Letters

I hand knit for a charity called Queen Mary’s Clothing Guild and am looking for patterns to knit on the machine. I need things like easy gloves, mitts, hot water bottle covers, easy baby clothes and any other ideas please. I do have a charting device, which I’ve not used for a while and would like to use it again.

What I’d really like is to find a machine knitting pen pal. I also wonder if there’s a local club to get more motivation, but does anyone know where we can get more time please? There are never enough hours in the day to do everything I want. Still, that’s better than being bored with nothing to do.

I do hope you can help Anne.
Mrs M A Watson, Plymouth, Devon

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The cushion covers were for a 12-inch square cushion pad and were knitted for 240 rows over 84 stitches. I used stitch size 7 on the Duo 80. The scarves were knitted over 30 stitches on each bed in a 1×1 rib on stitch size 5. I knitted for about 500 rows until the yarn popped out of the tension arm, giving me just enough to cast off! I had to re-wind the balls twice, waxed them the second time and then even had to help the machine by pulling the yarn out of the centre of the ball for about the first 20 rows.

If E6000 owners are prepared to work on the back bed, casting on for stocking stitch is a case of pushing up pushers in a one up, one down arrangement for all working needles and then knitting four rows. Have BX on that bed with both arrow keys. After the four rows, cancel the arrow keys, have the lock on N and knit for 240 rows.

I’ve found that I can achieve the same tensions on the Passap as my Brother KH881 on the same stitch sizes or tension dial settings. I have 28 stitches and 40 rows to 10 cm on tension dial or stitch size between 6 and 7. Using three-ply yarns, the setting needs to be between 3 or 5, but the Passap really doesn’t like knitting stocking stitch at low numbers on the 5 mm gauge. Just for the record, ribbing is comparable. I have even got the Passap to knit standard 4-ply Shetland with the tension dial set at 7 to give me 28 stitches and 39 rows to 10 cm.

This letter is written to encourage your timorous Passap users (including those with an E6000 about which I know little) who are concerned that there aren’t many patterns in MKM for Passap and Pfaff E6000 and Duo 80 machines. Try using a standard stocking stitch pattern for a plain jumper the pattern is for 28 stitches and 40 rows to 10 cm. For a confidence booster, E6000 users don’t need the console and you could even try my scarf and cushion ideas, too!

Katherine Humphries, Poole, Dorset

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Dear Anne
I hope you have recovered from your surgery and are now feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed! I have a little contribution for the magazine, one that has seen me safely through many hundred knitted jerseys. It was shown to me by my Passap teacher Lena De Lima here in Johannesburg when I first bought my machine. I have never used any other method to work out the correct size of my jerseys. It is simplicity itself!

Knit a tension swatch, 40 stitches wide and 60 rows long. Leave it for a couple of hours or longer and then measure it. Find a calculator and the formula is:

What you want – the garment width or length
Multiplied by what you have – 40 sts or 60 rows
Divided by what you know – size of your swatch

This, believe it or not, will give you how many stitches or rows are required! I will give you an example to make things a bit clearer.

My tension swatch measures 40 sts / 15 cm and 60 rows / 8 cm
My jersey is 54 cm chest, 24 cm long without the rib.
54 cm x 40 sts = 2160 • 15 cm 144 stitches
Divide 144 into 2 for Back and Front 72 stitches.
For length, 24 cm x 60 rows = 1440 • 8 cm 180 rows.

It really is easy! Good luck with the magazine.
Jessie Dennett
Wakkerstroom, South Africa