– – What are the differences between knit fabric and woven fabric?
In fashion line, there are countless moving parts. The first step we think is choosing fabric. It is important right at the stage of development new collection. Using different fabric, fit, patterns and durability could be way too different. The more you know about a fabric, the easier it is to evaluate how to use it. Therefore, choosing the right material for your production can be overwhelming. And it is necessary to know how fabric is constructed and what fabric type is.
There are wide variety of fabric in the market. Our garments are mostly made from either knits fabrics or woven fabrics. In this article, we will look at what knit fabric/ woven fabric is and the differences between them.
What is knit fabric?
A knit fabric is made from a single fiber, yarn or thread, looped continuously. If you look closely at a piece of knit fabric, you will see a braided look. There are two basic type of knit, called weft knit and warp knit. It can be told from the direction of the yarns are looped. A weft knit is made with a yarn looped horizontally; while a warp knit is multiple parallel yarns looped vertically to form a fabric.
All those interlocking loops make this fabric soft, somewhat stretchy and wrinkle-resistant. Knits don’t require much care to keep us their appearance which makes them a more popular fabric choice. But on the other side, knits can shrink quite a bit in the wash and the edges of this fabric have a tendency to curl.
Knits are available in various fibers such as cotton, silk, wool, linen, tencel, polyester, and cotton blends. When designing soft, comfortable tops, bottoms and undergarments, knit fabric is good choice.
What is woven fabric?
Unlike knits, wovens get made with two or more sets of yarns interlaced at right angles to each other into a crisscross pattern. Woven fabrics are often created on a loom, and made of many threads woven on a warp and a weft. In weaving, the warp and the weft are terms to describe the direction of the yarn compared to the loom. The warp is the yarn that runs up the loom vertically. They act as the beam or center that the weft, or the horizontal yarns, are interlaced through.
Woven fabrics are generally more durable. They maintain a more rigid structure with minimal stretch for a crisp, clean appearance. So they can be easily cut into different shapes and are excellent for producing styles in garments. However, the raw edges ravel or fray easily and the edges always need to be finished with a stitch or serger. Wovens also have the irksome tendency to wrinkle.
Woven are available in various fibers such as denim, leather, silk, satin, chiffon, tulle, and velvet, and jacquard etc……..Woven fabrics are the most commonly used in garment sewing, example like formal shirts, trousers, denim jeans, suits, chiffon and georgette dress…
Difference between knits and wovens
With the introduction above, let’s have a quick conclusion of the difference between knit fabric and woven fabric.
Yarn construction
The basic difference between woven and knit fabrics is how they are constructed. A knit fabric is made up of a single yarn, looped continuously to produce a braided look. A woven fabric is composed with mulitple yarns, crossing each other at right angles to form a basket-like grain.
Stretch
Stretching is one of the key differences between knit fabrics and woven fabrics. A knit fabric, since they are made from one continuous thread, they stretch all over, will stretch easily along its width, slightly less along its length . Wovens, on the other hand, due to the fact that it’s tightly woven threads or independent yarns, will give almost no stretch except on the diagonal.
So give your fabric the stretch test, you can tell if it is knit or woven. Pull it gently from side to side, top to bottom, and then diagonally. Does it stretch easily in all directions? Or you can only get a bit of stretch diagonally?
Wrinkle
Another key difference is that knit fabric usually doesn’t retain as many wrinkles, even when scrunched. Woven fabric, on the other hand, is more wrinkle-prone but looks very crisp and fresh when ironed and hung.
Edge
The edges of kints have a tendency to curl. Woven fabrics don’t have the problem of curling or deforming. However, wovens are constructed by just weaving different pieces over and under the other, so the edges of woven clothing must be finished to keep the fabric from unravelling. Knits are made with one continuous piece of thread, so a raw edge won’t unravel the way it would on a woven.
What is next?
Now that we have an idea about knits and wovens, we need to consider those characteristics when developing garments. For example, knit products are meant to stretch and often have no fasteners like a zipper or button you can use to put it on. So if you are producing a pull-over shirt, chances are you’re going to be using a knit fabric. However, for something that doesn’t need to give a lot of stretch like pants or a button up shirt you should be using a woven fabric. Or wovens can easily unravel, so the edge needs to be finished by adding a stitch at the end…
The way ahead is long; I see no ending. : -) We will go into more about this topic in the future.
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