Another very popular color technique is intarsia or “picture knitting.” The wire fabric guide on the carriage of the original BOND machine made this technique very messy to knit. Yarns got tangled and it was tough to keep things sorted out.
To solve this problem, I developed the “Improved Rube-Goldberg, Spare Parts Intarsia Technique” that used the following parts:
- two 2-inch or larger C-clamps
- two 2½” by ⅝” corner irons
- “the stick”–a 50 to 60-inch length of ¼” by ¾” stiff wood or metal.
Those of you who have more modern machines have a different style carriage and don’t need all this hardware.
The technique itself, is an endless source of creativity and design possibilities. But I have a caution for you before you attempt your own designs. You know from watching “Meet Your BOND” and “Your First BOND Sweater” that stockinette stitches are not squares, but rectangles.
What this means in practical terms is that if you chart your picture of an M&M on regular, square graph paper, the knitted result will be a flat oval.
To graph your own designs you need to do a gauge swatch first, then use the right size knitters’ graph paper. CLICK HERE for a great resource for free printable knitters’ graph paper.
Beyond that . . . enjoy!
again thank you Anne
Thank you.
My wife has the original Bond knitting machine” and she lost the fabric guide wire. Do you have any idea where she can get another one? Your help would be much appreciated. Thank you.
Hi Peter. Try eBay for BOND parts, and check with Lea-Ann McGregor at knittingtoday.com The machine has gone out of production (what a dismal, storied history it has had) and there is little support left, but Lea-Ann has her finger on that pulse.