DI

History
Coco Chanel's 1916 use of jersey in her hugely influential suits was a turning point for knitwear,
which became associated with the woman. Shortly afterwards, ean !atou's cubist"inspired,
color"blocked knits were the sportswear of choice.
#n the 19$%s came the iconic wearing of body"skimming sweaters by se& symbols like 'ana
(urner and ane )ussell, though the 19*%s were dominated by conser+ati+e popcorn knits. (he
swinging 196%s were famously manifested in ,issoni's colorful -ig-ag knitwear. (his era also
saw the rise both of Sonia )ykiel, dubbed the ./ueen of 0nitwear. for her +ibrant striped
sweaters and her clingy dresses, and of 0ennedy"inspired preppy sweaters.
Contemporary knitwear designers include 1iane +on 2urstenberg,and #rakli 3asid-e.
#n the 19$%s came the iconic wearing of body"skimming sweaters by se& symbols like 'ana
(urner and ane )ussell, though the 19*%s were dominated by conser+ati+e popcorn knits.
(he swinging 196%s were famously manifested in ,issoni's colorful -ig-ag knitwear.
(his era also saw the rise both of Sonia )ykiel, dubbed the ./ueen of 0nitwear. for her +ibrant
striped sweaters and her clingy dresses, and of 0ennedy"inspired preppy sweaters.
#n the 194%s, knitwear emerged from the realm of sportswear to dominate high fashion5 notable
designs included )omeo 6igli's .haute"bohemian cocoon coats. and )alph 'auren's floor"length
cashmere turtlenecks
Structure of Knitted Fabrics
0nitted fabrics are di+ided into two basic types7 warp"knit fabrics such as tricot and weft"knit
fabrics such as a hand"knit sweater. 8eft"knit items ha+e the drawback that they run when cut.
8arp"knit fabrics are often used in lingerie.
knits shrink
knits ha+e nap
ribs9wales +ersus courses
generally more elasticity along the course than along the wale
0nitting stitches :+er the long history of knitting across the world, hundreds of different knitting
stitches ha+e been created.
(he basic building blocks of all hand knitting are the following stitches7 knit, purl, cast on, cast
off, increase and decrease stitches. ;se of a combination of these methods can pro+ide a +ast
number of different te&tures to knitted fabrics.
#n order to sa+e space in knitting patterns, the names of stitches are normally abbre+iated
The Properties of Warp Knitted Structures
Warp knitting offers:
<igher production rates than for wea+ing.
= wide +ariety of fabric constructions.
'arge working widths.
= low stress rate on the yarn that facilitates careful handling of fibres such as glass,
aramide and carbon >particularly when using weft"insertion techni?ues@.
Con+entional warp knitted structures that can be directionally structured.
(hree"dimensional structures that can be knitted on double needle bar raschels.8ith weft
insertion, uni"a&ial, bi"a&ial, multi"a&ial and composite structures that can be
manufactured on single needle bar raschels.
Styles of knitted fabrics
Aoiled wool
Aunting
1ouble knits
2our"way stretch knits
#nterlock knits
ersey
,ilanese
!ower net
)aschel knits
)ib knits
Single knits
Stable knits
Stretch knits
Stretch +elour
Sweater knits
Sweatshirt knits
(ricot
(wo"way stretch knits
2leece knit
Jersey Knit
(his method of knitting the right side and purling the wrong side is how jersey knit is formed.
(he picture abo+e is a sweater knit, but if you look really closely, you can see the same stitch
pattern in the jersey knit below.
Aecause the thread is always carried on the wrong side of the fabric, jersey knits are not the
stretchiest type of knits. Some, like the one pictured abo+e, ha+e spande& in them to impro+e
stretch. :thers, like sweatshirt fleece, barely stretch at all.
=nother property of jersey knit because of this knit right side9purled wrong side is that it tends to
curl toward the right side parallel to the sel+edge and toward the wrong side perpendicular to the
sel+edge. Bou can see how the fabric in my picture is curling along the cut edge.
#n the picture abo+e, the jersey knit is yarn dyed gray. ,ost jersey knits with a print on them are
printed on the right side, much as ?uilting cotton is printed. :ccasionally you will find yarn dyed
print jersey, which has the print on both the right and wrong sides.
Printed Jersey
Sweatshirt fleece is another type of jersey knit, again knitted on the right side and purled on the
wrong side. (hen the wrong side of the fabric is brushed, forming that fu--y look and feel that
also makes the fabric warmer as it traps more air.
Sweatshirt Fleece
:ne more type of jersey is burnout jersey. (his is made with yarn9thread that is a combination of
cotton and synthetic fibers, usually rayon. #tCs knitted9purled9printed like a regular jersey print.
urnout Jersey
Aut then after printing, a chemical is applied to the fabric that DburnsE the cotton fibers off,
lea+ing the synthetic fibers behind, and resulting in see"through patches that you can see more
clearly when the fabric is held up to the light.
!nterlock knit
#nterlock knit is a type of double knit fabric. 8ithout going into super technical details, itCs kind
of like two pieces of jersey knit back to back with the same thread and necklines, because it
stretches a lot and because it adds stability to jersey knits in those areas.
Aecause of this, it is stretcher than jersey, and it looks the same on the front and back side, as the
yarn is carried in the middle between the two knit sides. (his also means interlock is typically a
little thicker than jersey, and that it doesnCt curl. #nterlock is the fabric # recommend to people
who ha+e ne+er worked with knits before F itCs stable, usually has good stretch and reco+ery, and
is generally the easiest knit to work with.
!onte >pon"tee@ or ponte de roma is a type of interlock knit, made with a blend of synthetic
fibers.
2rench (erry >not pictured@ is another type of double knit, but this is made with two yarns5 a
smooth yarn on one side and a looped yarn on the other side. (hat is what gi+es 2rench terry a
smooth surface on one side and the looped towel like surface on the other.
"ib Knit
)ib knit alternates knit and purl stitches on the same side of the fabric, then on the other side the
knit stitches get purled and the purl stitches are knitted. So for e&ample a knit pattern for ribbing
might read knit two, purl two, repeat on the right side and purl two, knit two on the wrong side.
(his forms the +ertical ridges you can see on the fabric abo+e. Aecause the yarn has to be
switched from front to back so often, rib knit is also +ery stretchy. =lso because of the e+en
distribution of knit and purl stitches on the front and back side, rib knit typically looks the same
on both sides and does not curl. )ib knit is great for collars