Knit T-shirt, sweatshirt and hoodie
Today we will show you what to use to make a T-shirt, sweatshirt and hoodie. And also why it is important to sew these products from knitwear. To thoroughly understand this issue, let's clarify what knitwear is, how and how it differs from ordinary fabric. Knitwear is a knitted fabric; it is made on knitting machines; if you look closely, you can see loop stitches on any knitted fabric. You shouldn't call it fabric, because fabric is woven (resulting in a woven fabric), and knitwear is knitted (resulting in a knitted/knitted fabric)! Therefore, this material has high breathability, elasticity and less wrinkleability, and also has excellent shaping ability.
All these properties place knitted fabric in the category of special materials. It is for this reason that knitwear is actively used in the manufacture of casual and sportswear. This material is used to make our favorite products: T-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies. Knitted fabrics differ in several ways: by purpose, by the composition of raw materials, by structure, manufacturing method and finishing. By purpose they are distinguished: linen, outerwear, hosiery, shawl and scarf. Knitwear is usually made from natural cotton fibers or a mixture of cotton and polyester. Knitted fabrics for outerwear are thick and have good heat-shielding and shape-resistant properties. Such fabrics are produced both from natural and synthetic fibers, and from a mixture of them. According to the structure, cross-knitted (waist) and warp knitwear are distinguished, and knitwear can also be single and double. Double knitwear, compared to single knitwear, is denser and does not curl at the edges. It is usually used for the production of outerwear.
Now there are many types of knitwear, but we will not have time to cover all the variety, so we will consider only a few of them. The most common are: knitted fabric - thin single jersey made of cotton.
Jersey - double knitwear is made from mixed fibers.
Footer - can be two or three thread, can be with or without fleece.
Elastic knitwear (cashkorse) is used mainly for finishing.
Of the brightest representatives, we know supplex - a highly elastic synthetic knitwear stretchable in both directions. It is used to make swimsuits, sportswear and suits for various sports.
And everyone knows neoprene - synthetic rubber, covered on both sides with knitted material - outerwear items are often made from it - it practically does not wrinkle and holds its shape well.
Knitwear differs from ordinary fabric not only in hygienic and tactile characteristics. Designs made from knitted fabric also have a number of significant differences from designs for woven materials.
The differences mainly lie in the allowance for freedom of fit and in the design of darts. Darts are folds that are laid and stitched on the product to form a shape: narrowing the product along the waistline and to create volume in the chest and shoulder blades.
Thus, in the standard design for woven materials, positive increases in freedom of fit are always used. This means that a few centimeters are added to the measured parameters so that we can wear clothes comfortably. Also, in the standard design of an adjacent silhouette for woven materials, it is impossible to do without darts, since the fabric does not have a sufficient degree of stretch to form a given silhouette.
Knitwear, on the contrary, has a high degree of shaping. Therefore, knitwear products are designed without additional darts, distributing the necessary tapering along the side seams (an example of a knitwear product with an adjacent silhouette)
In addition, when designing products made from knitted fabric, two systems of allowance for freedom of fit are used:
positive increases (in a free silhouette),
negative increases (in adjacent products). Negative increases are essentially “decreases”, i.e. from our measurements we subtract a certain number of centimeters, taking into account the elasticity of the material. This is necessary so that knitted products fit well and follow the shape of the human body.
The differences between woven and knitted products are significant not only in the design, but also in the presence of such structural elements. One of such elements in products of a close-fitting silhouette made of fabric and knitwear is the presence or absence of a fastener.
Thus, products made from fabric with an adjacent silhouette cannot be worn without a fastener. The fastener can be: with a zipper, with loops and buttons, with hooks and loops, etc. The need for a fastener is due to the low stretchability of the fabric: the product cannot be put on, since it will not fit either at the waist or through the neck of the product (if it is not very wide)
In knitwear, on the contrary, in most cases the fastener is not designed, since due to the high degree of stretch
Mostly, the product fits perfectly both in the narrow waist and in the neckline area.
The processing methods for products made from different materials also differ. Fabric products are sewn on a regular sewing machine with a straight stitch, after which the seam allowances are processed in various ways (overlock, edging, closed seams).
Products made from knitwear are sewn together, mainly on an overlocker or on a sewing machine with elastic stitches. If you sew knitwear items with a straight stitch, then during the process of putting them on the elastic fabric will burst and the seam will come apart.
Thus, when working with knitwear, you need to know many nuances that will help you sew the product simply and efficiently.
