PurlbedJacquard (Fair Isle) › Single-bed jacquard (floats at the back)
Single motif
One isolated Fair Isle motif (≤ 24 sts wide on basic cams) on a plain stockinette ground. On machines with motif cams, multiple motifs of 48 or 72 sts are possible. Edges of the motif may show small holes or ladders where CC turns back.
- Single bed
- Needle selection
Machine types that can knit it
Demo swatch
Drawn for: Single bed, electronicApproximate preview worked out from the bed chart, not a photo.The colours are the point here: the preview shows the pattern, and the fabric itself lies flat.
The full card
- What it looks like
- One isolated Fair Isle motif (≤ 24 sts wide on basic cams) on a plain stockinette ground. On machines with motif cams, multiple motifs of 48 or 72 sts are possible. Edges of the motif may show small holes or ladders where CC turns back.
- How it behaves
- Floats exist only behind the motif. The motif area is slightly firmer and narrower than the surrounding plain fabric.
- How it works
- On the KH-881/891, the one-point cam or motif cams plus the SM / KC2 setting limit selection to the motif area; outside it, needles stay at B and knit MC. Separate MC strands at the motif edges close the gap. The KH-821 has no such setting. [inference] Workaround: after each preselecting pass, push every selected needle outside the motif back to B by hand, so only motif needles remain at D.
- Machines
- Automatic on KH-881/891, SR SK-280 (point cams), and electronics. KH-821: manual only.
- Parameters
- Motif width ≤ 24 sts per one-point cam; 48/72 with linked motif cams (KH-891). 1. Set up Fair Isle. 2. Mark the motif needle range with tape. 3. After each pass, return all D needles outside the range to B. 4. Knit the next row; repeat. 5. Close motif-edge gaps by twisting a short MC strand at each edge every row.
- Card design rules
- Motif fits within a 24-st column window; rows above and below the motif on the card should be blank if you want plain fabric there without hand work.
- Charting
- Chart the motif only, with the needle range noted (e.g. "L6–R18").
- Limits and common problems
- It is slow on the KH-821, and missing a needle puts CC stitches in the ground. Gaps form at the edges.
- Combines with
- intarsia-like weaving, knit leader placement.
Written in our own words from machine manuals, knitting references and swatching. Knit a test swatch before a whole piece.