Working with and Designing with Lace

Shared by Kathleen Kinder, k.kinder@daelnet.co.uk

1. Simple lace is different for the Studio/Knitmaster, Toyota 950 than it is for the Brother, Toyota 901 machines. On the former, the hole is made and the row knitted immediately by the lace carriage. On the latter machines, the lace carriage selects, transfers and then rests at the left while the main carriage knits 2 rows (simple lace left and right transfers + 2 blanks on card for transporting rows = 4rs on card altogether). The former S/K lace is often chunkier than the latter and is more like eyelet than faggot lace, but is very quick to do. The latter (Brother) is the classic handknit stocking stitch structure.

Markings for simple lace on the Studio/Knitmaster are different from those on Brother, Toyota 901; they are on every row. You cannot use the former patterns on the latter. However, Brother simple lace cards can be used on the K/S machines as fashion lace.

2. Fashion (ed) lace--I prefer fashioned because that is what it is. The fabric swings and curves as a result of multiple moves before the final hole. In handknitting one does the yo (yarn over) hole first while the final decrease is some stitches away--these lean towards the final decrease. On the Studio/Knitmaster/ Toyota 950, the transfer and knit rows are done by the lace carriage. One must remember to insert the yarn and switch the lever back to knit for the 2 knit rows. The simple/fashioned lace processes are the same for the Brother/Toyota 901 (but reverse card on latter if using it on a non Toyota machine as the lace carriage throws the stitch back not forwards!).

The pattern marks are identical for all machines but the S/K machines start with 2 blank rows; the others finish with them. When ever I've used a Brother card on the Knitmaster (I sometimes do a simple lace as with the Knitmaster Fashion method), I lock the card, knit 2 rows and then begin to follow the process as per Knitmaster instructions.

You notice that you are working with a fashioned lace on the Brother because there will be more than 2 transfers, one to the left and one to the right (simple lace). The longest numbers of transfers UI have done is over 30 with Feather & Fan variants. I am afraid I have never yet succeeded in doing F&F on the Knitmaster. It can't seem to cope with the stretch, yet on the Brother I've knitted F&F with 1 ply Botany wool!

Now--to tell you how to design lace! I handknitted quite a lot of those I converted for my book before I realized that the Japanese lace charts were so easy to use for design! Their symbol charts are by far the simplest and clearest of any. My creativity really flowed after that! In fact, I use symbols for designing for handknitting, too--moss stitches, Aran patterns, etc.

In this, o means blank (knit stitch), R means stitch on right moved onto left making 2 stitches, and L means stitch on left moved onto stitch on right making 2 stitches. I'm afraid I can't produce the Japanese upside down Y symbols for these transfers in cyber format. Here is a 12 stitch version of the Fashioned lace pattern Razorshell I've been recommending as a scalloped edge:

/ / / / / L R / / / / /
o08642 L R13570o

The first move is always right to left. On the lace card or PPD or DAK, mark 1 on the first row, 2 on the second row and so on (o is blank). The marks (punched holes) on 8 rows of the card resemble a lop-sided V-let at left is one row taller than the one on the right. Now leave 2 rows blank at the top for Brother, at the beginning for S/K = 10 rs in all. Repeat for at least 40 rows of a punch card.

To handknit this--the knitting is part of the pattern--the first row is knit, the second row is straight forward purl. Here are the 12 stitches in longhand if you want to try first with a pair of needles:

k1, yo, k3, sl 1, k1, psso, k2 tog, k3, yo, k1

Next row--purl

Repeat the 2 rows.