January 2021 - Overview of Jan Richards Easy Raglan Hooded Sweater:
Adult pattern: EASY & QUICK Hoodie Diane Swanson
Child's pattern: Childrens Hooded Sweater
March 2021 Susan Adam's Tuck Lace Poncho
July 2021: Anita Cornell's Garter Carriage Information: Garter Carriage Must’s:
All 200 needles must be in the knit bed and in good condition. Empty needle slots will
cause issues with the GC trying to turn around when it should not.
“B” position is the only working needle position used with the GC (do not have mk
needles in hold or upper working position).
Sponge bar must be in fairly good condition
No gate pegs can be drastically bent out of shape
GC needle must be in good condition. The tip of the needle is supposed to be bent at
an angle. The latch has a spring which helps it return to closed position.
Edge Shaping must be accomplished by casting off or taking the needles back to NWP
with a ravel cord. The GC cannot work with needles in hold position. Cut and Sew is
easier to do for neck shaping.
When threading the yarn, make sure it slides up and down easily and is not caught on
anything.
Myths:
You do not need to sit and watch your GC work! It should be able to run on it’s own
without issue.
A lot of weight is NOT necessary – in fact, too much weight is often a cause for
dropped stitches. When using weights, be sure to distribute them evenly across the
knitting. Hanging the weights from a cast on comb will assist with this. Experiment
with how much weight your GC wants for that particular yarn. Many times only the
small edge weights, that came with your garter carriage, are needed. Move them up
periodically.
You can use the GC with the main bed tilted by using the ribber clamps.
You do not need the extension rails installed when knitting a full bed of gc work. The
garter carriage will not fall off the machine but the extension rails will often cause
patterning issues.
Tips:
The GC will knit all stitches when the KM power is on and no pattern is selected (or a
row of no needles selected such as when casting on). These stitches are knit just using
the KM needles – no GC needle required.
The GC will purl all stitches when the machine is turned off. A GC needle is required
as all purl stitches are performed using the GC needle.
Knit ribs several whole tension numbers tighter than your main garment tension.
Clear away anything that the curly cord could catch on.
Ripping out is more easily accomplished off the machine. Steam the knitting slightly,
rip out the necessary rows and then rehang and reset the pattern to the proper row.
When turning the KM off, wait until the GC has just reversed direction at the end of a
row and then stop it. Lift the front of the GC and back it up to the edge of the bed. Now
turn the KM off. To continue knitting, turn the KM on, slide the GC towards the knitting
until the G light comes on. Check that the yarn has proper tension on it and press the
start button on the GC.
Garter Carriage notes for July 9, 2021 Silver Needles Machine Knitting Club prepared by Anita Cornell
Please do not share outside of Club Members! Page: 1 of 4 When installing the magnets on the back of the gc, the light colored square should be
closest to the center.
If using a KH970 knit bed, the magnets need to be replaced by the G-Carriage Sensor
Cam that came with the 970.
Try not to unplug the round tip of the power cord from the top of the machine any more
than necessary. This is a weak point that can break. Also, there is a fuse in the curly
cord transformer box that can blow if this tip is touch to metal.
The same yarn will generally be knit 1 tension number looser on the GC than on the
main bed.
Maintenance:
After each project, remove GC needle and oil latch. Unplug electricity and clean fuzz
and dirt from all reachable areas paying special attention to brushes. Clip any stray
strands on the brush. I vacuum out the area near the gc needle.
Remove cover to clean and grease the mechanisms whenever you experience
problems such as hard to move slides on top of the GC or once a year if used heavily.
Trouble Shooting:
When edge stitches are being dropped, try using the end needle cams that came with
your GC. These prevent those stitches from patterning.
If dropping stitches, check that the GC needle’s latch is functioning properly and has
not become bent.
If stitches are dropping in the same spot, check that the KM needles in that area are
good. Often the latch may not be working properly on that needle OR one of the
needles next to it.
Try adjusting tension and weight. I keep a list of yarns and the tension they seem to
knit best at.
Fuzzy yarn does not knit well on the GC. It will often drop stitches or catch on
gatepegs. Sometimes the use of wax will help. 100% cotton will sometimes not knit
well on the GC as it has little stretch.
Garter Carriage notes for July 9, 2021 Silver Needles Machine Knitting Club prepared by Anita Cornell
Please do not share outside of Club Members! Page: 2 of 4Auto Cast on (all models except KG88) I do not usually use the auto cast on as I find it tighter than
a manual cast on.
(161) Casting on with the garter carriage - YouTube
Suggestion – cast on with waste and ravel cord before using the auto cast on.
More garter carriage needles are destroyed during cast on than any other time. To avoid this,
cast on manually and be careful that your tension is not too tight!
Carriage MUST be on the Right and outside the turn marks and placed correctly on the bed (the
GC metal ‘foot’ should be underneath the needle bed and if the top/front of the GC is lifted the
foot should stay in place and the carriage can be moved along the bed easily – never force it).
ALL GC levers to the RIGHT.
Set RC to 1
Turn the KM on and program a pattern with all blank/non-selected stitches. (This will give an
automatic e-wrap.) Tip: GC needle does not need to be in the machine to cast on!
Lift the front/top of the GC and move it past the turn marks to a few needles before the start of
the knitting; ensure the ‘Ready’ indicator lamp lights up (which tell you that the machine has
‘picked up’ the presence of the GC and set the pattern).
Make sure the upper tension takes up the slack yarn and that it moves freely through the GC
yarn guide – make sure the guide is closed before knitting.
Press the green/ON button on the GC and knit 1 row to the left (e-wrap) and either lightly hold
the yarn tail or clip a clothes peg on it to keep it slightly weighted and out of the way. When
clear of WP needles, press the red/stop button.
Hang the cast on comb carefully on the e-wrapped row and hang weights as required.
Program the desired stitch pattern.
Re-set the row counter.
Set the top two levers levers to the LEFT and the bottom lever to the RIGHT (the bottom lever
should always point in the direction the GC is about to travel).
If you have removed the GC needle, replace it. Press the green/on button and continue knitting.
Auto Cast Off
(161) Brother Elecrtoknit Garter Carriage-Cast Off! - YouTube
The manual says to use the ‘main’ tension to cast off but I find this too tight. I knit the last row
up to 2 whole numbers higher/looser AND cast off up to 2 whole numbers higher/looser.
Carriage MUST be at the right end of the KM.
Turn knitting machine off.
Remove weights from the cast on comb. Rehang the comb about 2”/5cms from the top (no
weight).
Hook the heel of the 1st and last stitches onto the gate pegs – this helps to ‘take the weight and
hold’ the knitting in place whilst casting off. It also helps to hook the knitting up on the gate
pegs as it casts off.
Set RC to 1
Bottom lever to the Left and top two levers to the Right.
Press the green ‘on’ button on the GC – it will now cast off.
When the GC has cast off the last stitch, press the red button to switch the GC off and remove
the yarn from the needle carefully. Thread the tail through the last stitch to secure.
Garter Carriage notes for July 9, 2021 Silver Needles Machine Knitting Club prepared by Anita Cornell
Please do not share outside of Club Members! Page: 3 of 4Cleaning and Maintaining the Garter Carriage
Supplies needed:
small phillips head and flat head screw drivers
tweezers
small pliers
q-tips, tooth brush, tooth picks, paper towels, trash bag
favorite machine knitting cleaner (I like the LPS1 spray and denatured alcohol).
Silicone lubricant
*Taking the cover off the garter carriage:
(161) disassembliing the garter carriage for cleaning - YouTube
more details on assembly:
(161) More Details About garter carriage dis and re assembly - YouTube
*cleaning the garter carriage:
(161) finding the dirty spots to clean in your garter carriage - YouTube
lubricating after cleaning:
(161) lubricating a garter carriage after cleaning it - YouTube
October 2021 - Marie Hornbein's Assymetrical Shawl