for punchcard machines electronic models make transitions when using published or DIY 24 stitch designs.
It is possible to add all knit rows or even patterned ones between shell rows. On an electronic KM with 2 carriages available, adding a FI band would be simpler than trying to manage to change cam buttons in addition to the other number of steps already involved with the slip stitch and holding combination along with moving the knit on the needle bed.
Contrasting color row stripes can be programmed by adding 2 or more/ even number rows of all black squares (or punched holes) at the top of each 14-row segment of the final repeat. Reverse shaping of shells appears to not be necessary to avoid biasing on my limited tests. The proof of concept swatch:I was too aggressive with clipping yarn ends on the left side, especially while in the process of changing colors, not ever a good idea. Automating the pattern fully on electronic models using only slip stitch patterning is possible. The length of such patterns grows exponentially in proportion to the size of the repeats. Reviewing errors in the beginning concept An attempt to visualize the placement of the shape variations in the finished piece using the shell motifs beginning with the shapes created in order to create a straight side edge

Redrawing the pattern for a 36 stitch test. On the left is the drawn image of the pattern, on the right the mirrored image for downloading to my machine to produce it in the desired direction. Much of the time is invested in developing and testing the final and correct image for download, the knitting that follows that is fairly quick.  My repeat is 36 stitches wide, 98 rows highCOR: knit a base row in color one from right to left
COL: KCII (no end needle selection) to right, the only needles preselected will be those corresponding to the programmed black squares, the remaining will be in B position. Knit to the right.
COR: set the machine to slip in both directions. Knit slowly and evenly. All needles in work on the bed must be cleared with each pass of the carriage.
Continue in pattern across the bed, checking that all stitches are knitting off properly.
When all needles are preselected, change colors for the next set of shells. These rows create the base for the next group of shapes. If a stripe or other pattern is wanted regularly, those rows are best added to the programmed pattern itself.
The automated test swatch: Preserving the 3D texture relies on using yarns with “memory”, ie wool and avoiding aggressive blocking. Using thinner yarns makes the stitch formation more evident. Hard pressing, in this case, knit using acrylic yarns, flattens the fabric considerably, and often, permanently. Both the hold/slip (top) and fully automated swatches (bottom) are shown.2023: a screen grab from the shell charts was cropped to its outline, opened in ArahPaint, and using the program’s tool “guess weave from grid“, the 36X98 png  was obtained with a few mouse clicks,

Isolating like modules and looking for any differences in each of them to prepare for a larger number of repeats across the needle bed in each half of the design  There are several methods for securing yarn ends both during and after knitting in the final pieces using these techniques. Testing such methods on swatches is the best way to determine what works for yarn and colors used as well as our own personal preference.
The pattern width may be adjusted to create considerably larger shells if desired. Punchcard knitters are limited to 8, 12, and 24 stitch repeats. For them, this would be the maximum size, including an added number of rows for contrasting color stripes, in this instance 4. A return to the original 14 stitch repeat, illustrating a way to begin editing for an extra row in width at the bottom of the shape and ending on 2 stitches rather than a single stitch at the topImagining adding increases and or decreases for shaping at sides, which in turn could lead to an evaluation of switching to entrelac approaches when creating large shell shapes for similar effects. The 3D qualities and distortions are obviously missing from these illustrations.A Prada sweater using similar shapes If you are interested in any large size clamshells, and intarsia appeals to you whether in hand or machine knitting, Cheryl Brunette has thorough directions for many such shapes, including 2 videos on shell shapes Part 1, and Part 2
More online inspiration using large shapes:
from a Russian blog

a hand-knit blanket from Garnstudio the common illustration for shaping triangular shawls using such motifs Similar pattern repeats are at times also referred to as scallops, fans, or scales. A “scallop” design a “fan”