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Racked cardigan (half and full)

A cardigan fabric whose stitches lean in small zigzags. Up close the feet of the stitches pull one way and the loops tilt the other way; there is no colour or structure change, so "racking can only be identified by the stitches". Racked every 2 rows, the lean shows on one face only.

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.
Bed chart
15101520253035→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10Both beds (double jersey)Tuck+1Rack to this position before the row (0 = home)1 square = 1 stitch × 1 row · read from the bottom · Hand flat (V-bed), 36 needles, half pitch
Needle notation, first steps
1. Row 1: knit 1 rowDouble jersey (all needles)tuck 36carriage →backfront2. Rack the back bed to 1needle right of homebackfront3. Row 2: knit 1 rowDouble jersey (all needles)rack +1← carriagebackfront4. Row 3: knit 1 rowDouble jersey (all needles)tuck 36 · rack +1carriage →backfrontShowing needles L12–R12 of 36; repeat across the working area.

Carriage settings on a Dubied

Half cardigan racked, four steps each wayHandle in its highest position (up).
RearFront
  1. rearfront11110001
    Carriage on the right. Knit 2 rows, rack 1 right (handle down). Rack like this 4 times, one position every 2 rows. Then repeat going the other way.
Half cardigan racked, one step each wayRear 1 needle in action, 2 out. Front in singles and pairs of spaces: follow your notes for the exact set-out.
  1. rearfront11110001
    Carriage on the right. Knit 2 rows, rack 1 right. Repeat, alternating the direction of the rack.
Half cardigan racked, two needles every 6 rows
RearFront
  1. rearfront11110001
    Carriage on the right. Knit 6 rows, rack 2 right. Repeat, alternating left and right.
Full cardigan racked, every 2 rowsHandle in the middle.
RearFront
  1. rearfront11111001
    Carriage on the right. Rack before knitting. Every 2 rows rack 1 left, then 1 right, for 10 rows. Then every 2 rows 1 right, then 1 left, for 10 rows. Repeat.
Stripe in full cardigan, racked
RearFront
  1. rearfront11111001
    X rows in colour 1 with no rack. Then 2 rows colour 2 and rack 1 right; 2 rows colour 2 and rack 1 right; 2 rows colour 3 and rack 1 left; 2 rows colour 3 and rack 1 left. Repeat the racked part as often as you want, then go back to colour 1 with no rack.
How to read the cross
  • The four quarters are the carriage: top rear bed, bottom front bed, left moving left, right moving right.
  • Corners, knit/miss cam: 1 knits; ½ knits on high butts only and misses low butts; 0 is out of work.
  • Diamond, tucking cam: 0 no tuck; ½ low butts tuck, high butts knit; 1 all needles tuck. An empty diamond is all 0.
  • Numbers on the line are tension dials, 0 tightest to 20 loosest. A + means looser than your usual size.
  • Set-out: long tick high butt, short tick low butt, dot out of action.
Racking handle: up moves the rear bed left, down moves it right, up to 6 notches. Rack only with the carriage clear of the needles.

Steps

  1. Cast on all needles on both beds, half pitch.
  2. Half: knit front, tuck back; rack to +1; knit both; knit front, tuck back; rack to 0; knit both. Repeat.
  3. Full: knit front, tuck back; rack to +1; tuck front, knit back; knit front, tuck back; rack to 0; tuck front, knit back. Repeat.
  4. Rack only between passes, with the carriage past the work and no needle raised.

The full card

What it looks like
A cardigan fabric whose stitches lean in small zigzags. Up close the feet of the stitches pull one way and the loops tilt the other way; there is no colour or structure change, so "racking can only be identified by the stitches". Racked every 2 rows, the lean shows on one face only.
How it behaves
Thick and lofty like plain cardigan, with a slight surface ripple. The edges stay about straight because the bed goes back to where it started every 4 rows.
How it works
A cardigan knitted with the back bed moved one needle between passes. Half cardigan racked: pass 1 front knit, back tuck; rack 0 to 1; pass 2 both knit; pass 3 front knit, back tuck; rack 1 to 0; pass 4 both knit. Full cardigan racked: pass 1 front knit, back tuck; rack 0 to 1; pass 2 front tuck, back knit; pass 3 front knit, back tuck; rack 1 to 0; pass 4 front tuck, back knit. The tuck loops take up the shift, which is why you rack on a tuck course.
Machines
Double bed with racking: Dubied and other hand flats (cardigan cams and racking handle), single bed + ribber (ribber tuck levers, racking handle), Passap. All needles in work on both beds. Beds cannot rack with needles in hold.
Parameters
Rack 1 needle, every 2 rows. Pitch: half pitch (needles between), all needles on both beds. Stitch size: Stoll uses the same size on both beds, NP 2–2. Repeat: 4 rows.
Steps
1) Cast on all needles on both beds, half pitch. 2) Half: knit front, tuck back; rack to +1; knit both; knit front, tuck back; rack to 0; knit both. Repeat. 3) Full: knit front, tuck back; rack to +1; tuck front, knit back; knit front, tuck back; rack to 0; tuck front, knit back. Repeat. 4) Rack only between passes, with the carriage past the work and no needle raised.
Charting
Bed chart as half or full cardigan, with the rack position marked at the rows where it changes (+1, 0). Passes: KT / KK or KT / TK.
Limits and common problems
Racking on a plain knit course pulls stitches tight and can break them; rack on the tuck course. Forgetting a rack shifts the whole zigzag. Keep the count on paper.
Combines with
cardigan-rib, racked-herringbone, racked-wale-zigzag.
Pieces and assembly
Scarves, chunky jumpers, collars. Cardigan fabrics are heavy: hang weights evenly.

Written in our own words from machine manuals, knitting references and swatching. Knit a test swatch before a whole piece.

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