Tuck Stitch

Tuck stitch, a knitting stitch that produces tuck or open effects by having certain needles hold more than one loop at a time. There are only three types of loops or stitches possible in weft knitting: knit, tuck, and float. 

This type of stitch is referred to as the tuck stitch because one yarn is tucked behind the other and hides. The pattern on the left shows the technical face for a tuck stitch. Follow the green shaded course of yarn across the pattern and it looks like a loop has been tucked behind another. The pattern on the right shows the technical back for a tuck stitch. From the back, the tuck is more visible to the eye. 

How is a tuck stitch made? 

During the tuck cycle, at feed one, the needle moves up from its rest position and the old stitch that has been formed is held and not allowed to clear the latch yet the needle moves up far enough to grab a second yarn which is put into a tuck position, both yarns are then kept at the rest position. The knit cycle occurs with the next feed of yarn. At this time both yarns are cleared. The new yarn is fed and pulled through both the held and tuck loops forming a tuck stitch. The stress caused by holding one elongated stitch for an extra course causes more length shrinkage but less in width than a regular knitted stitch. The tuck loop makes the fabric wider and thicker and slightly less extensible. 

What is the structural effect of tucks on knits? 

Tuck stitches can give the fabric a cellular appearance. Some people refer to this as mesh. Tucks are the basis for pique, typically used for golf and tennis shirts that need to breathe and retain their shape but have some stretch. A wide range of pique constructions can be made, depending on the use and frequency of tuck stitches.