Jacquard Knit
Fabric — one of 56 in the glossary
A knit in which each needle is controlled independently, so a pattern can be built into the fabric as it is made rather than printed on afterwards. That independent control is what separates it from a dobby or a simple textured knit: the repeat can be large and pictorial rather than a small geometric figure, and it usually carries two or more colours knitted in.
Needle-by-needle control
On an ordinary knitting machine the needles work in fixed groups. A jacquard mechanism addresses each needle individually, so any needle can take any yarn at any row.
That allows large repeats, curves and multi-colour designs knitted directly into the cloth. A dobby, by contrast, handles only small geometric figures.
It is slower and more expensive to knit, which is why jacquard appears on premium and performance styles rather than on basics.
Knitted in, not printed on
Because the pattern is structural it exists on both faces, cannot crack or peel, and will not wash out — the fundamental advantage over printing.
It also means the pattern cannot be changed after the fact. A printed design can be swapped at short notice; a jacquard one is set at the knitting stage with its own minimums and lead time.
Multi-colour jacquards carry floats — yarn running behind the face where it is not in use — which adds thickness and, on a loose float, something that can snag.
Decorating a jacquard
The surface is patterned and often textured, so a screen print competes with the design underneath it and fine detail disappears.
Embroidery is the usual choice, placed on a plain area of the garment where there is one.
On a patterned knit, a decorated panel or a plain chest zone is worth specifying at the design stage rather than discovering afterwards.
Common questions
- What is a jacquard knit?
- A knit made on a machine that controls each needle independently, so a pattern — often multi-coloured and large — is built into the fabric as it is knitted rather than printed on.
- What is the difference between jacquard and dobby?
- How many yarns the machine controls independently, and therefore how big the figure can be. Dobby handles small geometric repeats; jacquard can produce large, curved, multi-colour designs.
- Does a jacquard pattern wash out?
- No. It is knitted into the structure of the fabric, so it appears on both faces and cannot crack, peel or fade the way a print can.
See also
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