Basic lifted stitch (heel hook-up)

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)
• Double-bed hand flat (V-bed)

Steps

1. Knit base and hang weights.
2. Change colour (makes the source row easy to find), knit R rows.
3. Optionally remove weights to see the source row.
4. Spear heel of source stitch at needle n.
5. Pull needle n forward and place loop behind latch/over hook so both loops sit on n.
6. Push needle n to hold (E) with hold cam OFF so it is forced to knit on next pass, or to UWP (D) if partial knit is active.
7. Knit on; reapply weights/claw weights.

The full card

What it looks like

Building block; on its own shows as a small pucker or a single stretched vertical strand on the purl face, and a tiny gathered dimple/bulge on the knit face directly above the lifted point.

How it behaves

Local relief; magnitude scales with rows between source row and current row.

How it works

Knit R rows; with a transfer tool, spear the heel (purl bump) of the stitch on the source row (usually the last row of the previous colour stripe); hang it on the target needle, which now carries two loops; next pass knits both together, permanently shortening that column by R rows.

Machines

Single bed only (any domestic: Brother KH-821-type punch card, Silver Reed, etc.). Needs single-prong or multi-prong transfer tool. Hold position useful for forcing. Not possible on industrial machines (no hand access); awkward with ribber up.

Parameters

R = rows above source row (2–30 typical; up to 150 for extreme rolls); lifted stitch count per group g; gap between groups s; tension: normal for yarn (domestic ~5–7 for 4-ply).

Steps

1) Knit base and hang weights. 2) Change colour (makes the source row easy to find), knit R rows. 3) Optionally remove weights to see the source row. 4) Spear heel of source stitch at needle n. 5) Pull needle n forward and place loop behind latch/over hook so both loops sit on n. 6) Push needle n to hold (E) with hold cam OFF so it is forced to knit on next pass, or to UWP (D) if partial knit is active. 7) Knit on; reapply weights/claw weights.

Charting

Grid: 1 cell = 1 needle × 1 row; stripes as grey-value bands per yarn; draw a curved arrow from the source cell up to the row where it is rehung. Needle diagram: vertical lines = needles in work, dots = empty positions; the double-loop needle drawn with two stacked loop marks plus an arrow coming up from the lower row.

Limits and common problems

Picking any part other than the heel works but looks less even; double-loaded needle may fail to knit unless forced; lifting from the wrong row produces irregular bulges.

Combines with

All other lift cards, partial knit, striping, tuck/slip patterns in divider areas.

Pieces and assembly

The same move can hang a cast-on edge, a corner, or live loops of a separate piece onto the needles → seamless joining of a flap/panel onto the main fabric.

Related techniques

• Selective lifts, alternating grid (honeycomb / smocking)
• Charted lift placement (blocks, diamonds, conceal-and-reveal)
• Stepped adjacent lifts (diagonal wave)
• Lifts with contrasting yarn weights/fibres
• Lift-and-shift (directional/twisting lifts)
• Full-row lift (horizontal tuck/roll)