Warp Knitting

Basics
March 26,2010

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Weft

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Warp

Warp Knits--the possibilities

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Needle Technology
Until relatively recently warp knitting
machines used four types of needle:

The
The
The
The

bearded needle
latch needle
compound needle
carbine needle

Bearded and compound needles were

used on tricot machines, the latch needle
on raschel and crochet machines and the
carbine needle on crochet machines.
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Knitting Technology
Recently the bearded needle has
been dropped and development has
focused on the compound needle due
to its greater rigidity and ability to
withstand higher yarn lapping forces
(see Loop formation) than the
bearded or latch needle.

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Knitting Technology
Furthermore at the highest speeds
(above 2,500 cycles/minute) the issue
of latch impact on the hook starts to
become a problem with latch needles.
In contrast the compound needle can be
closed gently in a controlled manner
even at the highest knitting speeds.

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Warp Knitting Technology

Warp knitting machines--needles are
mounted collectively and rigidly in a
horizontal metal bar (the needle bar
that runs the full knitting width of the
machine).
Equally the yarn guides are also set
rigidly into a horizontal metal bar (the
guide bar that runs the full width of
the machine).
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Knitting Element
Displacements
The diagram
summarizes the
somewhat
confusing
displacements
made by the guide
bar. The front of
the machine lies to
the right of the
diagram.
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Knitting Element
Displacements
The diagram shows
the individual yarn
guides set in a solid
bar. The front-toback movements are
called swings. The
first swing from front
to back is followed
by a lateral shog:
the overlap, which
wraps the yarn in
the needle hook.
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Knitting Element
Displacements
The next
movement is a
swing from back to
front followed by
the underlap that
may be from 0 to 8
needle spaces
depending on the
fabric structure
being knitted.
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Tricot Knitting
In diagram (1.3 a &
b) the guide bar
swings from the
front of the machine
(on the right hand
side of the diagram)
to the back of the
machine taking the
yarn through the gap
between two
adjacent needles.
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Tricot Knitting
Diagram (1.4 c) shows the
guide bar moving laterally
towards the observer. This
is known as a shog
movement, specifically the
overlap that wraps the yarn
around the beard of the
needle.
Diagram (1.4 d) shows the
second swing in the cycle
taking the yarn between
adjacent needles back to
the front of the machine. At
this time the needle bar
moves upwards to place the
overlap below the open
beard on the shank of the
needle.
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Tricot Knitting
Diagram (1.5 e)
shows the presser bar
moving forward to
close all the needles
and in (1.5 f) the
closed needle passes
down through the old
loop and the sinkers
move backwards to
release the old loops
so that knock-over
can take place.
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Tricot Knitting
In figure (1.6 g) the
sinker bar moves
forward to secure the
fabric prior to the needle
rising in the next cycle
and at this stage the
guide bar makes a
second shog, this time
an overlap which may be
of 0 to 8 needle spaces
depending on the
structure being knitted.

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Tricot Knitting
The machine type in this series of diagrams is
a tricot machine and on this type of machine
there is no continuous knock-over surface.
The belly' of the sinker provides support to
the fabric by preventing the underlaps from
moving downwards.
For this reason it is not a good idea to knit
fabrics with few underlaps such as net or lace
on a tricot machine.
They are much better knitted on a Raschel
machine with a continuous knock-over trick
plate.
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Tricot Knitting
The diagrams you are about to see
illustrate a tricot machine with
compound needles.
The sequence of events is almost exactly
the same as for the bearded needle with
the exception that the overlap lays the
yarn into the open hook and not onto the
beard, and the compound needle is
closed by relative displacement between
the needle and the closing element.
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Tricot Knitting

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Tricot Knitting

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Tricot Knitting

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Guide Bar Shog, Overlap and

Underlap
The displacements shown for the
needle, sliding latch, guide bar swing
and sinker bar are the same
irrespective of the type of fabric
being produced by the machine.

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Guide Bar Shog, Overlap and

Underlap
The shog movements determine the type of
fabric produced and they need to be changed
each time the fabric structure is modified.
Crucially the shog movements must place the
guides at the centre of the gap between adjacent
needles with 100% accuracy every knitting cycle
for the entire lifetime of the machine.
If there was a failure in the shog displacement
and the needle bar moved by less than a full
needle pitch then in all likelihood the yarn guides
would collide with the needles during the swing
movement causing serious damage to the
machine.
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Graphical Representation
of Warp Knitting
Structures

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Warp Knit Structure

Warp knitting is defined as a stitch forming
process in which the yarns are supplied to the
knitting zone parallel to the selvedge of the
fabric, i.e. in the direction of the wales.
In warp knitting, every knitting needle is
supplied with at least one separate yarn.
In order to connect the stitches to form a
fabric, the yarns are deflected laterally
between the needles.
In this manner a knitting needle often draws
the new yarn loop through the knitted loop
formed by another end of yarn in the previous
knitting cycle.
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Warp Knit Structure

A warp knitted structure is made up of two
parts. The first is the stitch itself, which is
formed by wrapping the yarn around the
needle and drawing it through the previously
knitted loop.
This wrapping of the yarn is called an
overlap. The diagram shows the path taken
by the eyelet of one yarn guide traveling
through the needle line, making a lateral
overlap (shog) and making a return swing.
This movement wraps the yarn around the
needle ready for the knock-over
displacement.
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Warp Knit Structure

The second part of stitch formation is
the length of yarn linking together
the stitches and this is termed the
underlap, which is formed by the
lateral movement of the yarns across
the needles.

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Warp Knit Structure

The length of the underlap is defined in
terms of needle spaces.
The longer the underlap, the more it lies at
right angles to the fabric length axis.
The longer the underlap for a given warp the
greater the increase in lateral fabric stability,
conversely a shorter underlap reduces the
width-wise stability and strength and
increases the lengthways stability of the
fabric.

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Warp Knit Structure

The length of the underlap also influences the
fabric weight.
When knitting with a longer underlap, more yarn
has to be supplied to the knitting needles.
The underlap crosses and covers more wales on its
way, with the result that the fabric becomes
heavier, thicker and denser.
Since the underlap is connected to the root of the
stitch, it causes a lateral displacement in the root
of the stitch due to the warp tension.
The reciprocating movements of the yarn,
therefore, cause the stitch of each knitted course
to incline in the same direction, alternately to the
left and to the right.
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Warp Knit Structure

In order to control both the lateral and
longitudinal properties, as well as to produce an
improved fabric appearance with erect loops, a
second set of yarns is usually employed. The
second set is usually moved in the opposite
direction to the first in order to help balance the
lateral forces on the needles. The length of the
underlap need not necessarily be the same for
both sets of yarns.
Run-in: the yarn consumption during 480 knitted
courses
Rack: a working cycle of 480 knitted courses

The run-in
.is the yarn consumption for one rack.
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Warp Knit Structure

For a given machine with a given
warp:
A longer run-in produces bigger stitches
and a generally slacker, looser fabric
A shorter run-in produces smaller and
tighter stitches
With more than one guide bar the ratio
of the amount of yarn fed from each
warp is termed the run-in ratio
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Lapping Diagrams
With the exception of
the very simplest
structures, it is too time
consuming to represent
warp knitted fabric
using stitch or loop
diagrams. For this
reason two methods of
fabric representation
are commonly used.
Lapping diagrams
Numerical representation
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Looping Diagrams
Actual Guide Movement

This is the symbolic

image of the
technological process
of lapping. This
diagram can also be
derived from a stitch
chart by not drawing
in the stitch legs but
only the head and feet
of the stitches.
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Looping Diagrams
The needle heads are
represented on paper as
dots. The path of the
guide bars is drawn in
front of and behind the
needles
The yarns will not lie as
straight in the fabric as
they do when they are
conducted through the
guide bars and around
the needles on the
machine. The yarn path
in the lapping diagram is
rounded off to represent
this
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Looping Diagrams
Each dot represents one
needle and each
horizontal row of dots a
single stitch forming
process, i.e. one course.
Several rows of dots
from bottom to top
represent the
succession of several
stitch-forming
processes or courses
recording a complete
repeat of the fabric
structure.
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Numerical Notation Related to

Chain Link Height
The numerical
notation is best
understood in
relation to the
mechanical system
that is used to
generate the lateral
displacements
(shogs) of the guide
bars.
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Numerical Notation Related to

Chain Link Height
If the pattern drive is
on the right hand side
of the machine, then
the movement of the
guide bar from the
smallest chain link
height (0) is only
possible towards the
left. With a chain link
(1), the guide bar is
moved to the left by
one needle space
(division), with a chain
link (2) by two needle
spaces, etc.
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Numerical Notation Related to

Chain Link Height
On dotted paper,
therefore, the numbers
read from right to left and
are entered between each
needle space. The
numbering is done from
left to right when the
pattern drive is on the lefthand side of the machine.
The lateral movement of
the guides is initiated by
chain links of various
heights marked with 0, 1,
2, 3, 4, etc. This guide bar
movement is an especially
important part of the
pattern development.
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Chain Link Arrangement

The guide bar is positioned with the follower roller
on chain link 0'; it swings through, then moves to
the left as the roller moves to chain link 1'. It
swings back and returns to its starting position
(chain link 0').
The chain should read: 0
1
In the opposite direction: 1
0
The smallest repeating unit (repeat) extends over
one course: height repeat = 1 stitch, width repeat
= 1 stitch.
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Chain Link Arrangement

Application
Pillar stitch construction can be employed
in the production of outerwear and for
ribbed velour fabrics (corduroy). Even in
these fabrics, the open pillar stitch is
more popular as it provides the necessary
longitudinal stability and runs freely. It is
used in conjunction with the binding
element in-lay' in laces and curtains,
though always with a second guide bar.
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Open and Closed Stitches

The stitch formed has an open or
closed character according to the
direction of the underlap and
overlap motions. The underlaps
can be of differing magnitudes
and directions:
If the underlap and overlap are in
opposite directions then the stitch
formed would have a closed
character
If the underlap and overlap are in the
same direction, then the stitch
formed will have an open character
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Open and Closed Stitches

The stitch is open when the
feet do not cross and closed
when the feet cross. The
structure of a warp knitted
fabric depends on the lapping
motion of the guide bars, and
therefore the structure could
be represented by:
Drawing a stitch or stitch chart
diagram, which takes time and
is difficult
Lapping diagram
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Yarn Threading Plan

In warp knitting a yarn
guide wraps the yarn
around the needle hook,
thus forming a loop.
However, to form a fabric,
the yarn guide must wrap
the yarn around a different
needle during the next
course. The yarn guides,
therefore, must be
displaced laterally during
knitting. Different warp
knitted structures are
produced by varying the
magnitude of their lateral
displacement. Therefore
warp knitted structures
can be described by noting
the guide bar
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displacement.

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Yarn Threading Plan

The actual guide
bar motion consists
of an underlap,
swing-through,
overlap and swingback movement,
and this motion is
known as lapping.

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Yarn Threading Plan

The yarn is wrapped
around the needle
hook due to the
swing-through,
overlap and swingback movement of
the yarn guide, and
this forms a stitch. A
warp knitted fabric is,
therefore, made from
stitches (overlap) and
connecting underlaps.
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Single Bar Structures

A plain warp knitted structure is produced
on a single needle bar. The resulting
structures are known as single face fabrics.
Rib and interlock warp knitted structures
are produced on double needle bars, and
these structures are known as double face
fabrics.
In single face structures (plain), stitches are
visible on one side, known as the technical
face, and on the other side (known as the
technical back) only underlaps are visible.
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Pillar Lap
A pillar stitch (or chain
stitch) is a stitch
construction where
lapping of a yarn guide
takes place over the
same needle.
As there are no lateral
connections between
the neighboring wales,
the stitches are only
interconnected in the
direction of the wales.
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Pillar Lap
Due to the absence of
underlaps, a fabric is not
created, only chains of
disconnected wales.
Single bar pillar lap is
technically possible only
on Raschel machines
where the trick plate acts a
knock-over bed.
On a tricot machine the
sinkers are unable to
control the position of the
old loop when there is no
underlap (pillar stitch) and
so the knitting of pillar
stitch on its own is
impossible.
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Pillar Lap
Open or closed
pillar stitches can
be produced
depending on the
guide bar
movement.

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1 and 1 Lap (Tricot Lap)

The laps are executed
in alternate overlap and
underlap motions on
two defined needles.
This stitch creates a
textile fabric as the
underlaps connect both
the courses and the
wales.
The simplest of this
group of structures is
made between two
adjacent needles.
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1 and 1 Lap (Tricot Lap)

The laps are executed
in alternate overlap and
underlap motions on
two defined needles.
This stitch creates a
textile fabric as the
underlaps connect both
the courses and the
wales.
The simplest of this
group of structures is
made between two
adjacent needles.
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1 and 1 Lap (Tricot Lap)

Guide bar motions:
First course:
Under 1 needle to the
right

(UL
)

swing through

over 1 needle to the

right

(OL
)

Swing Back

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1 and 1 Lap (Tricot Lap)

Second course:
Under 1 needle to the
left

swing through

over 1 needle to the left

Swing Through

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1 and 1 Lap (Tricot Lap)

Result:
Therefore, the chain link
arrangement is:
1
0
1
2 closed 1 and 1 stitch
As a result of the
underlaps, the diagonal
sinker loops are formed.
These pull the stitch
heads of each alternate
row into the same
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direction.

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2 and 1 Lap
Swing through

swing back 0
swing through2
swing back 3
swing through 1
swing back 0
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3 and 1 Lap
Swing through 1
swing back 0
swing through 3
swing back 4
swing through 0
swing back 1
swing through 4
swing back 3

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4 and 1 Lap
Swing through
1
swing back 0

swing through
4
swing back 5

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Atlas Lap
The atlas
construction differs in
that the laps are
continued over two or
more courses in one
direction and then
return in the other
direction to the point
where they started.
Lapping movement

0-1/2-1/3-2/4-3/5-4/3-4/2-3/1-2/

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 video

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Stitch Diagram and

Notation?

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