CHAPTER I

DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY—HOW CLOTH IS CONSTRUCTED—STUDY OF LOOP

MACHINE knitting is a much older industry than most people realize, the first knitting machine having been invented in England about the year 1590. In spite of this early start the knitting industry has not made as great progress as some other lines of manufacturing. The great obstacle to its progress, in comparison with that of its rival, the weaving industry, appears to have been the slow realization by people in general, and the producers of knitted goods in particular, of the possibilities of the looped fabric and the diversified uses to which it is suited.

For 250 years or more after the invention of the knitting machine, knitted fabrics were in a general way supposed to be fit only for hosiery. Then some enterprising knitter woke up to the fact that knitted fabric was the ideal fabric for underclothing to be worn next to the body, and there was developed a great industry in knitted underwear.

In very recent years, we have begun to realize that this fabric is suitable for outer garments of various kinds, making up into beautiful, comfortable and serviceable articles of apparel, and the industry is surging ahead by leaps and bounds on this line. The principal reasons for this are: first, the making of knit fabric does not require, in its present state of development, the technical skill required for the making of woven fabrics, notwithstanding the fact that many people not connected with the industry look upon machine knitting as a most mysterious operation; second, the initial investment for a given production is not nearly so great as for woven fabrics; third, knitted fabrics can be produced, yard for yard, or pound for pound, cheaper than woven fabrics.

Knit Fabric Construction

Knitting is the art of constructing fabric or cloth with knitting needles by an interlocking of loops. The essential element of knitting is the loop, for the whole fabric is constructed from a succession of loops.

A loop is a very small length of thread, or yarn, taken at some point at a distance from the end and drawn through, or around, some object, usually another loop. Obviously this will result in two loops. One of these coils around the instrument or needle which draws it through and is called the needle loop, shown by the letter _a_ in Fig. 1. The other loops around the object or previous loop through which it was drawn, and is called the sinker loop, indicated by _b_, _b_ in Fig. 1. These two loops, not two complete loops, but rather one full needle loop and two halves of the sinker loop, make a stitch, as indicated by the shaded portion of Fig. 1 from _c_ to _c_.

A course is any number of loops lying side by side in a line crosswise of the fabric, as indicated along dotted lines _a_, _a_, Figs. 2 and 3.

A wale is any number of loops in a line succeeding one another lengthwise of the fabric, as indicated along dotted lines _b_, _b_, Figs. 2 and 3.

Crosswise of the fabric is the direction in which the yarn feeds while the fabric is in the process of construction, forming loops adjoining one another, or the same direction as the course. Lengthwise of the fabric is the direction in which the fabric is built up by drawing one loop through another, or the same direction as the wale. Therefore the width of the fabric is restricted by the number of loops or needles used as a base, while the length of the fabric has no restrictions other than the supply of material or the will of the knitter. Rib is an alternative expression for wale, but is applicable more particularly where the fabric has a wale on both sides, in which case it is shown as a rib fabric. Where a cloth has a wale on one side only it is known as a jersey fabric, and is also sometimes called flat goods. Rib fabrics will be taken up later for it is my purpose to deal only with jersey or flat fabrics until the theory of knitting is thoroughly explained.

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A Study of the Loop

A study of the loop is very important to those who wish to acquire a knowledge of knitting, for the whole construction of the knitted fabric is from loops. In fact, knitted fabric is commonly referred to as looped fabric.

Fig. 4 shows the position or form into which the yarn is drawn to form the loops of a plain jersey or flat fabric. Fig. 5 shows a second course of loops drawn through the first. Fig. 6 shows a third course. It is quite evident that in order to draw each of these courses of loops through the preceding one there must be something to sustain or hold the preceding course of loops as well as the new loops during the period in which the new ones are being drawn through. There must also be something on which to start the first row or course of loops for, as stated before, a loop cannot be made without something of stability to draw it through.

It is very important that the reader get firmly fixed in his mind the curves of the loops and the most simple methods of forming them, as he can then more readily understand the necessary movements made on a machine. For this reason I will first take up the most primitive method of knitting; i.e., hand knitting.

Simplest Method of Forming Loops

The needles used for hand knitting are straight rods of steel, wood, bone or celluloid. Not less than two of these needles must be used as indicated in Figs. 7, 8 and 9. To start we take the yarn and make a small slip knot or noose, with which we are all familiar, slip one needle through the loop thus made and draw the yarn up so that it fits around the needle loosely.

We now have the cornerstone laid. Holding this needle in the left hand with the fore-finger bearing lightly on the loop, we take the other needle in the right hand and slip it through the loop as in Fig. 7, next draw the yarn over the end of the right hand needle as shown, then draw this needle back to the point where it will pass the left side of the loop on the right hand needle, but not far enough to allow the yarn that was placed over the end to drop off. Then we draw this yarn through as indicated in Fig. 8, and we will have the second loop.

At this point in the building up of the fabric we would slip the previous loop off the left hand needle and let it hang on the newly formed loop on the right hand needle, as in Fig. 9, but as we are not as yet building, but only laying the foundation, we slip this new loop back on the left hand needle, where we now have two loops. The next step is to take the right hand needle, slip it through the second loop, and proceed as with the first, then slip the third loop back on the left hand needle. This procedure is repeated until there are sufficient loops to make the fabric the width wanted. We now have our foundation on which to build.

Figs, 7, 8 and 9 give a very clear illustration of the method of building up the knit fabric by hand knitting after the first course. It should be noted, however, that after the right hand needle has completed the new course, and the last loop has been dropped off the left hand needle, the right hand needle with its full number of loops is shifted to the left hand and the empty needle then becomes the working needle in the right hand.

This first course of stitches, it should be noted, has the needle loop only, the sinker loop being tied in to form a base or edge from which to start. Fig. 7 shows the first position to form the loops with two needles. One full course is on the needle lettered _a_, while needle _b_ is thrust through the first loop of the last course and receiving yarn to draw through a new loop.

Fig. 8 shows the new loop drawn through, while Fig. 9 shows the old or preceding loop cast off from needle _a_ and hanging from the new loop on needle _b_.

Figs. 10 and 11 show the crochet stitch, which is taken up at this point to show its similarity to the knitted loop and to explain the points of difference. The illustrations show very plainly the method of forming crochet loops and they also show that this stitch is simply a single chain or wale of loops succeeding one another.

When crochet work is to be made into a fabric, the hooked needle is pushed through the side of another loop at the point at which it is to be joined, and the new loop is drawn through this old loop as well as the one on the needle. There is never more than one loop used at a time in making this work.

In the knitted fabric the loops are laid side by side and there are a sufficient number of loops being used at all times to make the width of fabric desired. The wales are bound together by the yarn passing from one loop to the next adjoining one, thereby forming the sinker loops which have already been explained.

Figs. 12 and 13 are photographic reproductions of a piece of closely knitted jersey or flat goods. The stitch formation in this cloth is exactly the same as shown in the line drawings at Figs. 2 and 3.

It may be well to state here in passing, that all textile fibres have more or less flexibility or resiliency, and while this characteristic is infinitely small in any single fibre or hair, it is quite appreciable when there are hundreds of fibres grouped together and twisted into a yarn. This is the reason for the elasticity or stretch in knitted fabrics.

It will be noticed in Fig. 2 that in forming the loops the curvature or bend of the thread is gradual and uniform. When this yarn is knitted into fabric and both top or needle loop, and bottom or sinker loop are attached to or drawn through other and like loops, and we pull or stretch the fabric, we draw sharp curves or corners in the yarn where it passes around the preceding and succeeding loops. When we let go or take the strain off the fabric, the natural tendency of the fibre to straighten out or take an easier curve brings the fabric back into its original position.

I would suggest that the reader take any straight piece of yarn, worsted if available, form a loop, and hold it between the thumb and finger of one hand, then press the loop together with the thumb and finger of the other hand and demonstrate for himself this characteristic of textile fibres.