Patterned Knitwear: Fair Isle, Jacquard and Argyle, and What Separates Them

Three words that get used as if they mean the same thing. In a tech pack they decide the machine, the yarn carriers and the price.

Fifteen patterned styles are in production: four Fair Isle, seven jacquard, four argyle. Composition, gauge, weight and indicative FOB are listed below, with the construction each one is actually knitted on — thirteen double-bed jacquard, two intarsia.

Send a pattern brief Read the difference first
Patterned 7-gauge jacquard-knitted sweater, SOFTEX style QM9023, 100% merino wool, 613 g at size M

Style QM9023 — 100% merino wool, 7GG, 613 g at size M, the heaviest piece in the patterned range.

15
Patterned styles
5–12
GG
5–25
USD FOB
200
Pieces per colour

Three words, three different things

Two of them name a technique. One names a shape. That mismatch is where tech packs go wrong.

Jacquard is the family name, not a single technique

Jacquard means the machine selects needles individually, course by course, to build a design. That is the mechanism. What the reverse of the fabric looks like depends on whether the machine has one needle bed or two.

Single-bed jacquard leaves the unused colours floating across the back, and you can see them. Double-bed jacquard traps those floats between two fabric layers, so neither face shows a float. Both are called jacquard. They are not the same product, and they do not cost the same.

Fair Isle is a tradition inside the jacquard family

Fair Isle comes from Shetland. The working definition is narrower than most buyers expect: no more than two colours in any single row. A whole garment can carry a dozen shades, but never two at once in the same course.

The small repeating motifs are called peeries. Where you put them is a separate decision, and a commercial one: all-over, yoke only, or a single chest band. Fair Isle knitted into a circular yoke is the most familiar modern placement, but the yoke is a position, not a definition.

How the second colour travels is a third decision, and it is the one buyers miss. On a single bed it floats across the reverse. On a double bed it is trapped between two layers. All four Fair Isle styles on this page are knitted on double-bed machines, so their reverse is a plain back rather than a stripe of floats.

Argyle is a motif, and any technique can make it

Argyle is the diamond motif, and the word describes what the pattern looks like rather than how it was knitted. The same diamonds can be built two ways, and the choice changes the garment more than the drawing does.

As intarsia, each colour block has its own yarn carrier. Nothing floats, the reverse is clean, and the fabric stays light. On a double bed, the unused colour is trapped between layers, which makes a warmer and denser piece with a plain back. Two of the four argyle styles here are intarsia; the other two are double-bed.

The four routes, side by side

This is the table worth putting in front of your designer before the artwork is finalised.

Route How colour is placed Reverse Fabric Machine time
Stranded jacquard, single bed Needle selection; unused colours carried behind Floats visible Single layer Baseline
Jacquard, double bed Needle selection on two beds; colours linked No floats on either face Two layers, reversible Higher
Fair Isle, stranded on one bed Two colours per row maximum, short floats Floats, usually in a striped rhythm Single layer, denser Slightly above baseline
Intarsia One yarn carrier per colour block; nothing crosses Clean, mirror of the face Single layer, lightest Slowest — every colour change moves a carrier

Machine time is the honest way to compare cost, because that is what you are paying for. Yarn consumption also rises wherever floats are carried, and it rises most on all-over stranded patterns.

These are construction routes, not product categories. Fair Isle is a pattern and can be knitted on the double-bed route as well. All four Fair Isle styles in this range are, which is why their reverse is a plain back.

Float length is the one number to specify

If your tech pack names one thing beyond the artwork, make it this.

Why it matters

  • A float is an unsecured strand on the reverse. Long ones catch on jewellery, watch straps and fingers.
  • The longer the float, the more the face of the fabric can pucker after washing.
  • Floats add bulk you did not ask for, and the weight lands on the shoulders first.
  • Kids' and baby ranges fail on snag tests for exactly this reason.

What we work to

  • Around five to seven stitches on stranded work. At 7GG that is roughly 1.5 to 2.5 cm.
  • Where the design forces a longer run, we break the motif or add a tie-in point rather than let it run.
  • If no float is acceptable at all, the panel moves to intarsia and the float disappears by design.
  • Float length is agreed in writing against your artwork, not assumed from a photo.

Fifteen patterned styles in production

Grouped by collection, with the construction each style is knitted on. Quote a style number and we can pull the sample.

Fair Isle — 4 styles

StyleCompositionGaugeConstructionWeightSizeIndicative FOB
FS00974% polyester · 18% polyamide · 7% wool · 1% elastane5GGDouble-bed jacquard390 gSUSD 7.0+
HY00265% polyester · 15% nylon · 13% viscose · 6% wool · 1% elastane5GGDouble-bed jacquard580 gMUSD 8.0+
P26W62905% mohair · 10% wool · 25% nylon · 27% acrylic · 28% polyester · 5% elastane5GGDouble-bed jacquard350 gSUSD 9.0+
P27W5040M295% polyester · 2% nylon · 2% wool · 1% elastane5GGDouble-bed jacquard395 gSUSD 5.0+

Jacquard — 7 styles

StyleCompositionGaugeConstructionWeightSizeIndicative FOB
QM9023100% merino wool7GGDouble-bed jacquard613 gMUSD 25.0+
P27W5016M150% viscose · 28% polyester · 22% nylon12GGDouble-bed jacquard310 gSUSD 5.0+
69040ZR88% polyester · 3% acrylic · 3% nylon · 3% wool · 3% elastane7GGDouble-bed jacquard425 gSUSD 5.0+
P27W5004M295% polyester · 2% nylon · 2% wool · 1% elastane5GGDouble-bed jacquard445 gSUSD 5.0+
P27W5025M194% polyester · 3% acrylic · 1% wool · 2% elastane7GGDouble-bed jacquard390 gSUSD 5.0+
P27W5053M1100% acrylic5GGDouble-bed jacquard425 gSUSD 5.0+
P27W5059M1100% acrylic7GGDouble-bed jacquard415 gSUSD 5.0+

Argyle — 4 styles

StyleCompositionGaugeConstructionWeightSizeIndicative FOB
QM926100% merino wool12GGIntarsia223 gMUSD 21.0+
HY01998% polyester · 2% elastane7GGIntarsia205 gSUSD 6.0+
P26W4145PP88% polyester · 3% acrylic · 3% nylon · 3% wool · 3% elastane7GGDouble-bed jacquard395 gSUSD 5.0+
P27W5078PP94% polyester · 3% acrylic · 1% wool · 2% elastane7GGDouble-bed jacquard445 gSUSD 5.0+

Prices are indicative FOB per piece, before negotiation, and assume 200 pieces per colour. FOB Shanghai or Qingdao; CIF on request. Composition is given as knitted. Two of the fifteen, QM9023 and QM926, are also listed on the merino wool page, because they are patterned and merino at the same time. Construction tells you how the fabric is made, not what the pattern is called. Thirteen styles are double-bed jacquard, so the floats sit between two layers and the reverse is a plain back. HY019 and QM926 are intarsia: one yarn carrier per colour block, with nothing crossing the back.

Pattern is knitted in, not printed on

Worth stating, because briefs regularly arrive as screen-print artwork.

Works well

  • Geometric repeats that divide cleanly into the stitch count of the panel.
  • Motifs that stay inside the float limit, or can be broken without losing their read.
  • Large solid colour blocks, which suit intarsia and avoid floats entirely.
  • Two-colour work, which is the Fair Isle constraint and also the cheapest place to start.

Needs a conversation

  • Photographic gradients. A knit builds colour in stitches, not in blends.
  • Fine text and logos below a few millimetres. There is a floor set by the gauge.
  • Artwork designed as a print, where colour sits on the surface rather than in the structure.
  • Very long single-colour runs inside a stranded panel — the float problem again.

Gauge decides how fine the pattern can go. A 12GG panel holds detail that a 5GG chunky cannot, and no amount of artwork resolution changes that.

Sampling, production, terms

Sampling
7–14 days from an approved tech pack. Patterned work tends to the longer end, because colour registration is checked against the artwork rather than against a solid shade. Samples are free; courier is on your account.
Bulk production
45–60 days from order confirmation and sample approval. Up to 75 days in peak season, August to October — book two to three months ahead if your delivery lands there.
Minimum order
200 pieces per colour on stock shades, 1,000 pieces per colour for yarn dyed to your Pantone reference. A patterned style with several colours needs each colour on the yarn card, so the count is per colourway, not per garment.
Payment
T/T 30% deposit, 70% against B/L copy, or L/C at sight. For long-standing customers with a good payment record, we can also offer T/T 30, 60 or 90 days from B/L date, at a correspondingly adjusted price.
Price basis
Prices are quoted FOB Shanghai or Qingdao; CIF on request.
Inspection
Pre-shipment inspection at 80% packing, against the approved sample.

Patterned knitwear questions

Is Fair Isle the same as jacquard?

Related, not identical. Jacquard is the broad term for machine patterning: needles are selected individually, course by course, to build a design. Fair Isle is one tradition inside that family — stranded colourwork from Shetland, with no more than two colours in any single row. All Fair Isle is jacquard-knitted on a machine. Not all jacquard is Fair Isle.

What is a diamond or argyle pattern, and which technique makes it?

Argyle is the diamond motif. The word describes the shape, not the technique. The same diamonds can be knitted two ways. As intarsia, each colour block has its own carrier and nothing floats across the reverse. On a double bed, the unused colour is trapped between two layers and the reverse is a plain back. Intarsia gives a lighter piece; double-bed jacquard gives a warmer, denser and reversible one. Of the four argyle styles here, two are intarsia (HY019, QM926) and two are double-bed jacquard.

What is the maximum float length you can knit?

On stranded work we keep floats to about five to seven stitches, which at 7GG is roughly 1.5 to 2.5 cm. Longer floats snag and distort the face of the fabric. Where a design demands a longer run, the standard answers are to break the motif or add a tie-in point. If no float is acceptable at all, the panel moves to intarsia.

Why is intarsia more expensive than jacquard?

Because the machine moves more. In intarsia every colour block needs its own yarn carrier, and each time the design crosses into another block, one carrier leaves and another arrives. On jacquard the needle selection does the work and the yarns simply float behind. The extra machine time is where the cost sits.

Can you knit a Fair Isle yoke rather than an all-over pattern?

Yes, and for a first patterned range it is the cheaper route. Pattern on the yoke only leaves the body and sleeves plain, so less yarn is carried and fewer courses need checking. All-over pattern carries floats through every course, which adds yarn weight at the shoulders and upper sleeve — where a wearer feels it first.

How many styles do you have in these three techniques?

Fifteen at the time of writing: four Fair Isle, seven jacquard and four argyle. Gauge runs from 5GG to 12GG, piece weight from 205 g to 613 g, and indicative FOB from USD 5 to USD 25 depending on yarn and gauge. Thirteen of the fifteen are knitted as double-bed jacquard; HY019 and QM926 are intarsia. All fifteen are listed above with their composition, construction and weight.

How long does a patterned order take to sample and produce?

Sampling takes 7–14 days, though patterned work usually sits at the longer end because colour registration is checked against the artwork. Bulk is 45–60 days from order confirmation and sample approval, up to 75 days in peak season, August to October.

Send the artwork and tell us which of the four routes you want

Not sure which one your design suits? Include your target price and we will tell you which route it can be knitted on. That answer usually arrives before the quote does.

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