Plating

Plating (sometimes spelled plaited knitting) is a machine knitting technique where two separate yarns of different colors, weights, or fibers are fed into the carriage simultaneously. The carriage is equipped with a specialized feeder that aligns the yarns so that one yarn always shows on the knit side of the stitch, while the other yarn shows on the purl side.

Carriage Setup & Feeders

Plating requires a specialized sinker plate or yarn feeder accessory (often called a plating feeder) which has two distinct slots:

• Main Yarn Slot: Holds the background or lining yarn. This yarn is positioned closer to the needle hooks and will show on the purl side of the fabric (the side facing the knitter during knitting).
• Plating Yarn Slot: Holds the face or pattern yarn. This yarn is positioned further back, ensuring it shows on the knit side of the fabric (the side facing away from the knitter).

Common Applications

• Reversible Fabrics: Creating a garment with one color on the outside and a contrasting color on the inside.
• Strength & Durability: Plating a weak decorative yarn (like mohair or silk) on the face with a strong reinforcing yarn (like nylon or wool) on the inside (common in sock heels).
• Elasticity: Plating Lycra or elastic thread on the inside of bands, cuffs, or socks to improve stretch recovery while keeping the soft main yarn on the face.
• Textured Effects: Using a shiny metallic thread as the plating yarn alongside a matte cotton background yarn to create subtle shimmer.

External Links & Video Demonstrations

• Needles of Steel: Plated & Confused Technique Guide
• Video Demonstration: Plating on a Lamb LT150 Circular Sock Machine