Form Programme Generator

This is a screen shot from my new form programme generator. With it, you can generate sweater fronts, backs, and sleeves in a variety of sizes. Before working with the generator, you will need to draw a picture of your shape with measurements in centimeters and chart out the rows and stitches showing the applicable increases and decreases. Many knitters prefer to use pre-published form programmes, but just as some sewers draft their own sewing patterns, so too some knitters prefer to draft their own sweater designs. If you don't have access to many published form programmes or have some unique sizing issues, I think you will find this generator very useful. Enjoy, Jenny.

Downloable Form Programmes?

I was recently asked whether it would ever be possible to download form programmes to the E6000 Console.

The short answer is no. If you have the chip set that came with Form 6, you will find you can get to PC START from the FORM prompt, but it is expecting Form 6 data rather that a traditional form programme.

Form 6 uses an entirely different format for shape data than the form programme numbers. In many ways it is a much more simplified system, mostly just a listing of needles in work and rows counts. The way the program works is that you draw a shape with the pixels representing the stitches and rows. During the download the pixels are converted into instructions for increasing and decreasing.

A disadvantage of Form 6 shapes is that if you want to adjust the width or length of the piece, you have to draw a new picture of it. To me, the form programmes are better because you can change some measurements without re-doing the whole programme.

Theoretically, I could program Journal Six to change a bitmap of the rows and stitches into Form 6 data, but I personally think form programmes are more flexible. I don't have any plans to add Form 6 emulation to Journal 6 at this time. Update: See post from February 25, 2010 regarding downloadable charts.

I do hope to make a form programme generator and post it on my website to make it easier for folks to write their own program for basic shapes such as sleeves and sweater fronts.

Automatic Short Row Pillow

My earlier post on form programmes generated quite a bit of controversy. Apparently, some people insist that form programmes are uncrackable and that anyone who claims they understand what the numbers mean is clearly lying or deluded. Sometimes old beliefs are hard to let go of. Once folks believed sun revolved around the earth and Galileo begged to differ. I am no Galileo and certainly he paid a much heavier price for bringing his piece of knowledge to the world than I did. A few hot e-mails cannot harm me much. I do wish, though, that people would be more open to new ideas.

That said, extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. I offer my automatic short row pillow as that proof. This pillow is knit with the aid of a form programme I wrote myself. The piece is knitted in six wedges with the front and back being knitted simulatenously. The form programme takes care of all the shaping and so this pillow is very easy to knit despite its complex shape.

And thus, another form programme is brought into the world. Knit this pillow to remind yourself about Galileo, the infinite possibilities of the universe, and the importance of staying open minded. (but not so open your brains fall out :-)

Enjoy,

Jenny.

Fom Programmes Explained

Ever wonder about all those strange codes that make up PASSAP form programmes? Well, so have I. After studying many programmes and doing endless experiments at the console, I believe I now understand much of the structure of the programmes and details of the codes. I've written up my findings as an aid to understanding published programmes and to allow you to try your hand at writing your own programmes. Enjoy!

By the way, you can store form programmes in Journal Six so that you may recall and use them when you knit your projects.