Marty McGuire

Archive for October 2025

Sun Oct 26

Machine Knitting: sleeves!

This post will be part of a series, as I join KnitFactoryImpl's knitalong of a set in sleeve crew neck sweater for channel members. KnitFactoryImpl (aka Carson)'s videos have been a huge help and source of inspiration on my short knitting journey so far, so it's really fun to get to join in and participate!

I got serious about learning machine knitting just this year, and only just finished my first sweater (which I need to post about!), so I think Iย barelyย qualify to do this project. It uses a combination of techniques that I have used in isolation, like increases, decreases, and short rows, but all together. I recently got an attachment for doing ribbing, which I've barely learned to use, but I want to do ribbed hems.

Adding to the challenge, I didn't quite know what sweater I actually wanted to make! Thankfully, producer Amy saw some promise in our yarn stash and made a request of a 4-color striped sweater made from some cotton yarn in sorta-trans-pride-flag colors.

Always be swatching

Following the instructions for the knitalong, and Carson's evergreen advice, I made gauge swatches for the body, with a couple of different striping options, as well as a sample swatch of ribbing. I used a tension that I've been pretty comfortable working with this yarn so far. We plan to machine wash and dry the finished sweater, so we treated the swatches the same way to see how the fabric turned out.

Left: square swatch of ribbed fabric in black. Right: rectangular swatch with stripes in black, pink, purple, and blue.

We were both pleased with how the swatches came out! I think the finished sweater will look nice based on these. More importantly, during swatching I learned that I absolutely do not have it in me to do a 4-color striped knit at the point in my knitting journey! ๐Ÿ˜… Until I am able to invest in a color changer, I am going to focus on fewer colors, so we agreed on a pattern of black and purple stripes, evenly spaced at 12 rows each.

Sensing a pattern

With gauge swatches in hand, it was time to visit the pattern generator for the set in sleeve crew neck sweaterย and punch in my gauge measurements, as well as producer Amy's measurements for how she wants the final sweater to fit.

The resulting pattern is a set of written instructions for each part of the sweater: front and back panels that are worked the same from the bottom but differ as you approach the top, sleeves worked up from the cuffs, and the neckline which is worked as you combine the pieces.

Carson recommends starting with a sleeve, for many reasons, and that's the topic of her first video for the knitalong, so that's where I started!

One does not simply knit a sleeve

Each sleeve is a journey, starting with a cuff (25 rows of ribbing, in my case), then switching to stockinette ("regular") knitting for the long body of the sleeve, with regular increases as you widen the sleeve from the hand to the arm hole. At the maximum width, we're not quite done. We bind off some stitches for the underarm, then do a few different sequences of gradual decreases, and finally some round shaping with short rows, before finishing the piece to remove it from the bed.

For this sweater, color stripes would add extra complexity. No matter what else was happening in the pattern, I would need to stop every 12 rows to switch out one color for the other. In theory, the mechanics of each is not difficult - my machine has a little notch at the ends to park one yarn while the other works. But I would have to make a color switch every 12 rows while also following the rest of the pattern, such as increasing every 10 rows. In a way, I would be working two sets of instructions at once. Thankfully, I once again followed Carson's advice and printed the pattern on paper. After much fidgeting and scrunching of my face, I was able to scribble out number sequences until I was pretty sure it would work.

Sleeve time let's go!

With pattern in hand, I set up the machine and got to work. I followed my machine manual instructions for casting on 1x1 ribbing at the required number of stitches and knit the cuff. I transferred all stitches to the main bed for the body of the sleeve and knit my first 10 rows to an increase. Two more and it was time to switch colors. Increase again at the next multiple of 10. Then another color change at 24 rows and oh god-

I believe I improperly set the yarn in the feeder after changing colors. With the incoming yarn failing to feed, the machine promptly dropped switches from their needles. I was most of the way across the bed before I realized this.

In theory, it was possible to save this piece. I used my transfer tools to pick up a few stitches, but between the weights on the work and my clumsy fingers I was going to have to rework a lot of stitches. I decided to cut my losses, unravel everything so far, and call it a day.

Sleeve time, let'sย carefullyย go

The next day I started again, this time taking extra care to check that the yarn was properly ready to feed whenever I changed colors. Keeping track of all the changes was challenging, and at times during the decreases and short rowing I ended up off by a stitch here or there. But I made it through!

Knitting machine bed with a completed sleeve panel in stripes of black and grayish purple. On the right, the ribbed cuff in black yarn pulls inward. Moving left, the sleeve widens and narrows again. At the very left, short rows in purple cause the knitting to curl over.

At this point I took a break, cast my ballot in early voting, and enjoyed my afternoon.

What's another sleeve?

With one sleeve done, the second was sure to go faster. I felt much more confident in the rhythm of the changes and techniques. I even stopped to take a progress photo!

Knitting machine with long piece of knitting hanging almost to the floor.

This photo was taken after the long sequence of increases, which end with binding off some stitches on either end to make a "shelf" for the under arm. Completely by coincidence, I took this photo right before I made a horrible mistake.

After the bind-off for the underarm shelf comes a sequence of decreases, at difference cadences. Starting from this photo, I was meant to knit 12 rows, decreasing a stitch on each side each row, followed by a couple of sequences which involved decreases only every third row.

I got mixed up and did 12 rows at the slower cadence of decreases. ๐Ÿ˜ญ

I'm not skilled at it, but I was able to "unknit" a couple of rows, pulling the previous stitches back onto their needles. I suspected this would become confusing or problematic when I got to the rows where I had decreased, requiring complex moves to "un-decrease". However, before I got to that point, the unknitting process was causing stitches to fall off needles entirely, multiple at a time.

At this point I needed a new strategy. Thankfully, another of Carson's videos, where she makes this absurdly wonderful wolf sweater, had the answer.

I removed the weights from the piece and carefully removed the piece from the needles. Then, I found the stitches from the row in the photo above, just after completing the bind-off for the underarm shelf. I carefully re-hung that row of stitches across the number of needles from that row of the pattern.

The working piece, now without weights, re-hung on the machine. This photo was taken about 90 minutes after the previous.

Then I tucked the knitting back in, added weights, and restarted the pattern as if I hadย not completely goofed it.

And... this worked out totally fine! After finishing the piece I went back and unraveled the "teratoma" from my miscounted piece. The anomalous row is barely visible, and I think the only side-effect is that I'll have a couple of extra ends to work end during assembly. Whew!

Finished sleeve resting on the knitting machine bed. A cat is beside the machine, staring up at the camera as she climbs into a chair.
Lolly came to help. Ok really she is here to ask why dinner is late.

With two sleeves completed, I could not resist asking producer Amy to help me complete a familiar shot from Carson's videos.

One sleeve on the machine. Two sleeves on the machine!

Next time...

Neither of these sleeves is perfect, but I think overall they lookย really nice, and the little imperfections will be hidden in seams as it all comes together. Producer Amy is really loving the look so far, and we're both looking forward to how it shapes up after washing and assembly.

The body panels are expected as the next pieces in the knitalong. However, I'm not going to have much time to knit in the next couple of weeks! ๐Ÿ˜…

I look forward to checking out other folks' progress and a (careful, controlled, certainly not rushed) busy weekend of catching up when I get a chance.

Thanks to everyone involved in making this knitalong possible! I am grateful to be learning so much and feeling like part of a community of folks doing the same!

Tue Oct 21

The mini-rustoid is among the delightful horrors waiting to be exhumed in Animal Crossing New Leaf.

Mini rustoid, a cactus-like creature with a gaping maw of a mouth.
Sun Oct 12
๐Ÿ“• Finished reading In Defense of Dabbling by Karen Walrond ISBN: 9781506487656
A stuffed lil guy made of red fuzzy yarn, with big green plastic eyes and thick hair made of black yarn. It's sitting on a knitting machine bed.

Great news! my candle dealer bugs rock is back with a new line for spoopy season! Order now and get these monstrous creations:

  • bad apple (plus baby sample powerful enough to spoil somebody’s bunch)
  • a sweet hex (feel like Pandora (not the streaming service) as you open the lid! then instead of hope you are left with a sweet candle to burn)
  • mischief nite (this moon cannot be obscured, knows what you did)
  • evil side up (I guess Sam I Am wanted the ham)

Plus some bugs rock matches and stickers and maybe some little plastic scaries and a temporary tattoo!

As a bonus you can guess which of these made me sneeze a bunch when I opened the box! (I’m fine, my allergies and I have come to an agreement. Thanks for asking!)

https://bugsrock.online/

Scary candles, stickers, and plastic doo-dads from the bugs rock store.
Sat Oct 4

๐Ÿ—“๏ธ The Level Up

๐Ÿ“† Add to Calendar: iCal | Google Calendar

The Level Up is an indie improv showcase. Join us as we watch amazing New York indie improv talents gain XP on the Magnet stage, unlock new achievements, and reach new milestones. Or do comedy.

Come support Michael as he dons his hosting-duties cap for three exciting indie teams!

  • Good Towel
  • Sweat Treat
  • Hyperkinetic

Iโ€™ll be playing in with Michael and the rest of the Level Up!

Looking forward to it! And to seeing you there!! (Yes, you. Come on out!!!)

Saturday October 4th, 2025 @ 10:30pm
Magnet Theater
254 West 29th St (btwn 7th and 8th Ave.)
New York City, NY 10001
Tickets $10: https://magnettheater.com/show/tickets/60022/

Thu Oct 2

Looks like Vimeo is being acquired. To my eyes it appears to be a private equity play by a private equity player with a history of making a mess of their toys.

I know that some folks have seen Vimeo as an alternative to the algorithmic ad-ridden hustle-bustle hell-world that is YouTube. For example, Vi Hart moved all of her 10+ years of YouTube to https://vimeo.com/vihart ! I worry for the future of all those works.

For my part, I uploaded a single video to Vimeo almost 16 years ago to see if it would be a suitable place to post video for sharing to the social networks I was on at the time. I guess I didn’t love it. I’ve now mirrored that single video to my own site. No big deal: MakerBot #131 printing bike handlebar mount bottom