Parlez-vous knitting? (part 2)

This post is a continuation of Parlez-vous knitting? (part1).

As I stated in my previous post, loom knitting is not a foreign language to a machine knitter. So how and why did I start loom knitting?

A couple of months ago I received an email from Lion Brand Yarn. I was invited "to participate in a small group of crafters" to create an original item with their newly launched line of Martha Stewart Crafts products. The new line included luxury, craft, and novelty yarns, and a very interesting tool called the Martha Stewart Crafts / Lion Brand Yarn Knit & Weave Loom Kit.  There was going to be a chance for a participating crafter and/or completed craft project to be featured on the Martha Stewart Show. How fun! A possible tv appearance and I actually had an interesting idea that I was itching to try out on the loom! I promptly submitted my proposal, which included a sketch.

While I waited to learn if my proposal had been accepted, I browsed the web and found several sites devoted to loom knitting. Loom Knit had a wealth of information. A site called Loom Knitting Help was indeed helpful. I lurked with the Loom Knitters group on Ravelry. (I have since joined the group.) I learned that I wouldn't be the first machine knitter to note the ease of translating machine knitting into loom knitting. I also learned a bit of the history of loom knitting (centuries old), the various styles of knitting looms (round, rake, and double rake), and the various names of the craft (frame knitting, ring knitting, spool knitting, box knitting, bung knitting, French knitting).

A week after I submitted my proposal, I received an email stating that it had been accepted. I soon received my requested yarn and the loom kit.

The MSC/LBY Knit & Weave Loom Kit  has many pieces:  frame pieces, pegs, and various tools. (I will only discuss the loom knitting aspects of the kit.) The big advantage, when compared to other knitting looms, is that unlike fixed-size knitting looms, the MSC/LBY loom can easily be assembled and re-assembled into each of the three styles of looms mentioned above. The loom can be customized to the proper length or circumference to accommodate various sized projects. Knitting gauge can be adjusted by changing the peg configurations, a feat not possible with most knitting looms.

The kit includes an instruction book, but I found that assembling the loom for my project was rather intuitive. Besides info on how to configure the loom, the instruction book provides step-by-step instructions with photos on single knitting and double knitting, including casting on and binding off. Machine knitters, you know these basics already: e-wrap, double e-wrap, zigzag cast on, crochet bind off, threading off. Since the first knitting machines were based on a version of the knitting loom, this makes sense.

Here is my set up for a hat I'm about to knit.

Yes, this loom's got color coding too! I'll knit the grey pegs on the left. Aqua pegs on left are for assembly purposes only. All pegs on the right knit. Grey pegs on right not only knit but also serve as stitch markers.

Here is the detail of  my swatch for the hat.

Technical front of my tucked rib stitch pattern, unblocked

Technical back
I'm still not sure which will be the "right side" of the hat. 

You'll notice that I have both knits and purls on each side, in other words, a rib stitch. After I received the loom and had started knitting, I watched a few more videos. What I learned surprised me. Loom knitters, and not just MSC/LBY loom knitters, make purl stitches in what I consider a very odd method. It involves using one's fingers along with the regular knitting tool to form the stitch. I don't know why this is so, when there's a perfectly good row of needles, or rather pegs, available on the other side of the knitting frame just begging to be used as a "ribber". Apparently loom knitters use the two rows of pegs for double knitting and not ribbing. My knit and purl swatch uses both rows of pegs and no finger acrobatics. As you can see on the technical back, I did not knit the first column of knit stitches evenly. (The large knit stitches in the middle column are part of the design.) The unevenness of the first column is due to my "experiments" tensioning the yarn. I believe practice, and blocking, will remedy my uneven knitting. Since this loom can have many configurations, on my wishlist is a corner piece that is 3-pegs wide, instead of 5-pegs wide. This would bring the rows of pegs closer together to accommodate thinner yarns when knitting uncommon ribs.

As an advanced machine knitter, I find the MSC/LBY knitting loom very relaxing. This is my kind of slow knitting. I have absolutely no idea of what an advanced (needle) hand knitter would think of this craft. I believe a non-knitter or a beginning hand or machine knitter would find loom knitting easy to learn. It would be an excellent "bridge craft" for a hand knitter who wants to learn the principles of machine knitting.

My final project submission for the show? Well, it's not a hat. I'm actually thrilled with how my project turned out, but sorry, I can't reveal anything until the final selections for the show are made. I promise to post pictures once the decision is made, one way or the other.