“Automating ” normally labor-intensive hand techniques cannot truly duplicate them. Below is one effort to produce an “entrelac-like” fabric using the slip stitch setting. The biggest advantage of this is the knitting speed as opposed to creating the individual cells using holding and picking up stitches. Some drawbacks: slip stitch floats on the reverse make … Continue reading An entrelac pretender
Below are some ideas for creating long loops on the machine using only a single bed. The essential difference between stitches and loops as mentioned before is that long stitches must be individually knit through the previous row, loops sit on the purl side surface. Yarn weight, loop concentration, number of looped stitches, and their … Continue reading Long loops: a bit on method
Leaves are getting more attention from others as well yet again in hand knitting pubs and youtube videos. As for my own leaf pattern: here is a wrap in progress on my knitting machine. Knitting is slow, with many transfer rows between knit ones. Though I am still using the now-familiar silk alpaca blend it … Continue reading They’re everywhere!
This photo was actually taken last April. Part of my studio is in my unfinished attic, explaining the foil ceiling and boxes. It oh so truly helps to look UP from your knitting once in a while! I had just begun my lace experiments, things had been going so well in terms of avoiding dropped … Continue reading A new use for waste yarn
A Baktus is a very simple triangular scarf/shawl. I have many oddball skeins of sock yarn, it is possible to knit a small baktus with a single one. An online search will yield many free patterns, most for hand knitting, easily adapted for the KM. Many patterns are free, including some in the latest catalog … Continue reading A baktus tale
I am trying to knit a shawl in the latest lace scarf pattern repeat. Using most of the needle bed is making it necessary to take KH far off the end of the KM, ergo the bungee cord (which may keep the extension rail from going out the window with the KM if I reach … Continue reading So many ways to add to my grey hair
Circular sweaters and vests have been in the pattern marketplace for a while, and there are very few online resources for purchasing patterns for machine knitting. My first attempt at one such pattern was a hand-knit for my granddaughter. It began on long circulars and was worked from the outer diameter, with stitches decreased at … Continue reading Approaching “circular knits” on the machine: a series
The goal is to produce a large-scale mesh without hand techniques or extra steps. In both slip and tuck, every punched hole, black square in mylar, or pixel in electronic downloads that bring a needle out to D position (for some unfathomable reason Brother needle positions go A, B, D, E, poor C got skipped) … Continue reading Large scale mesh, breaking rules
Transferring any single stitch to the adjacent needle will create a loop in that empty needle on the next pass of the knit carriage, and form that loop into a completed stitch on the second KH pass as it travels back to its original position. There are some constants in knit fabrics. For example, in … Continue reading Look Ma, missing holes! A saga begins…
The first half of the shawl as it appears on the machine in the process of being knit after several false starts. Gaping holes were typical of potential stitch “drops”. Yarn was knit at loose tension for the effect, in turn resulting in gate peg issues at intervals, but tolerated the lace transfers and hook … Continue reading In progress