Classic sweater
- Shoulder
- Neckline
- Sleeves
- Opening
Machine knitting · by invitation for now
Free knitting pattern editor and stitch patterns. Garments worked out for your machine.
Pick a garment, Tricotta does the sums.
Free, now: 196 stitch patterns and an editor to draw your own. Each one says whether it knits on your machine, and you download the punch card, the PNG for AYAB or the written instructions.
By invitation: the garment. Choose a sweater, a cardigan, a skirt or one of the others, your machine and a size or your own measurements, and Tricotta works out the shaped pieces, the chart and the row-by-row instructions.
For now we let people in by invitation, a few at a time. Leave your email and tell us which machine you have, so we know which machines to work on first.
The garments
You start by choosing the garment.
22 garments to start from. Once you have chosen one, you choose how it is made and its details, as far as your machine allows.
Short-sleeved top
- Shoulder
- Neckline
- Sleeves
- Opening
Knitted polo
- Shoulder
- Neckline
- Sleeves
- Opening
Classic cardigan
- Shoulder
- Neckline
- Sleeves
- Opening
Long cardigan
- Shoulder
- Neckline
- Sleeves
- Opening
Shrug
- Shoulder
- Neckline
- Sleeves
- Opening
Slipover
- Shoulder
- Neckline
- Sleeves
- Opening
Waistcoat
- Shoulder
- Neckline
- Sleeves
- Opening
Tank top
- Shoulder
- Neckline
- Sleeves
- Opening
A-line skirt
Pleated skirt
Bubble skirt
Tapered trousers
Flared trousers
Leggings
Poncho
Cape
Hat
Scarf
For women, men and children
Cowl
Pictures for illustration only. The full catalogue, with every variant, opens when you are invited.
Open now, free
Motifs: the stitch patterns, and an editor to draw yours.
196 stitch patterns and colour motifs: lace, cables, slip stitches, fair isle. Each one says whether it knits on your machine, with which technique, and why. Draw your own cell by cell and download it for your machine. To draw you need a free account, not an invitation.
How it works
From the garment to the chart, in five steps.
- The garment
Choose the garment, then its shape: shoulder, neckline, sleeve, closure.
- Your machine, or needles
Choose your machine: domestic, double-bed or hand-flat. Tricotta knows its gauge, its needle count, its beds and its accessories. If you knit by hand, the garment is written for needles.
- Stitches and yarn
Choose the stitch for each part of the garment, and the yarn. Tricotta tells you how much yarn you need.
- Who it is for
A size, in the size chart you normally use, or the measurements you took.
- Swatch, chart and instructions
Knit a swatch: the stitches and rows you count over 10 cm (4 in) are what all the numbers are worked from. Until you have one, Tricotta works from an estimate and says so. Then it works out the shaped pieces in stitches and rows, the chart and the row-by-row instructions, and checks that the edges you will sew together are the same length. You print the work sheet and, for a KnitLeader or a Knit Radar, the pieces at full size.
Checked against your machine
At every choice Tricotta checks whether the garment can be made on your machine. If something can't be done, it says what and why, and lets you carry on. A stitch your machine can't knit stays on the list, greyed out, with the reason next to it.
In the browser
It runs in the browser, on any computer, with nothing to install.
For each size the engine draws a body, each time in a different pose.
Sizes
Your size, the way you say it.
Give the size in Italian, French, German, British, American or Japanese sizing, or from S to XXXL. Every piece of the garment is graded to it.
| Italy | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 34 | 38 | 42 | 46 | — | — |
| Germany | 32 | 36 | 40 | 44 | — | — |
| United Kingdom | 6 | 10 | 14 | 18 | — | — |
| United States | 2 | 6 | 10 | 14 | — | — |
| Japan | 5 | 9 | 13 | 17 | — | — |
| S to XXXL | — | S | L | XXL | — | — |
Where a chart has no such size, the box stays empty: we don't pick the nearest one for you. The engine also works out sizes beyond the end of the charts.
Who it is for
Machine knitters first. Hand knitters welcome.
You knit on a machine
Brother, Silver Reed, Singer, Toyota, Passap, Dubied, Coppo and the rest. The instructions are written for the machine you have.
You knit for other people
Keep a profile for each person, with their measurements, and the same garment is worked out again for each of them.
You design garments
Change the shape, the neckline, the sleeve, the stitch in each zone, the yarn, and the numbers are worked out again. Designing a garment and checking it against your machine is the part anyone can try for free once they are in.
What Tricotta is
Pattern-making software for machine knitting.
Tricotta is a web application for knitwear pattern-making. You choose a garment and your machine, say who it is for with a size or with measurements, choose your yarn and put in your swatch. Tricotta works out the shaped pieces in stitches and rows, the chart and the row-by-row instructions, graded across the sizes.
It is made for machine knitters: domestic punchcard and electronic machines, double-beds and hand-flats. Hand knitters get the same garment, written for needles.
Every number shows where it comes from: the tape measure, the size chart or your swatch.
What it does today
Sweaters, cardigans, vests and tops, skirts, trousers, ponchos and capes, hats and scarves, each with its own shapes to choose from: shoulder, neckline, sleeve, closure. Standard sizes or your own measurements. The chart and the instructions, with the edges to be sewn checked against each other.
What it knows
59 knitting machines with their specifications and accessories, and 48 fibres with how they behave. Anything not checked yet is marked as such. You can browse them now: they are the part of the site that is already open.
What it does not do yet
It doesn't drive the machine: there is no cable. Garments come with the chart and the instructions, not with files for electronic machines; motifs download as a punch card to print or as a PNG for AYAB. There are no payments yet. Vintage garments and more types of garment come after the opening.
Questions
What people ask before joining.
Is the knitting pattern editor free?
Yes. The stitch patterns and the motif editor are open now and free. To draw, save and download the files, you need a free account, not an invitation.
When does it open?
We are letting people in by invitation, a few at a time, in the order of the waiting list. There is no date. We will write to you when it is your turn.
Is it free?
Trying it costs nothing. You get the whole editor on a dress form, without measurements and without stitch counts. A single garment is bought once and stays yours. Its design stays as you bought it; the measurements, the yarn, the stitches and the machine you can change as often as you like, for as many people as you like. For people who design a lot there will be a yearly plan. Prices are not published yet.
Does it connect to my machine? Does it make punchcards or files for my electronic machine?
It doesn't connect to the machine: there is no cable, you do the knitting. For a garment it writes the chart and the row-by-row instructions for your machine. For a motif you can download the punch card to print at full size, a 1-bit PNG for AYAB or img2track, a colour PNG for eKnitter, a text file for SilverKnit, or a knitout file.
Which machines does it know?
Domestic machines, punchcard and electronic (Brother, Silver Reed, Singer, Toyota), double-beds and hand-flats (Passap, Dubied, Coppo), each with its gauge, its needle beds and its accessories. If yours isn't there, tell us when you join, so we know which ones to add first.
Does it work for hand knitting too?
Yes. The same garment is written out for needles, with every increase and decrease counted. Machine knitting comes first because the founder knits on a machine, and because most pattern software is made for hand knitting and leaves machine knitters to convert everything themselves.
Does it work in inches? And what about my tension dial?
Yes, in centimetres or in inches, as you prefer. The numbers come from your swatch: stitches and rows over 10 cm, or over 4 inches. You set the tension dial yourself; Tricotta doesn't try to guess it.
Can I use my own stitch patterns, my punchcards, fair isle, tuck? And the ribber?
You choose the stitches zone by zone from Tricotta's library, and each one is checked against your machine and its accessories, ribber included. Your own motifs you can draw yourself, cell by cell, in the motif editor, with a free account. You can't load your own punchcards yet. Open the motifs →
What do you do with my email?
We use it to write to you when it is your turn and, now and then, with news about Tricotta. Nothing else, and we never sell it. The data is kept on a server in the European Union. Every email has a link to leave the list, and if you leave, your address is deleted.