Not only am I a sewist, I am also a knitter. The first step in knowing your knits is to understand how the fabric and stitches are created. Knit fabrics are made of a combination of knit and purl stitches. The basic difference between those is whether the yarn is carried from stitch to stitch on the right or wrong side of the fabric. For knit stitches the yarn is carried on the back side. With purl stitches the yarn is carried on the front side. This is very noticeable in looser weave sweater knits like the silver metallic in Peggy's latest tunic.
Right Side of Knit Wrong side of Knit
This method of knitting the right side and purling the wrong side is how jersey knit is formed. The picture above is a sweater knit, but if you look really closely, you can see the same stitch pattern in the jersey knit below. Remember that jersey is a type of weave or stitch, not a fiber. Fiber combos for jerseys are rayon, cotton, silk, and more! Jersey can be very stretchy, or not very stretchy at all. Often, jersey knits are woven with a bit of spandex, lycra, or elastic, to improve the stretchability and stretch recovery of a knit.
Jersey knits are great for t-shirts and tops, dresses, light-weight jackets. If you're making leggings, look for 2-way or 4-way stretch knit blends made with lycra or spandex. These fibers will help the garment retain its shape after wearing and washing. Nobody likes baggy knees!
People often have a hard time telling the difference between the right side and wrong side of finely woven jersey knit. Because of the way the stitch is formed, this type of knit has a tendency to curl toward the right side parallel to the selvedge, and away from the right side perpendicular to the selvedge ( notice pic above).
Our next knit type is Interlock Knit. Interlock knit is a type of double knit fabric. Without going into super technical details, it’s kind of like two pieces of jersey knit back to back with the same thread. Because of the way the yarn is carried (in the middle between the two knit sides) this knitted fabric looks the same on both sides and it doesn’t curl (usually). Interlock is the fabric I recommend to people who haven't worked with knits before – it’s stable, usually has good stretch and recovery, and is generally the easiest knit to work with. ITY polyester knits (interlocking yarn) have become a popular choice for new and experienced sewists. They're thin, so you can make drapey garments, but they're easier to control than a curling jersey, and they come in great prints and solids.
Ponte (pon-tee) or ponte de roma is a type of interlock knit, made with a blend of synthetic fibers. We carry "Sophia" in many beautiful colors. It's a wonderful, easy-to-sew ponte, that's a dream to sew and press. Ponte knits are great for more tailored garments: straighter dresses and tunics and tees, jackets and pants. They look almost identical on both sides with a slight horizontal line to the weave. You can do almost anything with these knits!
O.K., I could go on and on about knits all night, but the sewing machine is calling and the ones above will make up the majority of your knitwear wardrobe. Come by the shop to see all our beautiful new knits for fall.
Happy Sewing!
Rebecca
No comments:
Post a Comment