Warp knitting

Basic pattern of warp knitting. Parallel yarns zigzag

lengthwise along the fabric, each loop securing a loop
of an adjacent strand from the previous row.
Warp knitting is a family of knitting
methods in which the yarn zigzags along
the length of the fabric; i.e., following
adjacent columns, or wales, of knitting,
rather than a single row, or course. For
comparison, knitting across the width of
the fabric is called weft knitting.

Since warp knitting requires that the

number of separate strands of yarn, or
ends, equals the number of stitches in a
row, warp knitting is almost always done
by machine rather than by hand.

History
wound on bobbins mounted on a
carriage.[3]

Heathcote's 1808 improvement of

Whittaker's frame was essentially a warp
knitting frame. The bobbin carrying beam
was reduced to the same size as the
machine- he called it a bobbinet.[3]
Heathcote's second patent, in 1809, was
for a bobbinet that could produce wide
fabrics; this was the Old Loughborough.[4]

Types
Warp knitting comprises several types of
knitted fabrics. All warp-knit fabrics are
resistant to runs and relatively easy to
sew. Raschel lace (a common type of
machine made lace) is a warp knit fabric
but using many more guide-bars (12+)
than the usual machines which mostly
have three or four bars.

Tricot

Tricot is very common in lingerie. The right

side of the fabric has fine lengthwise ribs
while the reverse has crosswise ribs.[5] The
properties of these fabrics include having
a soft and 'drapey' texture with some
lengthwise stretch and almost no
crosswise stretch.[5]
Milanese knit

Milanese is stronger, more stable,

smoother and more expensive than tricot
and, hence, is used in better lingerie.
These knit fabrics are made from two sets
of yarn knitted diagonally, which results in
the face fabric having a fine vertical rib
and the reverse having a diagonal
structure, and results in these fabrics
being lightweight, smooth, and run-
resistant.[5] Milanese is now virtually
obsolete.

Raschel knit
Drawing of an old Raschel machine

In 1855, Redgate combined the principles

of a circular loom with those of warp knit.
A German firm used this machine to
produce "Raschel" shawls, named after the
French actress Élisabeth Félice Rachel. In
1859 Wilhelm Barfuss improved the
machine to create the Raschel
machines.[6] The Jacquard apparatus was
adapted to it in the 1870s. The Raschel
machine could work at higher speeds than
the Leavers machine and proved the most
adaptable to the new synthetic fibres, such
as nylon and polyester, in the 1950s. Most
contemporary machine-made lace is made
on Raschel machines.[7]

Raschel knits do not stretch significantly

and are often bulky; consequently, they are
often used as an unlined material for
coats, jackets, straight skirts and dresses.
These fabrics can be made out of
conventional or novelty yarns which allows
for interesting textures and designs to be
created.[5] The qualities of these fabrics
range from "dense and compact to open
and lofty [and] can be either stable or
stretchy, and single-faced or reversible.[5]
The largest outlet for the Raschel warp
knitting machine is for lace fabric and
trimmings. Raschel knitting is also used in
outdoors and military fabrics for products
such as backpacks. It is used to provide a
ventilated mesh next to the user's body
(covering padding) or mesh pockets and
pouches to facilitate visibility of the
contents (MIL-C-8061).
 Raschel lace

Stitch-bonding

Stitch-bonding is a special form of warp

knitting[8] and is commonly used for the
production of composite materials and
technical textiles. As a method of
production, stitch-bonding is efficient, and
is one of the most modern ways to create
reinforced textiles and composite
materials [9] for industrial use. The
advantages of the stitch-bonding process
include its high productivity rate and the
scope it offers for functional design of
textiles, such as fiber-reinforced plastics.[9]
Stitch-bonding involves layers of threads
and fabric being joined together with a
knitting thread, which creates a layered
structure called a multi-ply.[10] This is
created through a warp-knitting thread
system, which is fixed on the reverse side
of the fabric with a sinker loop, and a weft
thread layer.[9] A needle with the warp
thread passes through the material, which
requires the warp and knitting threads to
be moving both parallel and perpendicular
to the vertical/warp direction of the stitch-
bonding machine.[10] Stitch-bonded fabrics
are currently being used in such fields as
wind energy generation and aviation.[9]
Research is currently being conducted into
the usage and benefits of stitch-bonded
fabrics as a way to reinforce concrete.
Fabrics produced with this process offer
the potential of using "sensitive fiber
materials such as glass and carbon with
only little damage, non-crimp fiber
orientation and variable distance between
threads".[9]

In the extended stitch-bonding process (or

the extended warp-knitting process), the
compound needle that pierces the piles is
shifted laterally according to the yarn
guides.[8] This then makes it possible for
the layers of the stitch-bonded fabric to be
arranged freely and be made symmetrical
in one working step.[8] This process is
advantageous to the characteristics of the
composite as the "residual stresses
resulting from asymmetric alignment of
the layers are avoided, [while] the tensile
strength and the impact strength of the
composite are improved."[11]

Needle shift
Needle shift technique is when “Both outer
warp layers [are] secured in one procedure
by incorporating a shift of the needle bar
during the stitching process, creating
endless possibilities for the arrangement
and patterns in the stitch-bonding
process.[8]

Advantages
Producing textiles through the warp
knitting process has the following
advantages:[12]

higher productivity rates than weaving

variety of fabric constructions
 large working widths
low stress rate on the yarn that allows
for use of fibers such as glass, aramid
and carbon
the creation of three-dimensional
structures that can be knitted on double
needle bar raschels

Applications
Warp knitted fabrics have several
industrial uses, including producing
mosquito netting, tulle fabrics, sports
wear, shoe fabric, fabrics for printing and
advertising, coating substrates and
laminating backgrounds.[13]
Research is also being conducted into the
use of warp knitted fabrics for industrial
applications (for example, to reinforce
concrete), and for the production of
biotextiles.

Warp knitting and biotextiles

The warp knitting process is also being
used to create biotextiles. For example, a
warp knitted polyester cardiac support
device has been created to attempt to limit
the growth of diseased hearts by being
installed tightly around the diseased heart.
Current research on animals "have
confirmed that … the implantation of the