Weaving

Weaving (often called knit-weaving or lay-in) is a machine knitting technique where a thick, textured, or decorative pattern yarn is laid across the needle hooks and trapped (woven) onto the surface of a plain knitted backing fabric.

This allows knitters to incorporate heavy yarns that are too thick to fit inside the standard needle hooks.

Carriage Setup & Weaving Brushes

Weaving requires specialized carriage brushes (called weaving brushes or lay-in brushes) mounted on the sinker plate:

• Engaging Weaving: The carriage is set to the weaving setting (e.g., the WT button or weaving levers engaged on Brother carriages).
• Yarn Paths: The main background yarn is threaded through the carriage yarn feeder normally. The decorative weaving yarn is fed from a secondary tension mast or laid manually across the needles ahead of the carriage.
• Mechanism: As the carriage moves across the bed, the weaving brushes push the thick weaving yarn down, trapping it between the emerging knit loops of the main yarn. The weaving yarn does not actually form stitches; it is woven in and out of the backing fabric.

Common Applications

• Heavy Jackets & Outerwear: Creating thick, insulating, woven-like fabrics with excellent structural stability.
• Novelty Yarns: Incorporating boucle, slub, chenille, or ribbon yarns that cannot be knit normally.
• Home Decors: Designing sturdy placemats, cushion covers, and throws.