Through the years and centuries, knitting has changed a lot. In the past this was all done by hand, but nowadays large-scale knitting production is automated. In this article you will find everything about knitting machines and their history. Also, several knitting techniques and their uses will be explained. Finally, we will also mention some advantages of knitwear.
A little bit of history
Many clothing pieces are knitted. You’re probably familiar with lambswool sweaters. To accommodate the massive volume of clothing knitted each year, many different knitting machines are used, each with their own qualities. But how did knitting originate? Knitting is an ancient technique used all over the world. In the olden days, knitting was called needle tying and was more akin to crocheting. The only difference was that it was done with different needles. Knitting most likely originated in Egypt, where they knitted socks. The first knitting machine was not invented until much later in the 16th century. Factories started using knitting machines for large-scale clothing production during the 18th and 19th century.
Different machines
There are different machines that you can use to knit clothing. In this article we will discuss the most common machines:
Flat knitting machine
With a flat knitting machine, the needles can be controlled individually. This makes it possible to create patterns in the fabric. Sweaters and cardigans are the most coming clothing pieces made with this machine. A major advantage is that no fabric is lost because the machine immediately starts working in the right shape. With a flat knitting machine mainly sweaters and cardigans are produced. Some knitting machines can even process a few pieces of fabric at a time into a garment.
Round knitting machine
This machine is most used around the world. With this, you can process different fabrics at the same time. You can use it to make underwear and outerwear, but also nylon items such as stockings and socks. Nowadays it is also used to make sweaters and pants. The circular knitting machine is ideal to make socks since you can selectively stop needles to knit the heel for example. Circular knitting is a technique in which several knitting needles without a head, or two circular knitting needles are knitted in a circle. Once the stitches have been set up, they are joined together to create a tube instead of a flat piece produced by conventional knitting techniques.
Types of stitches
During knitting, you can make endless variations with stitches. Each stitch gives a different look to the garment. The waffle stitch is one of those types. This stitch gets its name because it really gives a waffle effect to the fabric. It is a kind of border stitch and therefore pulls the fabric together a bit. The best thing to do with this technique is to use slightly more stitches, otherwise you must stretch the blocks out a bit more. You can use this technique to make a pullover or a shawl. Blankets are also often made with the waffle stitch.
Then skirted knit is created by alternating straight and reverse knitting. The stitches are not knitted on top of each other, but staggered. This stitch is mainly used to knit sweaters because it makes the fabric embossed.
Another very popular knitting technique is the stockinette stitch. This one is quite simple because the thread can stay on one side of the needle. The front has a V-pattern, and the back has a ribbing pattern. This is because the front is assembled with straight stitches and the back is assembled with reverse stitches. This creates the famous jersey pattern. This stitch can also be made with a circular knitting machine. Most garments made with this stitch are sweaters and cardigans.
The honeycomb stitch creates a kind of diamond pattern which is beautiful for sweaters. The honeycomb is very similar to the stockinette stitch. The only the difference is that the loops in the middle go the opposite direction to create diamonds instead of V-shapes. This technique gets its name from the fact that the diamonds resemble honeycombs.
The last technique is the cable stitch. In this technique makes it look as if there are cables running through the fabric. A cable pattern is quite a tricky because you need an auxiliary seam. You start the stitch with 4 needles that you take off the left needle and place on the auxiliary seam. Then these stitches are knit off the auxiliary seam, then some needles are simply knit through. This creates the cable stitch. This technique is most often used for sweaters. It doesn’t only look nice; it is also stronger because the thicker knit. It is also warmer because the stitches are close together.
Advantages of knitting
When we look at the knits and the products that Suitable has, you will see that there are many stockinette knits. It is the simplest way of knitting, and the cotton sweaters are not tied to a season. The mélange stitch is the popular brother of the stockinette stitch, and a type of knit we often see in sweaters. It is a bit more fashionable, and it gives a nonchalant character to the product.
