yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manu ...
is manipulated to create a
textile
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
, or
fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not th ...
. It is used to create many types of
garments
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine.
Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row, either flat or in ''the round'' (tubular). There are usually many ''active stitches'' on the knitting needle at one time. Knitted fabric consists of a number of consecutive rows of connected loops that intermesh with the next and previous rows. As each row is formed, each newly created loop is pulled through one or more loops from the prior row and placed on the ''gaining needle so'' that the loops from the prior row can be pulled off the other needle without unraveling.
Differences in yarn (varying in fibre type, ''weight'', uniformity and ''twist''), needle size, and stitch type allow for a variety of knitted fabrics with different properties, including color, texture, thickness, heat retention, water resistance, and integrity. A small sample of knitwork is known as a ''swatch''.
Structure
Courses and wales
Like
weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...
, knitting is a technique for producing a
two-dimensional
In mathematics, a plane is a Euclidean ( flat), two-dimensional surface that extends indefinitely. A plane is the two-dimensional analogue of a point (zero dimensions), a line (one dimension) and three-dimensional space. Planes can arise as ...
fabric made from a one-dimensional
yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manu ...
or thread. In weaving, 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) symmetrically above and below the mean path of the yarn. These meandering loops can be easily stretched in different directions giving knit fabrics 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 or other of a related pair of directions that lie roughly diagonally between the warp and the weft, while contracting in the other direction of the pair (stretching and contracting with the ''
bias
Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group ...
''), and are not very elastic, unless they are woven from stretchable material such as
spandex
Spandex, Lycra, or elastane is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity. It is a polyether-polyurea copolymer that was invented in 1958 by chemist Joseph Shivers at DuPont's Benger Laboratory in Waynesboro, Virginia, US.
The g ...
. Knitted garments are often more form-fitting than woven garments, since their elasticity allows them to contour to the body's outline more 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
In mathematics, a monotonic function (or monotone function) is a function between ordered sets that preserves or reverses the given order. This concept first arose in calculus, and was later generalized to the more abstract setting of order ...
or decreasing the number of stitches. 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'', ''unravelling'' knitting, or humorously, ''frogging'' (because you 'rip it', this sounds like a frog croaking: 'rib-bit'). To secure a stitch, at least one new loop is passed through it. Although the new stitch is itself unsecured ("active" or "live"), it secures the stitch(es) suspended from it. A sequence of stitches in which each stitch is suspended from the next is called a ''wale''.A wale, according to ''Knitting Technology: a Comprehensive Handbook and Practical Guide'', is "a predominantly vertical column of needle loops generally produced by the same needles at successive (not necessarily all) knitting cycles. A wale starts as soon as an empty needle starts to knit" (Spencer 1989:17). 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/casting 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.
Weft and warp knitting
There are two major varieties of knitting: weft knitting and
warp knitting
Warp knitting is defined as a loop-forming process in which the yarn is fed into the knitting zone, parallel to the fabric selvage. It forms vertical loops in one course and then moves diagonally to knit the next course. Thus the yarns zigzag fro ...
. In the more common ''weft knitting'', the wales are perpendicular to the course of the yarn. In
warp knitting
Warp knitting is defined as a loop-forming process in which the yarn is fed into the knitting zone, parallel to the fabric selvage. It forms vertical loops in one course and then moves diagonally to knit the next course. Thus the yarns zigzag fro ...
, the wales and courses run roughly parallel. In weft knitting, the entire fabric may be produced from a single yarn, by adding stitches to each wale in turn, moving across the fabric as in a
raster scan
A raster scan, or raster scanning, is the rectangular pattern of image capture and reconstruction in television. By analogy, the term is used for raster graphics, the pattern of image storage and transmission used in most computer bitmap image ...
. By contrast, in warp knitting, one yarn is required for every wale. Since a typical piece of knitted fabric may have hundreds of wales, warp knitting is typically done by machine, whereas weft knitting is done by both hand and machine. Warp-knitted fabrics such as tricot and milanese are resistant to runs, and are commonly used in
lingerie
Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fash ...
.
Weft-knit fabrics may also be knit with multiple yarns, usually to produce interesting color patterns. The two most common approaches are
intarsia
Intarsia is a form of wood inlaying that is similar to marquetry. The start of the practice dates from before the seventh century AD. The technique of intarsia inlays sections of wood (at times with contrasting ivory or bone, or mother-of-pear ...
and stranded colorwork. In intarsia, the yarns are used in well-segregated regions, e.g., a red apple on a field of green; in that case, the yarns are kept on separate spools and only one is knitted at any time. In the more complex stranded approach, two or more yarns alternate repeatedly within one row and all the yarns must be carried along the row, as seen in Fair Isle sweaters.
Double knitting
Double knitting is a form of hand knitting in which two fabrics are knitted simultaneously on one pair of needles. The fabrics may be inseparable, as in ''interlock knitted fabrics'', or they can simply be two unconnected fabrics. In principle, ...
can produce two separate knitted fabrics simultaneously (e.g., two socks). However, the two fabrics are usually integrated into one, giving it great warmth and excellent drape.
Knit and purl stitches
In securing the previous stitch in a wale, the next stitch can pass through the previous loop from either below or above. If the former, the stitch is denoted as a 'knit stitch' or a 'plain stitch;' if the latter, as a 'purl stitch'. The two stitches are related in that a knit stitch seen from one side of the fabric appears as a purl stitch on the other side.
The two types of stitches have a different visual effect; the knit stitches look like 'V's stacked vertically, whereas the purl stitches look like a wavy horizontal line across the fabric. Patterns and pictures can be created in knitted fabrics by using knit and purl stitches as "
pixel
In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device.
In most digital display devices, pixels are the ...
s"; however, such pixels are usually rectangular, rather than square, depending on the gauge/tension of the knitting. Individual stitches, or rows of stitches, may be made taller by drawing more yarn into the new loop (an elongated stitch), which is the basis for
uneven knitting
In knitting, the word gauge is used both in hand knitting and machine knitting; the latter, technical abbreviation GG, refers to knitting machines fineness size. In both cases the term refers to the number of stitches per inch, not the size of th ...
: a row of tall stitches may alternate with one or more rows of short stitches for an interesting visual effect. Short and tall stitches may also alternate within a row, forming a fish-like oval pattern.
In the simplest of hand-knitted fabrics, every row of stitches are all knit (or all purl); this creates a garter stitch fabric. Alternating rows of all knit stitches and all purl stitches creates a stockinette pattern/stocking stitch. Vertical stripes (
ribbing Ribbing is a Swedish noble family of medieval origin. which may refer to:
*Adolph Ribbing (1765–1843), Swedish count and politician who took part in the regicide of Gustav III in 1792
*Beata Rosenhane (1638–1674, spouse of Baron Erik Ribbing), ...
) are possible by having alternating wales of knit and purl stitches. For example, a common choice is 2x2 ribbing, in which two wales of knit stitches are followed by two wales of purl stitches, etc. Horizontal striping ( welting) is also possible, by alternating ''rows'' of knit and purl stitches. Checkerboard patterns (
basketweave
Basketweave is a structure that exists in many textile arts. It consists of multiple horizontal strands and vertical strands, resulting in a square pattern associated with woven baskets.
It is used in the following textile arts:
* Basket weaving ...
) are also possible, the smallest of which is known as ''seed/moss stitch'': the stitches alternate between knit and purl in every wale and along every row.
Fabrics in which each knitted row is followed by a purled row, such as in stockinette/stocking stitch, have a tendency to curl—top and bottom curl toward the front (or knitted side) while the sides curl toward the back (or purled side); by contrast, those in which knit and purl stitches are arranged symmetrically (such as ribbing, garter stitch or seed/moss stitch) have more texture and tend to lie flat. Wales of purl stitches have a tendency to recede, whereas those of knit stitches tend to come forward, giving the fabric more stretchability. Thus, the purl wales in ribbing tend to be invisible, since the neighboring knit wales come forward. Conversely, rows of purl stitches tend to form an embossed ridge relative to a row of knit stitches. This is the basis of
shadow knitting
Illusion knitting or shadow knitting is a form of textile art, in which the knitting is viewed as simply narrow stripes from one angle, and as an image when viewed from another angle. Illusion knitting has been recognised as an art form since ...
, in which the appearance of a knitted fabric changes when viewed from different directions.
Typically, a new stitch is passed through a single unsecured ('active') loop, thus lengthening that wale by one stitch. However, this need not be so; the new loop may be passed through an already secured stitch lower down on the fabric, or even between secured stitches (a dip stitch). Depending on the distance between where the loop is drawn through the fabric and where it is knitted, dip stitches can produce a subtle stippling or long lines across the surface of the fabric, e.g., the lower leaves of a flower. The new loop may also be passed between two stitches in the 'present' row, thus clustering the intervening stitches; this approach is often used to produce a
smocking
Smocking is an embroidery technique used to gather fabric so that it can stretch. Before elastic, smocking was commonly used in cuffs, bodices, and necklines in garments where buttons were undesirable. Smocking developed in England and has been ...
effect in the fabric. The new loop may also be passed through 'two or more' previous stitches, producing a decrease and merging wales together. The merged stitches need not be from the same row; for example, a
tuck
Tuck may refer to:
People
* Tuck (surname), including a list of people
* Tuck (nickname), a list of people
* Tuck (footballer), Portuguese football player and coach João Carlos Novo de Araújo Gonçalves (born 1969)
* Hillary Tuck (born 1978), ...
can be formed by knitting stitches together from two different rows, producing a raised horizontal welt on the fabric.
Not every stitch in a row need be knitted; some may be 'missed' (unknitted and passed to the active needle) and knitted on a subsequent row. This is known as
slip-stitch knitting
Slip-stitch knitting is a family of knitting techniques that uses slip stitches to make multiple fabrics simultaneously, to make extra-long stitches, and/or to carry over colors from an earlier row.
Basic methods
In the basic slip stitch the sti ...
. The slipped stitches are naturally longer than the knitted ones. For example, a stitch slipped for one row before knitting would be roughly twice as tall as its knitted counterparts. This can produce interesting visual effects, although the resulting fabric is more rigid because the slipped stitch 'pulls' on its neighbours and is less deformable. Mosaic knitting is a form of slip-stitch knitting that knits alternate colored rows and uses slip stitches to form patterns; mosaic-knit fabrics tend to be stiffer than patterned fabrics produced by other methods such as Fair-Isle knitting.
In some cases, a stitch may be deliberately left unsecured by a new stitch and its wale allowed to disassemble. This is known as drop-stitch knitting, and produces a vertical ladder of see-through holes in the fabric, corresponding to where the wale had been.
Differences between knitting and crocheting
For many beginners, telling the difference between knitting and crocheting is very tricky. Both have the same methods of stitching yarn together, but their methods are fairly different. When knitting, the stitches form a shape that is similar to a "V", while in crochet the stitches are knotted together. Each textile has its own specialties and methods. When knitting, a pair of long needles is needed to be able to form the loops from one set of loop to another through the needles. When crocheting, only one single hook is used to be able to hook the loops together directly onto the clothes. Often times, crocheting is easier to work with at first as compared to knitting. Although different methods, they can create the same project using the same fibers and yarns.
Right- and left-plaited stitches
Both knit and purl stitches may be twisted: usually once if at all, but sometimes twice and (very rarely) thrice. When seen from above, the twist can be clockwise (right yarn over left) or counterclockwise (left yarn over right); these are denoted as right- and left-plaited stitches, respectively. Hand-knitters generally produce right-plaited stitches by knitting or purling through the back loops, i.e., passing the needle through the initial stitch in an unusual way, but wrapping the yarn as usual. By contrast, the left-plaited stitch is generally formed by hand-knitters by wrapping the yarn in the opposite way, rather than by any change in the needle. Although they are mirror images in form, right- and left-plaited stitches are functionally equivalent. Both types of plaited stitches give a subtle but interesting visual texture, and tend to draw the fabric inwards, making it stiffer. Plaited stitches are a common method for knitting jewelry from fine metal wire.
Edges and joins between fabrics
The initial and final edges of a knitted fabric are known as the '' cast-on'' and '' bound/cast-off'' edges. The side edges are known as the '' selvages''; the word derives from "self-edges", meaning that the stitches do not need to be secured by anything else. Many types of selvages have been developed, with different elastic and ornamental properties.
Vertical and horizontal edges can be introduced within a knitted fabric, e.g., for button holes, by binding/casting off and re-casting on again (horizontal) or by knitting the fabrics on either side of a vertical edge separately.
Two knitted fabrics can be joined by embroidery-based grafting methods, most commonly the Kitchener stitch. New wales can be begun from any of the edges of a knitted fabric; this is known as picking up stitches and is the basis for
entrelac Entrelac is a knitting technique used to create a textured diamond pattern. While the result resembles basket-woven strips of knitted fabric, the actual material comprises interconnected squares on two different orientations.
Unlike many textur ...
, in which the wales run perpendicular to one another in a checkerboard pattern.
Cables, increases, and lace
Ordinarily, stitches are knitted in the same order in every row, and the wales of the fabric run parallel and vertically along the fabric. However, this need not be so, since the order in which stitches are knitted may be permuted so that wales cross over one another, forming a cable pattern. Cables patterns tend to draw the fabric together, making it denser and less elastic;
Aran sweater
The Aran jumper (Irish: ''Geansaí Árann'') is a style of jumper that takes its name from the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. A traditional Aran Jumper usually is off-white in colour, with cable patterns on the body and sleeves. O ...
s are a common form of knitted cabling. Arbitrarily complex braid patterns can be done in
cable knitting
Cable knitting is a style of knitting in which textures of crossing layers are achieved by permuting stitches. For example, given four stitches appearing on the needle in the order ', one might cross the first two (in front of or behind) the nex ...
, with the proviso that the wales must move ever upwards; it is generally impossible for a wale to move up and then down the fabric. Knitters have developed methods for giving the illusion of a circular wale, such as appear in
Celtic knot
Celtic knots ( ga, snaidhm Cheilteach, cy, cwlwm Celtaidd, kw, kolm Keltek, gd, snaidhm Ceilteach) are a variety of knots and stylized graphical representations of knots used for decoration, used extensively in the Celtic style of Insular ...
s, but these are inexact approximations. However, such circular wales are possible using Swiss darning, a form of embroidery, or by knitting a tube separately and attaching it to the knitted fabric.
A wale can split into two or more wales using increases, most commonly involving a
yarn over
In knitting, a yarn over is technique in which the yarn is passed over the right-hand knitting needle. In general, the new loop is knitted on the next row, either by itself (producing a hole) or together with an adjacent stitch (e.g., in "tucked" ...
. Depending on how the increase is done, there is often a hole in the fabric at the point of the increase. This is used to great effect in
lace knitting
Lace knitting is a style of knitting characterized by stable "holes" in the fabric arranged with consideration of aesthetic value. Lace is sometimes considered the pinnacle of knitting, because of its complexity and because woven fabrics cannot e ...
, which consists of making patterns and pictures using such holes, rather than with the stitches themselves. The large and many holes in lacy knitting makes it extremely elastic; for example, some Shetland "wedding-ring" shawls are so fine that they may be drawn through a wedding ring.
By combining increases and decreases, it is possible to make the direction of a wale slant away from vertical, even in weft knitting. This is the basis for bias knitting, and can be used for visual effect, similar to the direction of a brush-stroke in oil painting.
Ornamentations and additions
Various point-like ornaments may be added to knitting for their look or to improve the wear of the fabric. Examples include various types of bobbles, sequins and
beads
A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under ...
. Long loops can also be drawn out and secured, forming a "shaggy" texture to the fabric; this is known as loop knitting. Additional patterns can be made on the surface of the knitted fabric using
embroidery
Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen ...
; if the embroidery resembles knitting, it is often called Swiss darning. Various closures for the garments, such as frogs and buttons can be added; usually buttonholes are knitted into the garment, rather than cut.
Ornamental pieces may also be knitted separately and then attached using applique. For example, differently colored leaves and petals of a flower could be knit separately and attached to form the final picture. Separately knitted tubes can be applied to a knitted fabric to form complex
Celtic knot
Celtic knots ( ga, snaidhm Cheilteach, cy, cwlwm Celtaidd, kw, kolm Keltek, gd, snaidhm Ceilteach) are a variety of knots and stylized graphical representations of knots used for decoration, used extensively in the Celtic style of Insular ...
s and other patterns that would be difficult to knit.
Unknitted yarns may be worked into knitted fabrics for warmth, as is done in
tufting
Tufting is a type of textile manufacturing in which a thread is inserted on a primary base.
It is an ancient technique for making warm garments, especially mittens. After the knitting is done, short U-shaped loops of extra yarn are introduced thro ...
and "
weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...
" (also known as "couching").
History and culture
The word is derived from ''knot'' and ultimately from the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
''cnyttan'', to knot.
The exact origins of knitting are unknown, the earliest known examples being cotton socks found in the remains of the city of Fustat, now part of Cairo.
Nålebinding
Nålebinding (Danish: literally 'binding with a needle' or 'needle-binding', also naalbinding, nålbinding, nålbindning or naalebinding) is a fabric creation technique predating both knitting and crochet. Also known in English as "knotless ne ...
(Danish: literally "binding with a needle" or "needle-binding") is a fabric creation technique predating both knitting and crochet.
The first commercial knitting guilds appear in Western Europe in the early fifteenth century (Tournai in 1429, Barcelona in 1496). The Guild of Saint Fiacre was founded in Paris in 1527 but the archives mention an organization (not necessarily a guild) of knitters from 1268. The occupation: "cap knitter" describes Margaret Yeo, of London, in 1473.
With the invention in 1589 of the stocking frame, an early form of knitting machine, knitting "by hand" became a craft used by country people with easy access to fiber. Similar to
quilting
Quilting is the term given to the process of joining a minimum of three layers of fabric together either through stitching manually using a needle and thread, or mechanically with a sewing machine or specialised longarm quilting system. ...
needlepoint
Needlepoint is a type of canvas work, a form of embroidery in which yarn is stitched through a stiff open weave canvas. Traditionally needlepoint designs completely cover the canvas. Although needlepoint may be worked in a variety of stitches, m ...
, hand knitting became a leisure activity for the wealthy. English Roman Catholic priest and a former Anglican bishop,
Richard Rutt
Cecil Richard Rutt CBE (27 August 192527 July 2011) was an English Roman Catholic priest and a former Anglican bishop.
Rutt spent almost 20 years of his life serving as an Anglican missionary in South Korea, a country for which he developed ...
, authored a history of the craft in A History of Hand Knitting (Batsford, 1987). His collection of books about knitting is now housed at the Winchester School of Art (University of Southampton).
Properties of fabrics
The
topology
In mathematics, topology (from the Greek words , and ) is concerned with the properties of a geometric object that are preserved under continuous deformations, such as stretching, twisting, crumpling, and bending; that is, without closing ...
of a knitted fabric is relatively complex. Unlike
woven
Woven fabric is any textile formed by weaving. Woven fabrics are often created on a loom, and made of many threads woven on a warp and a weft. Technically, a woven fabric is any fabric made by interlacing two or more threads at right angles to on ...
fabrics, where strands usually run straight horizontally and vertically, yarn that has been knitted follows a looped path along its row, as with the red strand in the diagram at left, in which the loops of one row have all been pulled through the loops of the row below it.
Because there is no single straight line of yarn anywhere in the pattern, a knitted piece of fabric can stretch in all directions. This elasticity is all but unavailable in woven fabrics which only stretch along the
bias
Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group ...
. Many modern stretchy garments, even as they rely on elastic synthetic materials for some stretch, also achieve at least some of their stretch through knitted patterns.
The basic knitted fabric (as in the diagram, and usually called a ''stocking'' or ''stockinette'' pattern) has a definite "right side" and "wrong side". On the right side, the visible portions of the loops are the verticals connecting two rows which are arranged in a grid of ''V'' shapes. On the wrong side, the ends of the loops are visible, both the tops and bottoms, creating a much more bumpy texture sometimes called '' reverse stockinette''. (Despite being the "wrong side," reverse stockinette is frequently used as a pattern in its own right.) Because the yarn holding rows together is all on the front, and the yarn holding side-by-side stitches together is all on the back, stockinette fabric has a strong tendency to curl toward the front on the top and bottom, and toward the back on the left and right side.
Stitches can be worked from either side, and various patterns are created by mixing regular knit stitches with the "wrong side" stitches, known as purl stitches, either in columns (ribbing), rows (
garter
A garter is an article of clothing comprising a narrow band of fabric fastened about the leg to keep up stockings. In the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, they were tied just below the knee, where the leg is most slender, to keep the stocking f ...
, welting), or more complex patterns. Each fabric has different properties: a
garter stitch
Basic knitted fabrics include stocking stitch, reverse stocking stitch, garter stitch, seed stitch, faggoting, and tricot. In some cases, these fabrics appear differently on the right side (as seen when making the stitch) than on the wrong side ...
has much more vertical stretch, while ribbing stretches much more horizontally. Because of their front-back symmetry, these two fabrics have little curl, making them popular as edging, even when their stretch properties are not desired.
Different combinations of knit and purl stitches, along with more advanced techniques, generate fabrics of considerably variable consistency, from gauzy to very dense, from highly stretchy to relatively stiff, from flat to tightly curled, and so on.
Texture
The most common texture for a knitted garment is that generated by the flat stockinette stitch—as seen, though very small, in machine-made stockings and
T-shirt
A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...
s—which is worked in the round as nothing but knit stitches, and worked flat as alternating rows of knit and purl. Other simple textures can be made with nothing but knit and purl stitches, including garter stitch, ribbing, and moss and seed stitches. Adding a "slip stitch" (where a loop is passed from one needle to the other) allows for a wide range of textures, including heel and linen stitches as well as a number of more complicated patterns.
Some more advanced knitting techniques create a surprising variety of complex textures. Combining certain increases, which can create small eyelet holes in the resulting fabric, with assorted decreases is key to creating
knitted lace
Lace knitting is a style of knitting characterized by stable "holes" in the fabric arranged with consideration of aesthetic value. Lace is sometimes considered the pinnacle of knitting, because of its complexity and because woven fabrics cannot ...
, a very open fabric resembling needle or bobbin
lace
Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...
. Open vertical stripes can be created using the drop-stitch knitting technique. Changing the order of stitches from one row to the next, usually with the help of a cable needle or stitch holder, is key to
cable knitting
Cable knitting is a style of knitting in which textures of crossing layers are achieved by permuting stitches. For example, given four stitches appearing on the needle in the order ', one might cross the first two (in front of or behind) the nex ...
, producing an endless variety of cables, honeycombs, ropes, and
Aran sweater
The Aran jumper (Irish: ''Geansaí Árann'') is a style of jumper that takes its name from the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. A traditional Aran Jumper usually is off-white in colour, with cable patterns on the body and sleeves. O ...
patterning.
Entrelac Entrelac is a knitting technique used to create a textured diamond pattern. While the result resembles basket-woven strips of knitted fabric, the actual material comprises interconnected squares on two different orientations.
Unlike many textur ...
forms a rich checkerboard texture by knitting small squares, picking up their side edges, and knitting more squares to continue the piece.
Fair Isle
Fair Isle (; sco, Fair Isle; non, Friðarey; gd, Fara) is an island in Shetland, in northern Scotland. It lies about halfway between mainland Shetland and Orkney. It is known for its bird observatory and a traditional style of knitting. Th ...
knitting uses two or more colored yarns to create patterns and forms a thicker and less flexible fabric.
The appearance of a garment is also affected by the ''weight'' of the yarn, which describes the thickness of the spun fibre. The thicker the yarn, the more visible and apparent stitches will be; the thinner the yarn, the finer the texture.
Color
Plenty of finished knitting projects never use more than a single color of yarn, but there are many ways to work in multiple colors. Some yarns are dyed to be either ''variegated'' (changing color every few stitches in a random fashion) or ''self-striping'' (changing every few rows). More complicated techniques permit large fields of color (
intarsia
Intarsia is a form of wood inlaying that is similar to marquetry. The start of the practice dates from before the seventh century AD. The technique of intarsia inlays sections of wood (at times with contrasting ivory or bone, or mother-of-pear ...
, for example), busy small-scale patterns of color (such as Fair Isle), or both (
double knitting
Double knitting is a form of hand knitting in which two fabrics are knitted simultaneously on one pair of needles. The fabrics may be inseparable, as in ''interlock knitted fabrics'', or they can simply be two unconnected fabrics. In principle, ...
and slip-stitch color, for example).
Yarn with multiple shades of the same hue are called ''ombre'', while a yarn with multiple hues may be known as a given ''
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...
Ravelry
Ravelry is a free social networking service and website that beta-launched in May 2007. It functions as an organizational tool for a variety of fiber arts, including knitting, crocheting, spinning and weaving. Members share projects, ideas, and ...
- a yarn-working social network (from their About page: "Ravelry is an inclusive, friendly website for knitters, crocheters, spinners, weavers, and dyers". "Ravelry provides a personal notebook for fiber artists to keep track of their projects, yarns & fibers, tools, and pattern library, a rich database of patterns and yarns, and a community with thousands of forums and groups to connect with other Ravelers over any interest you could think of." )
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