PurlbedOttoman ridges › With floats
Float hook-up and latch-up embellishment
Floats pulled into a point at regular intervals (gathered butterfly/bowtie stitches) or worked into enlarged vertical chain stitches climbing the float ladder; optional beads. On machine: lift a float onto an empty mid-gap needle and knit it in on a single-bed row every N rows.
- Single bed
- Needle selection
Machine types that can knit it
Demo swatch
Drawn for: Single bed, punch cardApproximate preview worked out from the bed chart, not a photo.Part of this technique is done by hand (hooking up, chaining or closing loops); the demo shows the knitted base.
Steps
- Knit floats.
- Every N rows pick float, hang on centre empty needle, knit.
- Or after knitting, chain up floats with latch tool and secure.
The full card
- What it looks like
- Floats pulled into a point at regular intervals (gathered butterfly/bowtie stitches) or worked into enlarged vertical chain stitches climbing the float ladder; optional beads.
- How it behaves
- Small puckers / raised chain columns.
- How it works
- On machine: lift a float onto an empty mid-gap needle and knit it in on a single-bed row every N rows. Off machine: latch-hook up a column of floats bottom-to-top and secure at top.
- Machines
- Domestic (any) for on-machine variant; latch tool for off-machine.
- Parameters
- N = 2–4 rows; which floats (all or sequence).
- Steps
- 1) Knit floats. 2) Every N rows pick float, hang on centre empty needle, knit. 3) Or after knitting, chain up floats with latch tool and secure.
- Charting
- Float bands with a "V" hook-up mark on the centre needle at interval N.
- Limits and common problems
- Too frequent hook-ups tighten width.
- Combines with
- ottoman-floats.
- Pieces and assembly
- Float channels can serve as lacing/joining points.
Written in our own words from machine manuals, knitting references and swatching. Knit a test swatch before a whole piece.