Plating on a 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)
• Double-bed hand flat (V-bed)

Steps

1. Fit the plating feeder.
2. Thread the face yarn (central hole) and the purl-side yarn (crescent) from separate masts.
3. Swatch, check both faces.
4. Knit.

The full card

What it looks like

Face (knit side) almost entirely yarn 1; purl side almost entirely yarn 2, with slight bleed of the other colour (stronger with similar thickness and loose tension). A photo of the purl side showing a *different solid colour* is the tell.

How it behaves

Single layer, but as thick as the two yarns combined. Denser and more stable.

How it works

A plating feeder carries two yarns. On Brother, the main yarn goes in the central hole and the second yarn in the crescent slot behind it. The second yarn trails, is always taken second, and lies on the purl side. Stoll describes the leading (plating) yarn lying on the front of a jersey stitch. Conflict: one wiki states the reverse for "main yarn slot". Always confirm with a swatch.

Machines

KH-8xx: Brother accessory plating feeder that replaces the standard feeder (fitment to KH-821 [unverified]). The KR-850 ribber also has its own plating feeder; the KR-830 does not. LK-150 has it built in; KH-260 is built in. Dubied: plating carriers are common. Mock plating without a feeder: lock the card on a blank row, set Fair Isle (MC) and use feeders A/B. Colour distribution is less consistent.

Parameters

tension = what you'd use for one yarn of the combined thickness; thicker yarn on the right-hand mast; the plating yarn often finer than the ground.

Steps

1) Fit the plating feeder. 2) Thread the face yarn (central hole) and the purl-side yarn (crescent) from separate masts. 3) Swatch, check both faces. 4) Knit.

Charting

Colour key with two entries per row: "F:" (face yarn) and "B:" (back yarn). A plated row is shown as a split cell (upper-left triangle = face yarn, lower-right = back yarn).

Limits and common problems

Yarn twisting in the feeder flips the colours (spotty). Too loose a tension causes bleed. A bulky combination jams.

Combines with

reverse plating stripes (next card); thread lace (selected needles knit only the fine yarn).

Related techniques

• Plating
• Reverse plating, plated rib and plated transfers
• Elastane plating