🧶 Jacquard 101: How to Design Knitwear That Looks (and Feels) Right

Jacquard knitting is where creativity meets precision. Bold, beautiful, and full of character, jacquard patterns can elevate a garment to a whole new level, but only when designed with the right technical know-how.

At Mida Tessile, we help designers turn their jacquard ideas into real, wearable, high-quality knitwear. In this article, we share some of the essential design rules and best practices that will save you time, budget, and headaches down the line.

🎨 Why You Should Keep It to 5 Colors or Fewer

Let’s start with the most common mistake: using too many colors.

More than 4–5 colors in a jacquard design may look cool on screen, but in production, it can cause several issues:

• The fabric becomes thicker and stiffer

• The piece loses flexibility and breathability

• You significantly raise the cost of production

• You risk making the garment look more like a tapestry or a carpet than a wearable item

Keeping your palette tight (2 to 5 shades max) will help maintain a light, comfortable feel, control costs, and ensure your design remains refined and wearable.

🎯 Base Colors: Why Darker Is Better

One lesser-known challenge in jacquard design is color bleed and distortion — especially at seams.

This happens due to the so-called “bird’s eye” effect on the reverse side of the knit. When you use light base colors, the back of the fabric can show through, distorting your design from the outside.

To avoid this:

• Choose darker base colors for your jacquard

• Avoid extremely light backgrounds (e.g. white, cream) unless intentional

This simple trick helps ensure that your patterns stay crisp and distortion-free during wear and after washing.

🧵 Don’t Underestimate the Ribbing

Cuffs, hems and collars are often overlooked in jacquard design. But they can actually enhance your design visually.

Most jacquard trims are done in 1x1 solid-color rib, which creates a clean contrast with the patterned body. Use this to your advantage:

• Add a pop of color that ties the look together

• Introduce visual balance and define the garment’s edges

• Ensure a stable fit that won’t distort over time

📏 Smart Scaling: One Pattern, All Sizes

Designing a jacquard pattern for size M is not the same as designing for size XXL.

If you apply the same graphic directly to all sizes, you’ll likely end up with:

• Distorted proportions

• Misaligned motifs

• Inconsistent visual balance across your collection

To avoid this, we apply proportional scaling. That means:

• The same pattern is adjusted to fit each size naturally

• The visual weight and layout remain consistent from XXS to XXXL

• Coordinated garments (like tops and bottoms) stay perfectly aligned

This is crucial for brands that offer wide size ranges or want their garments to be cohesive in lookbooks and collections.

Designing jacquard knitwear is part art, part engineering. Every detail — from the number of colors to the base yarn, from rib contrast to scaling — makes a difference in how your garment looks, feels, and sells.

At Mida Tessile, we work hand-in-hand with designers and brands to:

• ✅ Optimize jacquard designs for production

• ✅ Balance creativity with wearability

• ✅ Deliver high-end results with Italian craftsmanship

🧶 Want to develop your next jacquard collection with us?Let’s talk. Book a free video call or send us a message