Helper Colors are like having extra invisible punchcard layers inside your stitch chart.
On a real Brother punchcard, you only have one fixed set of holes — once it’s punched, that’s the pattern.
But in eKnitter, you can add small colored planning dots that are only visible on your screen.
When you mute a color, the machine will never knit it.
Muted colors are completely invisible for the machine — they are just for you:
- as a helpful reminder
- or as an additional design layer for different versions of the same pattern
I use Helper Colors all the time when creating patterns.
With them you can:
- prepare different lace options inside one single chart
- try out different Fair Isle color placements
- mark shaping, decreases, or small notes for yourself
Later, you simply mute a color (turn it off).
So the same pattern file can instantly create different results —
without redrawing anything.
It saves so much time and makes designing feel much more playful and free..


