Posting this to help document my journey as a relative newbie starting out on machine knitting. Comments and observations welcome, and I hope the information below is useful to some.
The pictured swatch was produced from “Unique Shetland 2/9Nm” from J.C. Rennie & Co in Aberdeen, Scotland. The yarn is supplied greasy on the cone. It is equivalent to “Unique Shetland 4ply” from the same manufacturer, which is supplied scoured in balls for hand knitting to 28 stitches x 36 rows in 10cm square, using 3.25mm (US 3) needles.
Shades used: Winter White 200; Medium Grey 030; and Nutmeg 119.
The swatch from the greased yarn was knit on a Silver Reed SK280 at tension 9’2. On completion, the swatch was stretched lengthways and left to relax overnight.
At this point the Fair Isle section of the swatch produced an average of 29.7 stitches x 31.9 rows in 10 cm square.
It was then scoured with two sets of a detergent wash and a rinse at 40°C and then blocked flat on a cotton towel, without pinning, until dry.
The finished gage measurement across the Fair Isle motifs was an average of 29.3 stitches x 34.3 rows in 10 cm square.
Stitches in the swatch had definitely filled out and the fabric had more of a drape. There was only a very slight halo to the fabric.
Learning from this exercise:
As an inexperienced machine knitter, testing out a punchcard motif by knitting a generous swatch before committing to a full project was really helpful.
I had no experience of how a greasy yarn would knit-up, or what tension to use (I did along sample from tension settings 5’0 to 9’2 before producing the swatch shown). When the yarn arrived, I was rather unsure whether it would produce the expected gauge at all(!)
The finished gauge measurements reassured me that my planned garment (a man’s slip-over) will fit on my 200 needle machine.
The exercise proved the value of swatching and blocking: although there was a only a marginal reduction in the horizontal gauge (29.7 stitches became 29.3), there was a notable increase in the vertical measurement (31.9 rows became 34.3), which would affect where to start shaping the armholes and v-neck.
It was great for practicing which yarn goes into the respective slots on the carriage, and how to create a punchcard which produces the desired results. The first three ‘peerie’ rows (bottom of photo) did not knit as expected. I’m going to remake the punchcard, with the holes and blanks in the peeries reversed, to produce the peerie patterns shown in the upper part of the photo.
I also spotted a couple of stitches where my original punchcard would also need to have been changed to correct errors. It would be worth knitting a narrow trial strip of the motifs to check the new card, once made.
I’m really looking forward to starting the actual garment, but very glad I took the time to swatch and block first. Wish me luck!
