Archive of Thread: Plaiting Back

4 years ago
Hi Sue,
  I have been a member for a couple of years now and I have learned so much from this website and you particularly. I have not seen a topic on Plaiting. I have a Toyota Ks 901 and a plaiting foot attachment was an option. I am seeing items done this way but would like to know if it's worth investing in. Does anyone use one of those.
Thanks for all your help
Doris

4 years ago
I have done plaiting on my Brother and Siver Reed machines.  I really like the finished product.  Two different colors or two different yarns give a nice design to Ponchos, etc, and I plan on trying the technique on mittens to see if they turn our warmer.

4 years ago
Hi Doris!
Thank you for your long-time support!  I'm so glad we've been able to help you.

Plaiting is an interesting technique.  It' simply a way to knit 2 strands of yarn together with them aligned in such a way that one color shows on one side of the knitting and the other color shows on the opposite side.

On some machines, you need to change out the yarn feeder for a special plaiting feeder.  Not all machines have this capability.

NOTE, you are knitting with 2 strands of yarn, so you need to use finer yarn that you would normally for your machine.

Here's a short video on how it works on the LK-150 (the plaiting feature is built-in)

2 Strands Plaited:

 

If you simply knit 2 strands together you get a "marled" appearance. The strands are not organized or positioned as they are with plaiting.

4 years ago
Hi,
About the plating query,
I have recently been following the blanket knit-along in which blocks were knitted in different stitches. I found that the stocking stitch blocks were much thinner than the textured blocks. Plating the stocking stich blocks with a thinner yarn and using a higher tension to accommodate the two yarns solved the problem beautifully and produced blocks of equal thickness. I have been using a lk150 machine and the plating was a simple procedure.
I was so pleased with the results that I am looking for other oportunities to use this stitch.
Give it a go you will find lots of uses for plating.
Patricia

4 years ago
Thank you all. Now I just need to find one.
Doris

4 years ago
You will love plating, Doris!  I have done it on standard gauge machines and just recently used it in my Sample Swatch Blanket on my Option 4 (same as LK 150.)  The stitch is particularly effective if the yarn on the public side is a little finer than the backing yarn, or is a bouclé.

Jenny