Integrated Box Pleat

Machine types that can knit it

• Single bed (punch card) + ribber
• Single bed (electronic) + ribber
• Double bed with pushers (Passap type)
• Double-bed hand flat (V-bed)

The full card

What it looks like

Symmetric, flat-faced boxes. Each raised flat face is bounded by two folds turning in toward each other underneath, so pairs of knife pleats face each other. Between boxes is an inverted pleat (a valley seam). It looks tailored, like a kilt or a shirt back pleat.

How it behaves

Stands slightly proud and gathers width symmetrically. The flat faces stay planar.

How it works

As for the knife pleat, but the fold sequence is a mountain, then two valleys, then a mountain, so two adjacent folds share a direction and two knife pleats oppose each other.

Machines

As for the vertical accordion. Needs very wide needle counts: a fine-gauge V-bed fits 3 repeats, a domestic machine about 2.

Parameters

A (20 / ~10), B (A/2; can only be reduced, e.g. 0.3·A, which gives a smaller, more drawn-out box), F = 4. Repeat width = 2A + 2B + 4F. Cast-on N = E + n·(2A+2B+4F). 1. Cast on N in DJ. 2. Layout: E DJ | [F back-only | B DJ | F front-only | A DJ | F front-only | B DJ | F back-only | A DJ] × n. 3. Knit the length. Bind off.

Charting

Columns blue, red, red, blue around the B, A, B sections, with brackets marking A and B. Needle diagram: arrows show F→B transfers at the outer folds and B→F transfers at the inner pair.

Limits and common problems

Increasing B past A/2 makes the sections overlap and the pleat stand up on edge (see standing-box-pleat). That can be used as a feature, but it is no longer flat.

Combines with

knife-pleat, standing-box-pleat.

Pieces and assembly

As for the knife pleat.

Related techniques

• Vertical Accordion Pleat
• Integrated Knife Pleat
• Raised Box Fold (Over-filled Box Pleat)
• Right-triangle transfers (knife pleat)
• Horizontal Transfer Fold (Accordion)
• Diagonal-boundary chevron transfers