Weaving and knitting are two primary methods for fabric manufacturing, with crocheting being another. These methods are used to create various garments such as shirts, trousers, jackets, and coat suits. This article explains the differences between weaving and knitting, allowing readers to choose the right fabric for their desired garment.
Key Takeaways
- Knitting involves creating loops with a single yarn using hooked needles, resulting in stretchable, lightweight, and absorbent fabrics. Examples include woolen sweaters and hosiery garments.
- Weaving involves intermeshing two sets of yarns called warp and weft to create fabric. This method is used to make fabrics for trousers, jackets, blazers, skirts, etc.
- Knitted fabrics are wrinkle-resistant and ideal for tight-fitting garments like lingerie and stockings, while woven fabrics can wrinkle easily when crumpled.
Knitting is a technique for creating fabric with a single yarn, resulting in an end product that appears to have loops resembling tiny rows of braids. Two needles with hooks are used to create interlocking loops to make a knitted fabric. There are two main types of knitting: weft and warp knitting. Weft knitting requires a single yarn, while warp knitting uses a separate yarn for every course or row. Warp knitting can only be done by a machine and is used for the manufacture of hosiery, the backbone of all lingerie stuff. In contrast, the weft method of creating fabric out of a single yarn has traditionally been employed in handmade fabrics. However, modern machines use a different method under this system of knitting called weft to create fabrics. All woolen garments and hosiery garments available in the market that are stretchable belong to the knitting category. Stretchability is the most significant characteristic of all knitted garments. Knitted fabrics have insulated air pockets that provide warmth to the person wearing them. However, there are breathing spaces and one can see the porous spots in a knitted fabric that allows for comfort to the wearer. Knitted fabrics are also lightweight and absorbent, making them very comfortable when looking for tight-fitting garments such as inner garments and stockings.
Weaving is the most popular method of fabric construction globally. Two sets of yarns run together in an interlacing fashion to make way for the warp and the weft of a weave. These warp and weft help create fabrics or cloth that can be stitched into different varieties of garments. It is possible to make weaves in a single color or create beautiful designs by placing different shades of yarns in the machines. Very colorful and attractive designs are possible in woven fabrics. This is an ancient fabric-making art that has been transformed into a science today for the manufacture of fabrics on a very large scale with the help of large machines.
The difference between weaving and knitting lies in the techniques and resulting fabrics. Knitting involves creating loops with a single yarn like braids in rows using hooked needles, resulting in stretchable garments such as woolen sweaters and hosiery garments. On the other hand, weaving involves intermeshing two sets of yarns called warp and weft, creating fabric suitable for trousers, jackets, blazers, skirts, etc. Knitted fabrics are lightweight, absorbent, and wrinkle-resistant, while woven fabrics can wrinkle easily when crumpled. Knitted fabrics are ideal for tight-fitting garments like lingerie and stockings due to their stretchability.
