For: Knitting Factory

"Knit" redirects here. See also KNIT and Knitted fabric.

Knitting is a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth. Knitting consists of loops called stitches pulled through each other. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can be passed through them.

Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. By hand, there are numerous styles and methods. Flat knitting, which is done on two straight needles, produces a length of cloth, while circular knitting, which is done on circular or double-pointed needles, produces a seamless tube.

Different yarns and knitting needles may be used to achieve different end products, by giving the final piece different color, texture, weight, or integrity.

Courses and wales

Like weaving, knitting is a technique for producing a two-dimensional fabric from a one-dimensional yarn or thread. In weaving, the threads are always straight, running parallel either lengthwise (warp threads) or crosswise (weft threads). By contrast, the yarn in knitted fabrics follows a meandering path (a course), forming symmetric loops (also called bights or stitches) symmetrically above and below the mean path of the yarn. These meandering loops can be stretched easily in different directions, which gives knitting much more elasticity than woven fabrics; depending on the yarn and knitting pattern, knitted garments can stretch as much as 500%. For this reason, knitting was initially developed for garments that must be elastic or stretch in response to the wearer's motions, such as socks and hosiery. For comparison, woven garments stretch mainly along one direction (the bias) and not very much, unless they are woven from stretchable material such as spandex. Knitted garments are often more form-fitting than woven garments, since their elasticity allows them to follow the body's curvature closely; by contrast, curvature is introduced into most woven garments only with sewn darts, flares, gussets and gores, the seams of which lower the elasticity of the woven fabric still further. Extra curvature can be introduced into knitted garments without seams, as in the heel of a sock; the effect of darts, flares, etc. can be obtained with short rows or by increasing/decreasing the number of stitches. The thread used in weaving is usually much finer than the yarn used in knitting, which can give the knitted fabric more bulk and less drape than a woven fabric.

If they are not secured, the loops of a knitted course will come undone when their yarn is pulled; this is known as ripping out or unravelling knitting. To secure a stitch, at least one new loop is passed through it. Although the new stitch is itself unsecured ("active"), it secures the stitch(es) suspended from it. A sequence of stitches in which each stitch suspended from the next is called a wale. To secure the initial stitches of a knitted fabric, a method for casting on is used; to secure the final stitches in a wale, one uses a method of binding off. During knitting, the active stitches are secured mechanically, either from individual hooks (in knitting machines) or from a knitting needle or frame in hand-knitting.