Partial-knit pseudo-intarsia

Machine types that can knit it

• Single bed, punch card
• Single bed, electronic
• Single bed (punch card) + ribber
• Single bed (electronic) + ribber
• Double bed with pushers (Passap type)

Steps

1. Base in A, carriage on R.
2. In B, hold n needles per pass from the L until all are held.
3. Remove B. Empty pass to L.
4. In C, return n needles per pass from the L until all are working.
5. Empty pass. In A, knit the separator rows.
6. Mirror the direction for the next band.

The full card

What it looks like

Crisp geometric colour blocks: triangles meeting on a diagonal, diamonds, repeated lozenges. Edges are clean diagonals. There are no carried floats on the back. The fabric stays flat and rectangular.

How it behaves

Flat (shaping in = shaping out).

How it works

Hold progressively in colour B until all needles are held. Park B (no need to cut). Bring the carriage back with an empty pass: disengage it or put all needles in hold. Then return the needles progressively in colour C, which fills the complementary triangle. A few plain rows in A separate the bands.

Machines

Single bed, hold. No intarsia carriage. An empty-pass capability is needed (part/slip, or all needles to hold).

Parameters

rate (needles per pass); number of colours; separator rows (≈4).

Steps

1) Base in A, carriage on R. 2) In B, hold n needles per pass from the L until all are held. 3) Remove B. Empty pass to L. 4) In C, return n needles per pass from the L until all are working. 5) Empty pass. In A, knit the separator rows. 6) Mirror the direction for the next band.

Charting

Fill cells by yarn colour; there is one boundary diagonal per block. Note "empty pass" rows as arrow-only rows with no shaded cells.

Limits and common problems

When inserting a yarn mid-bed, lay it inside the working needles and over the held ones, or the centre needles miss it and drop. Each colour change needs the carriage on the correct side.

Combines with

pk-diamond-block, stripes.

Pieces and assembly

Encodes colour regions within one piece. This is a good alternative to separate pieces for flat colour areas, e.g. black/white zones without relief.

Related techniques

• Diamond / lozenge colour block
• Hand-laid intarsia, single bed
• Intarsia carriage or built-in intarsia setting
• Intarsia by holding, one carriage pass per colour
• Boundary behaviour and finishing in intarsia