Test Your Knitting Knowledge

Method of Knitting Fabric from Yarn

• Knitting is a method of production of textile fabrics using interlacing yarn loops.

• Stitches are created by interlacing yarn in a row, either flat or in the round.

• Different yarn types, needle sizes, and stitch types create various knitted fabrics with different properties.

• There are two major varieties of knitting: weft knitting and warp knitting.

• Weft knitting allows for production from a single yarn, while warp knitting requires one yarn per wale.

• The two types of stitches are knit and purl, with knit appearing as Vs and purl as a wavy line.

• Each knitted fabric has an initial cast-on edge, final bound/cast-off edge, and side selvages.

• Cables, increases, and lace can be created by permuting the order of stitches.

• Different knitting techniques create various visual effects, textures, and structures in the fabric.

• Knitted fabrics tend to be more elastic and form-fitting than woven fabrics.

• Knitting is done by hand or by machine.

• Knitting machines secure active stitches mechanically.Knitting: Techniques, History, and Materials

• Knitters have developed methods for creating circular wales, such as those found in Celtic knots, but they are inexact approximations.

• Increases can split a wale into two or more wales, creating a hole in the fabric at the point of the increase, which is used in lace knitting to make patterns and pictures.

• Combining increases and decreases allows for the direction of a wale to slant away from vertical, which is the basis for bias knitting used for visual effect.

• Various point-like ornaments, such as bobbles, sequins, and beads, can be added to knitting for their look or to improve the wear of the fabric.

• Different textures can be created with knit and purl stitches, with the most common texture being generated by the flat stockinette stitch.

• There are many ways to work in multiple colors, such as variegated or self-striping yarns, intarsia, Fair Isle, double knitting, and slip-stitch color.

• Hand knitting begins with casting on, with different methods used for different effects, followed by the knitting of the piece and casting off to finish it.

• Yarn for hand-knitting is sold as balls or skeins, with a yarn-band label that describes the yarn's weight, length, fiber content, etc.

• The thickness or weight of the yarn is a significant factor in determining the gauge/tension, with thicker yarns requiring thicker knitting needles and thinner yarns knit with thick or thin needles.

• Yarns are grouped into six categories based on thickness: superfine, fine, light, medium, bulky, and superbulky.

• A yarn's usefulness for a knitting project is judged by factors such as its texture, weight, color, and dye lot.

• The exact origins of knitting are unknown, but the earliest known examples are cotton socks found in the remains of the city of Fustat, now part of Cairo.An Overview of Knitting: Yarn, Needles, Tools, and Styles

Yarn:

• Yarn selection depends on various factors, including its loft, resilience, washability, colorfastness, hairiness, and comfort.
• Yarns may be made of animal fibers (such as wool, angora, and silk), plant fibers (such as cotton, flax, and bamboo), or synthetic fibers (such as acrylics and polyesters).
• Different yarns are suitable for different knitting projects, and yarns may be blended to achieve desired properties.
• Yarns are spun from fibers, which may be continuous filaments or staples of varying lengths and thicknesses.
• Spinning involves twisting fibers to create yarns, and the twist direction may result in Z-twist or S-twist yarns.
• Worsted yarns are smoother and created by combing fibers, while woolen-spun yarns are fuzzier and created by carding fibers.
• Yarns may be dyed or left natural, and variegated yarns may produce interesting visual effects.

Needles:

• There are three main types of knitting needles: straight, double-pointed, and circular.
• Straight needles are tapered at one end and have a knob at the other end to prevent stitches from slipping off.
• Double-pointed needles are tapered at both ends and are used for circular knitting.
• Circular needles have two straight, tapered ends connected by a flexible strand and are used for flat or circular knitting.
• Needles come in different diameters and materials, affecting gauge/tension and elasticity of the fabric.
• Cable needles are a special case of double-pointed needles used to hold stitches temporarily while creating a cable twist.

Tools:

• Various tools are available to make hand-knitting easier, such as crochet hooks, darning needles, stitch markers, row counters, and point protectors.
• Some tools are used to prepare yarn for knitting, such as yarn swifts, ballwinders, and pom-pom makers.
• Stress-relieving gloves are available for hand and wrist troubles, and special belts are used in traditional Shetland knitting to support one needle.
• Different knitting styles/holds include Continental/German, Norwegian, Russian, and English styles.

Other materials:

• Knitted fabric made of metal wire may be used for electric and magnetic shielding or as jewelry.
• Knitted glass combines knitting, lost-wax casting, mold-making, and kiln-casting.

Record:

• The largest aluminum circular knitting needles on record are size US 150 and are nearly 7 feet tall.

• The current holder of the Guinness World Record for Knitting with the Largest Knitting Needles is Julia Hopson of Penzance in Cornwall, who knitted a square of ten stitches and ten rows in stockinette stitch using knitting needles that were 6.5 centimeters (2") in diameter and 3.5 meters (11'6") long.Knitting Techniques, Styles, Commercial Applications, and Charity: A Summary

• Portuguese/Greek/Incan/Turkish style knitting is an ancient style where the knitter carries the yarn around the neck or from a necklace-style hook and knits on the reverse (purl) side.

• Armenian knitting technique tacks the non-working yarn to the piece regularly to limit floats.

• Double knitting is a technique used to create a reversible fabric that looks like stockinette or jersey on both sides.

• Fair Isle is a method where many different yarns are used throughout the row and when not being used are floated on the wrong side of the piece.

• Mega knitting is a term recently coined for knitting with needles greater than or equal to half an inch in diameter, producing chunky, bulky fabric or an open lacy weave.

• Micro knitting uses extremely fine threads and needles, creating tiny objects at 60 or 80 stitches per inch.

• Short row knitting is where the work is turned before a row is fully knitted, and there are several ways to achieve this, including Wrap and Turn, German short row, and Japanese short row.

• Twined knitting is a traditional Scandinavian knitting technique where two strands of yarn are knitted into the fabric alternatively and twisted once and always in the same direction before every stitch.

• Knitted fabric is heavily used in fashion collections by many designers and labels, such as Michael Kors, Fendi, and Marc Jacobs.

• Knitting can be used for graffiti, guerilla knitting, or yarn bombing, which is the use of knitted or crocheted cloth to modify and beautify one's surroundings.

• Yarn crawl is a multi-day event that caters to all knitters, crochet and yarn enthusiasts and supports the local crafting community, with multiple local yarn and knit shops participating in the event.

• Hand knitting garments for free distribution to others has become common practice among hand knitting groups and charities, such as Wrap with Love, which provides blankets hand-knitted by volunteers to people most in need around the world who have been affected by war.

• Studies have shown that hand knitting provides significant health benefits, including reducing stress, pain, and depression, creating a relaxation response in the body, and decreasing blood pressure and heart rate.