Machine Knitting - Part 3

The blankets must be done differently because both sides are 'good' sides. How do you do that?

Remember, the scarves were done in fairisle. That means that the yarn was carried behind the knitting causing 'floats'. That is fine for scarves because they are folded in half and all those ugly floats are inside and can't be seen. The blankets, mugrugs, wine cozies need 2 good sides. Enter the RIBBER!

A ribber is a separate (read expensive) addition that hangs on the bottom of the main bed. at a 90 degree angle. You can see in the picture that only one of my machines has a ribber. Ribbers make the ribbing on the bottom, cuffs and necks of sweaters, of course, but they do much more.

A ribber can do double jacquard! I use 2 strands of yarn and a color changer. That is the arm shaped thingy at the end of my machine. The carriage picks up one color and does 2 passes, then picks up the other color for another 2 passes. One side has the pattern, the other side has stripes - or plain if you prefer. The material is double thick with no floats.

The mugrugs and cozies are all double jacquard. My blankets are actually a combination of double jacquard and a tuck stitch - but more about that in ..... (wait for it) ..... Part 4!

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