Knitwear Production

Question 1

How is the term ‘knitwear’ defined?

Answer 1

‘Outerwear garments with an integral rib’

Question 2

How is ‘fully-fashioned knitwear’ produced?

Answer 2

• knitted in panels to exactly correct size and shape for garment
• knitted on V-beds flats and Cotton’s patent frame
• much longer time to knit than knitting lengths of fabric
• expensive
• little or no yarn wastage therefore good for expensive yarns

Question 3

How is ‘cut and sewn’ knitwear produced?

Answer 3

• knitted on body-sized circular, open-width circular, or V-bed flat
• can be knitted in blanket form, tubes of appropriate length, or ‘stitch-shaped garment lengths
• relatively cheap and quick (acrylic or cotton commonly used)
• after knitting, fabric is cut and over-locked together
• results in low quality garments bc the stitches are big, seams bulky, lack durability

Question 4

How is ‘whole garment’ knitwear produced?

Answer 4

• produced in one piece on knitting machine (new technology)
• often quicker than fashioning panels
• patterning and comfort advantages
• no yarn wastage
• a lot of strain put on yarns in machine so faults are more common

Question 5

How is JERSEY characterised?

Answer 5

• small stitches and fine yarn
• knitted at much higher rate
• fairly cheap

Question 6

How is JERSEY produced?

Answer 6

-on circular machines at high speeds
-tubular form, size varies depending on machine
-

Question 7

How is hosiery produced and characterised?

Answer 7

-can be characterised as ‘knitwear for legs’ (heel and toe have been shaped)
Or ‘jersey wear for leg’ (basically tube shaped)
-knitted on small diameter circular machines
-then cut and sewn

Question 8

What are the 5 steps of a CAM system knitting machine?

Answer 8

1. Needle begins with ‘old loop’ in hook
2. Needle pushed up clearing cam height, tension on old loop causes it to open
3. Needle rises to ‘clearing height’ so called bc old loop has ‘cleared’ the latch
4. Needle is moved down through stitch cam. As needle descends through the old loop its latch is closed (by old loop) trapping new yarn in hook
5. Needle is now at ‘knock-over depth’ so called bc the old loop has fallen off or ‘knocked over’ the top of the hook.

Question 9

How does the knock over depth affect the stitch?

Answer 9

The further down the needle descends at knock over depth the longer the strict he will be. This increase in stitch makes length makes the fabric more productive but cheaper and reduces quality.

Question 10

What is a knit stitch?

Answer 10

When the new yarn is is fed to each needle sequentially and passes from one needle to the next across the machine

Question 11

What is a Tuck stitch?

Answer 11

• Tuck loops are formed when a new a new yarn is collected in the needle hook without getting rid of the old one first.
• this makes a little pinch in the fabric that can be used to add bulk or texture to the fabric

Question 12

What are Miss stitches?

Answer 12

• also known as floats
• formed when the needle didn’t take any new yarn or get rid of the previously formed loop
• makes fabrics more stable, make little patterns or make coloured patterns

Question 13

What is the meaning of a fabric’s ‘determinant characteristics’? And examples.

Answer 13

• meaning: “elements of a fabric’s construction that determine their properties”
• examples: fibre type, stitch length, structure knitted, machine used, etc.