Do you seriously believe I CAN'T do that?? Just try me!!

Welcome to Part III in my ongoing series about the comparisons between hand knitting and machine knitting.

In this section, I will explain a bit about some stitches that are are easier by hand and other stitches that are easier on a knitting machine. 

STITCH TYPES:

This is one of the hardest things to explain to a knitter whose background is hand knitting. This is where using 2 knitting needles defaults to a somewhat different fabric than a bed full of latch hooks. In hand knitting, when you knit every row you get garter stitch. That is because at the end of every row, you turn the fabric before you start knitting back (circular knitting and knitting backwards are the exceptions). Now the fabric is reversed and you knit another row. In flat bed machine knitting the fabric is never reversed. The latch hooks pull loops away from you in every row. Therefore flat bed knitting machines default to a stockinet stitch fabric.

Stockinet

As previously stated, flat bed knitting machines default to stockinet fabric. So any design requiring stockinet fabric is easy.  Knitting great amounts of stockinet fabric can be tedious by hand.  This is an area where the knitting machine shines.

Garter Stitch

Garter stitch is a reversible fabric that alternate rows of knit and purl on both sides. In hand knitting, this is done by knitting every row and turning the fabric before starting back. This is popular for new knitters as only 1 stitch, the knit stitch, is all they need to know. While this is the easiest hand knitting stitch, this stitch cannot be done simply on a flat bed knitting machine. There are a few ways to reproduce garter stitch on a knitting machine, none of them fast.

1. Remove the fabric from the knitting machine onto waste yarn, turn and rehang after each row. This is extremely tedious.
2. It can also be done with a garter bar tool. The garter bar hooked onto the main bed needles and the fabric is pulled onto the fingers of the garter bar. Turn the bar, (the purl side that you could see is turned around and the knit side is now facing you) and hook back onto the knitting machine needles and remove the bar. This can be quite fast, but you must be accurate or stitches will be dropped.
3. Brother used to make an accessory called a garter carriage. The garter carriage worked on a standard gauge knitting machine (uses yarns calling for US#0-3 needles, which are lace and fingering weight yarns). The garter carriage was automatic, it was slow and it was noisy, as it would walk across the bed either knitting or purling as per the electronics or punch card dictates.  Brother no longer makes machines, and no longer makes parts for machines that are still out there. 
4. If there is a ribber accessory available for your flat bed knitting machine, you can transfer all the stitches to the ribber, knit 1 row and transfer back to the main bed and knit 1 row. Again, this is an extremely tedious task.
5. Using the latch tool that comes with the knitting machine, drop one stitch and latch it back up. Because the latch hook is in your hand and facing the opposite direction from the latch hooks on the bed of the knitting machine, you are pulling the stitches through the opposite way. This is fine, if you have only a few stitches to reform, but tedious across a complete row.

If you are a fast hand knitter, none of the techniques above are options. If you are not a hand knitter, or a very slow hand knitter, the options above become much more feasible.  So for most, this stitch is easier done by hand.

Moss / Seed Stitch

Alternating knit and purl stitches in a row is easy by hand. On the second row, the knit stitches are purled and the purl stitches are knit. Rather a checkerboard type of look if you can visualize it in a grid format. Like garter stitch, this can be done much faster by hand.

1. Brother used to make an accessory called a garter carriage. The garter carriage worked on a standard gauge knitting machine (uses yarns calling for US#0-3 needles, which are lace and fingering weight yarns). The garter carriage was automatic, it was slow and it was noisy, as it would walk across the bed either knitting or purling as per the electronics or punch card dictates. Brother no longer makes machines, and no longer makes parts for machines that are still out there.  
2. If there is a ribber accessory available for your flat bed knitting machine, you can transfer stitches back and forth, each row (or 2 rows, as the stitch requires) between rows. This is fine, if you have only a few stitches to reform, but tedious across a complete row.
3. Using the latch tool that comes with the knitting machine, drop one stitch and latch it back up. Because the latch hook is in your hand and facing the opposite direction from the latch hooks on the bed of the knitting machine, you are pulling the stitches through the opposite way. This is fine, if you have only a few stitches to reform, but tedious across a complete row.
4. As a substitute, you can get a “mock” seed stitch by using a machine knit stitch called a tuck stitch. The stitch gauge isn’t the same, and there is a knit side and a purl side, so it isn’t reversible. Tuck stitch (hand knitters call it Brioche), is very fast on a knitting machine, and produces a similar high-low texture. If you are planning a project with a large area of seed stitch, I strongly urge you look at tuck stitch.  You can get a fairly similar texture of seediness, and it is very fast on the machine.  As fast as stockinet for the machines that pattern.  For the manual machines, it is fairly fast as well.

Cables

Cables are done manually on all knitting machines.  But it is very quick.  Using tools that come with the machine, stitches are transfered to two tools.  Switch hands, and hang the stitches back on.  I love cables, but I enjoy them really well on the mid-gauge and bulky machines.  In hand knitting, the first set of stitches are transfered off to a cable needle.  The next set are knit, then the ones on the cable needle are knit.  Again, fairly easy....so equal points to both techniques on creating cables.

Lace

When I hand knit lace, I need A LOT of stitch markers.  I easily loose track.  Particularly if the project gets put down.  But I see beautiful lace work done, all by hand, so that's not a problem for everyone.  What helps me on the knitting machine is that the needles are numbered.  The fabric is spread open and I can watch the lace unfold in their rows.  In hand knitting, stitches are combined, and yarn overs are done in a preplanned fashion.  The yarn overs and the knit 2 togethers (or other combined method) are all done in the same row.  In machine knitting, using a tool that comes with the machine, stitches are moved from one need to the next one.  Two (or three stitches) are on one needle, with a matching empty needle.  When the carriage passes across, those combined stitches are knit together, and the empty needle has yarn placed "over" it, thus the "yarn over".  Both hand and machine knit methods for lace receive equal points.  Individuals will certainly have favorites.  Mine is to do lace on the machine. 

The Silver Reed standard gauge machines (SK280 & SK840) have an optional lace carriage.  The lace carriage transfers stitches and knits the row, in the same pass.  The lace carriage receives its instructions from a prepunched pattern card, or electronically via your computer and knitting machine design software.  Delicate, lace weight fabric is one of the most beautiful pieces of fabric that comes of this combination.  And . . . . it is very fast.

The challenges and the successes of machine knitting are endless.  This article could go on for volumes.  But I will leave those challenges for your enjoyment!

Recently I attended a Cat Bordhi class.  One of the projects was puzzling out a piece of manufactured knit fabric.  Then reproducing it on your knitting needles.  Having a background in machine knitting put me ahead of the game, yet, there still was at least 1 sample that was totally beyond me.   On a trip to Germany years ago, I picked up a couple short sleeved knit tunics.  Absolutely fell in love with them.  Recognized the stitch right off.  Plated Tuck Lace.  This is a technique easy on the knitting machine.  While it can be done by hand, it would be a fussy one!

Thanks for reading on . . . .  in a few days, I will talk about gauges.  I promise Part IV will be short, but you will find it interesting.....