Fabrics 101: knits versus wovens
March 12th, 2008Apart from animal hide, all fabrics fall into one of two categories: knits or wovens. It’s not the fiber content that distinguishes them, it’s the manufacturing process. Yarns like cotton, viscose, rayon, wool, polyester, velvet or silk can either be knitted or woven.
- Knitted fabrics are produced on huge knitting machines that “knit” different yarns together. These machines use exactly the same hand knitting method to make fabric. They knit a row of plain and a row of pearl at the speed of light to create a “stocking stitch” effect. You’ll see the familiar stocking stitch pattern on knitted items if you look closely. All knitted fabrics stretch. T-shirt fabric, sweatshirt fabric, knitwear (fabric that sweaters and cardigans are made from), jersey, mesh, toweling, felt and La Coste fabric are examples of typical knitted fabrics.
- Woven fabrics are produced on huge looms that “weave” different yarns together by interlacing threads both horizontally and vertically. Woven fabrics do not stretch unless Lycra, elastic or spandex fibers are woven into the fabric at the same time. This is how button down shirts and jeans get their stretch. Linen, denim, cotton twill, satin, chiffon, corduroy, tweed and canvas are examples of typical woven fabrics.
It’s important to distinguish between knits and wovens because each fabric type has a set of good and bad properties. See if you can distinguish between what’s knitted or woven in your wardrobe.
March 12th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Thanks for clearing this up Angie. It’s an excellent topic. I knew there were knits and wovens but didn’t know that all fabrics fall into one or the other category. Also that specific yarns can be either knitted or woven changing the stability of the fabric. While reading it I couldn’t help but think what a depth of knowledge you have about the rag industry.
March 12th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
A gentle correction - When writing about knitting stitches, I think you mean “purl” instead of “pearl”, Angie. Feel free to delete this comment.
March 12th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
16 years and loads of passion accumulates a bit of rag trade knowledge! And thanks abberdab for clearing up my pearls and purls.
March 12th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Something I’m not clear about is where knit tops end and knittED tops begin. Is the difference just the needle gauge? And where do t-shirts fit in? Are they just super fine knits?
March 12th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
The difference lies in the type of yarn that is used and the gauge that is set. Yes, T-shirts are super fine knits.
March 12th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
I am now dying to hear lesson 102 - what are the good and bad properties - I had to read this lesson three times to make sure I understood and I may still have to cheat by looking at the tags on my clothes to see if I can figure out which category my clothes go in. But it definitely helps - also, are there rules on what can be matched together between knits and woven articles?
March 12th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
There no rules that I know of Annette. Matching knits with wovens is completely product specific.
March 14th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Was mystified when in fight with partner at laundromat - I told her to separate clothes into knits and wovens and she did not know what I meant. And was mad that I expected her to know. I thought it was just another hole in her awareness.
I had no idea other people did not know this. Thanks Angie and all of you, I will be more understanding!
March 14th, 2008 at 8:32 am
biscuitx, Please tell us why you separate knits and wovens for washing. In fact the cleaning of our expensive wardrobe might be a good thread of conversation to start. I like to keep my clothes looking new and any help is appreciated.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Laundering correctly is vitally important. You will ruin your clothes if you slip in this area and that truly is a waste of money.
I have written many blog entries about this San. If you go the category list on the right and browse through “clothing care”, you’ll get an idea of what I’m talking about. First and foremost, the tumble dyer is not your friend. Take the settings on your machine seriously and always wash in cold water.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:54 am
oh - not for washing but for drying ( especially when counting out quarters for laundromat) just that wovens seem to dry faster, the big knits/fleeces/sweatshirts take longer. I dont know it it’s that kosher for the wardrobe maintenance, it was driven by economics!
For true kosher wardrobe maintenance of “good” knits I would be hand washing and air drying carefully, flat.
I have read that to keep any fleeces/sweatshirts looking like new, and if there is any poly in them, to wash inside out, to keep the pilling down. This from sweatshirt rep.
Yeah, there is a whole resorting thing at the laundromat - whites/mediums/darks/ and then resort to knits/wovens. but this might just be me. its just to save quarters!
March 20th, 2008 at 7:36 am
[…] styles look more like cardigans while others are more like jackets. Either way, these items are knits, which makes them stretchy, soft and relaxed. Tailored and trapeze, collared or collarless, classic […]
March 28th, 2008 at 7:11 am
[…] fabrics: Living in a world of woven fabric would be dreadful. Knits give us comfort and choice. Imagine wearing woven socks and woven […]
August 27th, 2008 at 7:12 am
[…] mesh and knitwear. Wovens are fabrics like denim, twill, tweed, raw silk and satin. (refer back to my detailed post if you need to refresh your memory on the differences). Each fabric had a set of good and bad […]
August 28th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Just a quick addendum to your lovely article. Woven fabric can be very very stretchy if it is cut on the bias. A bias cut garment will probably cost more because it uses more fabric, but using the bias grain will make even the stiffest fabric stretchy.