Knit Fabric; Different types and classification of knitted fabric

-->

Single Jersey Knits Fabric  

Knitting Machines with one needle bed and one set of needles are called jersey machines or single-knit machines. With one set of needles used for knitting and one needle bed, all needles face the same direction; all stitches are pulled to the same side of the knitted fabric. As a result, single jersey fabrics have a smooth face with a vertical grain on the right side of the fabric and a width wise grain on the back side. The knittig loops formed by the jersey machine are formed in one direction only, which gives a different appearance to each side of the fabric. The basic knit fabric produced by this knitting machine is known alternately as a plain, single knit, or jersey. The terms are interchangeable.Jersey stretches slightly more in the crosswise than the lengthwise direction. If one stitch breaks, the fabric may ladder, or run. Jersey fabrics tend to curl at the edges and are less stable than are some other types of knits. This is the result of the pressures exerted during knitting. In addition jersey knits may twist or skew after laundering, as the twisting tensions imposed during the knitting process are relaxed. 

Special finishing techniques are used to overcome these tendencies and maintain fabric stability; the principal ones use starches, gum mixtures, polyvinyl acetate emulsions, and resins. 

A great many items of hosiery, sweaters, and other wearing apparel are made from plain jersey knits. Consumer Brief 16.1 highlights one of the common uses of jersey knit fabrics: Tshirts. Plain knit fabrics can also be made into designs of two or more colors by use of a patterning mechanism that controls the selection and feeding of yarns and types of stitches to create jacquard knits. 

Double Jersey Knit Fabrics 

The term double knit is generally applied by consumers to fabrics that are, technically, double jersey fabrics. Double jersey fabrics are also made on two-bed knitting machines, but the arrangement of the needles is different from that for knitting rib fabrics. The layers of loops alternate from one side to the other, locking the two layers together. Double knit fabrics have the same appearance on both sides of the fabric, that is, exhibiting the appearance of the face or outer side of a single knit on both sides. Twice as much yarn is incorporated into double knit fabrics as into comparable single knits 

Interlock Knit fabric

Interlock knits are produced on a special machine that has alternating long and short needles on both beds. Long and short needles are placed opposite each other. Long needles knit the first feeder yarn; short needles knit the second feeder yarn. The fabric created is an interlocking of two 1 X 1 rib structures. The resulting fabric, like double knit fabrics, is thicker than single knit fabric, and more stable in the width wise direction. Interlock fabrics have been traditionally used for underwear. They are produced more slowly than are other rib knits and are generally made in plain colors or simple patterns because the addition of pattern slows down the manufacture even further 

High Pile Fabrics 

High-pile fabrics, such as imitation furs and plushes, are usually knitted by a jersey machine. While the knitting is taking place, a sliver of staple fiber is fed into the machine. These fibers are caught in the tight knit and are held firmly in place. Although any staple fiber can be used for the pile, the greatest quantity of these fabrics are made with acrylic and modacrylic fibers in the pile. By using staple fibers of varying lengths, adding color through fiber dyeing or printing on the surface of the pile, and by shearing or brushing the pile, an enormous variety of effects can be achieved. The use of knitted pile fabric ranges from excellent imitations of furs, such as leopard, tiger, mink, or mouton, to colorful pile outerwear, coat linings, or pile carpet fabrics.

-->