Hand-laid intarsia, single bed

Machine types that can knit it

• Single bed, punch card
• Single bed, electronic
• Single bed, no patterning
• Single bed (punch card) + ribber
• Single bed (electronic) + ribber
• Double bed with pushers (Passap type)

Steps

1. Knit the plain base with the K carriage; weight it.
2. Chart the areas full size, or use a knit-leader/charting device.
3. Wind one small ball or bobbin per area and park them on the floor in the order of the areas.
4. Bring the row's needles to E and check every latch is open.
5. Lay each yarn over its needles, working from the side the carriage will come from.
6. At each boundary, take the new yarn under/around the old one (cross).
7. Knit off (push back, or an empty carriage pass on N/knit).
8. Repeat for each row, crossing the opposite way on alternate rows (see the next card).
9. Weave tails diagonally on the purl side.

The full card

What it looks like

Face: crisp colour blocks in plain stocking stitch, no floats, no colour show-through. Small "steps" at diagonal edges, and a slightly enlarged edge stitch at vertical boundaries. Back: short crossing loops along every boundary, plus woven-in tails at the start and end of each area. That is the photo tell compared with the regular float grid of Fair Isle.

How it behaves

Flat, single layer, same thickness as stocking stitch. Minor puckering at tightly crossed boundaries.

How it works

Working needles are brought forward (E) with their stitches behind open latches. Each colour's yarn is laid by hand across the hooks of its own needles. Where two areas meet, the yarns are crossed. The laid yarns are then knitted off, either by pushing the needles back by hand or by an empty carriage pass set to knit. The Brother KH-892 manual shows a variant using the knit carriage with the yarns from the floor, not through the mast. Generic latch-needle behaviour is the basis [inference].

Machines

KH-821 single bed: yes (manual). +ribber: the ribber must be lowered/out of work, because this is single-bed only. Dubied: not practical, since there is no hold position to park needles with open latches (see ch1) [inference]. Electronic 9xx: same method, or the built-in intarsia setting (next card).

Parameters

colours per row 2–~10 (limited by ball handling); minimum area width ≥2 stitches (1-stitch areas look untidy); tension = plain-knit tension or 0.3–1 click looser, because hand-laid yarn feeds less evenly; claw weights moved up every ~20 rows.

Steps

1) Knit the plain base with the K carriage; weight it. 2) Chart the areas full size, or use a knit-leader/charting device. 3) Wind one small ball or bobbin per area and park them on the floor in the order of the areas. 4) Bring the row's needles to E and check every latch is open. 5) Lay each yarn over its needles, working from the side the carriage will come from. 6) At each boundary, take the new yarn under/around the old one (cross). 7) Knit off (push back, or an empty carriage pass on N/knit). 8) Repeat for each row, crossing the opposite way on alternate rows (see the next card). 9) Weave tails diagonally on the purl side.

Charting

A full-size grid (1 cell = 1 stitch) with colour fill. Draw area boundaries as heavy outlines. Give each area an ID (A1, A2, B1 …) = one yarn supply. Put a "yarn count per row" column at the right. Mark cross points ✕ only where the default "always cross" rule is broken (a deliberate slit).

Limits and common problems

Holes/slits if not crossed. Dropped stitches if a latch is closed. Tangling bobbins. Uneven stitch size from hand tension. Many tails, each adding bulk.

Combines with

plating inside an area; stripes inside an area; partial knit (ch1); intarsia slits for cable crossings.

Related techniques

• Intarsia carriage or built-in intarsia setting
• Intarsia by holding, one carriage pass per colour
• Partial-knit pseudo-intarsia
• Diamond / lozenge colour block
• Boundary behaviour and finishing in intarsia