Lecture Title: Introduction to fully fashioned knitwear

Knit garments: Knit garments are basically three types: Cut and sew knit garments. Fully Fashioned shape knitwear. Complete knitted garments. #Cut and Sew knit garments: The cut and sew technique is by far the simplest method of garment construction whereby individual panel shapes are cut to size from panels (V bed or flat bed) or from a long length of fabric or cloth (circular knitting machines). Benefits of Cut & Sew Knitting: The benefits of the cut and sew route includes the followings: Ease speed of knitting of fabric Total consistency of cut panel sizes and relative ease of garment make-up. The downside is that the seams have to be over-locked prior to sewing or linking to prevent the exposed stitches from laddering. This produces a seam that is relatively large, bulky and un

 Disadvantages of Cut & Sew Knitting: The cut and sew route is not widely used for wool knitwear production The material wastage (up to 25%) and perceived lower quality image makes it less appealing. #Fully Fashioned Shaped Knitwear: Shaped knitwear is engineered to size and shaped at the point of knitting. It is very distinctive and easily identifiable by the fashioning marks which normally run parallel to the garment seams. The garment panels are assembled using cup seaming and linking where usually the garment sides, sleeves and underarms are cup seamed and the shoulders and collars are linked. The difference between linking and seaming is that with linking a stitch per stitch joint results whereas cup seaming stitches the edges of the fabrics together

 Fully Fashioned Knitting Machine: Fully-fashioned knitting machines are flat knitting machines that produce custom pre-shaped pieces of a knitted garment. Instead of knitting a whole rectangular sheet of fabric, instructions from a knit pattern on a punch card or computer file guide a fully-fashioned knitting machine's needles to add or drop stitches to create custom two dimensional shapes appropriate to the desired finished garment structure. The pieces emerge from the machine ready to be sewn together. #Complete Knitted Garments: Complete garment knitting is a next-generation form of fullyfashioned knitting that adds the capability of making a 3dimensional full garment. Unlike other fully-fashioned knitting, where the shaped pieces must still be sewn together, finished complete knitted garments do not have seams. The knitting machines' computerized instructions direct movement of hundreds of needles to construct and connect several tubular knitted forms to create a complete garment in a single production step.

Advantages of Complete Garment Knitting: The complete garment system's advantages lie in: 1) A further reduction in materials beyond even fully-fashioned production by eliminating seam allowances. 2) Faster time to market by eliminating the need for sewing any components. These factors increase cost-effectiveness (especially important when using high-performance materials such as aramids for composites). 3) One might also argue that cutting down on wasted by-product selvage makes complete garment better for the environment. Two companies manufacture complete garment knitting machines: Shima Seiki and Stoll.
Name of Fully fashioned knit garments: Sweater Cardigan Tights Stockings Lingerie, etc

Manufacturing Process of Sweater garments: Manufacturing Management: Manufacturing management means the confirming of overall management system to the each & every process of manufacturing.

It means the followings: Manage operation & process. Organize in a systematic way. Making product. Standard method of manufacturing. Ensure the requirements. Utilizing the workers at right time on right place. Managing the raw materials, machines & manpower.

01)Winding Section: Yarn comes from factory in two forms:

Hanks & Cone

Hanks to Cone transferring section are called Winding section

02)Yarn distributing center: After winding all yarns cone comes to this section.
03) Knitting Section: All parts of sweater are knitting here.

Hanks to cone winding machine

04) First Inspection: Every part of sweater is knitted in the knitting section and passed them off First Inspection to get those checked whether each part is properly knitted or not, and to get confirmed if any yarn is wasted. 05) Linking Section: All garment parts are joined to each other 6) Trimming Section or Mending Section: Extra yarn edge should be trimmed in this section. 7) 2nd Inspection: After trimming then it needs to check the garments. 8 ) Light Checking: Thoroughly checked in the Second Inspection and then to light checking with a view to ensuring if any hole is present in the sweater. 9) Washing Section: Washing the garments for chemical hazards. 10)Hydro extractor Section: Squeezing the garments to remove water & garments become dry.

11.Dryer Section: To dry the garments by dryer machine.

12.3rd Inspection: For Shrinkage check & Accurate measurement is tested in the Third Inspection. 13.Label attaching: The sweaters are passed through the labeling section, where neck, care and size label are attached. 14. Steam Iron Section: Steam ironing for completion 15.Quality Control Section: In the quality control section, where each part of sweater is checked carefully, thus if the sweaters are found not up to the standard, they are sent back to the Third Inspection section for mending the loopholes.

16.Poly Packing Section: After quality checking needs to attach hangtag, price tag to garments, then it turns into poly bag. Two types of poly bag is used: 1) Blister poly 2) Single or solid poly. 17.Packaging section: In this section, garments turn to carton means cartooning. 18.Inspection by Buyer: After 100% completion of packaging, garments are checked by the Buyer representatives according to AQL. Mainly 1.5 & 2.5 AQL is used but more preferable AQL is 2.5.

Computerized Sweater knitting machine

Dial linking machine

Hydro extractor machine

Washing machine

Dryer or Drying machine

Steam Iron

SPECIFICATION FOR FLAT BAR, STRAIGHT BAR & CIRCULAR MACHINES. Knitting machine: The machines which are used for knitting purpose are called knitting machine. Types of Knitting Machines: There are two types of knitting machines: Warp knitting machine. 2. Weft knitting machine. Warp Knitting machine: The knitting machine in which the loops are produced in a vertical direction & loops are made from different yarns or number of yarns. Weft knitting machine: The knitting machine in which the loops are produced in a horizontal direction and each loop in horizontal direction is made from a single yarn is called weft knitting machine. Classification of Warp Knitting Machine: There are two types of warp knitting machine: 1)Tricot m/c. 2) Raschel m/c. Types of weft knitting machine: In broad sense, there are two types of weft knitting m/c: 1. Fabric Machine. 2. Garment length machine.

Fabric Machine: Fabric machine knits fabric in a continuous uninterrupted length of constant width.
Garments Length machine: Garment length machine is a knitting machine which is built for producing individual garment panels in series rather than continuous production of fabric. This term is most commonly used to describe Circular weft knitting machine. In another way, Weft knitting machines are classified in three types:
a)Straight bar knitting machine: There are two types of Straight bar knitting machine:

1) Single needle bed machine. 2) Double needle bed machine b) Flat knitting machine: There are four types of Flat knitting machine: 1)Flat bed machine. 2) V-bed machine. 3) Flat bed purl machine with double ended needle (Latch needle) 4) Unidirectional multi carriage m/c.
Circular knitting machine: i) Single jersey machine & Double jersey machine: 1) Rib &

2) Interlock m/c.

Straight bar frame m/c:

Specifications for Straight bar frame or fully fashioning m/c: Vertical bearded needle is used in this m/c. A number of revolving cam shafts is present in the base of the m/c. May be single needle bar or double needle bar. Needle beard is pressed by fixed pressing edge. Knock over occurs when needle descends. Gentle knitting action. High production. Expensive. Fully automatic. The m/c is divided into a number of series each capable of producing separate but identically dimensioned garment components. One completion of garment length sequences the panels are pressed off from the needle bar. Knitting action of 2-needle bar rib frames is troublesome so it is less popular than single needle bar m/c.

Flat bar knitting m/c: Specifications of flat bar knitting m/c: 1)The typical flat bar or flat knitting m/c has two stationary beds on which latch needles and other elements slide during knitting action. 2)The needles are controlled by angular cams. 3)The carriage with its selected yarn carriers traverse in reciprocating manners across the machine width. 4)The m/c may be hand controlled or may be fully automated electronically controlled and power driven 5)Types of flat bar knitting m/c: 6)V-bed flat knitting m/c. 7)Flat-bed

Uses of flat bar knitting m/cs: Collars and cuffs of T-shirt & polo shirt. Integrally knitted garments and garment panels.

Specification of Circular machine:

The term circular covers all the weft knitting machines whose needle bars are arranged on circular cylinder and or dials radially. The needles may be latch, bearded, or compound needle. The produce a wide range of fabric structures, garments, hosiery and other articles in a variety of diameters & machine gauge. They are mainly two types:
Single jersey machine.

Double jersey ( Rib or Interlock machine

 Potential benefits of seamless knitting Minimizing or eliminating labor intensive cutting and sewing process Saving in production times and cost Minimal yarn consumption Higher productivity Multi gauge machine Lightness and softness No bulky and irritating stitches/ seams More constant product quality Better look, better fit and more comfortable More creative possibilities for knitwear designers Just in time production Mass customization Quick response production for size and pattern changes

Circular knitting machine

Cams:

Features of garment length machine: The garment length machines are usually of coarser gauges than fabric machine. Garment length machine includes: Straight bar frames. Most Flat machine. Hosiery, leg wear & glove machines. Circular knitting machines: 1) Single jersey m/c 2) Double jersey m/c: a) Rib & b) Interlock double jersey m/c

 It mainly produces knitwear, underwear, outer wears and under wears. This machine converts fabric into garment length construction sequence. This is controlled by additional garment control mechanism. This control is initialized by correctly time changes in some or all of followings: Cam setting, Needle arrangement, Feeders & machine speeds. It must be easily adjustable different garment sizes. Garments may be knitted either in tubular form or in open width size. In open width size more than one garment might be knitted simultaneously. Larger diameter circular knitting m/c may knit a garment sequence which is later split into two or more garment width. The amount of shape introduced into garment also varies some depends entirely on shaping during making up. Some are stitched and some are shaped by reciprocating knitting.

Features of Circular Rib machine: In a dial cylinder rib machine, there is one set of needle on the circumference of a vertical cylinder & another set of needle on a horizontal dial, so the two sets of needle remain at the right angle with the each other. In a dial cylinder machine, cylinder & dial rotates where as cams with yarn feeder and guides remain stationary. The dial needle gets motion for stitch formation through butt, which is placed in a cam track. During rotation of cylinder, cylinder needle moves vertically where as during the rotation of dial, dial needles move horizontally, cylinder needle also gets motion through its separate cam

 Uses: Rib is suitable particularly for the extremities of articles such as tops of socks, cuff, sleeves or rib boarders of garments and strolling and strapping for cardigans. It is knitted at the top of plain knit socks and gloves. Features of Circular Interlock m/c: The m/c has two sets of needle on two different beds, one set on cylinder bed & another set on dial bed. These two needles are placed perpendicular to each other. The two beds must be exactly opposite to each other. The needles are controlled by two cam system. If the first needle is controlled by one cam system then the second needle can be controlled by the other cam system.