alessandrina.com » Swatches and Experiments

Horizontal “cable”

Alessandrina — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:38:35 +0000

I live in the East Coast of the United States.

In the 80s there used to be a yearly machine knitting seminar that was fairly well attended. There were droves of machine knitting publications. Susan Lazear, founder of Cochenille, was just beginning to develop her knit design software ideas on the Amiga Computers, and a fellow Californian, who happened to be Japanese, used to travel here with he Pandora box of foreign knit magazines. At the time translating knits from one language to another amounted to guess work and some leaflets. Subsequently there were fliers, then articles, and even books on translating from Japanese to English and one on multiple language translations for knits and crochet.

One year there was a “guess how this was done and you get a prize contest” for a technique appearing on a sweater with only Japanese instructions. The design was dubbed wisteria by some, has been reincarnated as a trim, insertion, bandings on sleeves and cardigans and is beginning to reappear in magazines now again.

Here is one method for this “horizontal cable” created by short rowing across the width of the fabric. Brother machine needles are A,B, D, E and a lever sets KH for holding in both directions Studio positions follow the alphabet, and use russel levers on each side must be set for holding. Directions below are for Brother.

Reminder: when the machine is set for holding the needles in B or D positon knit, needles pushed out to E will not knit. Weight is used as needed, watch for dropped stitches particularly along the edges of the sections as the rows of knitting are built up.

1.cast on the desired number of stitches, knit several rows at garment tension, end COR (Carriage on Right)

2.COR, set the carriage not to knit needles in HP (hold position)

3.leave 6 needles at the right of knitting in WP (work position), push remaining needles out to HP (hold position)

4.knit 10 rows over the 6 stitches, ending COR

5.push back 3 needles to D position at the LEFT of the 6 needles now in WP

6.knit one row from right to left (9 needles in WP) end COL (carriage on left). Push the needles now in WP on the far right to HP; 6 needles will remain in WP

7.knit 9 rows on these 6 needles, end COR

8.repeat steps 5 through 7 across the fabric row until the last 6 needles remain. Knit 10 rows over these last 6 needles, end COL

9.set the machine to knit needles in hold (holding lever to N), knit 2 or desired number of rows across all the needles

10.holding lever on H. Repeat the procedure from left to right, reversing the sequence.

If the sequence is not reversed a bias fabric will be created. For maximum texture use a yarn with memory ie. wool. Anything that can be “killed” by pressure or ironing will flatten considerably and yield a very different fabric.

My demo samples were made out of colors that would make them easy to find, unlikely to get “permanently borrowed”, so none of these were studies for actual finished garments

this swatch combines a boucle and a rayon; the latter has become flattened over time

this is a wool rayon, knitting is not reversed, resulting in biasing

these samples show same technique, applied to much larger groups of stitches

a segment of a magazine recent garment photo, no origin given as to source, appears to use the above technique

some cable like and textured structures built by bridging and varied holding techniques

A few to try

Alessandrina — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:59:31 +0000

The top illustration below creates what some demonstrators back in the day would refer to as a heart cable trim. The width of the strips of knit may vary, and the size of the holes need to be accommodated to suit the subsequent threading. The second illustration set results in a more traditional “pretend” cable. I-cord could be used for the second sample. Narrow strips of knitting will curl in however, and in many instances may be substituted for true i-cords. Because each pass of the carriage knits a row as opposed to slipping alternate rows, the knitting is twice as fast. In the instance below a series of holes are created for threading cording (or other chosen material)

The following illustrates threading option with a single length of the cording, which will need to be secured at each end with some stitching. Separate colors could be used on alternate sides for more color variation, and other threading sequences as well

some publications with inspiration photos

its online relative

from foreign blog

part of another image

from MonTricot Magazine #26, 2011

A Susan Guagliumi article on the topic, available at her site.

A hand knitting book with many ideas for cord and strip use that could easily be adapted for machine knitting

A commercial foreign knit incorporating cables and woven cords.

From above site:

Some “real” cables on KM

Alessandrina — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:56:29 +0000

2/8 wool

slippery rayon: fabric flattens with pressing and remains that way

a couple of twist samples: wool/rayon blend

Fair Isle, any punchcard locked on a single row of every other stitch selection: there were whole books of HK patterns based on this idea, sequence of moving stitches can create a variety of secondary patterns. On the KM fair isle is essentially a slip stitch, short and skinny, tension needs to be loosened considerably to try this, stitches in cables cannot be brought out to “hold” position to ease knitting off on the next row, as this will affect the color pattern. Larger crossings are possible, but more difficult

another FI and cable variant: mistakes are probably from needles that were out just a bit too far and knit in the alternate color

a blast from the past: knit on my metal no punchcard bulky (first KM) and ribber more than 2 decades ago. Ribs at waist and armholes are hand knit twisted rib

Pretend cables 1

Alessandrina — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:15:12 +0000

I have literally hundreds of machine knit swatches from the days I taught in a design school program. I periodically revisit them and since cables and their look alike relatives have recently caught my attention I thought I would share photos of some of the samples in the next few posts.

They are not necessarily resolved fabrics, some of them are the result of random demo efforts/ stitch play.

In any discipline over decades one cannot help but become aware of how materials and styles cycle, and this is oh so true in fashion and certainly in knitting. For a while more than a decade ago knit i_cord yardage/ tubular yarn was marketed by several manufacturers, and it is now making its reappearance.

One way to create pretend cables in varied color combinations is to apply purchased yarn, or machine knit cording/ tubular knit to the purl facing the knitter side as the piece progresses. The application may be done in an organized manner, using a punch card to select needles on which the yarn will be hung, or more random, even with wide knit strips in contrasting colors

purchased yarn

with tubular knit cord in addition to hooking up, anchoring may require some stitching

strips of contrasting color hooked onto the knit in the seam as you knit method

cording may also be inserted into single stitch lace “holes”

or larger holes created through holding techniques

Knit i-cords, ribbon, twisted cording etc. may also be threaded/woven through holes created at cable crossing as a way to add color and dimension to standard cables, mimicking their movement on the fabric. A recent foreign magazine cover including a variant of the above technique

A confession

Alessandrina — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:41:18 +0000

I have to admit I can and do hand knit but now operate in life is short mode, and have decreased patience for projects that require a huge time commitment (relatively speaking) to complete. At a knitting seminar in the early 90s a demonstrator (who happened to be male) used to tour with a sweater he had “completed on the machine” that had more than 3,000 (yes, thousand) cables in it: complex twists inside larger diamonds in turn formed by cables. IMO such a garment would be faster done by hand. One of the advantages in hand knitting is that errors are more easily seen since one has the opportunity to observe what happens on the knit side closer to the event. The fixed spacing on the machines that twists must travel can be a challenge in forming fabrics, particularly in all over patterns.

One possible solution is to combine machine and hand knit panels. Hand knit center arans may be joined to plain side and sleeves knit in stocking stitch on the KM (also a solution when larger sizes are required), and stitch patterns may be used in isolated areas or selectively rather than all over the garment. Patterning shifts in the knit/purl ground in garter stitch patterns may produce knit and purl “illusions” of shapes otherwise created by moving stitches in cables.

I have recently been playing with this crossing idea. The original intent was to try it out in an all over pattern in a brick repeat, and only one row of knit in between transfer rows. With yarn at maximum tension, after the first round of transfers the second round of them became impossible to perform. Am still at the drawing board, but the idea may well simply end with a 2 inch patch as opposed to anything larger. Wonder if Barbie is in the market for a lapghan?

Follow up: the new working repeat with 2 rows of knit between cable crossings

a test on standard KM: the ladders were a “surprise”, a by product of the distance the stitches were moved

the same fabric with ladder “floats” being hung on adjacent needles to diminish ladders and produce holes

the stocking stitch fabric top and bottom of this last swatch is considerably wider than its cabled portion, a possible consideration for trims or insertions based on this idea; “you can’t always get what you want” but sometimes one can still quite work with what one gets.

A baktus tale

Alessandrina — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 13:55:26 +0000

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 at Garn Studio.

Such scarves may be worn in hoodie and bib styles, or as neck/ shoulder wraps.

I am not personally fond of triangles with no shaping, so I thought I would try a KM version, rounding the bottom point of the triangle.

Here are the results, with yarn tails still attached.

front view

back view

I began with casting on 5 stitches, and increasing one stitch every 4 rows on one side up to the required length, then adding a short row “spiral” section, and removing that piece on waste yarn from the KM. A second identical piece was knit, and the 2 halves in turn joined on the KM. Part of the goal was to evaluate alternate joins for future lace shawl triangular pieces.

Finished measurements after blocking were: 36 in in length on straight edge for each half, 12.5 in @ widest point.

The width is in the common range for handknit versions, the length of 72 total longer than the common 55-63, but suitable for a loose tying of scarf.

This piece will be in my “consider qualities” pile for a while. Personal taste and preference do not necessarily match that of others, or those receiving item as a gift or purchasing it.

Back to knitting and lace

Alessandrina — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 18:38:59 +0000

My new production line of lace scarves, of varying fiber content, after pressing. There is an average of 10 lace carriage passes for every one row knit. Though a bit daunting for production, I am considering knitting some shawls in the same pattern and am in the process of exploring repeats for shawl borders.

Taking it to a garment: 3b

Alessandrina — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 11:30:31 +0000

A large gauge swatch is important: I suggest 100 sts by 100 rows. For a bolero style garment with a “shawl” collar, a place to start is with bottom and top sections measuring at least 6 inches in height, and for the middle rectangle to measure 22in W by 23in L. Again, a muslin in a purchased knit of the center section will help decide how much of it needs to be seamed to allow for an armhole opening, keeping in mind that the opening in the machine knit may have less stretch than the test muslin knit. The number of stitches cast on are based on those required for section B, with adjustments made to allow for lining up pattern repeats in seaming up the finished piece.

Beginning the knit with a cast on that allows for maximum stretch, test out rib pattern (A), transfer to mostly single bed for (B), bind off and treat the swatch in the same way the finished garment will be: ie. steam, wash, etc. Testing the stretch in the cast on edge and its immediate fabric neighbor will define how the large a “shawl collar”may be achieved. A more “circular” shape when worn may be obtained by adjusting height while keeping in mind that a true circle would have a circumference approximately 3 times its diameter which in this test would be based on the stitch count obtained in knitting the width of the swatch in the B pattern.

If a significantly larger “donut” is required in the design, the every needle rib can be ended in a row of stocking stitch after transferring stitches to main knitting bed, taken off machine, and rehung on fewer stitches prior to knitting B. Same step is taken when joining last section.

Trial basting side seams will insure armhole fitting comfortably. If more of a cap sleeve is desired, stitches may be added in location of armholes during knitting B, or bands may be knit onto or stitched onto armhole after completion of piece. Suggestions for cast on will follow.

Lace cards’ use on the Brother 260 Bulky

Alessandrina — Wed, 18 May 2011 17:05:05 +0000

There are a number of ways to “play with” this technique. Here are some ideas: Lace card use 260

To mesh or not to mesh 3

Alessandrina — Sun, 08 May 2011 12:34:18 +0000

Many articles were written in the 1980s in Australia, New Zealand, and Britain, some finding their way to newsletters published in the USA at the time investigating this subject. With the advent of electronics the process became “easier”. Kathleen Kinder author of several books on Machine Knitting covering myriad topics (one whole text on lace), also authored Electonic Knitting: an Introduction for Brother and Knitmaster Knitters (?1989) that investigated the move from punchcard to electronics, including lace techniques that in the instance of “filet look alikes” introduced superimposing designs as a quicker method to achieve such fabrics. The common motifs used were often that of a heart or a rose.

One of the many confusing things in lace, is that the punched holes or mylar squares do not represent actual holes in the final fabric. Alternate rows of holes represent first transfers to left, then transfer to right. Brother and Studio punchcard sets included with purchase of machines both include pre-punched cards suitable for this type of mesh. Numbers sometimes varied with machine model year. Studio No. L-6, Brother No 17J (also 20G etc.) are 2 such samples and are vertical mirrored images of each other. Superimposed motifs constitute blank areas of card. Depending on preference some readjustments may be required after a test swatch to alter placement of some of the mesh holes. My fabric below was knit using the basic faggot lace Brother mesh, the corresponding “card” close to 180 rows in length to achieve the brick repeat.

a portion of the card

sideways view of resulting fabric, knit side facing