PurlbedRib › Racked fabrics
Racked full-needle rib
Full-needle rib whose stitches lean back and forth in a fine ripple. Chinese flat-knitting calls this family 扳花 ("racked pattern"). Every needle on both beds knits and the back bed moves between rows, so the stitches lean.
- 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.
Carriage settings on a Dubied
Same cams every pass (both beds knit). Rack by hand between passes. Half pitch on the racking handle.
Worked out from the demo chart above: set the needles, then the cams for each run of rows. Change the number of rows to suit your sample.
| Step | What to do | How |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | Set the needles | full needle rib (every needle on both beds) · front 36 / back 36 needles in work · half pitch (needles between) |
| Step 2 | Set the beds | Needles between each other (half pitch); racking handle at 0. |
| Step 3 | Cast on | Set-up: comb up between the beds, all K/M cams on 1, tension loose, carriage on the right. Knit 1 row, release the comb. Welt: K/M cams 0 1 / 1 0 (tubular). Knit at least 2 rows. Hang the weights, then set the cams for the fabric. |
| Step 4 | Knit rows 1–36 (36 rows) | Carriage: → both beds knit (rack 0); ← both beds knit (rack +2); repeat these passes 18 times Tension (stitch size): your usual tension Yarn: Yarn A |
| Step 5 | Cast off | Cast off by hand, or knit a few rows of waste yarn and take the piece off (as your workshop teaches). |
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.
Steps
- Cast on all needles on both beds, half pitch.
- Knit 1 row at rack
- Rack to +2.
- Knit 1 row.
- Rack to
- Repeat 2–5.
The full card
- What it looks like
- Full-needle rib whose stitches lean back and forth in a fine ripple. Chinese flat-knitting calls this family 扳花 ("racked pattern").
- How it behaves
- Firm double fabric with a surface ripple. After it comes off the machine the yarn springs back and a small rack almost disappears.
- How it works
- Every needle on both beds knits and the back bed moves between rows, so the stitches lean. In theory one needle is enough, but the yarn springs back when the fabric comes off the machine and the ripple fades, so production usually moves two needles per row. Older Chinese practice moves the two beds in opposite directions; a hand flat moves only the back bed. On an every-other-needle rib, rack by 2 for the same swing.
- Machines
- Double bed with a racking handle. All needles in work at half pitch. Test yarn and tension before large racks: expect breakage or jams otherwise.
- Parameters
- Rack 2 needles after each row (0, 2, 0, 2). Keep the tension loose enough for the shift. Try 2 knit rows per rack on your yarn for a softer ripple [inference].
- Steps
- 1) Cast on all needles on both beds, half pitch. 2) Knit 1 row at rack 0. 3) Rack to +2. 4) Knit 1 row. 5) Rack to 0. 6) Repeat 2–5.
- Charting
- Bed chart in double jersey, with the rack position marked on each row.
- Limits and common problems
- Too small a rack disappears in finishing. Too tight a tension breaks stitches or jams the carriage on the rack.
- Combines with
- racked-wale-zigzag, milano-rib, vertical-rib.
- Pieces and assembly
- Trims, panels and scarves. Steam a sample before judging the ripple.
Written in our own words from machine manuals, knitting references and swatching. Knit a test swatch before a whole piece.