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Knitting and Knit Fabrics
Knitting and Knit Fabrics
Knitting and Knit Fabrics
INTRODUCTION
KNITTING ELEMENTS
The three needles considered above, while differing in design, have the
following points in common:
(1) Hook — to take and hold the newly fed yarn
(2) Hook Closing Mechanism — to allow the held loop to leave the
needle
(3) Stem
(4) Control Butt — for individual or collective movement.
Sinkers
Sinkers are thin steel elements which are, on some knitting machines, placed
between each pair of needles. Their purpose is to control the fabric movement
during needle activation. Included in this is the holding of the fabric as the
needle rises, supporting the fabric as the needle descends and oushing the fabric
away from the needle after the new loop has been formed. The design oT a sinker
varies according to its application as may be observed in Figures 3.13 and 3.14.
There is, however, a certain similarity that can be observed in all sinkers as
they all perform approximately the same function.
WEFT KNITTING
Weft knitting and weft knit fabrics can be classified as single or double
depending upon the number of independent needle sets required to produce
them. Although both bearded and latch needles can be found in weft knitting,
the vast majority of weft knitting is done using latch needles. With this moti-
vation, only latch needles will be used to illustrate weft knitting. However,
it should be kept in mind that fabrics such as fully fashioned sweaters and,
more importantly, knit fleece fabrics are often formed using bearded needles.
Single Knitting
Single knitting is weft knitting in which one set of needles is used. The
needles are arranged in a needle bed which may be either linear or, as is most
often the case, circular as shown in Figure 3.15. The needles are mounted in
grooves, or tricks, cut into the needle bed. The number of tricks per inch of
needle bed determines the cut, or gauge, of that machine. In weft knitting
gauge is most often expressed in terms of needles per inch (npi).
When sinkers are used in single knit machines, they are mounted in tricks
cut into a separate sinker bed and the sinker bed is mounted in such away that
the sinkers and needles are able to mesh together as illustrated in Figure 3.16.
Naturally, the number of sinkers and needles must be identical.
Knitting is achieved by a combination of vertical needle movements and
horizontal sinker movements. To understand how these movements are con-
trolled it is useful to reexamine Figure 3.16. It should be noted that both the
latch needle and the web-holding sinker are provided with butts. In mounting
needles and sinkers, these butts protrude from their respective tricks and are
engaged by positive cams. Figure 3.17 shows a section of needle cylinder and
Figure 3.16: Latch needles and web holding
sinkers
• Figure 3.17: Section of a needle cylinder and sinker ring
96 Fabric Forming Systems
sinker ring with cams and yarn feed in place The movement of the needles up
and down is the consequence of the needle butt following the groove in the cam
system. The sinker movement is achieved in the same manner A more detailed
outline of the needle cam system is shown in Figure 3 18
Circular weft knitting machines come in two possible arrangements In
some cases the yarn creel, feeders and cam systems are stationary while the
cylinder, including the needles and sinkers, and the fabric take up system ro-
tates Such a system, known as a rotating cylinder system, is the most common.
When the cylinder is stationary and the yarn creel, feeders and cam systems
rotate, the system is said to have a rotating cam box A typical circular knitting
machine is shown in Figure 3 19.
Single jersey, being a single knit, is made on machines with one set of
needles The sinker top machine is the most common type of single jersey ma-
chine There are a large number of single jersey machines in place in the U S,
estimated at over 20,000 These are in a variety of cuts and diameters, producing
both underwear and outerwear, plain and fancy fabrics Recent trends are to
finer cut machines, up to 28 cut, in piece goods diameters 26 to 30 inches,
and with a high productive capacity, up to 5 feeds per diametral inch This
high productive capacity is due to each needle being capable of independent
control allowing many feeders to be placed around the circumference of the
machine Each needle thus produces a loop each time it undergoes activation
and many courses may be formed simultaneously
Double Knitting
Double knit fabrics are weft knits which require two needle sets to be
produced For circular machines, the second needle set, the dial needles, are
located in a needle bed whose tricks radiate outward like the spokes in a wheel.
STITCH
CAM
The needle bed is positioned over the cylinder with the dial needles at right
angles to the cylinder needles. Figure 3.21 illustrates the relationship between
dial and cylinder needle sets.
In the case of flat bed machines, the usual configuration is to place the
needle beds so that when viewed from the end, they form an inverted "V."
Machines of the type illustrated in Figure 3.22 are classified as vee bed machines.
Independent of the needle bed geometries as described above is the relative
positioning of the needles within one bed with respect to the needles in the
other. This positioning is termed the gaiting of the machine. If the needles are
aligned, as in Figure 3.23, so that, if cleared, the needles of one set pass through
the spaces between the needles of the second set then the machine is said to
have rib gaiting. If, on the other hand, the two needle sets may not be cleared
simultaneously, as in Figure 3.24, then the machine is said to have interlock
gaiting. Gaiting is important because it affects the knitting sequence, and,
therefore, the resultant fabric properties and production rates (see below
1 x 1 rib versus interlock).
Because two sets of needles are used, it is possible to produce structures
having an identical appearance on both sides.
Interlock is made on cylinder and dial machines which differ from rib
machines. The difference is that each needle bed is equipped with two different
types of needles, long and short, being set out in alternate tricks around the bed.
In each case, opposite a long needle in one bed will be a short needle in the
other, as may be seen in Figure 3.27. These two lengths of needle require two
separate cam tracks both in the cylinder and in the dial to activate them. These
cam systems are arranged such that only the long needles (cylinder and dial)
knit at the first feed and only the short needles at the second. This alternating
sequence is repeated all the way around the machine. (Note: Two feeders are
required to knit a single course.) Figure 3.27 shows the needles and their asso-
ciated yarns during the manufacture of the interlock stitch. This represents
the one repeat of interlock produced by the two knitting feeds.
Purl fabrics can be manufactured on certain rib machines (dial and cylinder)
which are fitted with special needles to facilitate loop transfer. This is not the
main purpose of rib transfer machines, however, and the production of purl
fabrics on them would be secondary to the production of other products.
The simplest purl, the 1 x 1 purl is illustrated in Figure 3.29. The 1 x 1
purl exhibits the following characteristics:
(1) Same appearance, face and back (simitar to the back of single
jersey).
(2) Highly extensible in all directions. Approximately twice as
extensible as single jersey in the length direction because of the
lengthwise fabric contraction which occurs to form the course-
wise ribs. Figure 3.30 represents a vertical cross section of 1 x 1
purl illustrating the mechanism of fabric extension.
(3) The fabric does not curl at the edges.
(4) The fabric will run in the wale direction starting from either end.
(5) The fabrib may be unravelled course by course starting from
either end.
(6) The fabric tends to be two or three times thicker than single
jersey.
1 x 1 purl is used in end uses which utilize its great length extensibility
and good width extensibility. Two principal end use areas are golf sweaters and
infants' and children's wear. In both cases, easy extensibility is important
and in the latter, the ability of a garment to "grow" lengthwise with the child
is a definite advantage.
In addition to knit loops, tuck and float loops also constitute very impor-
tant elements of knit fabric structure. It is the judicious combination of these
three elements that allows the formation of a wide range of knit fabrics.
Both tuck and float loops are produced by modifying the yarn-to-needle
relationship existing in the normal knitting sequence. The modifications are
achieved by altering the profile of the clearing cam in the standard cam system.
(1) Knit Loop — The basic loop, the knit loop, is shown in Figure 3.31.
The shape of this loop is relatively independent of the loop length and all knit
loops will be similar in shape to that shown in Figure 3.31.
We have seen previously that the knit loop is produced by clearing the old
loop below the latch (by raising the needle) and feeding a new yarn into the
hook.
(2) Tuck Loop — A tuck loop is formed if the needle is raised only par
tially by the clearing cam so that the held loop does not clear but rises suffi
ciently for feeding to take place. This results in two yarns being held in the
hook (the held loop plus the new yarn which will form the tuck loop), as shown
in Figure 3.32.
Figure 3.29: 1 x 1 purl
CONTRACTED EXTEN D ED
Figure 3.30: Extension of 1 x 1 purt
Knitting and Knit Fabrics 113
At the next feed the needle will go through a normal knitting cycle and
both loops will clear and latch and, eventually, knockover together. The tuck
loop is typically shaped like an inverted "u" and is more open at the neck
than a knit loop because it is not pulled through another loop. The appearance
of a tuck loop in the fabric is shown in Figure 3.33.
(3) Float Loop - A float loop is produced if the needle neither clears nor
is fed a new yarn, i.e., the needle remains at the run position. Thus while ad-
jacent needles form a new loop, the needle making the float loop merely retains
the held loop. This can be seen in Figure 3.34.
If the needle forming the float loop goes through a normal knitting cycle
at the next feed then the appearance of the float will be as illustrated in Figure
3.35.
Tuck and float loops represent the main ways of modifying fabric structure
to achieve diversity. Although each affects the properties of knit structures in
a number of ways, the major effects can be summarized as follows:
A tuck loop makes a basic knit fabric:
(1) Wider
(2) Thicker
(3) Slightly less extensible
A float loop makes a basic knit fabric:
(1) Narrower
(2) Thinner
(3) Much less extensible
In addition to these structural effects, both tuck and float stitches lie be-
hind associated knit loops and so can be used to hide unwanted yarn In this
manner complex designs produced by selectively hiding colored yarn from the
fabric surface can be created. These structures are known as Jacquard knit
fabrics.
Multiple tucks and floats are possible, but the maximum number of consec-
utive tucks or floats either vertically (on the same needle) or horizontally
(across adjacent needles) is limited for structural reasons and is fewer than 10.
It should also be noted that no fabric can be produced entirely from tuck
or float loops and that a basic fabric of knitted loops is required.
Stitch Notation
The purpose of stitch notation is to record in a readily understandable
form the layout of the loop, or loops, which form the basic repeat of a particu-
lar structure. It is usual to show just one repeat of the structure (sometimes
referred to as the structural unit cell). If more than one repeat is shown then
the highlighting of one repeat is recommended.
Weft knitted fabric may be represented by using any one of two stitch
notational systems. In this text only one of these systems will be considered,
namely, the diagrammatic method, because it is relatively easy to understand
Figure 3.33: Tuck loop
Figure 3.34: Float formation
Figure 3.35: Float
Knitting and Knit Fabrics 119
Feeder #1 . . . .
When dealing with fabrics made on two sets of needles (double knits) an addi-
tional row of dots must be drawn at each feeder to represent the second set
of needles. The position of dots relative to one another is used to indicate the
gaiting of the needles. Labelling the rows of dots to clearly identify the two sets
of needles is strongly recommended.
Feed #1
For multiple feed structures additional pairs of rows are drawn directly above
the first.
D . . . D . . .
Feed #1 C . . . Feed #1 C . . .
A modification to this system uses lines instead of dots to represent the
needles. The advantage of this is that needles of different length may be repre-
Using the dots, or lines, to represent the needles, basic loop configurations
are indicated as in Figure 3.36.
(or meters) per unit time. (Note: A linear yard is a measure of fabric length and
independent of fabric width.)
32
= —r- = 32 courses/revolution
WAR P KNITTING
Introduction
Warp and weft knitting are similar fabric manufacturing processes in that
they both utilize needles to form and intermesh loops. The main difference
between these two systems lies in the manner in which the yarn is fed to the
needles. In weft knitting a single yarn end may be fed to all the needles and
knitting progresses around, or across the machine. In warp knitting, however,
each needle is supplied with a yarn (or yarns) and all the needles knit at the
same time producing a complete course at once.
A general view of a warp knitting machine is shown in Figure 3.41. In com -
mon with weft knit machines, there are four basic zones:
Figure 3.41: Warp knitting machine
128 Fabric Forming Systems
Knitting Elements
Warp Beams: Yarn is supplied to the needles in the form of warp sheets.
Each individual warp sheet is usually supplied from its own beam, which may
consist of several section beams, as shown in Figure 3.41.
The number of beams used on a machine is normally equal to the number
of guide bars.
Guide Bars: The guide bars extend across the complete width of the ma-
chine and their function is to wrap yarn around the needles (i.e., feed). Each
guide in the guide bar is usually provided with a single end of yarn. Warp knit-
ting machines are usually equipped with two or more guide bars. (Note: Each
guide bar has its own warp beam.)
Figure 3.42: Tricot elements
Figure 3.43: Raschel elements
Figure 3.44: Simplex elements
Figure 3.45: Two needle bar Raschel elements
Knitting and Knit Fabrics 133
The guides themselves are essentially thin metal pressings through which a
hole has been drilled to facilitate threading. The guides are usually mounted in
leads one-inch wide to ensure accurate guide separation. These leads are then
attached to a horizontal bar to complete the guide bar assembly, as shown in
Figure 3.46. in general, the more guide bars a machine is equipped with the
more complex the fabric it will ptoduce.
During the knitting cycle the guide bars experience two modes of move-
ment:
—A forward and backward movement in which the guides pass
through the needle spaces and carry their yarns to the opposite
side of the machine.
—Sideways movements on the hook and reverse sides of the needle.
These control the wrapping of yarn around each needle and the
repositioning of the guides for the following knitting cycle.
The sideways movements of the guide bars are controlled by a
pattern chain, mounted on a pattern drum, and located at one
side of the machine. Each guide bar has its own pattern chain
which enables independent lateral movements to occur.
A guide bar pattern chain is built up from a series of links, with two links
being required to produce one course. Successive links in a particular chain
differ only with respect to their heights which enables the guide bar, with which
it operates, to be displaced different distances to the left or right. Figure 3.47
shows a series of links and Figure 3.48 illustrates the relationship between the
guide bars that pattern chain and pattern drum.
Needle Bar: Needles, either mounted individually or in leads, are clamped
to the needle bar which extends across the complete machine width, as shown
in Figure 3.49. The needle separation is normally equal to that of the guides and
must also be accurately controlled.
In Figure 3.49 very little needle design detail is shown because any one of
the three types of needles may be used.
Sinker Bar: Sinkers are positioned between each pair of needles in the
needle bar and provide for fabric control during loop formation. The sinkers
are normally mounted in leads to ensure correct spacing and to reduce vibration,
see Figure 3.50.
the feeding motion and must occur during the feeding portion of
needle activation. The underlap, in which the guide bar moves
laterally behind the needle, allows the yarn to be part of different
wales thereby producing a coherent warp knit fabric. Usually, the
underiap allows the yarn to be fed to a different needle than the
one from the previous course.
Because of the differing systems the guide bar movements
are timed differently in the two systems—tricot and Raschel—but
the basic principles remain intact. Figure 3.51 illustrates the guide
bar movement in relation to the needle movement for a Raschel
machine with one guide bar.
Tricot
Raschal
Needle type spring beard or compound latch
Machine gauge fine 28-32 npi coarse
16-18 npi
Yarn type filament spun
No. of guide bars few 2, 3 or 4 many
6,8, 12-48
Fabric complexity simple complex
Speed fast 1,200 cpm slow 600
cpm
Machine width wide 168 inches narrow <
100 inches
being produced by a single needle. The overlap movement of the guide bars
provides the yarn fpr these loops.
If each thread guide always worked with one needle, then the result would
be vertical rows of loops, or chains, with no lateral connections, and no fabric
would be formed. To form a fabric, therefore, each waie must be connected
to its neighbor. The connections are provided by traversing the guide bar be-
tween overlaps, so that their threads wrap around different needles at differ-
ent courses. These movements, known as underlaps, determine by their direction
and distance the structure of the fabric produced.
Since it is the underlaps that decide the structure of the fabric, some form
of notation must be used in order to record the movements of the guides for
design purposes. Such a notation system must show the design pictorially,
must show up points of construction, and must be easy to translate in terms
of guide bar threading and pattern chain construction.
The movement of the guide bars is plotted on point paper which is paper
with small dots placed equidistant to each other. Each horizontal row of dots
represents the needles or needle bar at one course of the fabric working up the
paper from bottom to top for each successive course. The path of each guide
is shown by drawing a line around the dots as if looking down on the needle
from above. If a line is drawn for each threaded guide, the design of the fabric
may be built up.
The fabric shown in Figure 3.52 may be shown in the notation as follows'
(1) Guides swing back through the needles, as in Figure 3.53a.
(2) Guides move sideways to pass yarn over the needle, i.e., they
make their overlaps, Figure 3.53b.
(3) Guides swing forward through the needles to the front of the
machine. Figure 3.53c.
In order to make a fabric, the guides must now make an underlap so that
the threads may lap around another needle. On the point paper, however, the
plot must be transferred to the second row of dots, to show that the first course
of loops has been completed, and knitting of the second course is commencing.
This is shown in Figure 3.53d.
The plot is thus continued as follows:
(4) Guides swing through the needles. Figure 3.53e.
(5) Guides make their overlap, this time in the opposite direction,
as in Figure 3.53f.
(6) Guides swing forward, Figure 3.53g.
In order that the method may be simplified in practice, lines are smoothed
out and arrows omitted; thus, the plot shown in Figure 3.54a is drafted as shown
in Figure 3.54b, and if repeated for more courses, appears as in Figure 3.54c.
The lapping movement on point paper not only shows the movement of the
guides on the machine, but also gives a diagrammatic representation of the path
of the yarn in the fabric.
If the same needles are lapped as before, but in opposite directions, the
result is known as a 1 x 1 "open loop" structure as shown in Figure 3.55a. An
Figure 3.52: Half tricot
146 Fabric Forming Systems