Knitting Terms and Abbreviations:
Knitting is the most common method of interloping and is second only to weaving as a method of manufacturing textile products. Over seven million tons of knitted goods have been produced throughout the world to make knit garments like t-shirt, polo shirt,s, etc. There are some important knitting terms and definitions which are used in the knitting sector have presented in this article.
Important Terms and Definitions of Knitting Technology:
Some important terms of knitting technology have presented below:
1. Course:
A course is predominantly horizontal raw of needle loops which is produced by adjacent needles during the same knitting cycle is known as course.
In the case of weft knitted fabric, a course is composed of yarn from a single supply termed as a course length (Number of loop × Loop length).
2. Wales:
In the knitting sector, a wale is a predominantly vertical column of intermeshed needle loops which is generally produced by the same needle knitting cycles i.e. the no. of vertical columns of the loop of knit fabric is known as wales.
In the case of warp knitting, a wale can be produced from the same yarn. It should be noted here that, wales are connected across the width of the fabric by sinker loops (weft knitting) or underlap (warp knitting).
3. Needle:
A needle is a hooked metal part that is used for the formation f loops. It is the principal knitting elements of the knitting machine. All types of knitting needles should have the system to make a new loop and return the old loop. The knitting needles are two types where one is an independent needle and another one is a united needle.
4. Needle carrier:
The place where the needles are set up is known as the needle carrier. A part of the knitting machine containing independently by moving needles in a needle bed or united needles in a needle bar to help in knitting action. It should be noted here that, the needle may be circular or flat.
5. Needle gauge or machine gauge:
The needle gauge of a knitting machine is measure expressed the number of needles per unit of the needle bed or needle bar.
Machine gauge can be calculated by dividing the total number of needles into the length of the needle bed.
6. Needle pitch:
The distance between two neighboring needles in the same needle bed from the center of a needle to the center of a neighboring needle is termed as needle pitch. It should be noted here, needle pitch is inversely proportional to needle gauge.
