Machine Knitting

Posts about punch cards, hardware, and designs for the Brother KH-881 and KH-260

Cutting Knitting Machine Punch Cards with the Cricut Joy

Cutting Knitting Machine Punch Cards with the Cricut Joy 2016 1512 mathgrrl
In this post we’ll walk through the process of cutting knitting machine punch cards using the Cricut Joy mini craft cutter. The Joy is somehow *exactly* the right size for cutting directly onto blank machine punch cards! Well, almost… We will walk through the alignment and dimensioning process to make it all work out.

KH-260 Field Notes 2: Ribber Tube

KH-260 Field Notes 2: Ribber Tube 2016 1512 mathgrrl
This is part 2 of our notes as we work through the basics on a Brother KH-260 knitting machine. In part 1 we dusted off the machine and made a quick fair isle Trash Swatch. This time we’ll review how to get the ribber bed adjusted and lubricated, and then create a piece of circular knitting that is open on both ends.

KH-260 Field Notes 1: Trash Swatch

KH-260 Field Notes 1: Trash Swatch 2016 1512 mathgrrl
This is the first of a series of blog posts that will catalog our adventures with a Brother KH-260 knitting machine. We’ve set up the machine and know the basics of using it in various ways, but what now? In this “Field Notes” series we’ll share quick notes about what we learn as we go forward. Nothing fancy, just a day-to-day journal of what works and what doesn’t. Like everything we post here at Hacktastic, we’ll talk a lot about our failures and problems, since that is where learn the most!

Tetris Houndstooth Scarf

Tetris Houndstooth Scarf 1303 977 mathgrrl
You’d think it would be easy to make a machine knitting punch card pattern based on something as simple as Tetris pieces, and I guess it is, unless you want it to be *interesting*. In this post we’ll create a two-colorable houndstooth-inspired tessellation of Tetris tetrominos that is suitable for a 24 x 48 punch card, and go from pattern to punch card, and finally to finished wearable scarf…

Punch Card Knitting Machine Patterns with OpenSCAD

Punch Card Knitting Machine Patterns with OpenSCAD 1238 928 mathgrrl
As we’ve seen in our previous posts on machine knitting, punching holes into cards can be tedious if any part of the process is manual.  Today we’ll speed up the pattern-creation process significantly by bringing OpenSCAD code to the party. With OpenSCAD we can create patterning shortcuts that allow us to quickly combine and modify basic elements like diagonals, squares, and dots to make complex designs…

Designing Knitting Machine Punch Cards with StitchFiddle

Designing Knitting Machine Punch Cards with StitchFiddle 640 480 mathgrrl
In this post we’ll discuss how to design punch card patterns for vintage knitting machines using Stitch Fiddle, Silhouette Studio, and a craft cutter…

3D Printed Spacer for Using Sharpies in the Silhouette

3D Printed Spacer for Using Sharpies in the Silhouette 964 640 mathgrrl
In this post we’ll use 3D printing to solve the micro-problem of keeping an ultra-fine point Sharpie marker aligned in a Silhouette craft cutter…

Knitting Machine Punch Card Trials

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We’re finally getting back to our Brother KH-881 punch card knitting machine project… and it’s time to make some punch cards! The KH-881 reads 24-stitch repeat punch cards, and uses the punched holes to determine where stitches are slipped, tucked, or knit in a differerent color, depending on the settings on the machine. Some punch cards come standard with the machine, but you can also hand-punch custom cards… // Hacktastic

Getting Started on the Brother KH-881 Punchcard Knitting Machine

Getting Started on the Brother KH-881 Punchcard Knitting Machine 640 440 mathgrrl
Just before the new year we bought a punchcard knitting machine from the 1980’s from eBay. It’s a Brother KH-881, one of the last Brother models before electronics were added to the machine. Step 1 of our plan: Figure out how to use a punchcard knitting machine! This is the first in a series of posts to catalog this journey and maybe make it slightly easier for anyone else that wants to walk the same road… // Hacktastic
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