Half and full Milano rib

Machine types that can knit it

• Single bed (punch card) + ribber
• Single bed (electronic) + ribber
• Double bed with pushers (Passap type)
• Double-bed hand flat (V-bed)

Steps

1. Cast on full needle rib.
2. Half Milano: row 1 both beds knit; row 2 front bed only. Repeat.
3. Full Milano: row 1 both beds; row 2 front only; row 3 back only. Repeat.
4. Keep weights even.

The full card

What it looks like

A firm, flat, stable double fabric with fine horizontal lines. Half Milano looks different on the two faces; full Milano looks the same on both.

How it behaves

Flat and stable. Less stretch than rib, little curl; holds its shape like a woven [inference].

How it works

Rows of full-needle rib (both beds knit) alternate with rows of single jersey. Half Milano: one row both beds, one row front bed only. Full Milano: one row both beds, one row front bed only, one row back bed only. The single-bed rows act like a tube inside the rib and hold the width.

Machines

Double bed (hand flat, single bed + ribber, industrial V-bed). On a domestic ribber, half Milano = the ribber knits on one pass and slips on the next [unverified].

Parameters

All needles in work on both beds (half pitch), or 1×1 rib needle set-up for a lighter version [unverified]. Repeat: 2 rows (half), 3 rows (full; the carriage direction changes every repeat).

Steps

1) Cast on full needle rib. 2) Half Milano: row 1 both beds knit; row 2 front bed only. Repeat. 3) Full Milano: row 1 both beds; row 2 front only; row 3 back only. Repeat. 4) Keep weights even.

Charting

Stoll colour key: "all needle (double bed)" light blue, "loop front single jersey" dark grey, "loop back single jersey" dark blue. Half Milano: light blue and grey rows alternate. Full Milano: light blue, grey, dark blue rows in turn.

Limits and common problems

On a 3-row repeat the carriage starts each repeat from the other side; set the beds for each row, not by side [inference]. Too loose a tension on the single rows gives a seersucker look [inference].

Combines with

cardigan-rib, tubular-channels, dbj-* (Milano is a common jacquard backing on industrial machines) [unverified].

Pieces and assembly

Tailored knitwear, jackets, skirts, trims that must not stretch. Chinese factory names: half Milano 三平, full Milano 四平空转 [unverified].

Related techniques

• Half and full cardigan (fisherman's rib)
• Tubular channels tied by a double-bed row
• Vertical rib (N×M)
• Pitch / half-pitch rib arrangement
• Horizontal rib by whole-width bed swap
• Knitting the first row after a transfer