Since arriving in Quebec to study textile manufacturing at the Centre des textiles contemporains de Montréal, I've developed a real passion for knitting. Broadly speaking, this technique uses a yarn that forms loops, through which the same yarn passes again on its second pass.
That's exactly what happens when you knit by hand with knitting needles.
In production, there are two main families of knits:
- Weft knitting: the most common type, and the one I'll be focusing on in this article
- Warp knitting: used for lace or technical fabrics
The weft knit family
Circular machines
The machines you see most often on this account are circular knitting machines. Some have a wide range of technical capabilities, but most of the time they knit the same types of stitches: jersey, interlock, rib, French terry, fleece, certain jacquards…
They're used to produce rolls that are later cut and sewn into t-shirts, sweatpants, hoodies and other knitwear.
These machines are very fast, knitting a roll in about 2 hours on average. That obviously depends on the type of machine, stitch, or yarn thickness — but we won't get into the technical details here.
What's important to remember is that being circular greatly increases productivity. Instead of a single yarn knitting rows back and forth, as you'd see on flat-bed machines, you have anywhere from fifty to a hundred cones knitting the same roll at the same time.
This is exactly the type of machine we use at Montloup to produce our rolls, which are knitted in Ontario.
Circular machines also include hosiery machines, some of which can even produce a finished sock with every assembly step fully automated.
Flat-bed machines
You may have also seen photos of my domestic knitting machine. It can knit a variety of stitches as well as garment pieces. It's computerized but not automated, so I have to manually carry out every step. These machines aren't really designed for production, but rather for small runs or sampling. I often meet people who share memories of their grandmother knitting them sweaters when they were kids.
That said, I've learned that there are companies in Bangladesh that still employ hundreds of people knitting non-stop on domestic machines. Labour costs there are so low that it's cheaper to hire workers by hand than to invest in industrial knitting machines.
Centre des textiles contemporains de Montréal, and that I have the pleasure of teaching this week at Lainamac.
This is actually the subject I teach at the Centre des textiles contemporains de Montréal, and that I have the pleasure of teaching this week at Lainamac.
The domestic machine is the little sister of industrial flat-bed knitting machines, which are used to knit sweaters, toques, scarves and a whole range of other knitted pieces. These machines are computerized and fully automated.
They knit back and forth using one or several yarns. These machines keep getting more advanced, with practically limitless technical possibilities. I can't wait to attend ITMA, the largest textile machinery trade show, just to see what technical breakthroughs companies have developed in recent years.
I recently learned to program them at the Knitwear lab in the Netherlands.
The Kniterate works on a similar principle — a machine designed to mimic industrial flat-bed knitting machines. It's an accessible option, since it costs a fraction of the price of industrial machines. What's interesting is that the software is available online for free and was built on an open-source model, meaning a lot of information is available online to help the community design patterns or troubleshoot issues. The software keeps improving year after year, and the company even released an update that makes designs accessible to everyone, letting them reproduce or modify them: The Customist.
Personally, I think this machine is great for designing patterns, understanding how industrial machines work, and producing on a small scale — but I wouldn't buy it for production at an industrial level.
Warp knitting
To be fully transparent, I myself still have a hard time fully understanding what's technically happening inside warp knitting machines.
Broadly speaking, these machines work on the same principle as jacquard looms used in weaving. You need to create a warp in which each yarn is individually controlled, along with another set of yarns that acts as the weft. The resulting fabrics are less stretchy than weft knits, but the technique allows for open-work stitches like lace, as well as high-performance technical fabrics for sportswear or product design (e.g., car interiors).
Note that some laces, meshes and technical fabrics can also be produced using weft knitting.
At Montloup, we've chosen circular weft knitting, made right here in Canada rather than abroad, so we can maintain direct control over the quality, lead times and environmental footprint of every roll we produce.
You're now equipped to understand which technique is right for which type of project!
