Purlbed

Tuck and slip › Guilloché, nopps and trellis

Guilloché on one bed

Single-bed fabric with rows of small tucks between knit stitches, like a fine engraved texture. On one bed, tucks and formed stitches alternate. Low-butt needles tuck for 2, 3 or more rows, with tucking cams at ½, then 1 or 2 rows of formation clear them.

Machine types that can knit it

Demo swatch

Drawn for: Double-bed hand flat (V-bed)
Approximate preview worked out from the bed chart, not a photo.
Bed chart
15101520253035→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←Back bedTuck1 square = 1 stitch × 1 row · read from the bottom · Hand flat (V-bed), 36 needles, half pitch
Needle notation, first steps
1. Rows 1–3: knit 3 rowsBack bed only · tuck 12carriage →backfront2. Row 4: knit 1 rowBack bed only← carriagebackfront3. Rows 5–7: knit 3 rowsBack bed only · tuck 12carriage →backfront4. Row 8: knit 1 rowBack bed only← carriagebackfrontShowing needles L12–R12 of 36; repeat across the working area.

Carriage settings on a Dubied

Guilloché on one bed
Rear
  1. rearfront1100½½00
    1. Carriage on the right. Knit 3 rows: the low butts tuck.
  2. rearfront1100½000
    2. Knit 1 row, the formation row. Repeat from the first setting.
Set-up, welt and transfer everything from the front bed to the rear, or start with a single bed cast on.
How to read the cross
  • The four quarters are the carriage: top rear bed, bottom front bed, left moving left, right moving right.
  • Corners, knit/miss cam: 1 knits; ½ knits on high butts only and misses low butts; 0 is out of work.
  • Diamond, tucking cam: 0 no tuck; ½ low butts tuck, high butts knit; 1 all needles tuck. An empty diamond is all 0.
  • Numbers on the line are tension dials, 0 tightest to 20 loosest. A + means looser than your usual size.
  • Set-out: long tick high butt, short tick low butt, dot out of action.
Racking handle: up moves the rear bed left, down moves it right, up to 6 notches. Rack only with the carriage clear of the needles.

Steps

  1. Set out the rear bed.
  2. Single bed cast on, or set-up, welt and transfer everything to the rear.
  3. Carriage on the right, 3 rows.
  4. 1 row of formation.
  5. Repeat.

The full card

What it looks like
Single-bed fabric with rows of small tucks between knit stitches, like a fine engraved texture.
How it behaves
Slight texture. Tucks pull the fabric narrower.
How it works
On one bed, tucks and formed stitches alternate. Low-butt needles tuck for 2, 3 or more rows, with tucking cams at ½, then 1 or 2 rows of formation clear them.
Machines
Dubied with high and low butts.
Parameters
2 high, 1 low. 3 tuck rows and 1 formation row.
Steps
1) Set out the rear bed. 2) Single bed cast on, or set-up, welt and transfer everything to the rear. 3) Carriage on the right, 3 rows. 4) 1 row of formation. 5) Repeat.
Charting
Bed chart with tuck cells on the low-butt needles.
Limits and common problems
Too many tuck rows can pile up and fail to clear [inference].
Combines with
guilloche-rib, guilloche-nopps, tuck-single-colour.
Pieces and assembly
Light textured panels.

Written in our own words from machine manuals, knitting references and swatching. Knit a test swatch before a whole piece.

Related techniques