Working out the finer points of a thirty-year-old Passap pattern before committing the time and materials to a full size, customized garment is a headache! I have a new first step for knitting garments: successfully complete a half-scale version first.
Turns out, half, third, and quarter-size pinable dress forms are very common in the fashion industry. They give designers and design students the same advantage; to work out the ideas with minimal materials and time.
Converting a knitting pattern to half-scale is as simple as dividing the instructions in half. Divide the stitches, rows, decreases, and increases by two, or multiply them by .5, and round off.
Here is my first half-scale sweater, #7127, a sleeveless cowl. It's stretched over a roll of paper towels, with plastic bag arms.
Down the road, I hope to make some actual half-scale dress forms from this pattern on Etsy.
Manipulating stitches on my Passap is my downfall. This magnificent Swiss watch of knitting machines does not suffer amateurs so the slightest misstep results in problems; holes, dropped stitches, misshaped pieces, etc. Fortunately, there is this thing called a "sewing machine," which, in the right hands, can step in and patch things up.
Here is a roundup of sewing machine techniques on Youtube and in print to supplement or supplant some of your knitting machine's functions.
Sewing on machine knits--the basics
Another take on simple seaming
Seaming with a serger
A quick v-neck demo: mark, sew, cut, and return to the machine to knit the band.
A detailed look at applying a neck band to a serged edge
Another take: mark, cut, serge, then apply the separately knit band by hand to the opening.
Knit, Cut and Sew can be done to put together an entire garment. Here, in two parts, on an LK150, is a shrug made from three rectangles:
The Passap Cut And Sew Collars And Bands book is a complete how-to-do-it guide to all the popular neckline and band applications using self-folding ribbing, something only a Passap can do. Use this method to cover cut and sew seams. It is also a great way to apply bands to shaped necklines. The Passap Cut And Sew Collars And Bands will explain folded bands, sandwich bands, as well as non-folded bands that have a sandwich to cover cut and sew. You can have the look of a regular ribbed neckline with the capability of covering a cut and sew seam. Heavily illustrated with detailed instructions. The Passap Cut And Sew Collars And Bands is a great beginners books that seasoned knitters will want to have in their library as well. A great "reminder" for those grey moments!
Take the fear out of cut & sew necklines. Complete easy instructions that even a beginning knitter can understand. Step-by-step instructions for preparing the neck opening, knitting the neckband and attaching to he garment. Instructions include simple ribbed neckbands and decorative neckbands. For all standard gauge machines.
I took several of Fred’s booklets and put them all together in one book. Lots of wonderful information. Includes: buttonholes, eyelets, multiple stitch buttonholes, vertical buttonholes, single buttonholes, double buttonhole in band, sideways buttonhole, bound buttonhole, buttonholes in mock ribbing, no buttonhole at all. Pockets: patch pockets, two variations of patch pockets, slashed horizontal, slashed vertical, flap pockets, muff pockets, placement of pockets. Necklines: shaping the neck & picking up stitches for a round neck, round neckband folded under, chain stitch band, V neck bands, overlap bands, ribbing, mitered band ribbing, square neck bands, other rib bands, cut and sew, cord trim, quick neck finish, eyelet trim, crochet trim, mock rib band. Everything you wanted to know about yarns: general information on yarn, using space dyed yarns, conversion table, some yarn problems you may encounter.
This includes directions on how to make cut and sew neckbands such as the Rotorua Neckband (from New Zealand). There is a plain version, an Australian version. Basic cut and sew. Simplier method. For Japanese machines with ribber. Commercial neckband for G carriage. Hand sewn method and more.
Copyright 1995 ISBN 0-921165-39-0 (also on video tape)
Description:
Originally released as a video. 6 chapters with 12 Exercises. Introduction: The Dut & Sew technique has come to my rescue many times during my custom design career. It enables me to correct my knit work for a better fit withut having to re-knit the whole knit garment. It also gives me the extra edge when designing complicated, intricate shapes or multi-colored fabrics such as jacquard. My students truly enjoy the Cut & Sew technique because it actually stretches their ability to design new shapes using commercial patterns, such as Bogue, McCalls or Butterick. How to Use this book: This book is based on my beginner program called "Knit Design #1." Each chapter provides you with an overview and step-by-step instructions for creating a Cut & Sew garment. Exercises of different techniques can be found at the back of this book, designed to give you an opportunity to practice prior to applying them on your own garments.
Pam Turbett had been teaching dressmaking in Adult Education classes for many years when she discovered that machine-knitters could make beautiful, individual fabrics at home. After some experimentation, she developed methods of handling the knitted fabrics so that they could successfully be made up into smart, well-finished and fashionable clothing, with a crisply – cut, tailored look quite different from normal “knitwear”. She now teaches her But and Sew techniques at machine-knitting clubs, workshops and conventions, all over the British Isles and also in the United States. Having been the regular Cut and Sew contributor to “Machine Knitting Monthly” for its first four years, Pam has written articles in several other magazines. Her first two books were both published by Batsford – CUT AND DEW: WORKING WITH MACHINE-KNITTED FABRICS in 1985 and THE TECHNIQUES OF CUT AND SEW in 1988. A third book, KNIT, CUT AND SEW: THE BASICS was published in 1990.
My first try at a publishable pattern. It is based on the Shaker Knit Hat and Scarf Set in Knitting With the Lights Off! by Billie Hall re-sized for newborns. After working my way through that highly recommended publication, I realized I still had to become super-comfortable with the lights ON my Passap E6000. I like to start off my Passap sessions with something simple to flex my poor memory before moving on to anything more complicated and my local hospital's maternity always accepts newborn hats.
Fisherman's Rib Infant Hat02/23/2020
Practice Emphasis: programming multiple patterns. It features a Passap signature knitting technique, the springy Fisherman's Rib, KT 104. I use this piece to awaken my Passap mind and muscle memory before moving on to anything larger, or more complex.
Yarn: 2 strand 2/24 acrylic
Completed size: 10-1/2" by 6-1/2" stretching to fit full term infants, 14" circumference.
Disc tension: 4-1/2, or the setting that will cause your tension wire to pull up a hands breadth above the tension arm after threading.
Go through the chart twice. Use the first two columns to program the console, then use the information across all five columns to create the piece.
Programming & Action
Setting
Notes
Stitch Size
# of Rows
Total Row Count
Cast On
2 Tubular cast-on for Knit/Knit pg.134
Skip strippers, insert weighted cast on comb after first row.
4-3/4
4
4
St. Pattern A
No "TEST"
104
Fisherman's rib pg. 139
Use strippers for remainder of piece.
5-1/4
84
88
St. Pattern B
102
Knit/Knit pg. 138
4-3/4
8
96
Transfer back stitches to front bed.
St. Pattern C
100
Stocking stitch pg.138
4-3/4
2
98
No "FORM"
Use double-eyed bodkin to thread length of yarn through live stitches, removing from beds.
L ND -90
20- (+front pushers)
R ND 90
20 (+front pushers)
Return your Passap E6000 to start position - remove strippers, place all needles and pushers in rest, rack handle down, locks on the left, GX/GX.
To make up: Seam side, draw top tight and secure, weave in ends. If desired, attach top pompom.
Free University Nirvana? includes a brilliant tale of family survival through knitting, grit, and charm:
Not everyone needs a university education to achieve self-actualization. One needs to set their goals and develop a path to reach them. My hillbilly Dad from southwestern Virginia dropped out of high school when he was 17 years old to join the Navy in World War II. He was one of the smartest men I know. Years later, he was laid off by a defense contractor while working as an expediter. What he did next marvels me to this day: With four kids at home and one more on the way he came up with an idea that put beans on the table for a couple of years. He borrowed money to buy two knitting machines, blue and white wool and thread. He knitted wool caps. . . .
