PurlbedOttoman ridges › Rolls
Ottoman Ripple Fold
A crosswise rounded roll or ridge, softer and puffier than a transfer fold, with a slightly bulged edge rather than a knife-sharp crease. Repeats form ribbed bands, which may sit at uneven heights when one bed is repeated. No transfers. One bed knits k rows while the other bed holds its stitches.
- Two beds
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.
The full card
- What it looks like
- A crosswise rounded roll or ridge, softer and puffier than a transfer fold, with a slightly bulged edge rather than a knife-sharp crease. Repeats form ribbed bands, which may sit at uneven heights when one bed is repeated.
- How it behaves
- The extra length on one face forces the fabric to buckle over itself. After steaming it holds as well as a transfer fold. It folds in the opposite direction to a transfer fold made on the same bed.
- How it works
- No transfers. One bed knits k rows while the other bed holds its stitches. The face that knits gains length (the ripple), and the held loops underneath add tension that pulls the fold closed.
- Machines
- Needs a double bed. One bed must be able to slip or hold while the other knits: carriage set to non-knit, or a domestic ribber set to part/slip in both directions. Faster than transferring, so useful for quick concept swatches. [KB inference] On a single bed, partial knitting with needles in hold can imitate small ripples, but it is not the same structure.
- Parameters
- Hdj (6-40), k (2-6; 4 is standard), bed sequence. To match the direction of a transfer fold made on bed X, work the Ottoman on the opposite bed. 1. Cast on in DJ. Knit Hdj rows. 2. Set the front bed to hold. Knit k rows on the back bed only. 3. Both beds back in work. Knit Hdj rows of DJ. 4. Set the back bed to hold. Knit k rows on the front bed only. 5. Repeat. Vary the sequence (e.g. back, back, front) for non-zigzag profiles.
- Charting
- Like the transfer accordion, but with light-tint bands: pale red = Ottoman on the front bed, pale blue = Ottoman on the back bed. The tint distinguishes "held, not transferred" from a transfer fold. Needle diagram: no transfer arrows. The holding bed's dots carry a small "H" or a bracket.
- Limits and common problems
- Less crisp, so it needs steam setting. Building up too many rows on one side makes a loose loop instead of a fold. Avoid relying on it for diagonal folds: diagonals can only be made with transfers.
- Combines with
- colour-in-folds (a contrast colour on the ripple rows gives a coloured edge roll), horizontal-transfer-fold.
- Pieces and assembly
- As for the transfer fold. A good prototyping substitute before committing to transfers in the final piece.
Written in our own words from machine manuals, knitting references and swatching. Knit a test swatch before a whole piece.