3 gauge are given so any knitting machine may be used. Ribber is optional. The only challenging aspect of this design is the cable up the front of the snowman. Of course you could omit that but I encourage you to give it a try. You’ll be surprised at its simplicity. There are 2 cable charts. The 8 stitch version is intended for use on the mid-gauge/bulky pattern and the 14 stitch version is for use on the standard gauge pattern. A super simple version called the SPEEDY SNOWMAN is included with instructions for strip knitting in case you need a lot of snowmen in a hurry.