Casting on on a single-bed knitting machine – 2
A description of the bed, and how the carriage and needles form the stitches.
Category: Brother
The wonderful ‘Magic Formula’ for calculation shaping
This really is magic! If you think you can’t do the maths to work out your own shaping calculations – you are wrong. Watch this video, take a few notes and practise the method on an imaginary shaping – it will work. Do it a few times and you will get the hang of it so it comes naturally to you. For some reason the first second is blank, be patient and it will play OK.
The latch needle
The majority of domestic knitting machines use latch needles, which have a hook and a hinged latch.
Closed latch
Opening latch
Fully open latch
They make stitches as follows:
- The needles are moved forwards by the carriage as it moves laterally across the bed.
- The latch is opened during this movement as it slides forwards through the stitch below that is still on the needle. (There are brushes on the carriage that also open the latches).
- The yarn feeder lays fresh yarn into the open hook.
- As the carriage moves further along the bed it retracts the needles.
- The latch is closed as it slides backwards through the stitch below that is still on the needle.
- As the fresh yarn is pulled through the loop of the stitch below it creates a new stitch and allows the ‘stitch below’ to slide competely off the needle.
The main needle positions
There are 3 main needle positions on a knitting machine:
1. Non-Working position
2. Working position
3. Upper working position
These may be shown by engraved marks at the end of the bed as A, B, C etc, or in numbers.
Explanation of function and use:
1. Non-working position: this is when the needles are pushed right back in the bed. The hooks lie inside the bed, and the ‘butts’ are up against the rear runner.
Needles in this position will not move or knit when the carriage is passed across.
2. Working position: this is when the needles are pushed about 1cm (1/2 inch) forwards so that the hooks are level with the gate pegs (the upwards pointing prongs that run along the front of the machine).
This is the standard knitting position. Needles in this position will move forwards, slide back a little further, and then return to the original position when the carriage that is set to plain knitting is passed across, thus making stitches.
3. Upper working position: this is when the needles are pulled as fully forward as possible, so that the butts are just behind the front runner bar.
Needles in this position will knit a stitch when the carriage set to plain knitting is passed across. The needle then returns to working position. They can be prevented from knitting (or returning to working position) by altering the carriage setting; this technique is called ‘holding’.
Transfer lace knitted on punchcard or electronic Brother and Knitmaster/Silver Reed machines
How lace knitting is formed – the basics:
An eyelet hole is created when a stitch is transferred to the adjacent needle and another stitch is formed in the next row by knitting across the empty needle. Eyelets form the basis of lace knitting. Working a pre-determined pattern of transfers creates a lace pattern. The lace carriages of both machines transfer the stitches in the direction of travel.
Before starting to knit
Lace can only be worked by using a lace carriage on the main bed of the machine. N.B. If a ribber is attached to the machine it must be lowered out of working position or you will damage the machine.
Brother – punchcard or electronic
The Brother machines have a separate transfer/lace carriage which rolls the punchcard forward. Both carriages remain on the machine. The main carriage is set to N-L and knits across after the lace carriage transfers the stitches.
The lace carriage can be set to:
F (fine lace), which only part transfers the stitch, splitting it between two needles
or…
N (normal lace), which creates an eyelet/lace hole when the stitch is transferred
Knitmaster/Silver Reed – standard and fine gauge punchcard or standard gauge electronic
These machines have a separate lace carriage which is specific to either standard or fine gauge machines
This can be set to:
Plain transfer lace; creates an eyelet (lace hole) when the stitch is transferred, but also knits the row at the same time. The yarn is placed in the feeder and remains there throughout the process.
Or
Fashioned lace; creates an eyelet (lace hole) when the stitch is transferred, but does not knit the row. The yarn is threaded into the feeder for the knit rows only and removed for the transfer rows.
General advice when knitting lace
Weighting is important for lace knitting; less is more, so keep it light. If there is a ribber attached, the best result will be obtained by covering the ribber and laying the knitting over the ribber rather than letting it fall between the beds.
Yarn should be strong and flexible, for example, linen is not so easy to work with; a worsted spun wool is ideal. Fluffy and textured yarns are best avoided.
Tension is critical; remember that the transfer is stretching a stitch so you may need to loosen the tension slightly compared to all-needle single bed knitting in the same yarn.
Understanding the pre-punched lace cards that come with lace carriages
On both makes of machine, the lace carriage rolls the punchcard forwards.
Brother
Red arrows – indicate the direction the lace carriage should be moved. If a red arrow is on the same row as a blue looped arrow (see below); work the blue arrow instruction first.
Blue looped arrows – indicate that two rows should be knitted with the main carriage.
Knitmaster
Plain lace – the arrow indicates the direction in which the carriage should be moved.
Fashioned lace – the arrow indicates the direction in which the carriage should be moved, and the red blocks on the right indicate transfer rows (worked with the yarn out of the feeder), and those in between (usually two) are the knitting rows.
Understanding needle selection and the method of transferring
Both machines have to be taken across the bed in a ‘selecting’ or ‘preparation‘ pass of the carriage to set the pattern in the memory. This will select the needles to be transferred and then in the next pass of the carriage the stitches will transfer in the direction that the carriage is travelling.
Brother: Needles that come out towards you will transfer.
Knitmaster/Silver Reed: You can’t see the needle selection on this machine, but on a manual machine you can check the pattern is correct by reading the ‘feelers’ on the card reader.
How the carriages travel when working lace
Brother: This machine has a dedicated lace transfer carriage that does not knit, all the knitting is done by the main carriage in separate passes. The LACE carriage is connected to the punchcard, the main carriage is set to NL and does not connect to, or drive the punchcard.
The lace carriage has to travel from side-to-side across the bed, and will have to be passed back across the needles to take it out of the way before you can use the knitting carriage to knit a row.
When punching a card or drawing a pattern, this must be taken into consideration. remember that the lace carriage drives the punchcard and will need to have these non-selecting rows included in between the transferring rows.
Knitmaster/Silver Reed: The carriage is always connected to the punchcard whilst knitting lace, however by bringing the side levers forward the lace carriage will knit plain knitting.
- In Plain Lace a row on the card is transferred and knitted in one pass of the carriage, so can be drawn as that (remembering which direction you want the stitches to transfer in and putting them on the correct row accordingly)
- In Fashioned Lace, the carriage transfers without knitting, so any knitting rows must be included in the punchcard as well as the transfer rows (remembering which direction you want the stitches to transfer in and putting them on the correct row accordingly).
Top tip The best way to understand lace is to knit a pre-punched or in-built electronic pattern so that you learn the method before attempting to design a lace pattern yourself.
Knitting Method:
Brother:
- Put both extension bars on the machine.
- Insert the card and lock it.
- Start with your carriage on the right and your lace carriage on the left.
Top tip For advanced users only. If using a colour changer this will have to be reversed, check the transfer direction of the card to ensure the pattern will still work, or adjust it accordingly.
- Work the set row.
- Carry on working the lace carriage until there is a non-selecting row travelling back towards the left. This should signify the transfers are complete.
- Knit 2 rows with the main carriage. Pre-punched cards have a double-back arrow marked on them, and it is a good idea to add this to your own cards.
Top tip Brother electronics will tell you when to knit with the main carriage if you press the yellow button before starting your knitting.
Knitmaster – plain lace:
- Remove standard carriage and install lace carriage
- Insert the card and lock it.
- Insert the lace edge cams in front of the edge needles on the main bed.
- Bring side levers forward and work the set row (usually left to right).
- Side levers back, unlock the card and knit as normal.
Knitmaster – fashioned lace: before you start, make sure the direction of the carriage when transferring will correspond to that required by the first transfer on the punchcard (see below)
Start as in steps 1-4 above, but taking the following into consideration:
| It is usual to start with your carriage at the left. |
| Knit the set row from L to R. |
| The first transfer would be from R to L and you should punch your card accordingly. |
Rows which transfer only – remove the yarn from the feeder and set the centre pattern dial to central ‘0’ position. shown in red |
Rows that knit, put yarn in feeder and set centre pattern dial to left hand P position shown in yellow. Now have a go…
|
Casting on single-bed machine knitting with the ‘e’-wrap method.
- Carriage at right of bed.
- Pull selected needles (40 is a good number), right out towards you as far as they will go (upper working position or UWP).
- Make a slip knot with the end of the yarn and slip it over the end LH needle.
- Hold tail of yarn in your left hand, the main thread in your right hand and take your right hand underneath the needles.
- Bring the yarn up between the next two empty needles, then back over the first one of these two.
- Repeat this movement to the end of the bed, always working with the next two empty needles.
- At the end, wind the yarn around the last needle and thread the yarn through the carriage feeder by opening the ‘gate’ and sliding it to the rear of the feeder. Close the feeder gate.
- Make sure that the yarn from the needles runs in a straight line through feeder and top tension to cone. To achieve this pull any slack back towards the cone.
- Pinching the yarn loosely between your LH index finger and thumb and pulling gently upwards, use your RH to slowly slide the carriage across the needles, allowing the yarn to run through your LH fingers without applying any resistance.
- Stop when the RH side of the carriage is clear of the LH end stitch.
- Holding the stitches against the ‘gate pegs’ with your left hand, use your right hand to pull small groups (4-5 needles at a time) through the stitches and fully out towards you to UWP.
- Repeat step 9 to knit the next row.
- Repeat steps 10-11 until you have enough rows of knitting to hang a weight at each end of the knitting. Now you can knit without bringing the needles to UWP.
Download the original pdf from Studentcentral:
Making ladders and lace holes by transferring stitches using the single eyed transfer tool
Abbreviations used:
Needle pushed right to back of needle bed = non working position (NWP)
Needle brought forward, top of hooks level with the gate pegs = working position (WP)
To transfer a stitch to an adjacent needle and make a lace hole (also called an eyelet).
- Check that the latches of the needles you wish to transfer the stitch from and to are open.
- Put the eye of the tool over the hook of the needle you wish to transfer the stitch from.
- Pull the needle right out, keeping the tool level with the bed of the machine. The stitch will slide down the needle opening the latch as it goes.
- Push the tool away from you, keeping the tool level with the bed so that the closes, the stitch slips onto the tool and the needle slides back into NWP.
- Without changing the position of the tool, bring your hand downwards, swivelling the tool on the edge of the bed so it points upwards.
- Keeping the tool in this position, take the tool OUTSIDE the gate pegs so that the stitch does not catch on them and slip the eye of the tool over the adjacent needle hook.
- Lift your hand swivelling the tool on the hook, so that the tool points down at an angle, and slip the stitch off the tool onto the new needle’s hook.
- Providing the stitch has remained between the hook and the latch, push the needle back into WP.
Tip: If the stitch has slipped behind the latch depending on your next knitting, it may drop off the needle. To prevent this happening either pull the needle fully out towards you, or use the tool to take it off the needle once again and reset it on the same needle so it is between the hook and the latch.
To make a lace hole, return push the needle left empty after the transfer into WP. This row of lace holes is made by transferring every other stitch across a row of knitting.
To make a ladder, after transferring the stitch the needle left empty after the transfer back into NWP. Instead of a lace hole you will get a series of ‘floats’ of yarn across the gap left by the non-working needle.
To return a ladder to knitting, bring the empty needle to WP. To return multiple needle ladders back to knitting, bring needles back to WP one at a time, knitting at least one row before bringing the next one forward.
To knit a series of vertical ladders, transfer alternate needles.
To knit a wide ladder, start by making one ladder and then transfer the edge needles outwards at both sides, knit one or more rows between each double transfer.
This exaample has one stitch ‘travelling’ across a wide ladder. To do this, transfer the stitch at the edge of the ladder one needle to the left every second row of knitting. Remember to push the empty needle to NWP before knitting.
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