To say that knitwear refers to any fabric which has been knitted (as opposed to woven) would be too wide a description. After all, ribbed cotton and cotton fleece are both knitted fabrics, but you wouldn’t describe a T-shirt or a sweatshirt as ‘knitwear’. A more precise definition, then, would have to be the thickness of the yarn itself and the ‘gauge’ (ie how many stitches per inch along the fabric).

The higher the gauge, the smaller the knit; promotional knitwear usually ranges between 5gg and 14gg with weights ranging from 360gsm to 880gsm; however, knitwear in retail fashion can vary wildly outside these parameters.

History

Although ancient civilisations were knotting yarns into fabric thousands of years ago, it’s thought that hand knitting as we know it today originated in the first half of the last millennium; some schools of thought credit the Egyptians as being the first knitters while some believe it was European societies. Either way, it appears that socks were the first garments from this method of fabric production. Knitting has a deep history in Scotland, where cable and Fair Isle techniques were developed. But it was the industrial revolution that saw the biggest rise in knitwear production, when machines were invented to spin wool in greater volumes. Still popular today as both a fabric and a pastime, knitted garments remain a staple in school uniforms, workwear and sportswear.

Promotional uses:

School uniforms

A huge market: while some schools have moved to sweatshirts and fleece in the school uniform, there are many more that still prefer the smart image of a knitted jumper, and that number seems to be on the rise again, according to suppliers (see Trends). After all, shirts with ties just don’t look the same under a sweatshirt, do they? And this is the point: many schools, particularly those with a long history, prefer the traditional image that a knitted jumper lends to a uniform. And they’re practical too; with new high-performing acrylic and blended yarns coming onto the market, knitted jumpers can now be machine-washed, tumble-dried and hardwearing whilst still retaining a soft handle.

In addition, some schools also have a scarf as part of the winter uniform, often in school colours.

Sportswear

Cricket: the standard cream cable-knit v-neck jumpers are iconic wear for cricketers around the world and can be with or without sleeves.

Golf: Another outdoor pursuit that requires warm clothing in cold weather, when polo shirts just don’t provide enough warmth and a jacket might restrict movement.

Bowls: Like cricket, the bowls jumper is pretty much part of the uniform, although a cable knit is not necessary. Bowls jumpers are usually white and can be sleeveless.

Corporate and workwear

There are still many companies that prefer the image or performance (or both) that knitwear brings rather than modern technical fabrics. It’s not always a case of one versus another, however; many organisations will have, for instance, a v-neck jumper and a fleece jacket for staff to wear if needed.

Made for decorating?

Embroidery: by far the most common way of branding knitwear. However, it is important to inform digitisers of the fabric structure that embroidery is to be used on before they create the disk, as they may need to increase the stitch density for a knitted garment. Embroiderers tend to use double backing paper for knitwear.

STYLES

Jumpers, cardigans and tank tops

Sweaters, pullover, jersey, jumper.... all of these terms refer to a long-sleeved top, and a knitted fabric is probably the most common, since the elasticity of the fabric lends itself well to the fact that jumpers rarely require a great deal of tailoring, as they tend to mould to the wearer's shape. Vneck, crew neck and polo neck are common styles – the former being particularly popular in uniforms as it works well over a shirt and tie. Knitted jumpers are usually ribbed at the sleeves and waist. Most of those manufactured on a large scale are ‘cut and sewn’ i.e. constructed through sewing together cut panels of fabric (overlocking) rather than ‘fashioned’, i.e. knitted into the shape of the garment.

A sleeveless jumper is usually referred to as a tank top or vest, although the latter is more of an Americanism, since the British use the term vest to describe an undergarment. Cardigans are buttoned or zipped all the way down the front, but this is pretty much the only difference between them and jumpers.

When jumpers are decorated, it's usually on the left chest area, or around where the tag is at the back of the neck. Zipped garments can also have a branded tag on the zip.

Hats, gloves and scarves

All are commonly made from knitted fabric as winterwear. Knitted hats can take on many styles, including skull caps, balaclavas, bobble hats and beanies. Gloves can be fully-fingered, fingerless, or a mitten style. Gloves and hats are often lined with an insulating fabric such as Thinsulate.

Scarves are the simplest of knitted garments, and are often the first garment a beginner handknitter might make.

Long or short, tassled or plain, knitted scarves are certainly an enduring winterwear item, and are often worn by sports fans or club members in their respective colours.

FABRIC

Wool

Lambswool is still popular as it is warm, soft and 100% natural. It’s also popular with traditionalists. Merino wool (from the specially-bred Merino sheep) is particularly popular for its high performance and soft handle.

Cotton

Knitted cotton yarns give all the benefits of cotton, i.e. breathability, coolness etc. Blends of 50% cotton and 50% acrylic are a common, more hardwearing, alternative.

Acrylic and coated yarns

Acrylic yarns, such as Balmoral’s NewTPA, are designed to have a soft handle whilst being anti pilling, machine washable, tumble dryable and cool-ironed. “We are just switching all our 100% Acrylic to NewTPA which has been specially designed to resist pilling and yet give a really soft handle,” says Mike Carden at Balmoral. “The fibres have been designed to break away from the fabric rather than form pills – quite a breakthrough; it can also be tumble-dried at 30 degrees.”

Teflon-treated wools make water-repellant and stain-resistant fabrics. But the new kid on the treated yarn block is nanotechnology-treated yarns. These are treated to give better resistance and selfcleansing qualities; stains such as wine, ketchup and water collect into tiny beads on the yarn surface which is more easily discarded than those which penetrate the yarn.

Ply

Many knitting yarns are made up of more than one strand; ie two-ply yarns have two strands twisted together, four-ply has four strands, etc.

Stitching styles

All-needle: this is used in the standard knitwear fabric because it is suitable for cut and sew production methods and has a natural spring and resilience.

Single-bed and half milano: these knits give slightly more structure to the fabric than all-needle and are popular in schoolwear and corporatewear.

Cable: textured pattern on the fabric, such as that found on cricket jumpers.

Intarsia and jacquard: patterned stitching such as the diamond patterns popular in golfwear.

Price points

A knitted garment’s price is influenced by the usual factors, including: style and special features: additional tailoring and extra features; fabric: whether a fabric is patterned, its weight and number of colours used; size and quantity: generally, larger sizes tend to cost more than smaller sizes and larger orders benefit from a lower unit price compared with smaller orders.

Trends

“School pullovers seem to be making a comeback, and there is a definite trend to better quality,” says Mike Carden of Balmoral. A spokesman from Blue Max Stag agrees: “Knitwear is becoming more popular, and we have seen several of our customers moving away from the sweatshirt and back to knitwear,” he says. “We have developed a new product, the X-trelle, which is a very durable, low pill garment but with a softer handle than the traditional yarns used. This has been developed as a result of trends in the market.”

Brands

The following brands (in no particular order) supply knitwear to the promotional market:
Balmoral
Rowlinson
Blue Max
Henbury
Glenmuir
RTY
United Brands of Scandinavia

The writer would like to thank Mike Carden of Balmoral, and Blue Max for help with this article.

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

Bookmark this

---