PurlbedTuck and slip › Tuck on two beds
Tuck rib and bed-swap tuck bands
Tuck rib: a rib whose knit columns are broken by small tuck stitches, giving a bobbled, slightly wider rib. Bed-swap tuck bands: horizontal stripes of plain and reverse stitches with rows of small tucks, so each band has a dotted texture.
- Two beds
- Needle selection
Machine types that can knit it
Demo swatch
Drawn for: Single bed (punch card) + ribberApproximate preview worked out from the bed chart, not a photo.
Steps
- Set up a 3×2 rib.
- Select the centre needle of each front group to tuck for 3 rows, then knit 1 row. Repeat.
- For bed-swap bands: knit front, tuck alternate front needles, knit front; transfer to the back bed; knit back, tuck alternate back needles, knit back; transfer back.
The full card
- What it looks like
- Tuck rib: a rib whose knit columns are broken by small tuck stitches, giving a bobbled, slightly wider rib. Bed-swap tuck bands: horizontal stripes of plain and reverse stitches with rows of small tucks, so each band has a dotted texture.
- How it behaves
- The tucks widen the knit columns and add texture; the rib stretches less than plain rib [inference].
- How it works
- Tuck rib: a 3×2 rib (3 front, 2 back) in which the centre front needle tucks for three rows and knits on the fourth. Bed-swap tuck bands: a row of front single jersey, a row tucking every other front needle, a front row; then the same on the back bed (rear jersey, rear tuck row, rear jersey). Repeat.
- Machines
- Double bed. On domestic machines the main bed selects the tuck needles (punch card, electronic or pushers) [inference]; on a hand flat, put the tucking needles on high butts or set them by hand [unverified].
- Parameters
- Rib layout 3×2; tuck stack 3 rows then 1 knit row. Bed-swap: tuck every other needle, bands of 3 rows per bed.
- Steps
- 1) Set up a 3×2 rib. 2) Select the centre needle of each front group to tuck for 3 rows, then knit 1 row. Repeat. 3) For bed-swap bands: knit front, tuck alternate front needles, knit front; transfer to the back bed; knit back, tuck alternate back needles, knit back; transfer back.
- Charting
- Stoll colour key: tuck front orange, loop front dark grey, loop rear blue, tuck rear light green.
- Limits and common problems
- More than 3–4 tuck rows on one needle can fail to knit off [inference]. Transfers between beds need a careful knit-through row (see transfer-knit-through).
- Combines with
- tuck-single-colour, vertical-rib, block-transfer-checker, horizontal-rib.
- Pieces and assembly
- Textured welts and cuffs, all-over texture panels.
Written in our own words from machine manuals, knitting references and swatching. Knit a test swatch before a whole piece.