Knitting

Creative knitters have successfully used ribbon, plastic strips, wire, crepe paper, string threaded with beads, and rope to fashion bags, bowls, jewelry, household items, and works of art. In some newer cars, due to the decreasing popularity of smoking and the popularity of in-car electronics, the lighter has been replaced by a 12 volt power outlet that does not actually function to light cigarettes. Ultimately, there is no restriction as to what materials can be used to knit; anything that can be viewed as a long strand of something can be used as a sort of knitting yarn. The lighter's socket doubles as a 12 volt power outlet that can be used to power many small electrical devices. Filati Bertagna's Aymara is a very fine alpaca-wool blend that is knitted in the round over a couple stitches to make up a bigger thread. Its internal heating element becomes glowing orange hot in seconds when the device is activated, and is capable of lighting cigarettes, cigars and tinder (among other things) on fire. Louisa Harding's Sari Ribbon is a very wide multicolored synthetic ribbon with a streak of glittering fiber woven in its middle. Most cars are equipped with a electric cigarette lighter.

Katia's Rumba Mix is a ribbon that has changes in fiber within the same length involving changes of texture and changes of color. The high energy jet in butane lighters allows mixing to be accomplished by using Bernoulli's principle, so that the air hole(s) in this type tend to be much smaller and farther from the flame. Some novelty yarns are even more extravagant and can be hard to describe. A metal enclosure with air holes generally surrounds the flame, and is designed to allow mixing of fuel and air while making the lighter less sensitive to wind. Such yarns have a wide array of different effects that can be obtained by knitting the yarn in the round over the number of stitches normally cast for a sock. The spark ignites the flammable gas causing a flame to come out of the lighter which continues until either the top is closed (naphtha type), or the valve is released (butane type). Sock yarn companies have evidently taken a great interest in self striping yarn. Butane lighters combine the striking action with the opening of the valve to release gas.

If the proper number of stitches is cast, then stripes will appear as the yarn is knitted into a garment. In naptha lighters the liquid is volatile enough that flammable gas is present as soon as the top of the lighter is opened. In some yarns the same process is used, but at the same time the color repeats are long enough to enable a self-striping feature. A spark is created by striking metal against a "flint", or by pressing a button that compresses a piezoelectric crystal, generating a voltaic arc. Sometimes the colour will come through the sequence in which different colours are spun together. Butane lighters have a valved orifice that meters the butane as it escapes as a gas. Most often these will be obtained through the print process, in which a fiber will have different colours through a dyeing process. They also must have an enclosed top to prevent the volatile liquid from evaporating, and to conveniently extinguish the flame.

Very often, novelty yarns will involve a lot of colour change. This type usually has a fiber packing material which absorbs the liquid to keep it from leaking. Ribbon yarns must have give and elasticity. Lighters using naphtha have a wick which is immersed in the fluid and becomes saturated. They are ribbon yarns made for knitting. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with lighter fluid (usually naphtha or liquid butane under pressure), as well as a means of ignition and some provision for extinguishing the flame, either by depriving it of air or of fuel. They are not the kind of ribbons used in sewing and millinery. A lighter is a device used to create fire with the intent to ignite another substance such as a cigarette, smoking pipe, bong, hookah or charcoal in a grill.

Another type of novelty yarn is ribbon yarn. Some of the drawbacks of eyelash yarns is that they tend to have poor stitch definition, and that they are not flattering to curvy figures, so they are mostly used for accessories such as scarves. The core and hair of the thread can be metallic, and the hairs can sometimes be two different lengths. The hair can be curly.

The most prominent types would probably be 100% polyester with a straight and relatively short hair. The texture and composition of such yarns have been explored by many companies, and there are innumerable types of eyelash yarns. In general, eyelash yarns will be hairy and have the general aspect of faux fur once knitted up in a garment. Another type of novelty yarn is eyelash yarn.

Some companies have come to put twin yarns on the market to show off combinations of one regular yarn and a novelty yarns in assorted colours or even two different types of novelty yarns. The extra element can be a metallic thread, or a much-thicker or much-narrower strand of yarn, or yarn that varies between thick and thin. To make boucle, the tension on one strand, as it is being spun, must be different than on the other. Yarns of this type involve at least one or two strands of regular yarn twisted together with something else to make an interesting texture.

One variety of novelty yarn is called boucle, textured or flammé. There are yarns that are entirely metallic. Novelty yarns now come in all shapes and textures. What could define a novelty yarn as opposed to "regular" yarn is the exaggeration in one or many of a regular fiber's characteristics; for example, some yarns are a bit fuzzy or hairy, but a novelty yarn might take that to an extreme, with yarns that have long hairs or metallic fuzz.

Typically, novelty yarns arise from innovations in the spinning process. There has been a dramatic increase in the amount and in the different forms in which novelty yarns can be found. Novelty yarns have been on the market for a long time, but have enjoyed a revival as many new knitters learn to knit, and expect fun and dazzling materials to knit with. A relatively recent trend in knitting yarn is the novelty yarn.

Some other synthetics are available as well; yarn designed for use in socks frequently contains a small percentage of nylon for durability, and numerous specialty yarns exist. 100% acrylic yarns are available, as are wool-acrylic blends in various proportions. However, there is currently a large community of knitters that prefer the feel of natural fibers, both during the knitting process and in the final product. Acrylic yarn for a long time completely dominated the knitting market, and is still frequently the only available option at craft stores and other stores that do not specialise in knitting supplies.

A number of synthetic materials are also commonly made into yarn, chiefly acrylic. In any case, the finished product will be rather different from those made with woolen yarns. Cotton can be mercerised to increase its elasticity and its resistance to pilling. Pure linen makes a poor knitting fiber, having no elasticity; it is often blended with cotton, wool or acrylic.

Given the cost of silk, it is often blended with other fibers, such as rayon, cotton and wool. These tend to be much less elastic than the animal-hair yarns, though they can be stronger in some cases. Other natural fibers that can be used for yarn include silk, or vegetal fibers such as linen and cotton. Some of the more expensive fibres, such as cashmere, are often blended with other types, merino wool being very popular for its softness and fineness.

Natural fibres such as these have the advantage of being slightly elastic and very breathable, while trapping a great deal of air, making for a fairly warm fabric. mohair or cashmere), rabbit hair (usually angora), and alpaca fur are also well-known. The classic knitting material is worsted-weight yarn spun from the wool of a sheep, though goat's wool (e.g. These are discussed in the history of knitting.

There are many regional styles of knitted garments with long histories, such as guernsey sweaters, jerseys, and the already-mentioned aran sweaters and Fair Isle patterning. To control this, each dye lot is assigned a unique serial number, which is generally printed somewhere on the band around the skein. They may appear identical on the skein, but when knit into a solid field of colour, the subtle change when the knitter switched skeins will become much more apparent. Even a tightly-regulated factory dye process will not be able to exactly match the colour between dye lots, though.

Yarn is dyed in batches, or lots, and within such a lot the colour will match nearly perfectly. Even if the pattern is all a single colour—and perhaps especially then—it is important that the dye lot numbers match. double knitting and slip-stitch colour). Fair Isle), or both (e.g.

intarsia), busy small-scale patterns of colour (e.g. More complicated techniques permit large fields of colour (e.g. Even with solid-colour yarn, the knitter can easily create horizontal stripes by changing yarn at the end of a row. This will allow the garment to have a random colour variation.

When knitting with yarns whose colours change, it is best to alternate between two different skeins of yarn, usually alternating every other row. Some yarns are dyed to be either variegated (changing colour every few stitches) or self-striping (changing every few rows). Plenty of finished knitting projects never use more than a single colour of yarn, but there are many ways to work in multiple colours. Entrelac forms a rich checkerboard texture by knitting small squares, picking up their side edges, and knitting more squares to continue the piece.

Changing the order of stitches from one row to the next, usually with the help of a cable needle or stitch holder, is the trick underlying cables, honeycombs, ropes, and other Aran sweater patterning. by knitting two stitches together) can make a very open fabric resembling lace. Combining "yarn-over" increases (which create small eyelet holes in the resulting fabric) with assorted decreases (e.g. Some more advanced knitting techniques create a surprising variety of complex textures.

Adding a "slip stitch" (just moving a loop from one needle to the other, without working it) allows for a wide range of textures, including heel and linen stitches, and a number of more complicated patterns. Other simple textures can be made with nothing but knit and purl stitches, including garter stitch, ribbing, and moss and seed stitches. The canonical default texture for a knit garment is that generated by the flat stockinette stitch—as seen, though very small, in machine-made stockings and t-shirts—which is worked in the round as nothing but knit stitches, and worked flat as alternating rows of knit and purl. Smaller items, such as socks and hats are usually knit in one piece on double pointed needles or circular needles.

Seamless knitting, where a whole garment is knit as a single piece is also possible. Typically, the final knitted garment will be made of several knitted pieces, with individual sections of the garment knit separately and then sewn together once all the pieces have been completed. Although the mechanics are different from casting on, there are a similar variety of methods and choices to be made. Casting (or binding) off loops the stitches across each other so they can be removed from the needle without unravelling the item.

Once the knitted piece is finished, the remaining live stitches are cast off. The number of active stitches remains the same as when cast on unless stitches are added (an increase) or removed (a decrease) to shape the item. It is sometimes claimed that there are as many methods of knitting as there are knitters, but most Western-style knitters follow either the English style or the Continental style. The body of a knitted piece may include plain stitches or a number of colour and textured patterns.

Provisional cast ons are used when the knitting will continue in both directions from the cast on. Different methods of cast on are used for different effects; one may be stretchy enough for lace, while another provides a decorative edging. A piece of knitting begins with the process of casting on (also known as "binding on"), which involves the initial creation of the stitches on the needle. Different combinations of knit and purl stitches, along with more advanced techniques, generate fabrics of considerably variable consistency, from gauzy to very dense, from highly stretchy to relatively stiff, from flat to tightly curled, and so on.

They also curl considerably less, and for this reason they are popular as edging even when their stretch properties are not desired. Each such fabric has different properties: a garter stitch has much more vertical stretch, while ribbing stretches much more horizontally. But stitches can actually be worked from either side, and many patterns are created by mixing regular knit stitches with the "wrong side" stitches, known as purl stitches, either in columns (ribbing), rows (garter or welting), or more complex patterns. Because the yarn holding rows together is all on the front, and the yarn holding side-by-side stitches together is all on the back, stockinette fabric has a strong tendency to curl toward the front on the top and bottom, and toward the back on the left and right side.

On the wrong side, the ends of the loops are visible, both the tops and bottoms, creating a much more bumpy texture sometimes called reverse stockinette (despite being the "wrong side," reverse stockinette is frequently used as a pattern in its own right). On the right side, the visible portions of the loops are the verticals connecting two rows, arranged in a grid of V shapes. The basic knit fabric (as in the diagram, and usually called a stocking or stockinette pattern) has a definite right side and wrong side. Many modern stretchy garments, even as they rely on elastic synthetic materials for some stretch, also achieve at least some of their stretch through knit patterns.

This stretchiness, unavailable from woven fabrics (which only stretch along the bias), is what originally made knitting so suitable for stockings. Because there is no single straight line of yarn anywhere in the pattern, a knit piece will be stretchy in all directions (some more than others, depending on the yarn fiber and the specific pattern used). The loops of one row have all been lifted through the loops of the row below it. Unlike woven fabrics, where strands usually run straight horizontally and vertically, yarn that has been knit follows a loopy path along its row, as with the red strand in this diagram:.

The topology of a knit fabric is relatively complex. Modern knitters come from all ages, walks of life, and (increasingly) genders—a social stigma against male knitters has been rapidly disappearing, and most knitting circles now sport at least a few men. Hand-knitting has gone in and out of fashion many times in the last two centuries or so, and at the turn of the 21st century it is enjoying a revival. Knitting joined quilting, spinning, needlepoint, and the like as a social activity, performed while the crafters converse among themselves.

With the invention of the knitting machine, knitting "by hand" became a useful but nonessential craft, and its practitioners increasingly female. Knitting became a household occupation with the growing popularity of knitted stockings and by the end of the 1600s, one to two million pairs of stockings were exported from Britain to other parts of Europe. The first knitting trade guild was started in Paris in 1527, establishing the occupation as male-dominated for centuries to come. The earliest definite examples of knitting date from Europe and Egypt in the 14th century, although some claim that the technology dates back into centuries BC.

. Knitting can also be done by machines, which use a different mechanical system to produce nearly identical results. Work can proceed in the round (circular knitting) or by going back and forth in rows. This forms a new stitch.

A second knitting needle is then used to reach through each loop (or stitch) in succession in order to snag a bight of yarn and pull a length back through the loop. In practice, hand knitting is usually begun (or "cast on") by forming a base series of twisted loops of yarn on a knitting needle. Knitting can be done either by hand, described below, or by knitting machine. The courses are joined to each other by interlocking loops in which a short loop of one course of yarn is wrapped over the bight of another course.

Unlike woven fabric, knitted fabric consists entirely of horizontal parallel courses of yarn. Knitting is one of several ways to turn thread or yarn into cloth (compare to weaving, crochet).