Float control (latching, hooking up, bird's-eye dots)

Machine types that can knit it

• Single bed, punch card
• Single bed, electronic
• Single bed (punch card) + ribber
• Single bed (electronic) + ribber
• Double bed with pushers (Passap type)

The full card

What it looks like

On the purl side, long floats are caught up into stitches above, latched in chains, or broken up. On the knit side you may see small isolated dots ("lice", bird's-eye) scattered in large background areas, or slight show-through or puckers where floats were hooked.

How it behaves

Hooked floats pull the fabric in locally; latched chains can pucker strongly. Dotted designs stay flatter.

How it works

Either a design-time fix (punch extra single holes so long runs are broken) or knit-time hand work: lift the middle of a long float with a single transfer tool onto the needle above, so it is caught when the next row knits; stagger the needle used on successive rows. Other options: latch-chain several floats up, lay in a fine binding yarn, sew down afterwards, or cut deliberately long floats for fringe.

Machines

KH-821 yes; manual tools only.

Parameters

Hook any float > 5 sts. With strong colour contrast, hook onto a needle that knits the same colour as the float to reduce show-through (possible because Brother preselects). 1. After a row that leaves long floats, locate the middle of each float. 2. With the transfer tool, lift it into the hook of a needle in the row above (same-colour needle if possible). 3. Knit the next row; repeat, shifting to an adjacent needle each time.

Card design rules

Prefer to fix at the card: add seed or bird's-eye holes every 4–5 sts in big areas, or reduce motif width. A small all-over "backing" pattern keeps background floats short.

Charting

Draw added control dots in a distinct symbol (e.g. ● in a different colour) so they can be removed or checked. Annotate rows where hooking is required with "H@col".

Limits and common problems

Show-through of the contrasting colour. Puckers from latch chains. Forgetting rows.

Combines with

all Fair Isle; also knitweave and slip patterns with long floats.

Related techniques

• Two-colour Fair Isle
• Multi-colour Fair Isle by feeder changes
• Single motif
• Elongation / double length
• Double-bed jacquard (needs ribber)
• DBJ with bird's-eye backing