Fun With My Kntting Machine.

Still on a mission to improve my knitting machine skills, I waste a lot of time  do a lot of research on ravelry and other web sites that focus on machine knitting.  It was on one of those sites that I recently came across a simple pattern for a machine knit Tee.  T Time.

A  bodice  knit sideways and a body knit in the normal direction give this Tee it's distinctive look.  Sideways knitting, my research suggests, is common in machine-knitted garments.  Is it easier??  Fancier??  Simpler??  I am not sure, but to me it seems as if that style crops up more often in machine knit patterns than  it does in hand knits.

I am happy with my T Time.  Just a few hours on the machine and I am wearing a new top.

 

Details.

Pattern:  T Time

Yarn: Cotton Tweed by Cabin Fever

Tension:  Stitch Dial -  4,  Upper Tension -7.

Modifications:  I shortened  the sleeves from the suggested 3/4 length to elbow length.   More appropriate for summer wear, I thought. And, I lengthened the lower portion so my overall Tee is 22 inches long.

What Did I Learn?  

Sideways knitting looks quite attractive - especially when offset by contrasting,  vertical knitting. 

The sideways knit with it's boat neck shaping required no edging.  The slight, under curl at the neck provides just the right amount of neck shaping to make the Tee comfortable to wear.  

 

The pattern of 5 needles working, one needle not working creates a 'rib' like look and also means no curling at the lower edges. 

The combination of  using a DKweight yarn (22 sts) instead of a KW weight (20sts) suggested by the pattern, coupled with  the seam that joins the  horizontal section to the vertical portion  makes for a bit of a tight band across the chest.  My yarn, a cotton/acrylic blend will stretch with wear  - and has already done so - but next time I would sew a much looser seam and knit with yarn that comes closer to pattern gauge.

 

T Time would make a lovely winter pullover.  Knit in wool, with the longer sleeves, it would be a perfect candidate for self striping yarns, like Noro, Marble or any sock yarn.  And - it is done before dinner.  My favourite thing.