alessandrina.com – Page 34 – machine knitting and more

A swatch experiment: machine knit scales

A while ago the image of a sweater attributed to Armani caught my attention on Pinterest, and I became obsessed with creating a variant.

Lace is actually an interesting 3D fabric until it is blocked and made to lie flat. I went the lace route to work out my “scales”. The swatch I created below is hand-knit knit, and could be reproduced as a machine-knit hand technique with the aid of multiple transfer tools. I would recommend a yarn with “memory”, such as wool. The bottom of 3 sets of “shells” were knit on # 7 needles and the remainder on #5. I found I preferred to control the lean of knit-together stitches on the knit side but did not deem it necessary on the purl.

the knit side

and purl side!

my working notes (Excel) showing multiple repeats

symbols used a printable PDF scales_all_info

A mini-me version knit on a 4.5 mm. machine, using the same yarn as in the hand-knit sample above, at tension 10+. Repeats are worked out around 2 center needles, on which stitches are doubled as transfers are made. When the pairs of doubled-up stitches are reached with loops on either side of them after the last transfer/knit one row in sequence, and knit one additional row across all stitches before reversing the direction of transfers. That row is represented in green in the chart below. Symbols used are minimal since the same side of the knit is in constant view (incomplete full pattern repeat)

knit side

purl side

see update3/28/2015

Visualizing knit cables in color_ Excel

In the past, I have suggested methods for working in Excel and provided links to excellent material shared by others online. Of late I became interested in using the program to produce simple color graphics for cable illustrations. It is helpful to have prior experience in using Excel for knit charting. This is not intended as a complete tutorial. I am providing a document for experimentation. I would suggest copying and pasting the individual shapes to a different part of the document before playing with color changes, resizing, etc. This may be done within the chart in progress, or separately, and then copying /pasting or moving the final result into place.

The resulting charts may be used in both hand and machine knitting. My illustrations here are intended for machine knits, so they do not combine purls and knits on their ground. Images represent single side view: as they would appear on the knit side facing hand knitters, or the purl side facing the machine knitter. Stitch, row marking, and text may be added as wanted.

Chosen from the view menu, the object palette allows the selection of built-in available shapes. Once a shape is drawn into the workbook, the formatting palette allows access to image size, rotation (including flipping both vertically and horizontally, and alignment (moving front to back and reverse).

Color fill – unless standard colors are chosen, there will be issues matching colors combined when using with bucket fill from the toolbar to add color to cell(s)

toolbar

formatting options: fill

shape border: line, color (or not)

one of the ways to access size, rotation, aspect ratio

sample results

an in-progress document for experimentation: blog_color_cables. Adjust zoom to personal preference for either viewing or working, grab portions of working screen for images of sections of the workbook to save, or save as, and explore PDF options.

Machine knitting cables: single bed, 1

In hand knitting complex cable crossings are often worked on the same, knit side of the fabric, making them a bit easier to visualize and track. Knit and purl combinations in surfaces on either side abound.
In machine knitting, one is always facing the purl side. When attempting to duplicate a hand-knit pattern and the direction of the cables crossings in the machine-knit need to be reversed as seen in an illustration from an earlier post on machine knit symbols

Common representations in MK pubs take into consideration that the purl side is always facing the machine knitter for single-bed crossings:

Crossings of more than 3 over 3 stitches become difficult on home knitting machines unless special techniques are brought into play.
Methods and suggestions vary, depending on the source.
The least satisfactory one is to knit the whole row prior to the cable crossings at a looser tension. If there is plain knitting between crossings, the change in stitch size across that particular work may be quite noticeable. “All over” cabled fabric will be obviously narrower than plain knit, a feature that may be used in garment shaping to gather the resulting fabric in selective areas ie cuffs, or waistlines above peplums.
Generally, a looser tension will be required than when using the same yarn in stocking stitch knitting.

To start testing the best number of rows knit between crosses, it is a good idea, to begin with at least the same number of rows as the total number of stitches involved in the cross ie. 4 rows for a 2 X 2 cable, 6 for a 3 X 3.

Ladders created by leaving needles OOW may be used as markers for vertical rows of cables. They may in turn be left as created or latched up in segments or at the end of knitting to create purl (or other) stitches on both sides of the cables on the fabric’s knit side. An alternative method for latching up illustrated below, produces tuck stitches in ladder spaces

Working the knit on the single bed, extra yarn for a bit more “give” may be created by dropping one stitch on either side of the 2 groups to be crossed. The dropped stitches may be latched up after each cross and will appear as purl stitches on the knit side, or left unraveled for open vertical space on cable sides. Bringing needles with crossed stitches all the way forward out to the hold/ E position helps them knit off more easily and visually check if indeed all stitches have been placed on the alternate group of needles.

A: crossing stitches, B: latching up the ladder

Sometimes the cable configuration may be changed for a similar look to render crossings easier ie. using a 5-stitch cable crossing 2 and 3 stitches respectively, may be substituted for a 6-stitch one. A larger number of crossings may be broken down into smaller groups ie in this 9-stitch cable modification. The chart below is for hand knitting, created in Intwined, with their accompanying directions. Not all publications or software approach HK and symbols and charts in the same manner, requiring varying degrees of study and interpretation in how to either follow or adapt them.

Creating longer stitches to facilitate moving them for cable crosses may be done on any one row by using additional strands of yarn and knitting involved stitches back to the A position, creating elongated stitches. If slightly shorter lengths are needed, cardboard or another spacer may be placed against the rear rail to keep loops even size while pulling yarn back. In the “old” days of MK seminars, a favorite such spacer was made from cutting segments of extra (narrow) strips from window venetian blinds. Bringing needles back into work requires a bit of care and at least a claw weight, to keep long stitches formed from bouncing off the needles. The larger cross can then be executed and made easier if one has adjustable 7-prong tools. After the cross, the larger stitch size may be adjusted slightly by pulling cautiously on the long end of the yarn. The Brother knitting techniques book is available for free download on more than one site, here is one option. It is a very good resource apart from any standard manuals. Creating the longer stitches is described and seen in the illustration below, found on pp 68-69 of the book. Also shown there: how to carry up the yarn rather than cutting it after each cross, thus avoiding extra ends that later require weaving in

Larger groups of stitches may be cabled by using holding to shape each section, then removing each of them off the respective needle groups, and crossing them as wanted.

As an experiment: for a single, long crossing strip, I found 7 stitches to be pretty much my maximum manageable width, with tension adjustments. The number was chosen with the intent of using two 7-prong transfer tools to hold and move the stitch groups.

The process: working over a group of 14 stitches for a 7 X 7 crossing.

COR: Set your carriage for holding. I had a needle out of work on either side to make tracking easier.

On the side opposite the carriage bring all beyond the 14 cable sts to hold, and knit one row.

Now pull all the needles out to work except for those involved in the cable. Knit 3 rows across the 14 stitches.

Bring 7 stitches opposite the carriage to hold. Knit an odd number of rows on them (7 in my sample). Yarn will be resting on top of some of the needles that have been on hold, watch that it remains free as you move stitches.

Cross the long strip with the group of 7 stitches towards the front of the fabric, the rest toward its back / the purl side facing you.

Bring the cable group’s 14 stitches and the remaining ones on the side opposite the carriage into work, knit one row, there will still be stitches being held on the carriage side.

All stitches in work: knit desired even number of rows, ending with carriage on the same side as at the start of the process, and repeat the process for crossings to continue in same the same direction.

Each cable group may also be knit in individual strip forms and then crossed. At least one of the group pairs needs to be knit with a separate strand of yarn. Some experimentation on the number of rows knit, etc., and attention paid not trapping the yarn in the wrong place when crosses are made is required. Both methods are fiddly, but manageable after repeats are sorted out. My sample is knit in acrylic, which flattens considerably with steaming. On the left are crosses made with a single long strip, on the right, for illustration purposes, the red represents a second strand of yarn that I was able to keep continuous.

To work cables with 2 separate strands of additional yarn, work each cross segment separately, then remove it on waste yarn, dropping it off the needles. Rehang each strip in the desired location, crossing as required in the pattern. Cut yarn ends may be woven in as plain knit rows between crosses are formed if the piece is one color. The experimental swatch below is from one of my much earlier posts on the topic. Though my examples here align in a straight vertical manner, this method allows for placement anywhere on the knit, in desired spacing, repeat, and cross formation.

Large safety pins, hand-knitting stitch holders, and thin circular needles may be used as alternative tools to remove any strips of knitting and in turn, used to ease those stitches onto their new needle placement.

Using yarns that are not fragile or easily broken when tension is applied, and that have some amount of “give” at all, such as wool as opposed to cotton, also renders the process a bit more friendly. Yarns with “memory” such as wool will also retain dimensional qualities and spring back after any blocking. There are no single best ways to achieve any specific machine knit fabrics; personal preferences and adjustments evolve with experience.

Please enter “cables” as a search topic on the left to visit my previously published related posts.

More on charting, foreign symbols, and cables

This topic has come up as part of previous posts. I recently reviewed links and thought I would re-group them a bit differently here, adding some new. Please click on continue reading to have the list appear as active links if they do not immediately do so in your browser. The latest additions are at the post bottom.

http://www.stitchmastery.com

https://www.myfonts.com/fonts/adriprints/stitchin-knit/

https://www.softbyte.co.uk/designaknit.htm

http://www.envisioknit.com/features/

https://stitch-maps.com/about/key/

pixelated lettering

http://www.fontpalace.com/font-download/Notice+3+Std/

http://www.fonts2u.com/munro-small.font

http://www.fontspace.com/ten-by-twenty/munro

letters in knit stitches

http://www.fonts2u.com/knitfonta.font

http://www.fonts2u.com/knitfontb.font

http://www.fontspace.com/honey-and-death/knitfont

care labels

http://www.fontpalace.com/font-download/Notice+3+Std/

I have been trying to navigate Mac Numbers again, but in playing at my own latest charting with software after the Yosemite update, I find I am drifting back to using Excel once more as my primary “graph paper”. Charts published in foreign languages and magazines, and particularly those in Russian (where the same symbols appear to have different functions depending on the publisher) provide challenges in translating for using charts provided in hand or machine knitting.

Some sources from/for different countries that may help with interpretations:

http://www.knittingfool.com/Reference/KF_Symbols.aspx

http://www.garnstudio.com/glossary.php?langf=it&langt=en

Anna Burda magazine symbols PDF includes HK how-to illustrations: ab2 2/1/15

Verena chart from older pubs easily found on Pinterest

A partial volume of an out of print book on Japanese symbols

4/24/15: Sconcho is a GUI for creating knitting charts that come with a built-in stitch library. A manual is available. Custom stitch symbols may be created in Inkscape to form personal vector shapes. X11 may be required to run Inkscape on your computer as well, all are free.

6/14/2020 a free for iPhone and iPad app Knitting Chart also includes crochet symbols

Knit charting in Mac Yosemite; visualizing knit cables

Some previous blog posts on topic

2013/01/03/chain-cable-hk-experiment/

2013/02/07/hand-to-machine-symbols-4-cables/

2014/07/07/a-bit-of-cables-and-lace-charting-hk-to-mk/

2012/01/28/a-few-to-try/

Updating to Yosemite has provided some interesting issues for me. The first was Safari pretty much becoming unusable. It took a Mac expert and a chunk of his time to resolve the issue. There are still hiccups in other apps. I thought I would revisit some of the methods I have mentioned as usable in knitting charting on Mac via a bit of discussion on cables and visualizing them.

Intwined began having issues in Macs with any custom-built stitch libraries in mid-year 2013. The last update offered and installed in September 2013 has continued to have some functionality issues in later Mac OS versions (Mavericks, and now Yosemite), stripped of any custom stitches built previously, not allowing for their addition. It has become only an occasional go-to for me now. Charts created in the program are easily recognizable.

Inkscape (recommended for creating icons for use in Intwined, a free vector program) will require XQuartz update for Yosemite. Their previous release allowed for its use in Mavericks.

http://xquartz.macosforge.org/landing/

http://xquartz.macosforge.org/trac/wiki/X112.7.8

http://sourceforge.net/projects/sconcho/ is an open-source, free charting software with built-in stitch libraries that may meet many of your charting needs in any OS version

Excel behaves as in the past (my version: Office 08)

Mac Number has once again deleted some familiar menu options, added new ones. My primary font for knit symbols is no longer available, and some of my accumulated knit symbols from other font sources continue to work on the mac, but are unsupported if using the iPad version of the program, where they appear as the original keyboard strokes, rather than the assigned symbols

GIMP 2.8.4 (2.8.8 did not), HyperDither, appear functional as in past.

Tracking and visualizing custom cables outside the parameters of built-in libraries or fonts/symbols in alternative software, using Numbers 3.5: one of the problems that can be encountered in charting cables is that programs with built-in stitch libraries may not provide for cable crossings specific to your pattern. The charts below have not been proofed executable in a swatch at this point in time, are simply a way of exploring drawing methods, my working notes from some quick experiments, not a step by step tutorial. I have no way of confirming results in previous versions of the software or OS.

available “shapes”

To make them editable, click on the shape, go to format menu, highlight shapes and lines-> make editable. Click on the shape and in turn on the format symbol below in the image below, and windows become available for style and arrangement choices

The knit and purl symbols on the left of my first chart utilizing line with arrow shapes are standard ones. The right side uses a dot for purl stitches instead of a line, and that began to make the whole more readable to me. One drawback is “shapes” do not seem to respond to any copy and paste demands and I had to draw each individually. I preferred to place them outside my chart. Guidelines then appear to suit for easy resizing and the resulting edit may then be dragged and dropped into the appropriate location in the chart, readjusted as/if needed. Color palettes for drawing appear limited to the built-in shades; toggling between available colors may be accessed by clicking on the dots below the pen tool in the first illustration above. In the chart, purple lines indicate stitches brought forward, yellow the stitches brought to back when working the cables. The number 10 in the left-hand column should be a one.

Cleaning up lines and adding color if needed may be done in Photoshop or GIMP; this makes forward stitches a bit clearer

bucket fill provides an added way to follow the movement of stitches

Utilizing the pen tool in shapes menu to draw custom cable crosses and filling them using the option within the numbers program moves toward an all color chart_ far quicker than using lines and bucket fills. The red segment indicates knit stitches traveling in the back for the cable cross

A lot of information is available on creating reversible cable fabrics using ribbed configurations. I thought I would play with knit/ purl blocks rather than vertical rib lines. The initial chart was begun in Intwined, with bucket tool filled in Photoshop to extend colors within cable crosses. The red border outlines the pattern repeats. Alternate right side rows are shown; all wrong side rows are worked as the stitches appear (knit stitches are knit, and purl stitches are purled). Here the cell colors happen to be reversed from their use in the above, the yellow is used for knit stitches, the green the purls. I opted to indicate knit stitches by color only, no symbol.

This is the resulting swatch, in random acrylic yarn, with varying numbers of rows in between cable crossings my plan is to create a scarf in significantly thicker alpaca yarn, a strictly HK fabric. The photo shows both sides of the fabric.

Fall knits in my studio

I promise myself every year that I will knit fall inventory during the summer, invariably that seems to not happen, and I find myself scrambling during September and October. I have had a line of ruffled edge shawls for some time. This is my way of interpreting some of the recent shapes in clothing into a shawl/vest format. Below are some shots taken on a dress form, with intent to visualize some of the possible ways of wearing it

a graded, smaller version and different color-way

both are knit using multiple strands of very thin, rayon/cotton blends, pattern is tuck stitch, with variant used in the ruffle, which in turned is knit sideways and seamed onto the piece while it is being knit.

another color way

some of my felt hat inventory in progress

Creating knit graph paper on Mac, using Excel and Numbers

Working in Excel 2008 and Mac Numbers 3.2, edits added 2022, 2024

My blog is a living document. I tend to keep old posts as they were originally written, which can help reflect the evolution in the resources from those available at the time and my changing and at times growing skill in using them.
There have been many interim posts on using Numbers in knit design, whether as a stand-alone or in conjunction with other programs ie Gimp.
At times I revisit topics as separate posts, or I correct or expand the information in ones previously published, true here, at the bottom of the post.
2014
On a worksheet, columns are usually standardized to accommodate approximately 9 font characters. Width and height are measured in points and units such as inches or centimeters: 1 point equals approximately 1/72 inch or 0.035 cm. The default row height is app. 13 points. In developing knitting charts smaller units of measurement are preferred. Preferences (general) may be changed from the default (inches) to cm, or the smaller unit mm, and saving.
Online conversion between units of measurement and PostScript points may be calculated (if needed) using calculators ie.
http://www.unitconversion.org/unit_converter/typography.htmldefault cell measurements in mm and points When opening an Excel document, to view only one page: on the bar at the top of your spreadsheet click the View menu and then in turn choose the Customize Toolbars and Menus. The window below will appear, click on the commands tab. Scroll down to “Zoom to One Page” on the list, “click and drag” it to your toolbar, releasing your mouse button to place it using the vertical line that appears as your guide to determine its placement.
the chart toolbar with the icon (to the right of the red line, click on the image for magnification)on the standard toolbar

If the chart toolbar is in use, left-click on the arrow at the right, where Customize toolbars and menu are the second option offered; a right-click will allow you to modify toolbars as a first choice and offer the commands as an option.
Clicking on the icon now in the toolbar will show one worksheet, and adjustments may be made as follows for producing your graph paper or knit chart, clicking again will show multiple sheets once more.
Click on the diamond upper left-hand corner to select the whole sheet, now that the whole sheet is selected apply your unit choice to the whole document: place your mouse on and hold it between the cells indicated by any 2 of the letters (separator will appear), drag the boundary on the right side to define the desired width, repeat the process between any 2 numbered rows to define the height. The format menu may also be used; first, select the whole sheet, then on the home tab, click on format, and select format row height or format column width alternately to specify desired measurements The latter method may give better control over unit specs in some instances.
If the intent is to use the program as virtual graph paper on which to add color, symbols, etc one may continue editing, and working with borders and border drawing options line thickness most suitable for printing may be selected, along with types of lines and colors. Common ratios for knitting are 4:5, and 2:3 (height to width) with stitches being usually wider than tall. Single-page workbooks to start your chart editing created in Excel to save for printing were deleted in 2024 because of failure to open in usable form in Windows 10 OS. A 2024 PDF for developing a punchcard repeat on a rectangular 4:5 grid punchcard red lines
Since this post was first written I have moved away from using Excel completely to working with Mac Numbers.
If the goal is to have graph paper that approximates stitch and row gauge, that is achievable by using Numbers with the rulers set to centimeters.
Selecting the initial document for printing by using the select all command in a variety of ways did not print the whole document for me or even recognize the content. Whether printing the whole document or part, the print area needs to be hand-selected. Click on the cell upper left where you want to begin, drag the mouse, and release on the last cell at the bottom right on which you wish to stop. The selected area will now appear colored blue and outlined by a broken line. In the file menu, choose the print area, and in turn to its right “select print area”. File print should in turn be operable now, along with a preview of the selected area to be printed. If you wish to have the graph paper as a permanent file, proceed as above, but from your printer screen select PDF, then save as

An online PDF generator for printing graph paper for knits (including shadow knitting) in 2 ratios and orientations may be found at
http://www.theknittingsite.com/knitting-graph-paper/

Previously posted links and more on using Excel for the virtual designing of knit charts and motifs
2013/10/29/charting-knits-in-excel/

Numbers 3.2.2, updated to version 12.2.1 in December 2022
I chose to change my preference for rulers to point units (options are for centimeter inches and points)

default cell size in cm and points

Click on the table at top of your document screen, to the right of the function icon; select the first choice on the left, the second row a place to start Uncheck alternating rows on menus on the right, revise options
Click anywhere on the screen, and use the command all to select all table cells. Choose row and column size, type in your desired values, or using the arrows provided, hit return. Click anywhere on the sheet to get additional markings to appear again. With your mouse, grab and drag the _| symbol on the bottom right and you will also have the benefit of viewing the number of rows and columns in your document. Click on the circular target icon on the upper left, drag the _| symbol on the bottom right, and all units on the sheet will be resized to display measurements. For thicker, darker, or even in different colors and types of lines changes are easily made when working with the borders menus. Clicking on any cell leaves only your graph; selecting print from your file menu prints exactly what appears as the sheet number chosen, and /or saved; additional adjustment options are offered on the right

Click on the white part of your sheet, only your chart will be viewable and ready for printing. If a PDF is desired, choose Export to -> PDF from the file menu.
PUNCHCARD TEMPLATES
I had a Ravelry request for a punchcard template. In a previous 2011/12/14/more-low-tech/, I shared a method that got me in the ballpark using a Word document, for having a printable, near-scale graph. Here is an editable Excel workbook resulting in as near as I could get to printing the punch card at scale; included are beginning added markings for Brother machines that could easily be altered to suit other makes; lines at the side can serve for comments or notes.
Going about printing differently: I captured an image from my Excel template saved it, opened the image in Photoshop, adjusted the image size as below, and when printed the output was nearly dead-on in terms of size and would make tracing motifs from it onto a punchcard over a lightbox super easy Using Numbers the closest I could get to punchcard cell size at that point was using point values, 19 for rows, 18 for columns, and printing aspect ratio remained off.
December 2022
In the initial try, the repeat used is a part of an electronic one, adjusted to a random 24-stitch segment, and it is 30 rows in height.
It is placed over a hacked lightbox of sorts, with a Brother blank punchcard taped over it to hold it in place. As can be seen, marking the card in the location of future punched holes would be fairly easy. Longer repeats may require the card to be shifted up very slightly at some point, which may work well, and avoid adjusting the original file height dimensions by very small point values and printing again.
I have created all my numbers tables for charts up to now using the ruler units set to points. Matching the results of those experiments to a printed template for marking the card in punched hole locations was slightly off and required a bit of shifting to the card during the process.
Creating the spreadsheet using cm ruler units rather than points I came up with a template I am sharing, measuring 24 cells in width, and 60 rows in height as most standard factory-supplied blank cards.
The program will separate the design into more than one page if needed when File Print is chosen.
On the left, the 60-row table is divided into 2 sheets/pages.
The center shares the settings for the size of the table, the row and column size, and the print settings with Fit unchecked.
Punchcards design bodies are marked with a square grid. Using a ruler measuring in mm, they are fixed at 108 mm in width by 300 mm in height.
On the far right, a blank punch card is laid over the printout of page 1 of my document on an improvised lightbox, with what appeared to be accurate placement results: New downloadable documents should open with the corresponding points ruler setting unless you have already been using the program with the centimeter ruler setting. I cannot test the Exel documents.
For designing:
punchcard blank_excel
punchcard blank_numbers
I have had consistent success in maintaining the aspect ratio with ruler units set to centimeters, 2024, Numbers 13.2 :
punchcard-blank 35 09 meets the maximum content of 44 rows
print-card 60 rows will split the card into 2 default segments, the template is editable if operating in a later Mac OS, these options will be offered when the numbers spreadsheets are first opened print card_Excel
A PDF: punchcard-blank 35. To print to scale using Acrobat Reader, select: Changing rulers in Numbers, from the program’s manual: Added info and results in the post Numbers and GIMP: online punchcard patterns to electronics 2 7/21

CUSTOM NEEDLE TAPES may be used as guides to track actions such as sequences in short rows or hooking up stitches (standard KM needles are 4.5mm apart). My color printer is defunct, so this is the grey version. Color coding or notes may be easily added to blocks for more complex fabric manipulations. A reference for some conversions of mm to points based on needle spacing, each 4.5 mm unit = 12.75 points, rulers may be set to centimeters, see the bottom of the post. Print the results at 100% in landscape orientation with fit checked Some tables to test, editable to suit your needs. Keep in mind the size of the print area in the document is indicated immediately beneath the page orientation illustration, in points.
tapes_numbers
The last table in the document is designed for use on 35 stitches arranged in mixed-width segments. It has been printed and is shown here on the machine, placed under a random needle group, with corresponding needle selections in and out of work. The topic was revisited here. A variety of printable tapes for multiple gauge knitting machines is offered by Claudia Scarpa in her blog post.
Working in cm, taking into account that needles are 4.5 mm, 0.45cm apart eliminated the conversion to points.
The program alters a couple of the values for the width of the table cells slightly, as seen here for 1-10 cm needle spacings To maximize the available printing space, under print setup change all margin values from any preset default to 0.54 Although the print setup shows page numbers in cm, the page orientation measures are given in mm, the width in landscape orientation is 279mm=27.9cm, with 26.8mm available drawing space when page margins are set to 0.54 The 2.26 mm cell unit tape in place on the machine 2024
To change rulers in Numbers 13.2 to Centimeter setting, and avoid the need for any conversions to points from the Numbers Menu at the top of the screen Choose Numbers >Settings then click rulers at the top of the settings window. Click the Ruler Units from the pop-up menu, then choose an increment, in this case, centimeters. The math in calculating table cell size is simple. This export is a revised copy for use in Numbers 09 using cm rulers: needle-tapes-only.
The later versions appear to ask if you wish to upgrade the document.
The file created in version 13.2:
needle tapes only_numbers 2

Miters and spirals: visualizing, charting (and more) 3

SPLITTING THINGS UP leads to a series of quite different fabrics, sometimes creating interesting secondary solid color shapes when striping is added to any of the forms; repeats will need editing to avoid extra rows to keep the designs balanced, or have them added across their width for extending shapes, such as in creating ruffled effects. I have worked on these charts using Numbers, image capture, and resizing and editing again in photoshop if needed. The images below are not intended as a “sit and knit” tutorial, but rather as a start for creating your own designs, on the desired number of stitches, I randomly picked 22

some possibilities on method: SPIRAL original shape

splitting in 2 parts

changing positions and stacking, all knit row edited to bottom of repeat

a mirrored segment

added to first repeat, center line double row edited out for knitting

MITER: original repeat

split repeat

moving parts around

areas for adding plain knit rows in desired numbers across the knit (yellow), keeping in mind how this will affect color changing sequences if striping is used to create secondary patterns; repeat usable for machines with color changer on right

mirroring the whole repeat horizontally for use with color changer on left

Changing colors at regular intervals including every 2 rows will yield secondary, geometric patterns; all knit rows may be added to the right or left of the shapes maintaining color changes, for different effects; if these are planned in extended “white areas”, the holding sequence needs to be maintained every other row; slip stitch setting may be used to automate, with repeats reworked for use on 24 stitch punchcard machines. I find when exploring any of this initially, working repeats as hand techniques helps me understand necessary sequences and editing before committing to punching holes, filling mylar squares, or programming pixels. Swatches and notes, swatches, and notes…

Miters and spirals: visualizing, charting (and more) 2

Visualizing the shapes (using charts in Mac Numbers)A spiral gore is the first or second half of a miter gore, conversely, a miter gore has 2 consecutive spiral gores, knit in a mirror image. GOING ROUND: numbers 1-12 represent knitting sequence for wedges, thicker lines at segment edges = rows across knit width at end of each sequence, 2 rows or many more depending on planned design shape

Previous posts on related topics:
2011/06/18/knitting-math-and-pies1/
2011/06/24/taking-it-to-a-garment/
2011/03/29/the-doilies/
2013/12/28/short-rows_-balls-tams-3d-rounds/

Miters and spirals: visualizing, charting (and more) 1

Getting my thoughts together on this topic I searched for any of my previous posts that may be related, here is a list
2013/12/18/holding-stitches-short-rows/
2014/02/24/holdingshort-rows-hand-tech-to-chart-to-automating-with-slip-stitch-1/
2013/12/28/short-rows_-balls-tams-3d-rounds/
2013/01/21/automating-pleating/

Even in my earliest days as a hand knitter, I liked charting out my sweater shapes ie sleeves, necklines, etc on graph paper and tracking my place by marking the appropriate row or every other row on the charted image. Many of the formulas for charting math in garment shaping may be emulated by drawing a line on the chart where each square represents a stitch and a row, connecting points, and filling in squares. Averaging out grid shifts is also the guideline to increasing and decreasing for shaping on pixel charts. Though this may be a bit of egg before the chicken, I got sidetracked playing with software yet again.

GIMP

Working premise: using holding to shape a wedge over 36 rows. Stitch multiples are brought into hold opposite the carriage (floats will be created if they are brought into hold on the carriage side), in the instances below each graph row represents 2 rows knit, my fabric width at the start is 100 sts

Set image size _ pixels equal stitches and rows required

Magnify X 1000 (this is what I prefer for viewing and editing, less magnification may be used)

Activate 1 stitch grid/ show grid/ snap to grid

Make certain the whole image is within your window view

Using line shape: click on the upper left corner, press shift key_a drawing line will appear with a + symbol at its bottom right_click on the first square on the bottom right, a line will appear where black squares represent # of stitches to be held each row

bucket fill in the appropriate side of the wedge to represent knit stitches

create a new, larger canvas that will accommodate desired multiple stacked repeats and possible knit rows in between shapes in a new window; copy image from the first window, paste into the new window, move it, and place in the desired location on your screen

return to the first window, flip the image vertically (image menu/ select transform and direction)

again copy, paste, move into the desired location, and insert knit or (patterned) rows (green) when and if desired. On electronic machines, the final image would have to be doubled in length, so those “knit row” pixels/squares would have to be adjusted accordingly to half the desired number

Row by row charting for double-height to represent each row of actual knitting: the process

starting with a repeat 6X6

convert image to bitmapped (repeat at upper right below is a different one, should match the one being resized)

scale image: click on the locked symbol/ chain link, in turn, to alter the aspect ratio, change both pertinent numbers

the repeat twice as long, 6 X 12

going 3D, possible spiral

eliminating squares

shifting things around in order to add “automatic wraps”, begin knit with COL

in further progress

stacked repeat

save in image in format for downloading to machines via cable and knitting using slip stitch setting, or export or screen grab for printing and knitting from chart visually as hand technique. If printing images colored cues may be added for carriage/lock setting or color changes, etc. The question: what about numbers and excel?

NUMBERS

Using the line tool (shapes) will get the line in place, shaping is “eyeballed”

knit squares are filled in

so you want to double the height only? Apple for some reason when they “upgraded” to the latest version of the program (3.2) has eliminated the split table feature, so the only way I can see is through using the table: add rows above or below in the chart, a new row will be a copy of the selected row

EXCEL

the insert row option will add rows only below selected ones, I have not found a tool equal to the line shape in Numbers