I have also been machine knitting

You can look away if you're not a MK enthusiast.

I liked my fiery orange top quite a lot, and because it only took one spool, I was able to exchange the second one I had bought for another in a different colour. Behold my swimming pool blue top.

Even though it's the same yarn and the same stitch pattern, I changed things up by making it on a different machine - my Passap DM80 (the previous one was made on a Singer 360). I had to figure out all the tensions all over again, and I also made some design changes.

This one is knitted narrower and longer and it's a better fit. I ditched the short rows that shaped the shoulder area of the orange top. It's a subtle feature that isn't needed so badly with this very drapey Tencel yarn. But to compensate and make the neck area fit better, I knitted the back 4cm longer than the front so that the shoulder seam and neck opening rolls more to the front, as you can see in the flat photo. I have a low front neck and there is no neck shaping at all - the pieces are simple rectangles. So anything that lowers the front neck opening is a good thing. I think it works pretty well.

The top isn't quite as see-through as these photos make it look. I think the camera was catching a bit of shine on my bra.

More details on Ravelry.

This is what I was working on

Why yes, it's crazy bright!

But also thin and drapey. Should be perfect for summer, if summer ever comes to these parts. (The furnace came on this morning!)

There are lots of details in my previous post and more serious information can be found on my Ravelry project page.

The short form is:

147g
100% tencel
44cm x 60cm, approximately

The colour is more accurate in the other photos

I always like to see knitting laid flat so I can assess how it is constructed. As you can see, this top has a very simple shape.

There are some short rows at the top of the stripey lace portion and below the band of ribbing at the top of both front and back. This serves to introduce a bit of slope at the shoulder, so the cap sleeve isn't too big and floppy.

I added some subtlety to the construction by making the back a tiny bit (1.5cm or so) longer than the front. This is in the top ribbed band only. The point is to allow the shoulder seam to shift forwards in wearing. This does two things at once. It lowers the top of the front neck, and it prevents the back from riding up. Basically, I think the shoulder seams would have shifted forward anyway; this just lets them lie there naturally.

The arm openings are finished with a line of single crochet. This helps the edges lie flatter, and simultaneously takes care of some (ahem) knitting imperfections.

The back is otherwise identical to the front.

I like it! Since it took less than one cone, I'm hoping to exchange the other for a different colour. I may need two of these.

But it won't be for a while. I had to put the 360 away. Company's coming next weekend, and I have to go back to work after my five weeks off. Blogging will become less frequent, I'm sorry to say.

What The Sewing Lawyer thinks while working on a machine knitting project

"I should use the special features of that SK360 that I've never used in an actual project, like a stitch pattern that requires a punch card."

Gets manual out. Considers drive lace. [Drive lace is a kind of lace that forms open areas where stitches that are selected by a punchcard are allowed to run. Susan Guagliumi talks about it here.]

Compares cards. Wonders which ones would work with drive lace. Picks a card.

Studies manual in detail (see this video). There are So.Many.Steps!

Gets out cone of icky synthetic to try it. Plods through steps.

"The P Carriage is FUN!"

Picks another card to try. Forgets to set card to advance. Notices that the first row (on which the card is stuck) selects the same stitches to knit and drop over and over, and that this allows vertical lacey stripes to form.











"OOH PRETTY!"

Decides to knit a top with all-over vertical lacey stripes. Knits swatch, measures swatch.

Knits another swatch to try out ribbing.

Knits another swatch to try out a different kind of ribbing.

"OOH PRETTY!"

Looks on Ravelry for a pattern that is vaguely similar to what she has in mind.

Bingo!: Yamamichi-mon.

Bonus! It's a free pattern and it has a schematic drawing with measurements.

Prints out gauge specific graph paper and charts shape of Yamamichi-mon top.

Counts itty-bitty boxes to determine numbers of stitches and rows.

Agonizes over how to cast on for the chosen ribbing.

First step in casting on - the zig-zag row

Congratulates self for figuring it out.

Knits ribbing. So far, so good!

Starts knitting pattern. Edge stitches are not knitting. Tries to fix stitches. Catches yarn on gate pegs.

"Gate pegs are evil!"

Figures out how to get edge stitches to knit. [Sometimes, you have to pull the needles out to D position. Generally, you need more weights.]

Knits back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Repeat over 200 rows, more or less.

Time for short rows!

Consults manual.

"Where are the Russell levers?" (And why are they called that, anyway?)

"Better drop those stitches down while I have the chance."

"The P Carriage is FUN!"

Figures out how to knit short rows while simultaneously keeping pattern going.

Congratulates self.

Figures out how to continue knitting on all stitches, and how to convert the pattern back to ribbing. Knits ribbing.

Remembers to increase stitch size on very last row to enable stretch bind off. Congratulates self.

Remembers to remove all weights before casting off. Congratulates self.

Sore back from hunching over machine while casting off 185 tiny stitches.

"Done!!" Congratulates self.

Wet block overnight.

The next morning: "OOH PRETTY!"

Rinse and repeat.

Realizes at some point (irony) that this particular form of drive lace doesn't require a punchcard at all.

Soon there will be a new top!