WarpKnitting

Slide1

WarpKnitting

Thispresentationcoverstricotandraschelwarpknitting.Topicsincludetherawmaterials,fibersandyarnscommonlyusedinwarpknitting,
preparationofwarpbeamsforknitting,machinetypes,machineelementsandmotions,designnotationsandcommonwarpknitfabrics.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide2

Weft(circular)andWarpKnitting

Warpknittingfeedsyarnsfrombeamsratherthanfromyarnpackages.Thebeamsarecalledwarpbeams,hencethetermwarpknitting.Allthe
yarnsareknittedsimultaneouslyratherthaninasequenceasinweftknitting.Mostwarpknitfabricsareknittedopenwidth.Becauseallthe
needlesknitsimultaneouslyacrosstheneedlebar(s),warpknittingismoreproductivecomparedtoweftknitting.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide3

KnitStructuresvrs.WovenStructures

Weftknittingmachinesfeedindividualyarnsfromyarnpackagestotheknittingneedles,eachoneformingahorizontalrowofloopsinawidth
wisefabricdirection.Warpknittingmachines,feedyarnsfrombeams,andeachyarnisformedintoloopsastheyarnmovesinaverticaldirection
alongthelengthofthefabric.Inthediagramsshown,agivenyarnintheweftknitstructure,movesinahorizontaldirection.However,theredyarn
inthewarpknitstructuremovesintheverticaldirection.Bothtypesofknittedfabricsarecomposedofloopsofyarnscomparedtotheuseof
straightyarnsinawovenfabricstructure.Theloopstructureshavemorepliabilityandelongationthanthewovenstructures.Knittedfabricsare
moreporousinnaturebecauseoftheiropenstructure.Knitfabricsareformedbyintermeshingloopsofyarnandwovenfabricsareformedby
interlacingstraightyarns.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide4

WeftandWarpKnitting

Thisvideocomparesacircularweftknittingmachinewithawarpknittingmachine.Noticeindividualyarnpackagesontheweftknittingmachine
andmultiplebeamsofyarnonthewarpknittingmachine.Alsonoticetubularfabricbeingformedontheweftknittingmachineandopenwidth
fabricbeingformedonthewarpknittingmachine.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide5

WarpKnitting

Thisisavideoofawarpknittingmachineinaction.Yarnsfromthebeamsareformedintoloopsandtheloopsengagewithoneanothertoform
thewarpknitfabric.Noticehowtheloopsofyarnareslantedtotheleftinonecourseorrowandslantedtotherightinthesubsequentcourse.
Thepathoftheblueyarnisinaverticaldirectionalongthefabriclength.Thewarpbeamsarepreciselyformedduringaprocesscalledwarping.
Warpingtakesyarnsfromindividualpackagesandplacesthoseyarnsonabeamasshowninthisvideo.Propertensionandalignmentoftheyarns
iscriticalinformingagoodqualitybeam.Fromthebeams,theyarnspassthroughsmalleyeletsinelementscalledguidebars.Themovementof
guidebarsastheywraptheyarnsaroundneedlesintheneedlebarisseeninslowmotion.Theneedlebarisreadytomovedownward,formingthe
yarnsintoknittedloops.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide6

FibersandYarnsforWarpKnitting

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide7

FibersUsed
ManmadeFibers

Acetate
Triacetate
Nylon
Polyester
Rayon
Spandex

NaturalFibers
Cotton
Silk
Wool

Therearevarioustypesofmanmadefibersusedinwarpknitting.Acetateisrelativelyinexpensive,hasanexcellenthandanddrape,iscomfortable,
andalsostaticandsoilresistant.Itcannotbesuccessfullyheatsetandhaspoorabrasionresistance.Triacetatecanbeheatsetandhasanexcellent
hand,butismoredifficulttodye.Italsohaslowstrengthandlowabrasionresistance.Nylonknitswell,isastrongfiber,andiseasytotextureand
heatset.Howeverittendstohaveapoorhand,staticproblems,soilseasily,andhaspoorwrinklerecovery.Polyesterhasgreatwrinkleresistance,
knitswell,islightresistant,easytotextureandheatset.Ithassomedyeing,static,andsoilingdifficulties.Rayonismoistureabsorbent,hasagood
hand,butisweakerunderwetconditions.Spandexprovidesexcellentstretchpropertiestofabricsandcanbeintroducedintothefabricinvarious
formsbare,corespun,orcovered.

Naturalfiberssuchascottonandwoolarestapleorshortfibersandarenotcommonlyusedinwarpknitting.Thesefiberscannotbeheatsetand,
inyarns,tendtoshedasignificantamountoflintorshortfibrouswaste.Therefore,spunyarnsmaybeusedonraschelmachinesbutnottypically
ontricotmachines.Silkistheonlyfilamenttypenaturalfiberbutfairlyexpensive.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide8

FilamentYarns

PredominantinWarpKnitting
HigherStrengththanSpunYarns
MoreUniformwithNoFiberShedding
ContinuousFilaments
FlatorTextured
SingleYarnsorPlied

Filamentyarnsarepredominantlyusedinwarpknittingduetotheirhighstrengthanduniformity.Theseyarnscanbeinaflatfilamentformorina
texturedfilamentform.Theindividualfilamentsrunthroughouttheentirelengthoftheyarn.Flatfilamentyarnsareleftinastraightconfiguration.
Texturedfilamentyarnshavebeenmadetoloop,curl,orsnarlinordertoaddbulk,softness,reduceluster,andamoretexturedsurface.Filament
yarnscanbeformedintofineryarnscomparedtospunyarnsand,thus,canbeusedtoproducelighterweightfabrics.Warpknitfabricsmaybe
producedwithsinglefilamentyarnsandpliedfilamentyarns.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide9

SpunYarns

NotUsedVeryOften
ShortFibersTwistedTogether
NotAsStrongnorUniformasFilamentYarns
ProduceContamination
MostlyUsedasASinglesYarn
NotasFineasFilamentYarns

Spunyarnsarenotusedfrequentlyinwarpknitting.Theseyarnsarecomposedofshortfiberstwistedtogethertoformthestructure.Theyarnis
notasstrongoruniformasfilamentyarnandsomeofthefibersshedfromtheyarnandformacontaminantonthewarpknittingmachine.Single
yarnsaremostcommonlyusedratherthanpliedyarns.Fineryarnsaremoredifficulttoproduceandbecomecostly.Knittedfabricswithspunyarns
tendtobeheavierinweightthanmostfilamentyarnfabrics.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide10

FilamentYarnNumbering
Denier MostCommonSystemofNumbering
DenierNumber Representstheweightof
9,000metersofyarningrams
Lowertheyarndenier,finertheyarn
1/70/20/1.2Z/SD
Denierperfilament(dpf)=70 20which
yieldsadpf of3.5

DenieristhemostcommonyarnnumberingsystemusedintheUnitedStatesforfilamentyarns.Thedenieryarnnumberisdefinedastheweight
ingramsper9,000metersofyarn.Thusa70denieryarnindicatesastandardlengthof9,000metersweighs70grams.Thelowertheyarndenier,
thefinertheassociatedyarn.Acommonyarndescriptionmightbe1/70/20/1.2Z/SD.Thiswouldbedescribedasasinglesyarn(oneply),70denier,
20filaments,1.2turnsperinchoftwistintheZ(clockwisedirection),andhavingasemidullluster.Thedenierperfilament(dpf)canbedetermine
bydividingtheoveralldenier(70)bythenumberoffilaments(20).Inthiscase,thedpfwouldbe3.5.Ifthedpfcalculatestobelessthan1.0denier,
thenthefiberclassificationismicrodenierormicrofiber.Microdenierwarpknitfabricsexhibitaverysoftandluxurioushandorfeel.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide11

OtherFilamentYarnNumbering
Tex yarnnumberrepresentstheweightingramsof1,000
metersofyarn
Example:a20tex yarnweighs20gramsperastandardlength
of1,000meters

Decitex (dtex) yarnnumberrepresentstheweightingrams

of10,000metersofyarn
Example:a200decitex yarnweighs200gramsper10,000
meters

Thetexyarnnumberisbasedupontheweightingramsofyarnperastandardlengthof1,000meters.Thus,a20texyarnweighs20gramsper
standardlengthof1,000meters.Decitexisbasedonastandardlengthof10,000metersandthusa200decitexyarnweighs200gramsper10,000
meters.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide12

SpunYarnNumbering
MetricCount(Nm) numberofkilometersofyarn
weighingonekilogram
EnglishCottonCount(Ne) numberof840yardlengths
ofyarnweighingonepound
Examples:
A20(Nm)metricyarnindicatesthat20kilometers
weighonekilogram.
A40(Ne)Englishcottoncountyarnhasayarnlengthof
33,600yards(40x840)andweighsonepound.

MetriccountandEnglishcottoncountarethemostcommonnumberingsystemsusedwithspunyarns.Metricyarnnumber(Nm)equatestothe
numberofkilometersofyarnthatittakestoweighonekilogram.A20s(Nm)metricyarnindicatesthat20kilometersweighonekilogram.English
countyarnnumber(Ne)isthenumberof840yardlengthsofyarnthatittakestoweighonepound.A40(Ne)englishcottoncountyarnhasayarn
lengthof33,600yards(40x840)andweighsonepound.Bothoftheseyarnnumberingsystemshavethecharacteristicthatalargeryarnnumber
representsafineryarn,thisisoppositeofthedeniersystemusedwithfilamentyarns.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide13

YarnNumberingConversions
Nm/1.69=Ne
5314/Denier=Ne
590.54/Tex=Ne
Denier/9=Tex
Decitex /10=Tex
Nw /1.5=Ne

Alistofcommonyarnnumberingconversionsusedinthetextileindustryisgiveninthisslide.Individualsoftenconverttothesystemwithwhich
theyfeelmorecomfortable.WhatEnglish(Ne)yarnnumberwouldbeequivalentto32Nm?Theconversionequationsasseeninthisslideindicate
thattoconvertametricyarntoanenglishcottoncountyarn,dividethemetricyarnby1.69.

Answer:321.69=19

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide14

EndUsesbyFiberandDenier
Acetate:
55denier dressgoods,lingerie,prints
100denier loungewear,deeppilefabrics

Triacetate:
55denier lingerie,sleepwear,blouses
100denier dressgoods,shirtings,robes

Nylon:
20denier lingerie,sleepwear,prints
70denier uniforms,meshfabrics,lace

Polyester:
40denier blouses,prints,uniforms
70denier nappedrobes,uniforms,shirting

Spandex:
70 140denier lowpowerstretchfabrics
210 420denier powernetproducts

Showninthisslidearecommonendusesbasedonfibertypeandyarndenier.Thisisnotanexhaustivelistbutonlysomeexamples.Nylonisa
strongerfiberandcanbemadeintoalowerdenier,fineryarnforverylightweightfabrics.Thisisreflectedbythe20denieryarnusesofnylon.
Theseendproductexamplesallcontainfilamentyarn.Foracomparison,anequivalentspunyarnnumberfora55denierfilamentyarnwouldbe
97Englishcottoncountwhichisveryfineinspunyarnandinverylimitedsupplyaroundtheworld.Polyesterisanotherstrongfiberandalsocan
beknittedwithlowerdenieryarns.Inlowpowerstretchfabrics,arangeof70to140denieryarniscommonlyusedwith210to420denieryarn
usedinpowernetproducts,whereahigherstretchandrecoveryisneeded.Anexampleofthisisafourguidebarfabricusing4setsofyarns2
setsofnylonyarnand2setsofspandexyarn.Whenevertheseyarnsaretexturedinsteadofremainingflat,theoveralldeniercouldincreaseby10
to20percent.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide15

YarnPreparationOverview
FewerProcessesthanUsedinWeaving
WarpingIstheMainPreparationStep
WarpingCanHaveACrucialEffectonFabric
Quality
WarpingMistakesAreDifficulttoOvercomein
Knitting

Theuseofmainlysyntheticyarnsandthemoderatetensionsappliedtotheknittingyarns,ensuresanefficientoperationwithoutwarpsizing,
whichhastobeappliedtomostweavingyarns.Yarnpreparationisasimplewindingofyarnendsontowarpbeamsinaprocesscalledwarping.
Thequalityofthewarpbeamhasacrucialeffectonthequalityoftheknittedfabric.Inwarpknitting,theuseofsyntheticyarnsandtheloop
formationhighlightvariationsintheyarn.Differencesinyarnthickness,tension,twistandotherfactorscanresultinafabricfault.Inmostcases
warpingmistakesarehardorimpossibletocorrectduringtheknittingprocess.Thesloganwellwarpedishalfknittedis,therefore,very
appropriate.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide16

WarpBeams

Uniformwarpyarnfeedingandproperyarntensioncontrolismadepossiblebysupplyingflangedbeamswhichareattachedtoshaftsthatturnto
unwindthewarpyarnsinaparallelarrangement.Eachshaftofbeamsgenerallyfeedsitsyarnstoaseparateguidebarwhichoperates
independentlyfromotherguidebars.Thisparticularwarpknitmachinehastwowarpbeamshaftsinuseand,therefore,wouldusetwoguidebars
toformagivenfabric.Thewarpbeamshaftscouldhavethesameyarnsordifferentyarns.Forspacesavingsduringwarpingandeaseofhandling,
anumberofbeamsmaybelocatedonthesamebeamshaftinordertoachievethefullwidthofthewarpsheet.Awarpsheetwithawidthof84
inches(213cm),forexample,mightbesuppliedasonesinglebeam,two42inch(106cm)beams,orfour21inch(53cm)beams.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide17

DirectWarping

Thefastestwaytoformawarpknittingbeamisbydirectwarping.Packagesofyarnaredirectlyfedfromacreeltothewarpinghead,whichwinds
theyarnsinparallelontothewarpbeams.Yarnspacinginthewarpsheettobefedtotheknittingmachinemustbesuitableforthemachinegauge,
andthewidthofthewarpoftenequalsthewidthoftheneedlebarinuse.Yarnsplacedonthewarpbeamsmustbeparallel,notcrossed,andbe
underequaltension.Whenwarpingsyntheticyarns,staticeliminatorsareneeded.Thecreelsareusuallystraightlinetype.Whenwarpingspun
yarns,lintremovalequipmentmaybeneededandpossiblytheapplicationofalubricanttotheyarn.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide18

IndirectWarping

Indirectwarpingwindssmallgroups,calledsections,ofyarnsontoatypeofdrumasseeninthisphotograph.Additionalgroupsofyarnsarewound
sidebysideuntiltherequirednumberofyarnsisreached.Thusthewarpbeamisbuiltinsectionsandthenallthesectionsofyarnsaretransferred
simultaneouslytoawarpbeamwithflanges.Thistypeofwarpingistypicallyusedwhenfloorspaceislimitedorsometypeofcolorpatternis
formedwiththeyarns.Thistypeofwarpingalsoworkswellwhenmakingsamplesandshortruns.Theindirectsystemisusedsparinglyforwarp
knittingandmostcommonlyusedinproducingwarpsforweaving.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide19

BasicWarpKnitFabric

Warpknittingcanbedefinedasaloopformingprocessinwhichtheyarnisfedintotheknittingzone,paralleltothefabricselvages.Thediagram
shownillustratesthemostbasicwarpknittedstructuremadebyasinglesetofendsfedfromasinglewarp.Everyneedleisfedbyaseparateend
ofyarn,fromwhichaloopisformed.Inordertoconnecttheloopsintoafabric,theendsshogbetweentheneedlesmeaningthattheguidebars
throughwhichtheseyarnsarefedmovefromoneneedlepositiontoanother.Inthismannereachknittingneedledrawsanewloopthroughthe
loopformedbyanotherendofyarninthepreviousknittingcycle.Theaccompanyingdiagramshowsfourcompletewales.Noticehowtheredyarn
isknittingincombinationwithtwootheryarns.Fromthisbasicsectionoffabric,itcanbeseenthatatleastonesetofendsofyarns,equalingthe
numberofneedlesinthemachine,isnecessarytoproducethefabric.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide20

WarpKnitFormation

Noticeinthisanimation,howasingleendofyarn,redincolor,iscombiningwithotherendsofyarn,blueincolor,asloopsareformedalongthe
verticaldirectionofthefabric.Theleftandrightpositioningoftheredloopsiscreatedbytheshoggingmotionoftheguidebarcontainingthat
yarn.Thismotionallowstheyarnstoformconnectingloops,whichproducesacontinuousfabric.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide21

HalfTricot Course

Awarpknitcourse,highlightedinred,isahorizontalrowofloopsformedbytheneedlesduringoneknittingcycle.Inwarpknitting,alltheneedles
performthesameknittingactionsimultaneously,sothatoneknittedcourseisformedacrossthewholewidthoftheknittingmachineforevery
turnofthemainshaftofthemachine.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide22

HalfTricot Wale

Awarpknitwalecanbedefinedasaverticalcolumnofloopsformedbyasingleneedlebutusuallynotbyasingleyarn,asevidencedbythewales
containingblueandredyarn.Thenumberofwalesinthefabricequalsthenumberofneedlesacrossthewidthofthemachine.Thefabricstructure,
seeninthisdiagram,wasformedbytheactionofsixneedlessincefourcompletewalesandtwopartiallyknittedwalescanbeseen.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide23

PartsofaWarpKnitLoop

Thestructureofawarpknitloopisverydifferentfromthatofaweftknitloop.Itactuallycontainstwoparts.Thefirstistheloopitself,shownin
red,whichisformedbytheyarnbeingwrappedaroundthefrontorhooksideofaneedleandthendrawnthroughapreviouslyformedloop.This
partofthestructureiscalledanoverlap.Thesecondpartisthelengthofyarnconnectingeachformedloopwiththenextsucceedingloop,whichis
calledanunderlap,showningreen.Itisformedbytheshoggingorlateralmovementsoftheyarnendsacrossthebacksideoftheneedles.The
lengthoftheunderlapisdefinedbyneedlespacesaccordingtotheshoggingmovement.Inthisdiagramtheshoggingmovementisoveronlyone
needlespace.Thelongertheunderlapintermsofneedlespaces,themoreitliesintheweftwisedirectionofthefabric.Thisincreasesthefabrics
widthwisestability.Ashorterunderlapwillincreasethelengthwisestability.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide24

OverlapCharacteristics
Shog usuallyacrossoneneedlehook
Everyneedlereceivesanoverlappedloop
fromatleastoneguideateveryknittingcycle
Twosidelimbsoftheloopareproduced
Raretoshog acrosstwoneedlehooksdueto
highyarntensionsandpoorfabricappearance

Anoverlapisashog,usuallyacrossoneneedlehook.Everyneedleonaconventionalwarpknittingmachinemustreceiveanoverlappedloopfrom
atleastoneguideateveryknittingcycle,otherwiseitwillpressoff,meaningyarnsdropofftheneedles,makingalargeholeinthefabric.The
swingingmovementoftheguidetothehooksideandthereturnswingaftertheoverlapproducethetwosidelimbsoftheloop,whichgivea
similarappearanceonthefacesideofwarpknittedfabricasthatofaweftknittedneedleloop.Veryrarelyareoverlapshogsacrosstwoneedle
hooks,asthisproducesseveretensiononthewarpyarnandknittingelements.Twoneedleoverlapsalso,generally,haveapoorappearance.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide25

Underlap Characteristics
Generallyrangesfrom0to3needlespaces
Couldbefourormoreneedlespaces
dependingondesignandfabricstructure
Longunderlapscauseareductioninknitting
efficiencyandproductionspeed
Underlaps andoverlapsareessentialinwarp
knitstructures

Theunderlapshoggenerallyrangesfrom0to3needlespaces,butitcouldbe4needlespacesormoredependinguponthedesignofthemachine
andthefabricstructure.Efficiencyandproductionspeedwillbecorrespondinglyreducedwithlongerunderlaps.Underlapsaswellasoverlapsare
essentialinwarpknittedstructuresinordertojointhewalesofloopstogether,buttheymaybecontributedbydifferentguidebars.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide26

KnittingwithLongerUnderlaps

Thefabricweightisaffectedbythelengthoftheunderlap.Whileknittingwithlongerunderlapsasillustrated,moreyarnisfedintothefabric.Each
underlapcrossesovertwoneedlespacesinsteadofoneasinthepreviousslide.Itcoversmorewalesonitsway,resultinginheavier,thicker,and
denserfabric.Sincetheunderlapisconnectedtothebaseoftheloop,itcauses,duetowarpyarntensions,aslanttotheloopstructure.The
reciprocatingmovementsoftheyarn,therefore,causetheloopsofeachknittedcoursetoslantinthesamedirection,alternatelytotheleftandto
therightasthefabricisbeingformed.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide27

AddinganotherSetofYarnEnds

Toachieveabetterappearanceofthefabricwithverticalloopsaswellascontrollingthewidthwiseandlengthwisepropertiesofthefabric,a
secondsetofwarpendscanbeused.Thissecondsetusuallymakesanoppositeshoggingmovementtothefirst.Thelengthoftheunderlapsneed
notnecessarilybethesameinthetwosets.Intheaccompanyingdiagramofatwoguidebarfabricstructure,onesetofendsfromthewarp(the
blueyarns)shogbetweentwoadjacentneedleswhiletheotherset(theredyarns)shogalargertraverseoftwoneedlespaces.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide28

TechnicalBackofWarpKnitFabric

Plainwarpknittedfabricisnotsymmetricalonbothsides.Thistwoguidebarstructureillustratesthesideofthefabricfacingtheknitter.Thisside
showniscalledthetechnicalbackandcanberecognizedbytheunderlapsfloatingonthesurface.Whendealingwithafabricmadeofseveral
setsofends,fedfromdifferentwarps,thereareseverallayersofunderlaps.Theendsfedfromthewarpclosertothefrontofthemachine,floaton
thesurfaceofthetechnicalback.Theunderlapsoftheotherwarpsaresandwichedundertheunderlapsoftheformerwarpintheirrespective
order.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide29

TechnicalFaceofWarpKnitFabric

Onthetechnicalface,theloopstructureformedbytheoverlapsshowsonthesurfaceofthefabric.Whenthefabricisformedbymorethanone
setofyarnends,alltheyarnswhichoverlaptheneedleappearintheloop.Inmostfabrics,theyarnsofthewarpclosesttothefrontofthe
machinecovertheothers,thusformingaplatingeffectonthetechnicalface.Platingisdefinedasyarnsplacedinfrontofotheryarns.Thequality
oftheplatingvarieswiththeknittingconditions,thesettingsofthemachineandtheyarnused.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide30

OpenandClosedLaps

Therearetwodifferentlapformsusedinwarpknitting,dependingonthewaytheyarnsarewrappedaroundtheneedlestoproduceanoverlap.
Anopenlap,illustratedinthetoprowofloops,isformedwhentheoverlapandthenextunderlaparemadeinthesamedirection.Whenthe
overlapandthefollowingunderlapareinopposingdirections,aclosedlapisformed,illustratedinthebottomrowofloops.Themostcommonlap
used,inmostwarpknitstructures,istheclosedlap.Theopenlapisusedwhenspecialfabricpropertiesareneededorwhentechnicallimitations
exist.Specialattentionmustbepaidtotheoverlapdirectionbecauseitaffectsthefabricpropertiessignificantly.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide31

StitchDensity

Stitchdensityisthetotalnumberofloopsinagivenareaoffabric.Theareaisusuallyasquareinchorcentimeterandthedensityisobtainedby
multiplyingthenumberofcoursesbythenumberofwalesinthegivenarea.Ifthepartofthefabrichighlightedinthissketchisaperfectsquare
inch,thestitchdensity,wouldbe12loopspersquareinch,threecoursesperinchmultipliedbyfourwalesperinch.Becausemanyfabricsshrink
widthwiseafterleavingthewarpknittingmachine,itisnotpossibletodeterminethemachinegaugeorneedlesperinchbyanalyzingthefabric.
Thecountoffabriccoursesisdeterminedbymachinesettingsandknittingconditions.Theloopscanbeknittedlongtoproduceslackerfabricor
smalltoproduceatighterfabric.Sincethewaledensityisalmostexclusivelydeterminedbythemachinegaugeandfabricconstruction,theknitter
canmoreeasilycontroltheloopsizeorcoursedensity.Forthisreason,insomepartsoftheindustry,themainfabricparameterconsideredisthe
coursecount.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide32

MachineTypes

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WarpKnitting
Slide33

TricotWarpKnittingMachine

Tricotwarpknittingmachinestypicallyemployeitherspringbeardedtypesofneedlesorcompoundneedles.Theseneedletypeswillbediscussed
later.Themachinegaugeistypicallyexpressedasneedlesperinch.Thefabricisdrawntowardsthebatchingroller,almostatrightanglestothe
needlebar.Warpbeamsareinclinedinanarctowardsthebackofthemachine,withthetopbeamsupplyingthefrontguidebar,andthebottom
beamsupplyingthebackguidebar.Themachineshaveasimpleconstructionandashortyarnpathfromthebeams.Guidebarsarenumbered
fromthebackofthemachinetowardsthefrontofthemachine.Tricotbeamarrangementgenerallyrestrictsthemaximumnumberofbeamsand
guidebarstofour.Thisisnotofmajorimportancebecausethemajorityoftricotmachinesoperatewithonlytwoguidebars.Tricotwarpknitting
createsagentleandlowtensiononthefabricbeingknittedduetothesmallangleoffabrictakeaway,asseeninthisdiagram,andthetypeof
knittingactionemployed.Thismakesitidealforthehighspeedproductionofsimple,finegauge(2844needlesperinch),closeknitted,plainand
patternwork.Forthatreason,manylingerieandapparelfabricsareknittedusingtwoguidebarstructureswithbothbarsoverlappingand
underlapping.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide34

KeyTricotMachineCharacteristics
28and32gaugemachinespopularfortwobar
tricotandlocknit structureswithmachinewidths
of84and168inches(213and426cm)andusing
40deniernylon
Possibletoknitfrom10deniernylonupto20/1
cottoncount
Machinegaugescanrangefrom10needlesper
inchforcoarsespunyarnsto2024needlesper
inchfortexturedyarnfabrics
3644gauge(needlesperinch)forfinefabrics
withknittingwidthsupto260inches(660cm)

Inthepast,28and32gaugemachineshavebeenpopularfortwobartricotandlocknitstructureswithmachinewidthsof84and168inches(213
and426cm)whileusing40deniernylon.Currently,itispossibletoknitfromafine10deniernylonfilament,uptoaheavier20/1cottoncount
spunyarn.Machinegaugescanrangefrom10needlesperinch,forcoarsespunyarns,to2024needlesperinchfor,texturedyarnfabrics.Forfine
fabrics,3644gaugemachinesareavailableinknittingwidthsupto260inches(660cm).

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide35

Raschel WarpKnittingMachine

Fabriconraschelmachinesisdrawndownwardfromtheneedlesalmostparalleltotheneedlebar,atanangleof120160degrees.Thisangle
createsahightakeuptension,particularlysuitableforopenfabricstructuressuchaslacesandnets.Thewarpbeamsarearrangedabovethe
needlebarandcenteredoverthetopofthemachinesothatthewarpyarnspassdowntotheguidebarsoneithersideofthem.Theguidebarsare
numberedfromthefrontofthemachine.Raschelmachinescanaccommodateatleastfour32inchdiameterbeamsoralargenumberofsmall
diameterbeams.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide36

KeyRaschel MachineCharacteristics
Typicallyknitwithlatchneedlesorcompound
needles
MachineGauge needlesperinch
1to32gaugerange
Suitableforcoarsegaugeopenwork
Openworkutilizespillarstitches,inlaylapping
variations,andpartlythreadedguidebars.
Raschel arrangementofsinkersmakesthis
possible.

Raschelmachinestypicallyknitwithlatchneedlesorcompoundneedles.Machinegaugeisexpressedasneedlesperinch.Thegaugerangecanbe
from1to32.Thesimpleknittingactionandthestrongandefficienttakedowntensionmakestheraschelmachinewellsuitedfortheproductionof
coarsegaugeopenworkstructuresusingpillarstitch,inlaylappingvariationsandpartlythreadedguidebars.Raschelsinkersperformthefunction
ofholdingdowntheloopswhiletheneedlesrise.Thesetypesofknittingactionswillbediscussedlaterinthepresentation.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide37

MachineElementsandActions

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide38

YarnPathinWarpKnitting

Theyarnpathissimilarinbothraschelandtricotwarpknitting.Theyarnsleavethewarpbeamsandaretensionedbeforemovingdowntothe
knittingelements.Theknittingelementsarecomposedofguidebarsandtheneedlebar.Themovementoftheguidebarsandneedlebarare
showninfollowingslides.Oncetheyarnsareknittedintofabric,atakeuprollersystempullsthefabricawayfromtheknittingneedlesanddelivers
thefabrictothefabricroll.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide39

GuideBars

Guidebarsaresuppliedwithyarnfromeachwarpbeamshaft.Alltheyarnsfromoneroworshaftofbeamsistypicallythreadedthroughone
individualguidebar.Therefore,ifamachinehasthreeshaftsorrowsofbeams,itwillalsohavethreeguidebars.Conversely,ifamachinehasfour
rowsofbeams,thenitwillhavefourguidebars.Shownisasectionofaguidebarinametalleadplacedintheforegroundofthepicture.A
numberofmetalleadsseeninthebackgroundofthephotographareattachedtoeachguidebarandtheguideeyeletsarespacedtothesame
gaugeastheneedlesonthemachine.Eachguideeyeletoccupiesaposition,whenatrest,midwaybetweentwoadjacentneedles.Allguidesina
conventionalguidebarproduceanidenticallappingmovementatthesametimeand,therefore,haveidenticalrequirementsofwarptensionand
rateoffeed,althoughtheyarnsmaydifferincolororcompositionfromeachother.Occasionally,twopartlythreadedguidebarsmaybesupplied
fromthesamefullythreadedbeam,providedtheymakelappingmovementsofthesameextenttoeachotherwhilemovinginoppositedirections.
Theminimumnumberofguidebarsandwarpsheetsforcommerciallyacceptablestructuresisusuallytwo.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide40

NeedleBars

Theneedlebariscomposedofleadscontainingneedles.Asufficientnumberofleadswillbeattachedtotheneedlebartoestablishacertainfabric
width.Shownaresevenleadscontainingneedles,butonlyfiveguidebarleadsarebeingused.Alltheneedlesinagivenneedlebarwillriseand
descendsimultaneouslytoproduceanewcourseinthewarpknitfabric.Duringmachineoperation,aneedlebarwillberisingtoengagetheyarns
andthendescendstoformtheyarnintoknitloops.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide41

LatchNeedles

Differentwarpknittingmachinesmayusedifferenttypesofneedleslocatedontheneedlebar.MostmodernRaschelknittingmachinesuse
compoundneedles.Manymachines,however,arestillequippedwithlatchneedlesasshowninthisphotograph.Thelatchneedlesarecastinunits
orleads,oneinchlong.Thelatchoftheneedledepends,foritsknittingoperation,ontheyarn.Theloopwithinthehookopensthelatchwhenthe
needlerisestotheclearingpositionandclosesitwhentheneedledescendsforknockover.Abrokenyarncausesaneedletobevoidofyarn,and
hence,thelatchstaysclosed,sothatnoloopscanbeformed.Suchaneedlehastobeopenedmanuallyinordertoallowloopformationtoresume.
Raschelmachinesareconstructedindifferentgauges,rangingfrom6to32needlesperinch.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide42

BeardedNeedles

Thebeardedneedleisusedonmanyoldertricotmachinesandhasanextendedhookorbeardthatispressedtoenclosethenewlyformedloopso
thatthisloopcanbedrawnthroughthepreviouslyformedloopasthelatterisbeingreleased.Itisthecheapestandsimplesttypeofneedleto
manufactureandcommonlyfoundinmachinegaugesasfineas60needlesperinch.Thebeardedneedlehasastem,aroundwhichtheneedleloop
isformed.Theneedleheadiswherethestemisturnedintoahooktodrawthenewloopthroughtheoldloop.Thebeardisthecurveddownward
continuationofthehookthatisusedtoseparatethetrappednewloopinsidefromtheoldloopasitslidesofftheneedlebeard.Theeyeorgroove
oftheneedleiscutinthestemtoreceivethepointedtipofthebeardwhenitispressed,thusenclosingthenewloop.Theneedleshankmaybe
bentforindividuallocationinthemachineorcastwithothersinametallead.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide43

CompoundNeedles

Compoundneedlesconsistoftwoseparatelycontrolledpartstheopenhookandtheslidingclosingelement.Thetwopartsriseandfallasa
singleunitbut,atthetopoftherise,thehookmovesfastertoopenthehookandatthestartofthefallthehookdescendsfastertoclosethehook.
Thepreferredtypeofcompoundneedleistheopenstemslideneedlewhichhasaclosingtonguethatslidesexternallyalongagrooveontheedge
oftheflathookmember.Thistypeofcompoundneedleischeaper,morecompactandeachofthetwopartscanbereplacedseparately.Theslim
constructionandshorthookofthecompoundneedlemakeitparticularlysuitableforproducingfinewarpknittedstructuresathighspeed.Itcan
knitchainstitcheswithouttheloopsrisinguptheneedles,anditssturdyconstructionresiststhedeflectiongeneratedbyelasticyarnsorthick
placesinspunyarns.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide44

CompoundNeedlesType2

Sometypesofcompoundneedleshavetheslidingelementinaleadandtheyprotrudethroughhollowstemsintheneedlehooks,whicharealso
containedinleads.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide45

Sinker

Thesinkerisathinplateofmetalwhichisplacedbetweeneachneedle.Thesinkersareusuallycastinunitsoneinchlongwhichinturnare
screwedintothesinkerbar.Thesinkerhasvariouspartswithindividualfunctions.Thisphotographshowsthenebofthesinkerandthethroat
whichisusedtoholddownthefabric.Thebellyofthesinkerisusedasaknockingoverplatform.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide46

GuideBarMotions

Forsimplicity,theanimationshowsonlyoneneedlebarbeingused,andinthiscaseitcontainsbeardedneedles.Theprinciplesillustratedremain
thesamefordoubleneedlebarmachineswhichwillbedescribedlater.Asshown,theguidesoftheguidebararerequiredtoexecuteacompound
movement,composedoftwoseparatelyderivedmotions.Aswingingmotionandashoggingmovementactatrightanglestoeachotherinorder
fortheiryarnstoformoverlapandunderlappathsthatcombineasoneyarnpatharoundtheneedles.Theswingingmotionisinanarcfromthe
frontofthemachinetothehookorbeardedsideoftheneedlesandalaterreturnswing.Itoccursbetweenadjacentneedlesandisafixed,
collective,andautomaticactionforalltheguidebarsastheypivotonacommonrockershaft.Thesidewaysshoggingmovementthatoccurs
paralleltotheneedlebarproducestheunderlapsandoverlaps.Theoccurrence,timing,directionandextentofeachshogisseparatelycontrolled
foreachguidebarbyapatternchainorpatternwheel.Ashoggingmovementcanoccurwhentheguideshaveswungclearoftheneedleheadson
thebackorfrontofthemachine.Onthehookside,itproducesanoverlapandonthesideremotefromthehookitproducesanunderlap.The
timingoftheshogduringthe360degreeofthemaincamshaftrevolutiondetermineswhetheranoverlaporunderlapisproduced.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide47

OverlapsandUnderlaps

Thefirstpartofthisvideoviewstheknittingactionfromthemachinefrontinslowmotion.Theguidebarsswingbetweentheneedles,overlap
yarnsbyshoggingonthehooksideoftheneedles,swingbackbetweentheneedlestowardsthemachinefrontandthenformtheunderlapby
shoggingonthebacksideoftheneedleswhichfacesthemachinefront.Thelatterpartofthevideoshowsthemachinerunningatafasterpace.
Noticehowthesinkerplatecontainingthesinkersmovesintopositionbeforetheneedlesrise,preventingthefabricfromrisingupontheneedles
astheyascend.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide48

SingleSpringbeard Needle

Thisanimationshowshowasingleyarnguideinaguidebarswingsinwithagivenyarn,shogsonthebeardedsideoftheneedletoformthe
overlap,swingsouttowardsthebacksideoftheneedlesandthenshogstoformtheunderlap.Keepinmind,thatifyouwerestandingatthe
machinefront,youwouldbefacingthebackoftheneedles.Theneedlerisestoplacethenewloopofyarnwithinthebeard.Atthispoint,the
needlestartstodescendandthepresserbarclosesthebeard.Thedescendingneedlethenpullsthenewloopofyarnthroughthepreviousloop,
whichwasrestingontheneedlestem.Thepreviousloopisthenknockedoverthetopoftheneedleandisplacedinthedeliveredfabric.Notice
theactionofthesinkerastheneedlemovesupanddownandthebellyofthesinkeractingasaplatformforpullingthenewloopofyarnthrougha
previousloop.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide49

MultipleSpringbeard

Thisanimationshowsmultiplebeardedneedlesandmultipleyarnguidesswinginginandshoggingtoformtheoverlapsandthenswingingoutand
shoggingtoformtheunderlaps.Noticethattheunderlapshoggingmovesbackandforth,leftandright,oneneedlespaceonsuccessivecourses.As
mentionedearlier,thishelpstobindthewalestogethertoformthefabric.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide50

Raschel LatchNeedle

Thisanimationbeginswithalatchneedleintheyarnfeedingpositionwiththelatchopen.Thesinkerbarisinpositiontoholddownthefabric.The
needlethendescends,allowingtheoldlooptoclosethelatchasthenewloopispulledthroughit.Theoldloopisknockedovertheneedlehook
andplacedintothefabric.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide51

CompoundNeedle

Inthisanimationtheyarnisoverlappingacompoundneedlewhichusestheslidingtonguetoclosethehookandallowtheoldlooptobeknocked
over.Themoreconfinedmovementofthecompoundneedleswithashorterstrokeallowshigherproduction.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide52

YarnConsumptionforGuideBars
Runin yarnconsumptionofeachguidebar
Rack thelengthofyarnconsumedin480
knittingcyclesusedasameasurementforrunin
Eachguidebarknitsthesameconstructionand
fedequally
Alongerruninproduceslongerloopsandslacker
fabric
Ashorterruninproducesshorterloopsand
tighterfabric

Theyarnconsumptionofeachguidebariscalledruninandismeasuredasthelengthofeachyarnknittedintothefabricduring480knitting
cycles.Inwarpknitting,alltheyarnendsthreadedthroughtheguidesofoneguidebarknitthesameconstructionandarefedequally.Theworking
cycleof480knitcoursesiscalledarack.Alongerruninknitslongerloopsandslackerfabricwithfewercoursesperinch.Ashorterrunin
producesshorterloopsandtighterfabricwithmorecoursesperinch.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide53

RuninRatio
Termusedwhenknittingwithmorethanoneguidebar
Itistherelativeamountofyarnfedfromeachwarpand
writtenasaratio
Ratioisdifferentfordifferentfabricconstructionsand
qualities
Examples
Locknit
3:4
ReverseLocknit
4:3
StandardTwoBarTricot1:1
Sharkskin5:3
Satin5:9

Runinratioisatermusedwhenknittingwithmorethanoneguidebar.Runinratioistherelativeamountofyarnfedfromeachwarpandwritten
asaratio.Theratioisdifferentfordifferentfabricconstructionsandqualities.Whenrunningstandardflatnylonyarns,theruninratioforalocknit
constructionmightbea3:4backbartofrontbarratio.However,whenrunningreverselocknitwiththesameyarn,theruninratiomightbe4:3.
Withastandardtwobartricot,theruninratiowouldbe1:1.Togettheeffectofsharkskin,theruninratiomightbe5:3.Forlongerunderlaps
containedinasatinconstruction,theruninratiomightbe5:9.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide54

TricotMachine

TheTricotwarpknittingmachineshowninthisvideoisknittingatwoguidebarfabric.Theguidebarsarecreatingthenecessaryoverlapsand
underlapstoproducethedeliveredfabric.Thefabriccomesoffthemachineat90degreeanglewithrespecttotheneedlebar.Themachinehas
fourshaftsforholding4setsofbeams,butonlytwoarebeingused.Onlyasmallnumberofneedlesarebeingusedtoknitthenarrowwidthof
fabric.Ontherightsideofthemachineisapatternchainusedtocontrolthemotionsoftheguidebars.Observetheoverlappingmotionofthe
guidebars,thelateralshoggingmovements,andtheactionofthesinkerbarasthefabricisbeingformed.Thepatternchainrotates,directingthe
shoggingmotionsoftheguidebars,tocreatethefabricdesign.Thechainhasthenecessarylinkswhichareofslightlydifferentheightswhich
controlstheguidebars.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide55

TwoGuideBarRaschel Machine

ThisRaschelmachinehasfourlargebeamswithtwobeamshaftstosupportyarnsgoingthroughtwoguidebars.Noticetheupanddown
movementoftheneedlebarasyouviewthebackofthemachinealongwiththeswingandshoggingmotionsofthetwoguidebars.Asseen,there
arerotatingcamswhichcontroltheupanddownmovementoftheneedlebar.Thepatterndeviceinitiatesthemovementofthetwoguidebars,
whichdictatesthedesignofthefabric.Thedifferentheightsofthechainlinksandthedifferentshoggingmotionscreatedcanbeseen.Zoomingin
ontheguidebarandneedlebarmovements,onecanseethelateralbackandforthmovementsasoverlapsandunderlapsareplacedintothe
fabric.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide56

WarpKnittingDesignPriciples

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide57

RepresentingLapsandUnderlaps

Themovementoftheguidebarscanberepresentedorplottedonpapercontainingsmalldotsplacedanequaldistanceapart.Eachhorizontalrow
ofdotsrepresentstheneedlesorneedlebaratonecourseofthefabric.Eachverticallineofdotsrepresentsawale.Thedesigniscreatedby
workingupthepaperfromthebottomtothetopforeachsuccessivecourse.Thepathofeachguideisshownbydrawingalinearoundthedotsas
iflookingdownontheneedlefromabove.Ifalineisdrawnforeachthreadedguide,thenthedesignofthefabriccanbedeveloped.Sinceallthe
guidesinagivenguidebarmustmoveinthesamemanner,showingthemotionsofoneguidebaranditsassociatedyarnissufficientfor
representingthemovementsofallguidesandtheirassociatedyarnsalongtheentirewidthoftheguidebar.Formultipleguidebarfabrics,a
separatenotationordrawingmustbeshownforthemovementsofeachguidebar.Onemustrealizethatthelappingmovementonpointpaper
notonlyshowsthemovementoftheguidesonthemachine,butalsogivesadiagrammaticrepresentationofthepathoftheyarninthefabric.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide58

NumberingNeedleSpaces

Onpointpapernotation,theneedlespacesarenumberedfromtherighthandsideforamachinewhichhasitspatternmechanismontheright
handside.Theoppositewouldbetrueforamachinehavingitspatternmechanismontheleftsideofthemachine.Ontricotmachines,needle
spacesarenumberedusingwholenumbersbeginningwith0.Occasionally,onRaschelmachines,theneedlespacesarenumberedbeginningwith0
andusingonlyevenwholenumberssuchas2,4,6,etc.afterthat.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide59

ChainNotation

Thechainnotationisthedescriptionofthefabricconstructioninnumbersandsymbols.Itisthebasisforthetechnicalconversionofthe
constructionviaagivenpatternchain.Numbersrepresentneedlespaces,correspondingtothenumbersatthetopoftheaccompanyingsketch,
andthesymbolsrepresentoverlapsandunderlaps.Asymbolrepresentsanoverlapanda/symbolrepresentsanunderlap.Inthischainnotation,
asingleguidebarswingsinatneedlespace1andthenoverlapsbyshoggingovertoneedlespace2,atwhichpointitswingsbackout.This
movementformsanoverlap,meaningoverlappingfromneedlespace1overtoneedlespace2.Atthispoint,afterswingingoutatneedlespace2,
theguidebarshogsbehindtheneedleandformstheunderlap.Thenextoverlapisproducedastheguideswingsinatneedlespace1,shogsover
oneneedle,andthenswingsoutatneedlespace0.Thusthechainnotationis12/10andrepeatsoneverytwocourses.Thenotationindicates
thateachyarnineachguidebareyeletisoverlappingaroundanindividualneedlefromrighttoleftandthenanunderlapisformedbetweentwo
adjacentwalesastheyarnsareknittingtoformaloopofyarnonthenextcourse.Thepathoftheyarntakesitinazigzagdirectionfromonewale
toanother.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide60

ChainLinkNumbering

Thenumbersrepresentingtheneedlespacescorrespondwiththeheightofdifferentlinksinapatternchainforagivendesign.Intheprevious
example,theguidebarformedanoverlapasitshoggedfromneedlespace1toneedlespace2.Thusthe1correspondstoathinnerlinkinthe
patternchainandthe2correspondswithathickerlinkinthepatternchain.Thethickerlinkcausestheguidebartoshogovertotheleftone
needlespace.Ina28gaugemachine,meaning28needlesperinch,theguidebarshogsover1/28ofaninchmeaningthattheassociatedchainlink
is1/28inchthickerthanthepreviouschainlink.Inshoggingfromneedlespace1toneedlespace0toformthenextoverlapinthedesignrepeat,
thechainlinkgoesfrom1to0.Thismeansthatthe0linkis1/28inchthinnerthanthe1link.Thisdrivestheguidebartotherighttowardstheside
ofthemachinecontainingthepatternmechanism.Itcanbeseenthatittakes2linkspercoursetoproducethisdesign.Alsonotethattheunderlap
movementswouldbe2/1andthen0/1.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide61

BasicOverlap/Underlap Variations

Oneormoreofthefollowinglappingvariationsaregenerallyincludedinmostguidebarlappingmovements.
1.
10/12(Anoverlapfollowedbyanunderlapintheoppositedirectionformingaclosedloop.)
2.
01/21(Anoverlapfollowedbyanunderlapinthesamedirectionforminganopenloop.)
3.
01/12(Onlyoverlapsandnounderlapsformingopenlaps.)
4.
00/22/11/33(Onlyunderlapsandnooverlapsreferredtoaslayingin.)
5.
11/11/11(Neitheroverlapsnorunderlapsreferredtoasmisslapping.)
Movements4and5requiretheoverlapsofanotherguidebarinfrontinordertoholdthemintothestructure.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide62

OpenLapping

Openlappingisoneoftwolapformsusedinwarpknitting.Whentheoverlapandthenextunderlaparemadeinthesamedirection,anopenlapis
formed,asseeninthisanimation.Openlapsarecommonlyusedinopenlappillarstitches.Theopenlapisusedwhenspecialneedsariseorwhen
technicallimitationsareimposed.Theycanbeunraveledfromtheendoftheyarnknittedlast.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide63

ClosedLapping

Aclosedlapisformedwhentheoverlapandthefollowingunderlapareinoppositiontooneanotherasdepictedinthisanimation.Theclosedlapis
commonlyusedinmostwarpknittedstructures.Closedlappillarstitchesareusedincrochetknittingbecausethelappingmovementissimpleto
achieve.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide64

Lapping SuccessiveCourses

Whenusingeitheropenorclosedlaps,therearethreepossiblearrangementsoflappingatsuccessivecourses,whichmaybeusedaloneorin
combination:
1.
ThePillarStitch:Inthepillarorchainstitch,thesameguidealwaysoverlapsthesameneedle.Thislappingmovementproduceschainsof
loopsinunconnectedwales,whichmustbeconnectedtogetherbytheunderlapsofasecondguidebar.Showninthisdiagramareopensand
closedlappillarstitches.
2.
BalancedLapping:Tricotlappingor1x1isthesimplestofthesemovements,producingoverlapsinalternatewalesatalternatecourses
withonlyoneyarncrossingbetweenadjacentwales.Twoyarnswillcrossbetweenwaleswitha2x1orcordlap,threeyarnswitha3x1orsatinlap,
fouryarnswitha4x1orvelvetlap,etc.
Note:Eachincreaseintheextentoftheunderlaptendstomakethestructurestronger,moreopaqueandheavier.Theincreasingfloatofthe
underlaphasamorehorizontalappearance,whileoverlapsproducedbythesameyarnwillbeseparatedfromeachotheratsuccessivecoursesby
anextrawaleinwidth.
3.
AtlasLapping:Thisisamovementwheretheguidebarlapsprogressivelyinthesamedirectionforaminimumoftwoconsecutivecourses,
normallyfollowedbyanidenticallappingmovementintheoppositedirection.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide65

TwoNeedleOverlaps

Guidebarscanbeshoggedovertwoneedlespacesonthehooksideoftheneedlesduringanoverlap.Whenthishappens,twoneedlesare
wrappedbyeachyarnandbothwilldrawtheloopssimultaneously,asshownintheanimatedpointdiagram.Thislappingmotionismostlyusedin
ordertoprovidebodyandstabilitytoasingleguidebarfabric.Duetoexcessivetensionontheyarnspoorappearanceoftheproducedloops,this
isusuallyundesirable.Intwoguidebarfabrics,thetwoneedleoverlapisusuallyformedbythefrontguidebarwheretheyarnsaremorefreeto
floatonthefabricsurfaceandformmoreeasilyintotheknittedloop.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide66

BasicPrinciplesofLayingin

Anotherdesigntoolinwarpknittingislayingin.Forsomedesignpurposes,someoftheguidebarsdonotknittheyarnintothefabric.Theyarns
arethreadedthroughguidebarsbutthebarsonlyinserttheyarnendsintothefabricandarereferredtoaslaidin.Thisprocedureismore
prominentonRaschelmachines.Theaccompanyingfigureshowsthedarkyarnasthelaidinyarn.Layinginisusuallyproducedbythebackbarin
twoguidebarfabricsandwhenusingmorethantwobars,alltheguidebars,excludingthefrontone,caninlaytheiryarnsintothefabric.Atleast
onefullythreadedguidebarispositionedatthefrontofthelayinginbarstoproducethegroundstructureofthefabric.Fullythreadedguidebars
increasefabricstabilitywhentheyarnisinlaidandpartlythreadedguidebarsareusuallyusedtopatternthefabric.Theinlaidyarnshogsonlyon
thebacksideoftheneedle;thus,anunderlapisproducedbuttheyarndoesnotenterthehookoftheneedle.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide67

LaidinStructure

Inthislaidinstructure,thefrontbarisfullythreadedwiththeredyarntoproducetheopenlappillarstitches,whilethebackbaristhreadedonly
bytheblueyarn.Theinlaidyarnismorevisibleonthetechnicalbackofthefabricthanitisonthetechnicalface.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide68

AdvantagesofLaidinYarns
Canallowyarnsthatcannotbeknittedinto
loopstobeused.
Canlayinyarnsthatarecoarserandexceed
thelimitsdictatedbythemachinegauge.
Lessyarnisusedwhenitislaidinandthus
moreexpensivepatterningyarnscanbeused
inthisway.
Rangeofdesigncanbebroadenedwithless
yarnlimitationswhenyarnislaidin.

Noveltyorfancyyarnscanbeusedaslaidinyarnssincetheyarenotformedintoloops.Coarseryarnsthatexceedthelimitationssetbythe
machinegaugecanbelaidinandutilizedfordesignpurposes.Anyyarncapableofpassingfreelythroughtheeyeletoftheguidesandbetweenthe
needlesduringtheswing,canbeinsertedintothefabric.Aninlayyarnmayhaveayarncountthatis68timesheavierthantheoptimumcountfor
thatmachinetypeandgauge.Sincethelaidinyarnsarenotformedintoloops,lessyarnisneeded.Thereforepatternyarns,whichtendtobemore
expensive,canbeusedtoagreaterextent.Ingeneral,thedesignerhasmoreyarnsavailablefordesignpurposesbecauseoffewerlimitations.In
summary,layinginallowstheintroductionoffancy,unusual,and/orinferiororsuperioryarnswhosephysicalpropertiessuchasthickness,low
strength,irregularsurface,elasticityorlackofelasticityrenderthemdifficulttoknitintoregularintermeshedloops.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide69

FallPlateDesigning

Laidinyarnsarealwayslockedundertheunderlapsofthegroundconstructionanddonotproduceasurfaceeffect.Afallplatecanbemounted
ontotheknittingmachineandconsistsofathinmetalplate,extendingacrossthewidthofthemachineandpositionedbetweentheguidebars.
Thefallplatetechniquecombinestheadvantagesoflayinginwiththepossibilityofproducingtheeffectsuperimposedonthesurfaceofthe
technicalbackofthefabric.Thefallplatemechanismisexclusivetolatchneedleraschelmachines,althoughasimilareffecttofallplateloop
structure,termedplaiting,canbeachievedoncrochetmachines.Inthisanimation,thefallplatemovesdownvertically,behindthebackofthe
needlesandthepatterningyarnwhichisthreadedinthefrontguidebarispushedundertheneedlelatch,tobecastintothefabrictogetherwith
thepreviouscourse.Sincefallplateyarnisnotknittedbytheneedlehook,fancyorheavyyarnsmaybeusedinpartlyorfullythreadedguidebars.
Fallplatedesignsuseeitheropenorclosedlapmovementstoproduceattractivereliefdesignswhoseoverlapsaswellasunderlapsshowclearlyon
thetechnicalbackofthefabric.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide70

FallPlateDesignLappingDiagram

Adiagramofaloopstructureproducedbyafallplatemechanismisillustratedinthisfigure.Thebackbarproducingthegroundstructureisfully
threadedwhileonlyonepatterningyarnisthreadedinthefrontguidebar.Contrarytoinlaidyarns,whicharealwayslockedundertheunderlapsof
thegroundconstructionanddonotproduceasurfaceeffect,thepatterningyarnliesontopofthetechnicalbackofthefabric.Asalready
mentioned,sincetheyarndoesnotstayintheneedlehooksanddoesnotformaloop,mostofthelimitingfactorsofyarnstructureareeliminated
astheywerewiththeuseoflaidinyarns.Thekeyadvantageoverthelaidinyarnsisthefactthattheeffectyarns,beingsituatedinthefrontguide
bars,floatfreelyonthetechnicalbackfabricsurface,givingthefabricathreedimensionalappearance.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide71

WeftInsertedWarpKnitFabrics

Inthissimulatedweftinsertedwarpknitstructure,theweftyarnisdepositedontopoftheoverlapsontheneedlesandagainsttheyarnpassing
downtothemfromtheguidebars.Inthisway,theinsertedweftbecomestrappedbetweentheoverlapsandunderlapsinthesamemannerasan
inlayyarnwhentheneedlesrise.Howeverunlikeinlayyarn,theweftwillrunhorizontallyacrossthecompletecourseofloops.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide72

WeftInsertioninFabricDesigning

Inweftinsertedwarpknitfabrics,straightyarnsarelaidinthefabricinahorizontalfashionfromselvagetoselvageandperformasweftyarnsina
wovenfabric.Thereforethewidthwisepropertiesoftheknittedfabricaresimilartothoseofawovenfabric.HighqualitytricotandRaschelfabrics
canbeproducedusingweftinsertion.Theaccompanyingdiagramshowstheincorporationoftheweftyarnintothewarpknitstructure.Asinthe
useoflaidinyarnsandfallplatedesigning,yarnlimitationsareovercomeusingthistechnique.Weftinsertedwarpknittingmachinesoperatewith
tworotatingchains,oneoneachsideofthemachine.Thechainscontainhookswherebyeachweftyarncanbestretchedoutfromrespective
hooksineachchain.Asmanyas24yarnsaresimultaneouslystretchedacrosshooksinamagazinetypesystem,allowingyarnstobealways
availableforhighspeedinsertion.Theweftyarnsareplacedbehindtheneedles.Afterbeingplacedintothefabric,theweftyarnsmustbe
separatedfromthechainsandtrimmedbyautomaticscissorsattheselvage.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide73

ControllingWarpKnitFabricDesign

Toproducedifferentwarpknitdesigns,onemustcontroltheshoggingmovementsoftheguidebars.Differentshoggingmovementsareinitiated
byvaryingtheradiusofacontinuouslyturningpatternshaft,eitherintheformofdifferentheightsofpatternlinksthatpassoverapatterndrum
attachedtotheshaft,orintheformofcarefullyshapedsolidmetalcircularcams,termedpatternwheels.Theaccompanyingdiagramshowsa
patterndrumthatcanberotatingwithdifferentlinksofdifferentheightscontrollingtheshoggingmovementsofanassociatedguidebar.Each
separateguidebarhasseparatechainlinkstoguideitsmovement.Anincreaseinheightfromonelinktothenextproducesathrustagainstthe
endoftheguidebar,shoggingitpositivelyinadirectionawayfromthepatterndevice.Adecreaseinheightfromonelinktothenextproducesa
negativeshoginadirectiontowardsthepatterndevice.Aconstantheightwillproducenoshogandtheguidebarwillcontinuetoswingthrough
thesameneedlespace.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide74

PatternChain

Asseeninthisdiagram,Yshapedchainlinksaresimilarinappearancetoatuningforkwiththeforkendleading.Thetailoftheprecedinglinkfits
intotheforkofthesucceedinglink.Thelinksareheldtogetherbypinsthatarepushedthroughholesinthesidesoftheforkandtail.Tricotlinks
arenumbered0,1,2,3,4,5,etc.Asnotedearlier,withdirectshogging,eachsuccessivenumberisoneneedlespacehigherthanthepreviouslink.
Itmustbeunderstoodthattheheightofalink,forexample0,doesnotrepresentafixedpositionbetweentwoneedlespacesbecauseallthe
guidesinthesameguidebarwillhavebeenpositionedbythesame0link,buteachwillbebetweenadifferentpairofneedlesacrosstheknitting
width.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide75

ElectronicGuideBarControl
Patternwheelsandchainlinksaregroundto
matchaspecificdesignthatisdesiredina
fabric.
Anewpatternchainornewsetofpattern
wheelsisrequiredwhenadifferentdesignis
placedonthemachine.
Inelectronicpatternsystems,aseparatelinear
motortodirectlyshog eachguidebarisused.

Patternwheelsandchainlinkshavetomatchupwithaspecificdesignforawarpknitfabric.Everytimeanewfabricisdesired,anewpatternchain
ornewsetofpatternwheelsisneeded.Inelectronicpatternsystems,aseparatelinearmotortodirectlyshogeachguidebarisused.Different
designscan,therefore,bedevelopedonaCADsystemandthendownloadedtothewarpknittingmachines.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide76

TypicalTricotDesigns

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide77

TricotTwoBarFabricCharacteristics
Singlebarfabricstendtobedimensionallyunstable.
Singlebarfabricsexhibitanunbalancedloopstructureand
loopinclination.
Mosttricotfabricsaretwobarwithfullythreadedguides.
Twoseparatewarpsfeedintothesefabrics,eachgoing
throughdifferentlappingmotions.
Therelativemovementofthetwoguidebarsalongwith
themagnitudeofshogging,determinestheappearance
andpropertiesofthefabrics.
Eachguidebarcontributesayarntoeveryoverlapandthe
twounderlaps laptoadifferentangle,extent,ordirection.
Normallytheyarnsofthefrontguidebartendtodominate
thefaceaswellasthebackofthefabric.

Singlebarstructuresareusuallyunstabledimensionally.Manyofthemexhibitanunbalancedloopstructureandloopinclinationisvery
pronounced.Currently,mostfabricsproducedontricotmachinesareconstructedbytwofullythreadedguidebarswhicharefedfromtwo
separatewarpswhichgothroughdifferentlappingmotions.Ifthelappingmovementswerethesame,thestructurewouldhavesimilar
characteristicsassingleguidebarfabrics.Therelativemovementofthetwoguidebarsincombinationwiththemagnitudeoftheshogging,
determinestheappearanceaswellasthepropertiesofthefabrics.Eachguidebarcontributesayarntoeveryoverlapandthetwounderlapscan
beclearlydistinguishedastheylaptoadifferentangle,extent,ordirection.Undernormalconditions,theyarnsofthefrontguidebartendto
dominatethefaceaswellasthebackofthefabric.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide78

1LoopRaisedclosed

Toproducealoopraiseddesign,theunderlapsofthetwobarsmovetogether,asseeninthisanimation.Theloopswilllieatanangleinthefabric,
thedirectionofinclinationdependingonthedirectionofmovementoftheunderlaps.Inthisdiagramthebackbarloopsareclosed.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide79

1LoopRaisedopen

Inthisdiagramthebackbarloopsareopen.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide80

TwoBarTricot

Thistwobartricotisthesimplesttwobarstructureandusesaminimumamountofyarn.Asseeninthisanimateddiagram,thetwolapsbalance
eachotherexactlyastheycrossdiagonallyinbetweeneachwale,producinguprightoverlaps.Howeverthisfabrictendstohavepoorcoverand,in
finedeniercontinuousfilamentyarns,thefabrictendstosplitbetweenthewalesinsomefinishingprocesses.Thisisparticularlytruewithacetate
andtriacetateyarns.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide81

Locknit

Themostwidelyusedofallwarpknitstructuresislocknit.Asseenintheaccompanyinganimateddesign,thelongerunderlapsofthefrontbar
appearonthebackofthefabricandhelptoimprovewidthwiseextensibility,cover,opacity,andgiveasmooth,softhandandgooddrapabilityto
thefabric.IntheUS,somerefertothisstructureasjerseyandinGermanyandFranceitiscalledcharmeuse.Theelasticityoflocknitmakesit
particularlysuitableforlingerieandintimateapparel.Thefreefloatingunderlapsthataresuperimposedonthetechnicalbackalsocontributetoa
verypleasanttouchwhichisdesirableinlingerie.Popularityofthisdesignisalsoduetoitbeingthelightestnonsplittingfabric.Contractionofthis
fabric,onceitleavestheknittingmachine,canexceed30%,dependingontheknittingconditions,yarntype,andyarntension.Traditionally
producedon28gaugemachines,thetrendistoproducelockniton32to40needlesperinch.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide82

Locknit Structure

Toproducethelocknitstructureasshowninthisdiagram,thebackbar,withblueyarns,shogsa1and1lappingmovement,asintricotfabric
structures,butthefrontguidebar,withredyarns,shogstwoneedlespaces.Theyarnconsumptionofthetwoguidebarsdependsonfabricquality,
machinegauge,yarntype,andknittingconditions.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide83

ReverseLocknit

Reverselocknitisusedtoalesserextentthanlocknit.ItissometimescalledreversejerseyintheUS.Ithasreducedextensibilityandnocurling,and
becauseoftheshortfrontguidebarunderlaps,ithasalowershrinkageinfinishedwidth.Thisfabricdesignisnamedbecauseitismadewitha
longerunderlaponthebackbarandashorteroneonthefrontguidebar,whichisoppositeorreversedofwhatisfoundinthelocknitdesign.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide84

ReverseLocknit Structure

Areverselocknitstructurecanbeseeninthisdiagram.Thelongerunderlaps,withblueyarns,wereproducedonthebackbarandtheshorter
underlaps,withredyarns,wereproducedonthefrontguidebar.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide85

Sharkskin

Sharkskindesignproducesawarpknitfabricwithmorerigidityandaheavierweight.Thesecharacteristicsareproducedinthefabricbyincreasing
thebackguidebarunderlaptothreeorfourneedlespaces.Thisdiagramshowsthebackbarunderlapisthreeneedlespaces.Sharkskinis
constructedasareverseversionofsatin,havinglongerunderlapsonthebackbarinsteadofthefrontbar.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide86

SharkskinLongerUnderlaps

Anothersharkskindesignshowsthebackbarunderlapcoveringfourneedlespaces.Thefrontguidebardesignremainsthesame.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide87

SharkskinStructure

Thissharkskinloopdrawingshowstheredyarnonthefrontbarandtheblueyarn,withthelongerunderlaps,beingknittedonthebackbar.The
backbarunderlapsareoveraspanofthreeneedlespaces.Theloopstructureshowsthelongerunderlapsofthebackguidebarlockedunderthe
shortunderlapsofthefrontguidebar.Thetrappedunderlapsrestricttheshrinkingpotentialofthefabricwhichisthereforemorerigidandmore
stablethanthosedescribedpreviously.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide88

Queenscord Example1

TheQueenscordhasevenmorerigiditythansharkskin.Becausethefrontguidebarmakestheshortestpossibleunderlapasseeninthisdiagram,
thepillarstitchtightlytiesinthebackbarunderlaps,producingafabricwithlessshrinkagethanSharkskin.Thepillarstitchyarnasitpassesupthe
waletendstogivethefabricappearanceaslightcordeffectandtheunderlapsofthepillarareunabletobalancetheunderlapsofthebackbarso
theyshowinclinedslantedstitches.Thequeenscordillustratedisconstructedwithachainingfrontbarandareciprocating3and1movementon
thebackbar.Inotherwords,eachunderlapspansthreeneedlespaces.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide89

Queenscord Example2

Thequeenscordillustratedinthispointdiagramisconstructedwithachainingfrontbarandareciprocating4and1movementonthebackguide
bar.Inotherwords,eachunderlapspansfourneedlespaces.Whenknittingqueenscord,apinstripeeffectcanbeproducedbythreadingthefront
guidebarwithcoloredyarns.Thisfact,togetherwiththesuperiorstabilityofqueenscord,hasmadeitverypopularfortheproductionofshirting
fabrics.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide90

SimulatedQueenscord Construction

Inthisdiagramofaqueenscordfabricconstruction,theredyarnsformthepillarstitchesproducedbythefrontguidebarandtheblueyarns
representthelongunderlapsproducedbythebackguidebar.Ascanbeseen,thelongerbackbarunderlapscoverthreeneedlespacesandare
trappedinthecenterofthefabricbythefrontbarunderlaps.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide91

Satin

Thelappingmovementforasatinwarpknitfabricisshowninthispointdiagram.Thefrontbarshogsoneneedlespacelongerthaninlocknit.The
technicalfaceissimilartolocknitbutthetechnicalbackissmootherandshinierduetotheunderlapsofthefrontguidebar,whicharelongerand
moreparalleltoeachother.Thefabriciselasticandverycomfortabletowear.Thelongunderlapsonthefrontguidebarcausethefabrictoshrink
considerablyafterleavingtheneedlesofthemachine.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide92

SatinStructure

Theloopdiagramshownisathreeneedlesatinstructure.Theredyarnsareknitonthefrontguidebarandtheunderlapsofthefrontguidebar
showuponthetechnicalbackofthefabric,makingitsmoothandmorelustrous,especiallywhenknittingwithcontinuousfilamentyarn.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide93

FabricswithUniformAppearance
Aregularwarpknitfabricsurfacecanbeproducedwhen
thefollowingcriteriaaremet:
1.Eachguidebarisfullythreadedandeveryguideina
particularbarhasthesameyarnthreadedthroughit.
2.Eachguidebarmakesaregularlappingmovementof
similarextentateachcourse.
3.Whenaweftyarnisinserted,itoccurswithasimilar
yarnatregularintervals.
4.Warpyarnsaresuppliedtoeachguidebarata
constanttensionandatauniformratefromcourseto
course.

Aregularwarpknitfabricsurfacecanbeproducedwhenthefollowingcriteriaaremet:
1.Eachguidebarisfullythreadedandeveryguideinaparticularbarhasthesameyarnthreadedthroughit.
2.Eachguidebarmakesaregularlappingmovementofsimilarextentateachcourse.
3.Whenaweftyarnisinserted,itoccurswithasimilaryarnatregularintervals.
4.Warpyarnsaresuppliedtoeachguidebarataconstanttensionandatauniformratefromcoursetocourse.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide94

NonuniformAppearanceFabrics
1. Guidescanbethreadedwithdifferenttypesofyarnorthey
canbeleftemptywithoutyarn.Thiswillalterthe
appearanceoftheparticularwales lappedbytheguides.
2. Theextentofunderlaps canbevariedbyaguidebarwhich
affectstheappearanceofthosecourseswherethe
variationoccurs.Iftheguidebarisfullythreaded,theeffect
willrunacrossthewidthofthefabric.Similareffectscanbe
obtainedusingweftinsertionanddifferenttypesofyarn,or
byvaryingthefrequencyoftheinsertion.
3. Fabricappearancecanalsobechangedatcertaincourses
byvaryingtherateofwarpsupplyorselectivelytensioning
thewarpyarnsandthusinfluencingthelengthofyarnin
theunderlaps.

Anirregularwarpknitfabricsurfacecanbeproducedbyvaryingoneormoreofthecriteriatoproducesurfaceinterestandopenwork.
1.
Guidescanbethreadedwithdifferenttypesofyarnortheycanbeleftemptywithoutyarn.Thiswillaltertheappearanceofthe
particularwaleslappedbytheguides.
2.
Theextentofunderlapscanbevariedbyaguidebarwhichaffectstheappearanceofthosecourseswherethevariationoccurs.Ifthe
guidebarisfullythreaded,theeffectwillrunacrossthewidthofthefabric.Similareffectscanbeobtainedusingweftinsertionanddifferenttypes
ofyarn,orbyvaryingthefrequencyoftheinsertion.
3.
Fabricappearancecanalsobechangedatcertaincoursesbyvaryingtherateofwarpsupplyorselectivelytensioningthewarpyarnsand
thusinfluencingthelengthofyarnintheunderlaps.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide95

ThreadingDiagramsforGuideBars

Theguidebarsusedintheproductionofsomewarpknitfabricsareonlypartlythreadedinapredeterminedsequence,andsomeoftheguidesare
emptyofyarn.Whenthishappens,openingsinthefabricstructurecanbecreated.Thismethodisusedfortheproductionofnetfabrics,meshes,
lacesandcurtains.Itissometimesusefultoillustratethethreadingarrangementintheguidebarsbyusingnumberstodescribethesequenceof
emptyandthreadedguides.Forexample:guidebar1fullythreaded,guidebar2threaded2inand2out,andguidebar3is1out,2in,and1out.A
threadingdiagramcanalsobeemployedtodescribeamorecomplexsequence.Suchastructureisseeninthisdiagram.Eachhorizontalrow
representsaguidebar.Shortverticallinesrepresentguideswhereayarnisthreadedanddotsindicateanemptyguideeye.Guidebar1isfully
threaded.Guidebar2is2in,1out,2in,1out,3in,1out,2in,1out,and2in.Guidebar3is3in,1out,2in,2out,2in,1out,and4in.When
knittingwithdifferentyarntypesordifferentcolors,thefulllinescanbesubstitutedwithalphabeticletters,numbersorothersymbolstorepresent
eachyarntypeorcolor.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide96

SimulatedOpenWorkStructure

Thesimulatedopenworkstructureseeninthisexampledemonstrateshowopenworkstructurescanbeproducedbyusingdifferentthreading
techniquesincludingleavingsomeguideeyeletsvacantofyarn.Thus,insteadofusingfullsetthreading,partialsetthreadingisused.This
techniqueismainlyusedfortheproductionofnetfabricswithavarietyofmeshopenings.Intwobartricotfabrics,anopeningisformedinthe
fabricstructurewhentwowalesdonotconnect.Withfullsetthreading,theonlywaytopreventthewalesfromconnectingistoproduceapillar
stitch.ItiscommonpracticeinRaschelknittingtoformnetsinsuchamanner.Tricotknitting,however,isnotequippedtoknitsingle,unconnected
chainssincethesinker,asamajorparticipantinloopformation,mustholdanunderlaptopreventthefabricfromrisingwiththeneedles.
Thereforeintricotknitting,thenarrowestpossiblecontinuousfabricbetweentwoopeningsismadeoftwowales.Thesinkercanthenholdthe
fabricbetweenthesetwoneedleswhichallowstheneedlestoclear.Afabricknittedinthiswayisshowninthediagram.Noticethedoublewaleon
eachsideoftheopening.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide97

MultiGuideBarDesigns

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide98

AdditionalGuideBarAdvantages
Bettercontrolofdimensionalandmechanical
properties
Improvedpilefabrics
Greateruseofcolor
Moreelaboratepartsetthreadingdesigns
Improvedelasticated fabrics

Threeormoreguidebarsusuallyreferstotricotmachineswiththreeandfourguidebars.Theconstructionofthesetypesoffabricsincreasesthe
versatilityandenlargesthepatternscopeofthetricotmachine.Theincreasingswingingmovementoftheguidebarsdecreasestheproductionof
thesemachines.However,theincreasedpatterningpossibilitiesofferimportantadvantages:
1.
Bettercontrolofdimensionalandmechanicalproperties.
2.
Improvedpilefabricsbecauseofamorestablegroundstructure.
3.
Greateruseofcolorandvisibilityofcoloronthefabricsurface.
4.
Moreelaboratepartsetthreadingdesignstoproduceawiderangeofmeshandlacelikefabrics.
5.
Improvedelasticatedfabricswithmorepatterningpossibilitiesandlesstransparencyofthefabricknitted.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide99

ImprovedMechanicalProperties 1

Asseenintheanimatedpointdiagram,thechainingfrontbarisresponsibleforaveryhighlengthwisestability,whiletheremainingtwobars,with
varyingunderlaps,impartwidthwisestability.

Noticethat3patternlinksperknitcourseareused.Thisisindicatedbytheuseofthreenumbersinsteadoftwo.Thisisusedonmanymodern
tricotmachinesbecausetheguidesspendverylittletimeonthehooksideoftheneedlesduringtheoverlapandamuchlargerproportionofthe
knittingcycleisspentwhentheyareonthefrontside.The3linkspercoursemovementdistributesthetimeallottedforeachshoggingmovement
inabetterway.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide100

ImprovedMechanicalProperties 2

Thelappingmovementshowninthisdiagramproducesaheavierandmorestablefabric,duetothelongershoggingmovementofthemiddlebar.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide101

Raschel WarpKnitStructures

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide102

KnittingElementsofRaschel Machines

Mostequippedwithcompoundneedles
Highspeedproduction
Gaugesbetween6and32needlesperinch
Guidebarsrangefrom2to10normally
Includesfullythreadedguidebarsora
combinationoffullythreadedandpattern
barsinanestingarrangement

MoststandardRaschelmachinesareequippedwithcompoundneedles.Hooksizeandneedlestrokearedesignedasshortaspossibletoallow
highspeedproduction.Usualgaugesarebetween6and32needlesperinchandinsomecasesthegaugeisevencoarserduetopartsetthreading.
Normally,thenumberofguidebarsrangefrom2to10andtheirassemblyincludesfullythreadedguidebarsoracombinationoffullythreaded
andpatternbarsinanestingarrangement.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide103

NetFabricsRaschel Machines
Useofunconnectedchainlappings toproduceopen
work
Differencesinnetstructuresresultof:
differentloopconstructions
differentsizesofopenings
differenttypesofyarns

Examples
Shadenets
FishNets
CamouflageNets

Netfabricsareproducedinverylargequantities.TheRaschelmachineisequippedtoproduceunconnectedchainlappingsandisthuscapableof
producingamultitudeofnetstructures.Differencesinnetstructuresaretheresultofdifferentloopconstructions,differentsizesofopeningsand
differenttypesofyarns.Netsareproducedforavarietyofenduses,rangingfromshadenetstofishingnets,andfromwrappingtocamouflage
nets.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide104

CommonNetStructure Marquisette

Themarquisettenetstructureisoneofthemostpopularnetstructures.Noticehowthesideconnectionsbytheinlayyarnsdonotappearineach
knittedcourse.Marquisettestructuresarepopularinnetcurtains.Theloopstructureofathreeguidebarmarquisetteisshowninthisdiagram.
Thefrontguidebarisconstantlychainingtoproducetheverticalpillarswhilethehorizontalconnectionsareproducedbytheinlayyarnswhichare
threadedinthebackguidebars.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide105

ThreeGuideBarMarquisetteNet

Thispointdiagramillustratesthelappingmovementofathreeguidebarmarquisettealongwiththeassociatedchainnotations.Ascanbeseen,
thechainnotationscanberathercomplexasonedealswithmoreguidebarsandopenstructures.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide106

Marquisette

Asseeninthisphotographofamarquisettenet,thefabricisaveryopenandtransparentstructure.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide107

Marquisette magnified

Thismagnifiedviewofamarquisettefabrichighlightsthechainstitchesandtheconnectinginlayyarns.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide108

InterlacingPillarNets

Occasionallynetsareformedbyinterlacingpillarsinthestructuretoproducevariousshapesofopenings.Theopeninginthissimulatedfabricis
diamondshaped.Toproducetheconnectionsbetweenthepillars,afterapredeterminednumberofcourses,theguidebarsareshoggedin
oppositiontooneneedlespace.Duringthiscourse,eachoftheguidebarsdrawsitsnewloopsthroughthelooppreviouslymadebytheadjacent
yarns.Whentheconnectionismade,eachguidebarisshoggedtoitsoriginalpositionandresumesthechaininglappingmovement.Thenext
connectioniscarriedoutintheoppositedirectiontothefirstandsothediamondshapedopeningsareformed.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide109

OtherRaschel KnitFabrics
NetCurtainsandDrapes
usinginlaytechniques
usingweftinsertedyarns
usingfallplatetechnology
usingtullenetloopstructures
usingmultiguidebarmachines

HeavierFabricsforOuterwearandUpholstery
Elasticated Fabrics

Otherexamplesofraschelknitfabricsare:
1.
NetCurtainsandDrapes

usinginlaytechniques

usingweftinsertedyarns

usingfallplatetechnology

usingtullenetloopstructures(illustratedonnextslide)

usingmultiguidebarmachines
2.
HeavierFabricsforOuterwearandUpholstery
3.
ElasticatedFabrics

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide110

TulleNetCurtainNets

Thisisaloopstructurediagramofatullenetloopdesign.Itissometimesusedasagroundstructureforcurtainfabrics.Sometullestructuresare
usedforraschellaceandbridalveilnetproducts.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide111

DoubleNeedleBarMachines

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide112

DoubleNeedleBarTricot

Productionofdoublefacefabrics
Twosetsofneedlesarrangedbacktoback
Technicalfaceofthefabricshowsonbothsides
Underlaps arelockedwithinthestructure
Usedinknittingglovefabrics,outerwear,and
underwear.
SometimescalledaSimplexmachine
Finegauge,springbeardedneedles
Gaugesfrom28to32needlesperinch
Machinewidthstypically84,93,138,and168inches

Doubleneedlebartricotmachinesweredevelopedfortheproductionofdoublefacefabrics.Byplacingtwosetsofneedlesbacktoback,the
technicalfaceofthefabricshowsonbothsides,whiletheunderlapsarelockedwithinthestructure.Thedoubleneedlebartricotfabricscanbe
usedinthegloveindustryandalsosuitableforouterwearandunderwear.Themachine,alsocalledaSimplexmachine,typicallyusestwoguide
bars,isfinegauge,andusesbeardedneedles.Gaugesrangefrom28to32needlesperinchineachneedlebedandmachinesaretypicallyinwidths
of84,93,138,and168inches.Onthesemachines,bothguidebarswrapeachneedlebarinturnandthusproduceonedoublesidedfabric.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide113

DoubleNeedleBarAnimation

Machinetypesarebuiltwithvaryingnumbersofguidebars,fortheproductionofawidevarietyofproductsrangingfrompackingsackstoartificial
bloodvessels.Onthesemachines,ascanbeseenintheanimation,theneedlebarsareindependentlyoperatedinanupanddownmovement
whiletheguidebarsswingalternatelyamongtheneedlesofeachbar.Ontheconventionaldoubleneedlebarmachine,eachneedlebarinturnis
activeonlyforhalfofthe360degreesoftheknittingcycle.Twosinkerbarsareshown,eachoneoperatingwithitsassociatedneedlebar.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide114

DoubleNeedleBarStructure

Thisdoubleneedlebarsimulatedstructurerevealsalltheconnectingyarnsbetweentwofacesofthefabric.Assuch,aknittedsandwichstructure
canbeformed.Twoguidebarsformthefrontfabric,twoguidebarsformthebackfabricandoneguidebarknitsonboththeneedlebarsto
producethefloatingyarns.Thediagramshowsthepileyarnsanchoredinbothfabricsandalsoconnectingbothfabrics.Aftertheknittingoperation,
thefabricisseparatedintotwopilefabricsbycuttingthefloatorconnectingyarnsbetweenthetwofabricfaces.Thustwoidenticalfabricscome
offthemachineaftercuttingandthepileyarnisapparentonbothfabrics.Upholsteryfabricsformoneofthelargestmarketsforthesefabricsand
alargeshareofautomotivetextileproductsareproducedinthisway.Themachinesthatmakethesefabricsaresometimesreferredtoasplush
Raschelmachines.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide115

DoubleBarProducts

TubularArticles
PackingSacks
PileFabrics
BranchingTubularFabrics
PatternFabrics
SpacerFabrics
Geotextiles
SafetyTextiles

Typicalproductsmadeondoublebarraschelmachinesareasfollows:
1.
TubularArticlesincludingseamlesspanties,brassieres,andpocketings.
2.
PackingSacksforfruitandvegetablesknitfrompolyolefininfibrillatedtapeormonofilamentform.
3.
PileFabricsincludingcutpilefabricsmadebyjoiningfabricsmadeoneachneedlebarwithaconnectingyarnwhichwhencutproduces
twopilefabrics.Examplesofthesefabricsaresimulatedfurfabrics,upholsteryandcoatlinings.
4.
BranchingTubularFabricssuchasartificialbloodvessels.
5.
PatternedLacePantyHose,Curtains,andPileFabricswhicharemadeonmachineswithupto36guidebarsormoreandequippedwith
ajacquardmechanism.
6.
SpacerFabricswhicharemanufacturedsothedistancebetweenthetwofabricsurfacesisretainedevenaftercompressionbythe
resilienceofthepileorconnectingyarnswhichcanbestifferyarnssuchasmonofilamentsyntheticyarns.
Spacerfabricshaveahollowcenterwhichmaybefilledwithsolid,liquid,orgaseousmaterial.Thehollowcentercanalsobefilledwithairforgood
insulationproperties.Endusesforspacerfabricsincludemoldedbracups,padding,andliningsalongwithmanymedicalapplications.
7.
Geotextilesfordrainage,filter,andmembranematerials,roadandtunnelreinforcement,anderosionprotection.
8.
SafetyTextilessuchasheatandflameresistantprotectiveclothingforcivilandmilitarypurposes.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide116

FourGuideBarTwoNeedleBar

ThisRaschelmachineisequippedwithtwoneedlebars,whichoperateindependentlyofoneanother.Ithastwobeamshaftsfeedingyarnstofour
oftheguidebars.Twooftheguidebarsknitthemainbodyofthefabricwhiletheothertwoguidebarsknitintheselvageoredgeofthefabric.
Rotatingcamscausetheneedlebarstoascendinordertobeinapositionforoverlappingandshoggingandthendescendtoformtheknitloops.
Patternchainsareemployedtocreatethefabricdesign.Fourrowsoflinksprovidethenecessarymovementoftheguidebars.Thedifferent
profilesofthelinkscreatethenecessaryshoggingmovements.Aroundmetalwheelcalledafollower,tracestheprofileofthelinksinthepattern
chain.Lowerprofilelinksshoganassociatedguidebartotherightforoverlappingandunderlappingandhigherprofilelinksshoganassociated
guidebartotheleftforoverlappingandunderlapping.Eachfollowerwheelisconnectedtooneoftheguidebars.Noticethefourguidebarsinuse
andtheheavydutyspringsusedtobringtheguidebarsbacktotherightafterextensionormovementtotheleftawayfromthepattern
mechanism.Twoneedlebarsareknitting,eachalternatingwiththeother.Oneneedlebarmovesupwardasguidebarsswingforwardandthen
shogfortheformationoftheoverlapsandthenunderlaps.Theneedlebarthenrecedesandtheotherneedlebarisraisedtopickupyarnsfrom
theguidebarsandthenitrecedes.Thisalternatingmovementofthetwoneedlebarscontinuesasthefabricisknitted,eachneedlebarknitting
onceduringeach360degreerevolutionofthemachinescamshaft.Thustheproductionrateisapproximatelycutinhalf.Theuseofthetwo
needlebarscancreatetubularfabrics,eachneedlebarknittingasinglefacedfabric.Pilefabricscanalsobeproducedasconnectingyarnsbetween
thetwoneedlebarsareslitlaterandtwopilefabricsaretheresult.Spacerfabricscanbemanufacturedwhentheconnectingyarnsareuncut
resultinginadoublefacedfabric.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

WarpKnitting
Slide117

WarpKnittingCapabilitiesSummary
Warpknittinghasmanyuniqueadvantagesoverotherfabricformation
systems.Someofthesearehighlightedbelowasasummaryforthe
warpknittingmodule.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Higherproductionratesthanweaving.
Awidevarietyoffabricconstructions.
Largeworkingwidths.
Alowstressrateontheyarnswhichallowstheuseoffiberssuchas
glass,aramid,andcarbon,particularlyinweftinsertedfabrics.
5. Fabricscanbedirectionallystructured.
6. Threedimensionalstructurescanbeknittedondoubleneedlebar
raschel machines.
7. Withweftinsertion,uniaxial,multiaxial,andcompositestructures
canbeproducedonsingleneedlebarRaschel machines.

Warpknittinghasmanyuniqueadvantagesoverotherfabricformationsystems.Someofthesearehighlightedbelowasasummaryforthewarp
knittingmodule.

1.
Higherproductionratesthanweaving.
2.
Awidevarietyoffabricconstructions.
3.
Largeworkingwidths.
4.
Alowstressrateontheyarnswhichallowstheuseoffiberssuchasglass,aramid,andcarbon,particularlyinweftinsertedfabrics.
5.
Fabricscanbedirectionallystructured.
6.
Threedimensionalstructurescanbeknittedondoubleneedlebarraschelmachines.
7.
Withweftinsertion,uniaxial,multiaxial,andcompositestructurescanbeproducedonsingleneedlebarRaschelmachines.

Copyright20082011NorthCarolinaStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.