Pattern Conversions Between Machine Gauges

Many machine knitters already knew this, so that may be why it was so hard for your extremely math-impaired author to find this information. It seemed to be top-secret, too, not to be shared with anybody, especially new machine knitters. Nevertheless, I have found it, and I know that other newbie MKers have wanted to know the same thing, so I am going to divulge this tasty bit of information, even if I end up in machine knitters jail for sharing it:
 

How in the world can I make a pattern written for one machine on a completely different gauge machine?
 

I know I wish I had known this, as I had wanted to make a pattern written for the 8mm Bond machine on my 9mm bulky. I sat there with a tape measure measuring the needles on the Bond and estimated how many stitches would be equal to that on my bulky. Oh, had I known how much easier that could have been! The project I made turned out, but probably more by sheer luck, rather than any skill on my part. Certainly not by mathematical precision.
 

Let’s say I have a pattern written for the bulky machine, but I want to make it on the standard or mid-gauge machine. How do I know how many stitches to cast on, bind off, decrease, increase, etc.? With an extremely easy formula:
 

Multiply the number of stitches for which the pattern calls by the gauge of the machine for which the pattern was written.

Divide that result by the gauge of the machine you wish to use.
 

This applies to all those numbers you find in the parentheses for different sizes in a pattern. You don’t need to calculate for every size, just the one you want.
 

For example, say we’re making a hat and the bulky pattern says to cast on 80 stitches. We would simply multiply 80 (the number of stitches in the written pattern) by 9 (the gauge of the machine for which the pattern was written). That gives us a result of 720. Now we divide that result of 720 by 4.5 (the gauge of the standard machine on which we wish to make the hat). We get a result of 160 stitches to cast on. 80x9=720.   720÷4.5=160.
 

You may be looking at that formula, and already know that the difference between the bulky and standard gauge machines is 2:1. After all, 4.5mm is half of 9mm. You would be correct. Now let’s say you wanted to make the same pattern on the 6.5mm mid-gauge machine. Easy enough! 80x9=720.   720÷6.5=110.77.  Uh-oh. That didn’t come out even. In this case we would round up to 111 stitches. If you happen to have a 7mm mid-gauge machine, the formula is the same: 80x9=720.   720÷7=102.85, so you would casts on 103 stitches.
 

You would then also use this formula to calculate the number of rows to knit in any given pattern.
 

The reverse also works if you want to convert a pattern written for the standard gauge machine to a larger gauge machine: 160x4.5=720.   720÷9=80.
 

One caveat: Make sure you use this same formula to calculate the gauge of your swatch! Without this critical first step you will not know which tension setting to use on your machine! As with all projects, making a gauge swatch is always the first step in producing a well-fitting, and successful end result. For example: 17 stitches and 22 rows to 4 inches on the 8mm Bond would become 15 stitches and 19.5 (you can fudge up or down, depending on your yarn) rows to 4 inches on the 9mm bulky, or 30 stitches and 39 rows to 4 inches on the 4.5mm standard.
 

Hopefully this little tidbit of information will help out those new knitters that were asking this same question. I know it has opened up my collection of patterns because I can now make the same pattern on any one of my three different gauge machines! I am no longer limited to making it on the machine for which it was written!
 

Have fun, and happy knitting!

With thanks to Yarns And...

Converting Hand Knitting Patterns to Machine Knit

Jodi and Rebecca prepared a very informative and practical program for our April 27th meeting. They provided several handouts, including one on standard yarn weights for hand knitting,one explaining hand knitting terminology and abbreviations and lots of suggestions on achieving a good fit for our garments.

Rebecca described how she would "translate" a published pattern for her own use on the machine. Some of it involves a different interpretation depending on preferences and also whether the machine can perform the same maneuvers. Her method involves first converting everything in the printed pattern to inches and fractions of inches. Then she multiplies by her own stitch and row gauge times the pattern's dimensions. Most of it is straight forward. A set-in sleeve requires a little more attention, however. She pointed out that the sleeve cap height is in direct relation to the armhole depth, but it also depends on the width of the sleeve, which in turn is determined by the style of the garment. Whew! A narrower, more fitted sleeve will have a higher cap; a wider, more casual sleeve has a shallower cap. The average sleeve cap is about 1/2 to 2/3 of the armhole depth.

Jodi showed how to convert a hand knitting pattern to machine knit using the pattern's schematic. She emphasized that you must make a tension swatch. If it varies by just one stitch and one row from the pattern's gauge, the finished product may be all out of proportion. She went through the dimensions of the schematic and the pattern and converted it to her own gauge. She showed how to calculate the armhole curve using some pretty fine math.

Show and tell had some great items. Unfortunately the person whose turn it was to take pictures became awe-struck by all the fine work that she only got a few pictures. Apologies to all the great knitters. Hopefully it won't happen again. There was Marge Coe's All-in-one baby sweater. One completed and one in the process so people could see the construction. Tea cozy, mitts and American Girl doll hat "repurposed" from a felted Norwegian sweater.

There were shrugs, shrugs and more shrugs. Dog coats with a pocket for the dog to carry their deposits back home. (eew!) Felted slippers that didn't quite turn out and regular slippers for the troupes that did. Some darling baby clothes: a girly outfit made with baby jacquard yarn, a romper with built in snaps and a colorful raglan pullover. There was a cute felted floppy hat on a stick that will go into the MN State Fair exhibit "Knits on a Stick". A big hit were the necklaces that were made out of fancy and ladder yarn. This was a pattern demonstrated and sold by Diana Berns at Purls of Joy last weekend. Cheerfully modeled, I might add.

Last, but not least, a "Walkie" scarf that will be in the next newsletter. The pattern was written by Jemajo on Ravelry for keeping warm in the cold Norwegian winters when her dog takes her for a walk.

It was a great meeting with good attendance. We're having fun and learning at the same time!

Feb. 09 Program: Thread Lace - Punch Lace by Carole Wurst

It was a pleasure to have Carole of St. Cloud's Rocking Horse Farm demo Thread Lace at our February meeting!



The Thread Lace technique can usually be worked on knitting machines with a fairisle setting. The terminology Thread Lace refers to that produced on a Brother machine, versus Punch Lace on Studio, Singer, and Knitmaster machines. In the end of the day, Punch Lace and Thread Lace are the same technique.



When selecting your pattern to create Thread Lace, there are a couple of things to remember:

• Use a heavy yarn and a thin yarn for best results.
• When threading the mast, the thin yarn (thread) can be wrapped around the tension unit two times. You may also choose to use a tighter tension.
• Avoid long floats.
• Use weights - be sure to place them evenly along your work, moving them up as you knit.
• The thread in feeder 2 or "B" will knit the pattern. Both yarns will knit together on non-patterned areas, so be sure to set the tension for knitting both threads together.
• Set end needles to working position every row to ensure that both threads knit together.

SK Machines (Silver Reed, Studio, Singer): put end stitches in hold every row.
KH Machines (Brother, KnitKing): Push back the end needles if selected by pattern every row.

• Either side of your knitted work can be the right side, depending on your visual preference.
• If you use tuck stitches in your pattern work, your piece will not curl.
• Knit with a smooth rhythm, and pay attention to your edge stitches.

Spring is upon us - get to work creating Thread Lace Scarves - the perfect weight for the season!

QUICK TIP: Fun and Easy Fringe!
Creating a fringed edge on your knitted piece is super easy and fun.
1. Pick up and hang to stitches from the edge of your work.
2. Determine desired fringe length and pull out 2 additional needles to working position at this length.
3. Knit 2 rows.
4. Pick up next 2 stitches along edge of work and hang on first 2 needles.
5. Knit 2 rows.
6. Repeat.

In the end, you don't even need to trim your fringe. Give it a try - you'll love the results!

Jan. 09 Program: Fan Lace by Mar Heck

There are a variety of beautiful lace patterns you can create using your knitting machine, one of which is the appropriately coined Fan Lace. Don't worry about the machine you use - Fan Lace is easy to knit on standard, mid-gauge, and bulky machines! Also, be open to yarn choices - variegated, chenille, and other fancy yarns will create beautiful finished work.

This particular scarf was knit on a mid-gauge machine using Schuss Plus at tension 5.



A lot of blocking went into the finished piece so that it would maintain its shape. Try out higher tensions which may create less pulling between the stitches to eliminate some of the bunching. As always, work up some different tension swatches until you are happy before embarking on your finished piece.

This 11" wide scarf was worked in 6 repeats (+3N). The finished length is approximately 50" - perfect for wrapping around your neck a couple of times! To create a shawl, simply increase the number or stitches as well as the number of rows.

So, let's knit some Fan Lace!!

Cast on a multiple of 9 (+3) stitches so that you have 3 plain stitches on each end. The needle set up is 3sts in work, 6sts out of work across the desired number of sts, ending with 3 sts in work.

IIIOOOOOOIIIOOOOOOIIIOOOOOOIIIOOOOOOIII

O: Needle out of work
I: Needle in working position

To create a nice edge, by hand, single crochet 3 rows of the appropriate number of stitches to correspond to the width of your work. Hang the hand crocheted work at each of the 3 working needle positions, skipping 6 sts, per your needle set up.

Hang claw weights under the working needles.



The pattern is worked in a two-trip-across-the-bed sequence.

TRIP 1:
Working R to L, set machine to Hold. 1st corner (knit just once at the beginning and once at the end of the scarf) Put all N in hold, except first 3 sts on R side. Knit Left, wrap 1st needle of those in hold, Knit Right. Repeat, 6 rows total across the 3 sts. Put next group of 3 sts in work. Knit Left, wrap 1st needle of those in hold, put 1st 3 N on right in hold. Knit Right and wrap end needle in hold. KWKW a total of 6 rows. Continue across the bed. When you reach the left corner, only wrap the N on the right. KWK a total of 12 rows (12 rows as 6 rows represent row 1, working right to left, and 6 rows represent row 2, working left to right).

TRIP 2:
Knit left to right, repeating the KWKW sequence, moving needles in and out of work in the same manner as Trip 1, but form left to right.

Throughout the scarf, take care to knit 12 rows at both edges (3 sts).

When you reach the end of your scarf, remember to knit across the last 3 sts only 6 times (NOT 12) and cast off using waste yarn and hand single crochet 3 rows (picking up the 3 stitch sections) to re-create the look of the cast-on edge.

Instead of using the row counter, you will likely find it easier to count in your head, or out loud.

Here's a a great interpretation of the Fan Lace pattern using a standard gauge machine with Brown Sheep Nature Spun 100% wool. Instead of a scarf, create a button closure cowl neck. For some extra pizazz, try your hand at hand-painting as Mar has done!



Certainly the extra effort will increase the time you spend on your garment, but be sure to plan everything out before you dive into the actual project. Be sure to make machine knitted swatches in your actual yarn to determine stitch gauge and to decide which patterns work well together. Label your swatches, as you will likely want to return to them for a later project.

Use your sense of adventure and try several techniques within the same garment! The extra time you spend will make you garment very special and unique!!

An extra THANK YOU to Cheryl at Loops in String! This Fan Lace technique was created as an interpretation of her great Dec.08 video tutorial.