Machine knitting pattern definitions - ribber bed techniques

Decided to split up the definitions into main bed and ribber for clarity.

Basic rib, 1x1 rib, 2x2 rib, 5x5 rib etc

Ribbed knitting created by use of the ribber bed for purl stitches.

Half-fisherman's rib

Ribbed knitting where the purl stitches are tucked in one direction (ie every other row)

Full Fisherman's rib

Ribbed knitting where the purl stitches are tucked in both directions (ie every row)

Full needle rib

Ribbed knitting created using every needle on both beds, ribber bed set at half-pitch. Because there is less room to move, finer yarn must be used.

Pile knitting

A thin yarn is knitted in and then dropped, creating a pile on side of the knitting. Done with a special p carriage on the Silver Reed machines, can be done with some effort on other makes.

Drive Lace

"You use the second bed to pick up the loop of yarn, and then you drop the loop off the needles, the extra yarn just makes a looser stitch in a stocking stitch fabric and thus appears to be a lace hole. On the Knitmaster machines you would have had all the work on the ribber bed, and used the main bed, a punchcard and slip setting for selecting the needles that would pick up the yarn. Then you would have knitted a row on the ribber ONLY (the punchcard was only marked out on alternate rows). Then you would have used the P-carriage to drop the stitches off the main bed needles."

Definition courtesy of Glynne Jones, UK

Shadow lace

"Shadow lace is knitted using both main bed and ribber, and you transfer the 'lace' stitches from one bed to the other. I was used to doing it on the Passap using its transfer carriage which made it very easy, but I do remember doing something similar on the Silver machines using 'Jaws'! Because it is basically a rib fabric, the 'lace' stitches are not very open but it produces a rather nice fabric.

Jaws was the name we gave to the special transfer tool - hard to describe, but it has two rows of eyelets set opposite each other, eyelet to eyelet and you pick up the stitches from selected needles onto one set of eyelete,close the tool and sort of 'rock' the stitches over onto the other set ofeyelets and transfer the stitches onto the needles on the opposite bed."

Definition courtesy of Sheila, Western Australia

Double bed jacquard

Two or more colours knitted in such a way as to create a pattern on one side, and to have a plain, striped or bird's eye backing on the wrong side. The knitting is technically a tube, knitted together every time the yarn changes to the front or back.

More definitions to be added later - I am away from my notes right now!