Dishcloth, Gartered, Midgauge

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Our DIL loves the time proven hand knit gartered dishcloths and I try to keep her supplied in them.  But I've fallen down on the job the last little while and they take me so long to hand knit.  So I am knitting something similar on my midgauge 6.5mm machine with a garter bar.  I turned (gartered) every 2 rows instead of every row as in the hand knit pattern but think they'll substitute just fine...every row might become a bit overwhelming.  I used I Love This Cotton from Hobby Lobby in this one and it turned out just great.  Someday I'll make one with Peaches and Crème and I'm suspecting the tension dial will need to be turned a couple clicks higher as it's not nearly as soft as I Love This Cotton.  I'll report when I get one done.

Machine:   SK860, 6.5mm midgauge
Yarn:   I Love This Cotton
Tension:  T6 to T7 as desired
Gauge:  5 sts and 8 rows = 1” at T5
Size:  Approx 8.5 x8.5”

1.   Scrap and ravel cord over 42 needles.
2.   Double needle e-wrap CO.
3.   RC000, Knit 1 row to left.
4.   Turn work with garter bar.
5.   Move carriage to opposite side.  (Turn row counter back one row if the carriage is passed across  
       the bed and the row counter is tripped.)
6.   *  Knit 2 rows.
7.   Turn work with garter bar.
8.   Move carriage to opposite side and turn row counter back one row if needed. *
9.   Repeat from * to * to RC073, turn.
10.  With COL, backstitch BO.
11.  Weave in yarn ends.
 

Dishcloth, Tucked with Vertical Stripes...2 Carriage

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I've made several of these dishcloths on my manual KX350 midgauge machine with a bit of Maysville 8/4 cotton rug warp.  (See my post of January 2014)  But I made them by manually changing yarn colors and it got to be quite tedious and not real easy on my arms.  A gal on Ravelry made the same dishcloth pattern using 2 carriages, one for each color.  Now, just why didn't I think of that?  I made a couple up today and was quite happy that I could get them done in about half the time as I did by manually changing yarns as with the others.  This is a great alternative to not having a color changer, providing you have 2 carriages for your machine.  I'm happy and well on the way to a few more Christmas stocking stuffers.

Here's how I did it:

1) CO 46 sts with waste yarn and ravel cord,
2) T5, with main color, e-wrap and K1R to left,
3) Beg with the 1st needle, pull out to hold position every other needle,
4) Both carriages on hold, K1R to right with main color,
5) Beg with the 2nd needle, pull out to hold position every other needle and the others back to lower working position,
6) Use the carriage on the left to hold the contrasting color and K2R, with carriage ending on the left hand side,
7) Beg with 1st needle, pull out to hold position every other needle and the others back to lower working position,
8) K2R with the main color in the carriage on the right,
9) Beg with 2nd needle, pull out to hold position every other needle and the others back to lower working position,
10) K2R with the contrast color in carriage on the left.

11) Knit in this pattern til RC170, take carriage off hold, K across to the left and back stitch BO.

 

Machine Setup

Dishcloth, Vertical Tuck Stripe



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I ran onto a wonderful tucking technique from 'ridelikethewind', a gal on ravelry.com who shared the technique in really nice hat and mittens made with the same stitch pattern.  To simplify things and to learn the mechanics, I made a dishcloth with some cotton yarn.  It's quite a great stitch pattern with vertical stripes on one side and a vertical tuck pattern on the other...and no ribber needed.  It makes wonderful dishcloths and I can see lots of applications for it.  'Ridelikethewind' used a punchcard machine to make her hat and mittens and I used my electronic Brother 965i.  My dishcloths were made on my KX350 midgauge manual machine so this can be done on any machine.  I urge you to pop in on Ravelry and check out 'Ridelikethewind's projects. 

 

For vertical stripes to be properly knit, patterning must start with row #2 of a punch card or the electronic equivalent.  See below for the stitch pattern and my notes on how to work it.

 

Machine:  Brother KX350 Midgauge (7mm)

Yarn:  Maysville 8/4 Cotton rug warp

Tension:  4 to 5  (I prefer T5)

Gauge:  4.5 sts, 17 rows = 1” in tuck

Size:  9” wide x 10”long

 

1)   CO 46 (44) sts with waste yarn and ravel cord.

2)   T5, E-wrap and K1R to left.

3)   RC000, beginning with needle 1, pull EON to HP across.

4)   Engage the hold levers on the carriage.

5)   K1R to right.

6)   *  Change yarn color.

7)   With a flat edge or your fingers, push the needles in hold position back to upper working position. Then pull the needles in lower working position out to hold position.

8)   K2R.  **

9)   Repeat from * to ** to RC170 or desired length, continuing to change yarns and alternating needles each time carriage is on the right hand side.  End patterning with COR.

10) Take carriage off hold and K1R to the L.

11)  Back stitch bind off.

12)  Add a border if desired.

 

ELECTRONIC MACHINES:

This technique is much easier and less time consuming done on a punch card or electronic machine.  A single bed color changer would be a luxury to aid changing yarns every 2 rows but certainly not a necessity.  Don’t let not having a color changer keep you from using this wonderful patterning.



I have a Brother KH965i and used Stitchworld pattern #256 with the elongate button activated.  To my dismay, I didn’t get vertical stripes but nice horizontal stripes, no matter if I started on row 2 or 1.  So thinking thru my machine mechanics in relation to the pattern, I concluded that the elongate key was the culprit.  This technique starts with row 2 of the Brother 820 punch card #2.  The elongate key freezes the pattern for 2 pattern rows, no matter which row number is selected.  Here are my 2 solutions:

 

1)   Design the pattern in DAK and download it to the machine, do NOT activate the elongate key, and begin patterning with row 2.

2)   Use Stitchworld pattern #256, work pattern row #1, THEN turn on the elongate key.  Then work the pattern as above, changing yarns every 2 rows when carriage is on the left.

 

REMINDER:  No matter which machine you use, the tuck patterning must begin with row 2 in the pattern repeat in order for the stripes to take effect.

 

Stitch Pattern:        x

                              x  

                                 x 

                                 x  

(Tuck side)

(Striped side)



Dishcloths, Manually Tucked on Midgauge Machine

Machine:  KX-350  Midgauge, 7mm
Yarn:  Cotton Carpet Warp, 8/4
Tension:  T3
Gauge:  Unimportant

These dishcloths are my favorite, absorbent, easy and just last forever.  These patterns are intended to be a learning lesson in tucking on a manual machine.  The tucking methods and their variations can be used in many applications such as shawls, scarves, blankets, garments, towels, etc.

They can be made in any width or length by adjusting number of cast-on stitches and number of rows. 

SINGLE ROW TUCK:
1)   CO 45 sts with waste yarn and ravel cord.
2)   e-wrap CO each needle.
3)   RC000, T3, K2R.
4)   Engage the left holding lever.
5)   *  Using the every other needle pusher, pull every other needle out to HP, starting with the first needle.
6)   With COR, K2R.
7)   Using the every other needle pusher, pull every other needle out to HP, starting with the second needle.  You can tell which needles to pull out by looking at the stitches in the previous row.  There will be 2 loops of yarn on the stitches already tucked in the previous row.  Pull out the needles next to the ones already tucked.
8)   K2R.  *
9)   Continue from * to * until RC120 or length desired.
10)  With COR, take carriage off hold and K1R to left.
11)  Backstitch BO.

DOUBLE ROW TUCK:
1)   CO as in steps 1 thru 3 above, except use T2.
2)   **  Using the every other needle pusher, pull out to hold position every other needle starting with the first needle.
3)   Set carriage to Hold in both directions, K2R.
4)   Take machine OFF Hold in both directions, K2R.
5)   Using the every other needle pusher, pull out to hold position every other needle starting with the second needle.
6)   Set carriage to Hold in both directions, K2R.
7)   Take machine OFF Hold in both directions, K2R.  **
8)   Continue from ** to ** until RC110 or length desired.
9)   With COL after 2 stockinette rows, backstitch BO.

HONEYCOMB TUCK:
1)   CO as in steps 1 thru 3 as in the first pattern, except use T2.
2)   **  With the 1x3 needle pusher, starting with the 4th needle, bring forward every 4^th  needle to HP.
3)   Set both holding cam levers to H, K3R.
4)   Take machine off hold and K2R.
5)   With the 1x3 needle pusher, starting with the 2nd needle, bring forward every 4^th  needle to HP.
6)   Set both holding cam levers to H, K3R.
7)   Take machine off hold and K2R. ***
8)   Repeat from *** to *** until RC 100 or desired length.
9)   With COL after 2 stockinette rows, backstitch BO.

FINISHING:
Pull out ravel cord and remove waste yarn.  Weave in ends.

You may finish the edges in any manner you wish by crocheting around, working a pie crust or worm edging, etc.  I worked a 3 st pie crust trim for 8 rows at T2 with knit side facing and the R part lever engaged.   With the ‘honeycomb’ pattern, I worked the pie crust trim with the purl side facing because of its excessive curling from the knit side.

NOTES:
There are only a couple rules that apply to tucking.  The machines won’t allow you to tuck 2 adjacent needles and best not to exceed more than 3 or 4 tucked rows.
 
Tucked stitched fabrics stretch more than plain stockinette, especially sideways.  So if you are mixing tuck with stockinette knitting, be sure to swatch both stitches to arrive at a gauge for each that will complement each other and properly work in to your project.

Any punch card or electronic tuck pattern may be performed by manually pulling out corresponding needles to HP on the KX350 and knitting appropriate rows.  These are just a few of the possibilities.
Leave an evenly spaced needle out of work to create a lacy effect.   Do some experimenting!