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Welcome! 🥳👏

- What makes up a fabric?

- What is the fabric structure?

- Main difference between knit and woven

- Basic woven structures (Variations and families)

- Fancy weaves

Fabric Structure: Woven

Photo by Susan Wilkinson on Unsplash

Sofía Domínguez

Industrial Designer
Specialized in Textile Technology and Innovation
5 years at Seddi
Analyse and categorize +2,000 materials

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Woven

Knit

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Two sets of yarns interlacing each other.
Higher tensile strength
More stable
More expensive to produce
Easier to sew

Single yarn looped continuously with itself
More stretch
More confortable
Normally more breathable
Higher recovery

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What is the fabric structure?

Structure is how a fabric is constructed. They are classified according to their production method as: woven or knit.

Each type requires different machinery and will determine the behavior of the fabric.

Any structure can have variations based on how the machine is set up.

The same structure can be shared by different families. A family is the type of fabric identified because of its specific combination of production variables.

Photo by Klim Sergeev on Unsplash

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Knit Structures

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Fabric Structures

Knit

Brushed Back Fleece

Double Knit/Interlock

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Structure: Brushed Back Fleece

Brushed Back Fleece is a double-faced fabric with dense jersey knit on one side, its technical front, and brushed nap on reverse.

This type of material is achieved by integrating loop yarns into the knitted structure and then a brushing finishing.

A fleece material is similar but with both sides having the loop and brushed threads.

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Knitted structure of three-thread fleece fabric

Image from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06921

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Detail view: Brushed Back Fleece

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Examples: Brushed Back Fleece

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Examples: Brushed Back Fleece

FRONT

BACK

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Examples: Fleece

FRONT

BACK

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Structure: Double Knit/ Interlock

Double Knit is a generic name for a double-sided structure where two layers are knitted face-to-face.

Also known as double jersey or interlock, this type of weft knitted fabric is formed by two sets of needles. Because both sides show the front face of the loops, the fabric has the same front and back appearance.

The result is a thicker and stronger fabric than other types of weft knits.

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Knitted structure for Interlock

Image from: www.texpedi.com

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Detail view: Double Jersey / Interlock

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Examples: Double Jersey / Interlock

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Examples: Double Jersey/ Interlock

FRONT

BACK

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Examples: Double Jersey/ Interlock

FRONT

BACK

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Structure: French Terry

French Terry is a double-face knit fabric. The front face is made of jersey stitches while the back is constructed of piles or loops.

The result is a fabric with a lot of texture and volume.

A Terry, or Terry Cloth, is a fabric that has the loops on both sides.

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Loop Knit structure and elongation process.

Images from: https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:8388:ed-1:v1:en

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Detail view: French Terry

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Examples: French Terry

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Examples: French Terry

FRONT

BACK

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Examples: French Terry

FRONT

BACK

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Structure: Jacquard Knit

A Jacquard knit can be constructed as a single or double-faced fabric.

The Jacquard mechanism allows the control of individual needles or groups to create very complex patterns.

This type of structure is used to produce patterned fabrics or specific knitted notations.

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Detail view: Jacquard Knit

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Examples: Single Jersey

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Examples: Jacquard Knit

FRONT

BACK

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Examples: Jacquard Knit

FRONT

BACK

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Structure: Single Jersey

Also called plain or single knit. One of the most basic and common forms of weft knit. Front and back have a different appearance. The back side is known as reverse or purl knit.

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Detail view: Jersey

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Examples: Single Jersey

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Examples: Single Jersey

FRONT

BACK

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Examples: Single Jersey

FRONT

BACK

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Structure: Mesh

Mesh is a warp knit structure.

There are different types of mesh but this type of structure is a loose interlacing of yarns, in warp direction, that results in a fabric with holes.

Depending on the design, the amount and size of the holes can vary. It is usually a very lightweight fabric.

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Example of warp knit structure

Image from: https://www.scitechnol.com/peer-review/loop-length-model-of-fillet-structure-NQ1s.php?article_id=6221

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Detail view: Mesh

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Examples: Mesh

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Examples: Mesh

FRONT

BACK

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Examples: Mesh

FRONT

BACK

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Structure: Milano/Ponte

Double knit structure with a 3-course repeat structure.

Also known as Ponte di Roma or Milano, it is usually a reversible, stable fabric.

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Detail view: Milano/Ponte

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Examples: Milano / ponte

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Examples: Milano/Ponte

FRONT

BACK

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Examples: Milano/Ponte

FRONT

BACK

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Structure: Pique Knit

Piques are made by combining tuck and knit loops. It can be made as a single or double knit fabric.

The combination of stitches results in a fabric with a particular texture and depth. It is usually the choice for polo shirt.

Variations

Single Pique

Double Pique

French Pique

Swiss Pique

…

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Double Pique Knit notation

Image from: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/12/11/2455

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Detail view: Pique

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Examples: Pique

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Examples: Pique

FRONT

BACK

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Examples: Pique

FRONT

BACK

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Structure: Rib Knit

Double-faced knit with distinct vertical columns on both sides. It is formed by the combination of plain and purl stitches.

Rib knits are described according to the number of stitches drawn to each side. eg. 1x1, 2x1 …

If the number of plain and purl ridges is the same, then the fabric is reversible.

Rib fabrics have excellent widthwise elasticity.

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Example of 2x2 Rib knit

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Detail view: Rib

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Examples: Rib Knit

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Examples: Rib knit

FRONT

BACK

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Examples: Rib knit

FRONT

BACK

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Structure: Tricot

Warp knitting structure, constructed using a Tricot machine.

Tricot technical face looks like plain stitch, while the technical back has crosswise lines of knit loops on their sides. This side looks like if the font was been rotated 90º.

The technical back is often used as the right side because it is smoother.

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Tricot structure diagram

Image from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Schematic-of-the-warp-knitted-fabric-structures-a-tricot-b-locknit-c-reverse_fig5_254250774

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Detail view: Tricot

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Examples: Tricot

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Examples: Tricot

FRONT

BACK

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Examples: Tricot

FRONT

BACK

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Book References

Fashionary. Textilpedia: The complete fabric guide. https://fashionary.org/products/textilepedia

Gail Baugh. the Fashion Designer’s Textile Directory. https://petersonsbooks.com/

Handbook of Technical Textiles. Volume 1: Technical Textile Processes. Edited by A. Richard Horrocks and Subhash C. Anand

Mary Humphries. Fabric Reference. Fourth Edition

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Website References

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Images

Seddi - Material capture images

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