BACKGROUND OF STUDY

The need for speed and the need for comfort have together made way for innovations in
knitwear industry. knits are the fabric which are made up by looping of fibre, Knits
are totally different from woven because it can lend themselves to twisted, interloped or
draped effects, giving exciting possibilities not available to most woven or non-woven
fabric constructions. Fabric and garments can be created in the round and
simultaneously shaped to fit. Knitwear is suited to small scale production and therefore
experimentation is possible which then influences the larger industry.

The knitwear industry in World is escalating at a rapid speed. There is an ever

increasing demand for knitted apparels. Not only major brands, but numerous
designers have also incorporated knits into their clothing lines. At the same time
innovative design is being undertaken by a number of creative fashion designers and
other practitioners which takes an unconventional approach to three-dimensional
design, and who are discovering the design potential of knitted fabric and knitwear.

Karan Behal Founder and CEO, Pretty Secrets and Bobby Arora, Director, Status
Quo stated that the industry has accorded around 45 percent to the entire apparel
industry. Speaking on the contribution of knitwear industry to the overall apparel
industry in India, Aditya Udani, Owner, Garcon specified that as the market is changing
hugely, majority of this country’s demographic is between the age 25 to 35 years.
According to him, these people are very happy being more comfortable and spending
Rs400-500 on t-shirts even if it is worn only 4-5 times.

Vinod Kumar Gupta, Managing Director, Dollar said, “Despite being strong in woven,
the knitwear industry in India is on a double digit growth trajectory. The industry
is gearing up for bigger play in the Indian apparel industry. Trade in knitwear fared
better compared to woven and there is an increased demand for knitted apparels. It has
witnessed strong growth in past one year.”

One of the prime factors of growth in the knitwear industry is the mounting number of
organized players. Moreover, with the online marketing boom and easy availability of
assorted t-shirts, the market is definitely ceaseless. Customers are smarter than before
and majority of the young population is earning more than basic incomes – this is

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another catalyst of the industry growth. Because of knits special comfort characteristics,
an affordability and cool design.

In a market like India, price is the main attribute. According to a study, people choose
comfort over extreme fashion. This is the main reason knitwear industry is increasing at
a very high rate. Knitted garment provides a best touch and feel factors, that is the
reason knitted is preferred over woven. Its stretch-ability and a wide variety of assorted
designs have attracted the entire market. Knitwear industry is catering millennial
market by providing slogans and funky t-shirts.

The market has witnessed tremendous expansion in the Athleisure segment and the
future seems to be filled with even more possibilities.

The latest trends that customers are opting have turned comfort wear segment into a
thriving section. From pop colours to abstract patterns, from stretchable to quick dry
fabrics, there are knits for everyone, with all tastes. This category includes cardigans,
jumpers, turtlenecks and shrugs, which are made of soft knits. Furthermore, owing to its
body-moulding characteristics and new creative technologies such as glossy foil prints
and digital prints, there is only an upward motion for the segment.

At Jack & Jones, they believe that oversized cardigans, with light embellishments play a
huge role in defining the conversion of trends. Power dressing with knits, light and
comfortable joggers comprise the trend forecast for 2018.
Innovations are taking place in knitwear industry, a lot of innovations are presented
during ISPO.
About current innovations happening in knitwear, Saurabh Singh, Head of Design –
Menswear, Being Human Clothing said, “The biggest innovations that are happening
currently are in the recycled, eco-friendly fabrics, as more and more global brands are
adopting them. From being a niche, few years ago, they are now going big on a mass
scale and their percentage in the overall market is only going to grow with each passing
year.”

Knitting technology has made great advances in recent years, yet there is a gap between
the capabilities of the technology and much of the current commercial output, which
does not yet harness this potential in terms of innovative design, due to a technology
gap in which research, training and investment play a significant part.

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 INTRODUCTION

Knitwear is an industry that is running parallel with woven but never considered as the
mainstream fashion. Fashion designers have not understood knitwear properly,
because of its complex and specialised structure. Knitwear designer are mostly textile
trained rather than fashion, the attention to three dimensional design has not sought to
challenge accepted methods of garment design within knitwear. However, some of
innovative design is being undertaken by a number of designers. With time, lifestyle has
changed and thus, Fashion and preferences of people have also evolved. That is the
main reason for the growth of knitwear industry. now more innovations are taking
place in case of knitwear market.
Moreover, with the ease of wearing and comfort bestowed by this category, people have
started opting for knitwear over woven, both while working and relaxing.

TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT IN KNITTING

Knitting is evolved just like weaving from a hand craft using basic tools used by our
ancestors and grandmothers, at that time they used the very simple mechanisation of
knitting. Initially very normal frames are used by our ancestors for knitting, the
development of knitting frame started by William lee in the late 16th century, this
technology was far more advance of its time, preceding the industrial revolution. lee
never saw the eventual success of his invention, which underwent much refinement
before production was viable, a generation after his death.

The early machinery was invented to replicate handmade items such as stockings etc.
which are made with very less seams or no seams. With mechanisation, seamless
construction was forsaken for the speed of production of garments that requiring
seaming.

This leads to innovation of two main machines in the history of knitwear during the
nineteenth century.

 V shaped
 Circular machine

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 V SHAPED MACHINE CIRCULAR MACHINE

circular seamless knitting could be produced mechanically, but output focused on fabric
lengths rather than garment-sized production.

The two opposite technologies of cut-and sew and fully fashioned production
developed: wider machines enabled the knitting of body sized garment lengths, and
fully cut garments were made from circular fabric; the addition of automated fashioning
to multi-head straight bar machines stimulated the slower, but higher quality,
production of fully shaped garments. Specialist machinery designed to produced
specific items of seamless clothing evolved over the same period - the small diameter
hand operated Griswold sock machine of 1878 required the manual shaping of heel and
toe pouches, whereas the first fully automated machine for the manufacture of seamless
gloves was introduced by Shima Seiki as recently as 1965.

From stocking to vests and whole body garment, knitwear transmuted from underwear
to outerwear with the developing technologies of flat and circular weft knitting.

After this, the next focus of development is utilizing the needles that are present in the
machine by changing their configuration in the machine this leads to the development
of jacquard weaving system.

During post war years, knitting machines industry built up around the world,
particularly in Germany, with Germany becoming dominant in field of warp knitting
system.

Circular weft knitting gained popularity in early twentieth century with the invention of
double cylinder machines. Double jersey fabrics were manufactured by cut and sew

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methods just like woven garment were made. At that time synthetic yarns are in
fashion. Main transition in this industry took place when mechanically controlled
machines are replaced by electronic controlled machines that was the defining
development of modern knitting industry.

By the 1970s most double jersey machines were incorporated with electronic
patterning systems, these machines were linked with interface design unit.

In 1975, electronic control was first applied to flat knitting machines,

enabling individual needle selection which gave immense scope and opened up the
design potential beyond the mimicking of hand-knitting. As the machine technology
developed, from the invention of the presser foot to advanced jacquard variations and
multiple stitch structure capabilities, commercially knitted fabrics could be created with
a textured hand knitted quality and greater consumer appeal. However, garment design
was a secondary factor, particularly in the UK industry. Speed and ease of production
became paramount and designs either remained classic or design ideas were simplified
according to mass production values.

FASHION IN KNITWEAR
By the start of 1980s, the knitted designer sweater (usually multi-coloured, designs are
very intricate and textured and graphically patterned) gain the popularity in many
countries. The demand for knits at that time was catered by development of more
complex machinery to enable commercial versions of tis knitwear to enter the mass
market.
The designs were enhanced, three dimensional stitch structures, such as cables and
blackberry stitch were introduced that effects utilising held loops, they were
interpreted through a wide range of yarn qualities for e.g. acrylic chenille became
ubiquitous in 1980s.
Australian company Coogi capitalised on the ability of the new electronically controlled
machines with CAD facilities to create multi-patterned, multi-coloured knitwear
designed to test the limits of feasibility and inventiveness, previously only possible my
manual methods. The resulting garments were expensive due to high knitting times -
hours rather than minutes- and remained at the top end of the market, with samples in
the collection of the Cooper Hewitt Museum in America.

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Although great attention was paid to fabric design, garment shapes for knitwear were at
this time fairly standard. The sweater usually had rectangular shaped back and front
with either set-in sleeves, or drop shoulder and no sleeve head shaping, with standard
round or V necklines and ribbed trims.
The possibility for construction were not explored at that time this is the reason at that
time consumers became bored with similar designs that are offered by commercial
industries.
Some changes have been apparent over the last 10 years - the look of knitwear has been
modernised by the move towards trim less garments i.e. knitted without additional
ribbed edging to stabilise the main fabric. Garments made of ribbed fabrics which
are intrinsically stable have been simplified to their fully fashioned basic shape,
resulting in a cleaner look. The 'doughnut' neckline and the naturally curling edges of
single jersey, fortuitously simpler to produce, ceased to look so unfinished and gained
popularity as a consumer offer, as deconstructed fashion has become more accepted.
The improvements in technology have quietly filtered through to commercial
production in the increasing use of internal wale shaping to create integral darts, and
body contouring in ribbed sweaters. Classic knitwear produced by companies such as
Pringle and Ballantyne has been subtly re-shaped, featuring more items with shaped
side seams for closer fit, and also including trim less sweaters.

INTEGRAL GARMENT DESIGN

The growth of integral garment design was very slow. A very small no. of different
shapes of garments were tried out by technologists in previous decades. However, in
the last 10 years the integral concept has successfully been revived and dual
technologies have been invented by two famous machine builders
 Stoll (knit and wear)
 Shima Seiki (whole garment).
These machines have capabilities for advance shaping and integral trims, fancy stitch
edgings, collars and pockets to be knitted into the fabric.
The satisfactory ‘casting off’ or 'binding off' of stitches at the finish of a garment has
now been achieved - essential for the garment to be completed on the machine without
further trims.
Although knitting technology has made tremendous advances in the manipulation of
two and three- dimensional shape and the ability to knit entire garments on the

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machines, there is a gap between the capabilities of the technology and much of the
current commercial output, which does not yet harness this potential in terms of
innovative design. This is due to a technological knowledge gap in which the need for
research, lack of training and lack of investment in new machinery has played a
significant part, not only in the UK but within the Italian, Japanese and other markets.
Design has often led the technological developments, but now with highly complex
integral knitting technology, it is falling behind, as designers are unable to exploit its full
potential due to a technological barrier. New paradigms for knitwear design have to be
acknowledged, accepted and acted upon and the three-dimensional aspects of design
must be addressed to respond to the new seamless and integral initiatives in
technological possibilities. Perhaps a fashion-based alternative view can be helpful in
moving the industry forward.
The best part of knitwear design is that knitwear design is a hybrid activity, that is
falling between fashion and textiles, this is the reason it creates a wonderful
opportunity for knits.
Knowledge of technical knit construction is very essential in order to create new
innovations in knits fabric as well as knit garments.
The fashion designer first looks at fabric shape and silhouette, and often drape fabric
can achieve creative results, whereas using fabric such as ribs and cables proportions
can be enhanced.
Knitwear designers are different from the normal designers first they tend to think
about fabric development in two dimensional, then apply classic shapes.
Within knitwear design, traditional pattern cutting can be simplified, allowing for drape,
stretch and fabric distortion to achieve fit and wear ability, with and without the use of
elastomeric fibres.
The main characteristics of knit fabrics is flexibility, drape, stretch and recovery and
these characteristics can be enhanced by taking infinite number of possible
combinations of variables.
There are total five main variables that can lead to different combination, these
variables are given in the below picture.

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The uniqueness of knit fabric is that it can be produced in circular shape and
simultaneously shaped to fit.
The fundamental weft knitted structure is familiar from hand and machine knitting in
the domestic sphere and the simplest construction of stocking stitch or plain fabric
forms a major component of much knitwear: fine gauge classic sweaters and cardigans
industrially produced in wool and cashmere, or coarse gauge casual knitwear made
both by manual and industrial production, comprise an important element of a staple
wardrobe wherever the weather requires warmth. But knitwear is a great deal more
than the classics. Although contrary to the historically separate evolution of the hosiery
and knitwear elements of the industry, it can be useful to consider the full spectrum of
gauges as a continuum: from chunky hand knitting to jersey fabrics which are taken for
granted in underwear and T-shirting, and the finest knit constructions of hosiery.
Contemporary knitwear therefore should not be identified solely with the classics, nor
the medium gauge textured and jacquard patterned acrylic sweaters favoured in the
commercial knitwear of the 1970s and '80s.
Jersey and fine gauge fabrics in viscose, silk or synthetics can impart fluidity and drape
that is best for evening wear.
The incorporation of elastomeric yarns into jersey fabric has given a completely new
dimension to knit construction, as patented initially by Rosemary Moore in 1985 with
her ground-breaking Maxxam ruched jersey fabric.
Knitted fabrication now crosses into many disciplines including:

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  product and interior design
 Automotive and office seating
 Medical or industrial
 Textiles

CRAFT KNITTING INFLUENCE ON KNITWEAR INDUSTRY

In 1980s many of the British knitwear designers relied on hand or domestic industry
production.
Knitwear is suited to small scale production and therefore experimentation is possible.
The key designs by designers are still created by working on domestic and hand flat
machines, these designs are witnessed every 6 months at the European textile trade
fairs such as indigo, these inventive fabric ideas then influence the wider fashion
industry, via interpretation by fashion designers and knitwear manufacturers. Despite
of the fact that there is advancement in industrial technologies, the craft approach is still
a seedbed of ideas which fuels the commercial industries.
Students with fashion background working in industries while working provided new
fresh ideas that are an essential element within the design company.
A newer development has seen design swatches sold as miniature half garment ideas, a
concept which has given knitted textile designers with a flair for styling the ability to
suggest a fashion mood. These are the designers who most need to access the latest
technology, but are prevented from doing so by a technological and financial barrier. A
small number of well-established design studios, mainly in Italy, have invested in
compact industrial machinery, but still utilise a range of manual machinery 258 to attain
diversity and a wide range of fabric qualities.

UNCONVENTIONAL FASHION KNITWEAR

During the 1990s, consumers became more design aware so fashion has become more
sophisticated.
During that time electronic communication has become the norm, that leads the
designers exert powerful design influence, in an industry hungry for new ideas, so
called intellectual collections, for example Hussein Chalayan and Martin Margiela, which
demonstrate a clear and creative thought process are influential now at all levels of the
fashion industry.

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This can be exemplified by the fact that deconstructed, frayed, raw edges were initially
only seen in high fashion avant-garde collections, but now have swept through all levels
of the market to the high street. Many fashion designers, such as Gaultier, Westwood,
Margiela and Chalayan, incorporate in their collections a range of knitwear which may
or may not be shown on the catwalk.
Margiela works each season with classic knitwear, but subverts expectation in some
way - garments may be treated with surface effects, oversized and moulded to shape, or
left unfinished like the classic merino button-through cardigan which has no neckline
cut out. He also experiments with the way knitwear is constructed, always challenging
our preconceptions: sleeves are turned inside out through an opened armhole; for
winter 2002, double layer sweaters and cardigans are made from standard front and
back pieces folded back on themselves creating unusual but wearable necklines.
Chalayan changes the scale, or the way the garment covers the body, to create difference
and has shown jersey dresses with enclosed arms and gloved hands, enlarged armholes
which reveal the body, or dresses with fabric extensions held in front.
The cosy familiarity of hand knitting and coarse gauge knitwear is used regularly within
mainstream and high fashion, gracing both the international catwalks and the high
street stores from time to time, as knitwear’s popularity cycles through fashion seasons.
Autumn winter 2001 was an important season for homespun knitted looks, in keeping
with the re-invented bohemianism which has prevailed.
Winter 2002 is set to be an even greater success for knitwear, with high profile
knitted collections from Commedes Garcons and Yohji Yamamoto, and large-scale
chunky hand knits from Stella McCartney, Helmut Lang, Dior and Dries Van Noten for
example. The cable motif recurs frequently and has become an iconic reference to the
essence of knitwear. The technique has been exploited widely and the knitted cable is so
recognisable that its simulated image can be used in printed and embroidered garments
which have no yarn involved at all - as shown by Miyake’s printed. images of Aran-style
knitwear on Pleats Please outfits, or of Westwood’s embroidered menswear for summer
2002.
The stretch characteristics of knitted fabrics, enhanced by the inclusion of Lycra, are
supremely demonstrated in the body-conscious couture creations of Azzedine Alaia,
who works directly on the female body, and sculpts and moulds knitted fabrics with
precise seaming and fashioning to accentuate the body contours in second skin outfits.

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Examples of the first approach can be seen in Yohji Yamamoto’s work. He has
consistently demonstrated an unconventional attitude to the construction of knitted
garments - especially their shape in two dimensions. Drape, twist and reversibility are
all utilised in the design of his knitwear which often forms a leading feature of the
collections. They illustrate unconventional three-dimensional results on the body
created from two-dimensions, often one piece of fabric with a Moebius-like twist.
Yamamoto's most innovative twisted and wrapped structures use the simplest single
jersey domestic knitting machine production, but the conception of shape around the
body is highly sophisticated. For example, for autumn 2001, a shoulder bag was
incorporated into a knitted cardigan, which could be worn over the shoulder, through a
process of turning inside out and over the body. In the winter 2002 collection, heavy
gauge wraps were created from ribbed or textured knitted lengths which swaddle the
body, as half scarf, half garment. Variations include a sleeve at one or both ends, or a
polo neck at one end, and a skirt at the other, with one-sleeved sweaters worn
underneath to complete the look.

SEAMLESS AND 3-D CONSTRUCTION IN KNITWEAR

Seamless knitwear construction presently on the market has developed by hosiery
tradition, led through the creation of body sized circular machinery adapted from the
small diameter hosiery machines (such as those produced by santoni).
Current commercial seamless wear is to be found in the underwear and swimwear
ranges of companies such as Marks and Spencer, Bennetton and Wolford, the latter
crossing into designer level with lingerie and body wear designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier
and Philippe Starck.
As the approach to seamless knitwear is derived from hosiery, the use of elastomeric
and nylon yarns, and close fit to the body is the overriding aesthetic. There are so many
innovations are taking place with the incorporation of technology and sustainability
with knit fabric.

1. ENERGY ACCUMULATOR EVO THERMOSYPHON

Architectured for athletes. Sweat is the natural cooling system of the human body and
shouldn’t be taken away. Instead, X-BIONIC® supports this biological process and turns
sweat into energy. Based on basic physical principles and the innovation transfer of the
classic 3D Bionic Sphere® System, ThermoSyphon is restarting its development. In its

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channels and canals, ThermoSyphon uses the power of thermodynamics and combines
it with gravity. While excess sweat seeps down, humid air is carried upwards by the
vapour pressure. The new, y-shaped shape of the channels supports this function.
Enlarged total surfaces, refined structures and a new 3D structure optimize the
interaction between warm and cold, between wet and dry.

2. CIFRA MERINO AND TENCEL BASELAYER AT ISPO 2018

The natural performance

theme was also apparent
at garment manufacture
level, as Cifra one of the
world’s leading warp
knit seamless producers,
presented performance
garments created with
merino wool and Tencel.
The company is well
known for its warp knit
seamless technology, which creates body mapping through engineered jacquard with

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open mesh details to provide breathability, but the addition of natural and renewable
fibres into the addition of natural and renewable fibres into the mix brings additional
design opportunities. Merino wool offers inherent odour resistance and moisture
management, as well as being able to provide thermal insulation. When combined with
Tencel, garments have a pleasing touch, while offering additional inherent moisture
management to ensure comfort and freshness during a variety of sporting.

3. 3D KNITTED FOOTWEAR UTILISING SANTONI MECMOR TECHNOLOGY AT

ISPO 2018
Santoni presented
another example of
innovative use of
seamless knitting,
utilising their Mecmor
open panel circular
knitting machine, the
company have re-
engineered the knitting
process to produce 3D
knitted footwear
uppers, which benefits
from a range of features. Thanks to the ability to mix different yarns and map specific
areas of the uppers with meshes, the final product boasts lightness, improved stretch,
better from fitting and breathability. In terms of sustainability, as one machine produces
all sizes of fabric there are limited and controlled wastages and the process can be used
for recycled yarns too.

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 CONCLUSION
Designs have often led to technological development, but now due to technological
advancement, designers are unable to exploit its full potential due to technological
barrier. So, there is a need that designers and technologists move closer together, in
order to find greater mutual understanding and communication and can come up with
new innovation in this field.
Knits are creating wonderful opportunity in case of fashion industry because Knits are
hybrid of technology and textile knowledge. This is the main reason more and more
innovations are taking place in this field with the incorporation of technology, if we talk
about today’s consumers they are more sensitive toward environmental issues like
sustainability and recycling, so brands are trying to incorporate this factor in their
brand and even innovations are also taking place in this direction for e.g. use of eco-
friendly merino wool and Tencel for Cifra merino and Tencel Base layer at ISPO.
Different technologies are incorporated with knit fabric so that they can be used in a
very effective way, like 3-D knitted structures and body jacquard. Even they are utilizing
the needles that are present in the machine and changing their configuration in machine
to come up with new designs like in jacquard weaving system.
So, there is a need that designers and technologists can come together and focus on
development of knitwear industry because it is growing with a very rapid rate.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar (2018) Growth road for the Indian textile industry. Retrieved
from: https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/3881/growth-road-for-the-
indian-textile-industry
Apparel resources (2017) Indian spinning industry taking shift in production. Retrieved
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industry-takes-an-innovative-shift-from-basic-yarn-to-specialized-yarn-production/
Karl Mayer (2018)
Aditya Agarwal (2017) Future of fashion industry. Retrieved from:
http://bwdisrupt.businessworld.in/article/Future-of-Fashion-industry-India-in-
2050/10-08-2017-123894/
Black, S. (2002) Knitwear in Fashion, Thames and Hudson, London, UK
Brackenbury, T. (1992) Knitted Clothing Technology, Blackwell, Oxford, UK
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Schlotterer, H. (2000) The Millennium Book, Stoll Knitting, Reutlingen, Germany
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