INTRODUCTION TO

KNITTING
Sonjit Kumar Saha
Lecturer
Department of Apparel Manufacturing & Technology
 FABRIC

A fabric is a flat structure consisting of fibrous

products, either natural or man-made. Nowadays
there are various technologies suitable to create
textiles, where all of them go by the name of fabrics.

Technologies involved to create fabrics maybe either

weaving, knitting, braiding, or felting.
KNITTING
KNITTING
Knitting is the process of intermeshing of
loops formed by a single source of yarn.

Chain notation

Knit fabric Knit fabric loop structure Symbolic notation

Techniques of Knitting

Depending upon the method of forming loops and intermeshing knitting technology is of two types:
- Weft knitting technique
- Warp knitting technique
WEFT
KNITTING
Weft Knitting is a method of forming a fabric in
which the loops are made in horizontal way from
a single yarn and intermeshing of loops take place
in a circular or flat form on across-wise basis.
 Weft Knitted Fabrics

Single Jersey Rib Interlock

WARP
KNITTING
Warp Knitting is a method of forming a fabric in
which the loops are made in vertical way along
the length of the fabric from each warp yarns and
intermeshing of loops take place in a flat form of
length-wise basis.
 Warp Knitted Fabrics

Mesh/Net Lace Crochet Patterns

Produced on Tricot Machine Produced on Raschel Machine Produced on Crochet Machine
GENERAL TERMS &
PRINCIPLES OF KNITTING

The knitted loop structure

Knitted loops are arranged in rows, roughly
equivalent to the weft and warp of woven
structures. These are termed ‘courses’ and ‘wales’
respectively.
Course
A course is a predominantly horizontal
row of needle loops produced by
adjacent needles during the same
knitting cycle.
Wale
A wale is a predominantly vertical column of
intermeshed needle loops generally produced by the
same needle knitting at successive knitting cycles. A wale
commences as soon as an empty needle starts to knit.
Parts of a loop
Each knit stitch (knit loop) is a basic unit for the knitted goods.

Where,
H, Head or Crown or top arc
L, Side limbs or Legs
S, Bottom arc or Sinker loop
- Needle loop = (H + 2L)
- A complete loop = (Needle loop + Sinker loop)
F, Foot which meshes through the head of the loop formed at
the previous knitting cycle
Technical Face Technical Back
Technical face of the fabric primarily Technical back of the fabric primarily shows the crown.
shows the legs, rather than the crown. Stitches arranged in this side have a distinctive view and
Vertical appearance. feel compared to face. Horizontal appearance.
Stitch Length
The length of yarn required to produce a complete
knitted loop (i.e. needle loop and sinker loop), also
called loop length.

Generally, the larger the stitch length, the more

extensible and lighter the fabric and the poorer the
cover and bursting strength.
Course Length
The length of yarn required to produce a
complete knitted course.

Course length = No. of loops per course x Stitch

length
Course length = No. of needles x Stitch length
Stitch density
Stitch density refers to the total number of loops in
a measured area of fabric and not to the length
of yarn in a loop (stitch length).

Course density- The course in a cm or 5 cm or in an

inch along the wale.
CPI = 3 WPI = 3
Wale density- The wales in a cm or 5 cm or in an
inch along the course. Stich density = CPI x WPI
 (cylinder) (dial)

Needle carrier
Cylinder and dial of the machine
that carry needles.
(cylinder) (dial)
Machine Gauge
Number of needles per inch.
It should be noted that the gauge is measured on one needle bed, so a machine of the same gauge but
with two needle beds will have a total of twice as many needles as a machine with one bed.

Normally, all primary elements (those directly involved in the knitting action) in the same machine are set to
the same gauge.
Machine gauge can be calculated by dividing the total number of needles into the length of the needle
bed. The figure is rounded to the nearest whole number.

For example, a 4-inch diameter sock machine has 168 needles. The circumference of a circle is 𝛑d
where 𝛑 = 22/7 and d = the diameter. The circumference is therefore 4 x 22/7 = 12.57 inches. The
gauge is 168/12.57 = 14 needles per inch (approx.).

This may be expressed as ‘E14’, E being the number of needles per inch.
Machine Diameter
In circular knitting m/c, the distance
from one needle exact to the other
needle is known as working diameter,
measured usually in inch.

Circular knitting machine

Feeders
Elements of a machine that feeds the yarn for producing courses.
Bed width/working width
In flat knitting m/c, the distance from first
needle to the last needle is known as Flat/V-bed knitting machine
working width, measured in inch.
 Creel holds the cone holder.
Cone holder holds yarn package.
Plastic tube through which yarn passes.
Positive feeder stores yarn and
delivers a specific amount by driving
unit.

Machine Creel
 Magnetic type tensioner maintains proper
tension during yarn feeding.

Indicator light signals if any particular

yarn being fed breaks.
Tensioner
Fabric take down roller takes the fabric
down and winds on it.

Dust removing fan removes the most of

the flying dusts.
VDQ pulley

VDQ (Variable diameter for quality)

pulley controls the GSM of the fabric. It also controls the
motion of the positive feeder.

Diameter of VDQ ↑ Speed of toothed belt ↑ Speed of

yarn feeder ↑ Loop Length ↑ GSM ↓

Diameter of VDQ ↓ Speed of toothed belt ↓ Speed of

yarn feeder ↓ Loop Length ↓ GSM ↑

Toothed belt
ELEMENTS OF
KNITTING
Needle
The Needle is the principal knitting element of the knitting machine, can be found in three varieties:
a. Spring bearded needle
b. Latch needle (mostly used)
c. Compound needle

Needles help feed the yarn, form the loops and hold the old loops.
Spring bearded needle Latch needle Compound needle
Different parts of a latch needle
Sinker
The sinker is the second primary knitting
element. It is a thin metal plate with an
individual or a collective action
Different parts of a sinker
operating approximately at right angles
from the hook side of the needle bed, It may perform one or more of the following
between adjacent needles. functions, depending upon the machine’s knitting
action and consequent sinker shape and movement:
- Loop formation
- Holding-down
- Knocking-over
Different types of sinker
Cam
The cams are the mechanical devices which convert the rotary machine drive into suitable reciprocating
action for the needles- since all latch needles have a reciprocating action either serially or seriatim. The
cams are carefully profiled to produce precisely-timed movement and dwell periods and are of two
types:
1. Engineering cams
2. Knitting cams
The knitting cams are divided in to three groups such as; knit cam, tuck cam and miss cam.