PurlbedKnitting machine type
Single bed, no patterning
An entry-level single bed, often plastic and usually mid or bulky gauge, with no punch card or electronics. The carriage can hold needles, so short rows work. Tuck, slip and two-colour work are only possible by pulling the needles forward by hand every row. There is no lace carriage and no second bed.
Can do: hold (short rows), tuck, slip, two colours in a row
Cannot do: rib and double jersey, transfers between beds, lace carriage
- No automatic needle selection
- One bed, so pitch does not apply
- Needle spacing: 6.5 / 7 / 9 mm
- Default 150 needles (up to 150)
Examples: Silver Reed LK150 / LK140; Brother KX-350 / KX-355; Studio HK100, LK100; Metal bulky manuals such as Silver Reed SK-151
How to draw for it
- Draw only on the main bed.
- Tuck and slip patterns are allowed, but each patterned row becomes a hand-select step, so keep repeats small.
- Hold cells work as normal for short rows and partial knitting.
- Prefer lifted stitches, cables and hand-transferred lace over selection-heavy textures.
- Pick the matching gauge (6.5 to 9 mm) so the preview reflects the thicker yarn.
34 techniques you can knit on it
Jacquard (Fair Isle)
Intarsia
Short rows (partial knitting)
- Partial-knit hold mechanics
- Wrapping & float discipline
- One-side wedge / curve / spiral
- Alternating wedges, stripes & chevrons
- Centre bulge / dome
- Flared / ruffled edges
- Inset godet / pocket-flap triangle
- Peaks / pyramids (single and arrays)
- Partially knitted sections (leaning columns)
- Twisted / staggered sections
- Sections with needle-out bridges
- Mirrored sections (multi-bobbin)
- Knitted loops & surface braids
- Edge loops for joining pieces
Lifted stitches
- Basic lifted stitch (heel hook-up)
- Selective lifts, alternating grid (honeycomb / smocking)
- Charted lift placement (blocks, diamonds, conceal-and-reveal)
- Stepped adjacent lifts (diagonal wave)
- Lifts with contrasting yarn weights/fibres
- Lift-and-shift (directional/twisting lifts)
- Full-row lift (horizontal tuck/roll)
- Partial knit + lift: diagonal ripples
- Sectioned ripples in multiple directions
- Stacked shrinking ripples (pyramid / peak)
- Partial-knit peaks closed by lifting
- Short-row godet ground with ripple dividers
- Partial-knit loops closed by lifting (loop pile)
Other machine types
Researched from machine manuals, dealer spec sheets and knitting references; a few details are still unconfirmed.