TEXTILE MANUFACTURING PROCESSES

TXMP 22O

UNIT 6 – Knitting process

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 INTRODUCTION ON KNITTING PROCESS
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 Knitting is another common method of producing fabric (knitted fabrics) and

structure is constructed from a series of intermeshing loops.
 The knitting process is used in the production of knitted fabrics which have a variety
of application such as apparel applications and technical applications.
 Knitted loops are arranged in rows, roughly equivalent to the weft and warp of
 woven structures. These are termed ‘courses’ and ‘wales’ respectively.


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 Course
3  It is a predominantly horizontal row of needle loops (in an upright fabric as
knitted) produced by adjacent needles during the same knitting cycle.

Course length Stitch length: It is defined as the length of the yarn

It is the length of yarn knitted from one
feeder for one revolution of the
cylinder. In
weft knitted fabrics (with the exception of
structures such as jacquard, intarsia
and warp
insertion), a course of loops is composed
of a single length of yarn termed a
course
length. Weft knitted structures will
unrove from the course knitted last
unless it
is secured, for example, by binding-off.
that forms a loop expressed in inch
or cm. (Loop length).
Pattern row
A pattern row is a horizontal row of needle
loops produced by adjacent needles
in one needle bed. In plain weft knitted fabric
this is identical to a course but in
more complex fabrics a pattern row may be
composed of two or more course
lengths. In warp knitting, every loop in a
course is usually composed of a separate
yarn.
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 Wale
4  A wale is a predominantly vertical column of intermeshed needle loops
generally produced by the same needle knitting at successive (not
necessarily all) knitting cycles. A wale commences as soon as an empty
needle starts to knit.

Course and wale of a weft knit fabric

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 Schematic representation of knitted fabrics
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a: loop top
b: loop side and bottom
c: half interloop

Knit fabric The loop

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 Knitting techniques
6 Weft knit fabric Warp knit fabric

In weft knits the interloop links
two consecutive loops placed
horizontally; when one loop
breaks, the entire fabric can be
undone simply by pulling the
free end of the yarn.
In warp knits the yarn is knitted vertically or
diagonally and loops are formed accordingly;
to knit the fabric, it is necessary to use many
threads simultaneously, allowing the loops
formed by the different threads5/1/2022 to bind
together.
 Commonly used needles
These are;
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 Latch needle
 Spring-beard needle
 Compound needle

Types of needles and their main parts

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 The basic knitting action of a needle
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 1 The needle is in the (so-called) rest position,
with the previously formed loop (a) held on its
stem and covered by the hook.
 2 The loop is cleared from the needle hook to
a lower position on the needle stem.
 3 The new yarn (b) is fed to the needle hook
at a higher position on the needle stem than
the position of the previous (‘old’) loop.
 4 The yarn is formed into a ‘new’ loop.
 5 The hook is closed, enclosing the new loop
and excluding and landing the old loop onto
the outside of the closed hook.
 6 The new loop (b) is drawn through the head
of the old loop (a). Simultaneously the old
loop slides off the closed hook of the needle
and is cast-off or knocked-over.
 7 The old loop now hangs from the feet of the
fully formed new loop and the knitting cycle
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starts again.
 Gauge
Machine gauge
9 Needle gauge
Normally, all primary elements (those directly
A critical feature of all needles is the
involved in the knitting action) in the same
gauge; it is directly connected to the
machine are set to the same gauge. It should be
strength of the needle which must bear
noted that the gauge is measured on one needle
the stress and strain generated during the
bed, so a machine of the same gauge but with
various technical cycles of the knitting
two needle beds will have a total of twice as
process. The gauge of the needle is directly
many needles as a machine with one bed. The
proportional to the gauge of the machine.
gauge measured at the point of needle location is
the same as that at the point of loop formation.

The pitch, or distance between one needle and another, is proportional to the needle gauge or
thickness. The space available, which determines the maximum thickness of the yarn (i.e. the yarn
count) that may be knitted, is the gap between the side of the needle and the trick wall as the needle
descends to draw a new loop.

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑙𝑒𝑠
𝑴𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒆 =
𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑑
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 Four primary base weft knitted structures
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These are;
 Plain - produced by the needles knitting as a single set, drawing the loops
away from the technical back and towards the technical face side of the
fabric.
 Rib - requires two sets of needles operating in between each other so that
wales of face stitches and wales of reverse stitches are knitted on each
side of the fabric
 Interlock - originally derived from rib but requires a special arrangement of
needles knitting back-to-back in an alternate sequence of two sets, so that
the two courses of loops show wales of face loops on each side of the
fabric exactly in line with each other, thus hiding the appearance of the
reverse loops
 Purl - the only structure having certain wales containing both face and
reverse meshed loops. A garment-length sequence, such as a ribbed half-
hose, is defined as purl, whereas smaller sections of its length may consist of
plain and rib sections.

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 Plain structure
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 Rib structure
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 Interlock structure
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14 Purl structure

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 Stiches produced by varying the sequence
15 of the needle loop intermeshing

 Loop stitch
 Float stitch
 Tuck stitch

END OF UNIT 6
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