Knit knowledge

IMHO, some of the best reasonably priced cotton knits right now are coming out of SilTex, a Canadian mill, fwiw. DH lives in knit shirts, and I can also get matching ribbing and sweatshirt fleece for many of the interlocks they sell. One place to get them is through the yahoo group FabricsandNotions which does the occasional buy.

Jersey knits are constructed like hand knitting where you knit one row, turn the knitting over and purl the next -- stockinette stitch. Like stockinette, jersey wants to curl on the crossgrain when cut. It will run; it's usually one of the lighter weight fabrics, and it's the typical T shirt fabric. Usually some stretch on the crossgrain, fairly stable on the long grain once you've got all the shrinkage out. (These have a fairly strong tendency to get wider and shorter in prewashing). All cotton jerseys don't have a lot of recovery from being stretched out -- if you need that, then you're looking for a cotton-lycra blend jersey.

Jersey is a single knit -- double knits are knit with two sets of needles simultaneously, In doing so, if the yarns are passed back and forth between the two sets of needles, you get a interlock knit. Cotton interlocks are typical used for cotton turtlenecks. If you look at the front and back of a jersey closely enough, you'll see one side is smoother than the other, and the front and back of the fabric looks different. If you look at a typical interlock, it will look like the front of jersey on both sides of the fabric. Interlocks are more stable, less prone to stretching, don't run, and are thicker than their jersey cousins. And they don't roll up as you're cutting. This is the knit I typically start newbies on. It behaves itself.

Some double knits will have patterns knit into them via jacquard knitting. Currently doesn't seem to be in fashion, but if you remember the two colored figured knit shirts that were around in the early 70's, those were jacquard double knits.

Rib knits I think you know... like ribbing on a t-shirt. Typical K1P1 or K2P2 or similar in hand knitting. More stretch, better recovery than a jersey, don't roll up when cut, thicker than jersey (and often thicker than interlock).

Waffle is often a variant of ribbing -- moss stitch in hand knitting-- but also done differently in machine knitting. Looks alot like old fashioned thermal underwear. Stable, good for heat retention without a lot of weight, good stretch, moderately good recovery, easy to serge, a little more difficult to handle on the sewing machine because it's "spongy".

Lacoste and pique knits are bumpy looking, but on a fine scale. Typical of men's polo shirts. Lacoste knits are circular knits where you actually use the inside (technical back) of the knit on the outside of the garment. Lacoste knits look like a tiny honeycomb on the outside. Pique is similar, but you see diamonds rather than honeycomb.

Pointelle knits have little holes knitted into them, often in lacy patterns. Typically used for women's underwear, because they have good heat-trapping ability in those spaces if you put another layer over them. Also used for outer layers because of the lacy appearance.

An additional knit you didn't mention: Tricot. Done with a warp knit instead of a weft knit, smoothish on both faces, not a whole lot of stretch, very durable, good recovery, don't run or curl, easy to sew. Usually not found in anything but nylon and polyester. Think 1960s-70s nylon slips and knit fusible interfacing. Usually very wide, inexpensive fabric.

Micro knit: marketing term. May be knit using microfiber yarn in any knit pattern, or it may refer to lightweight knits. Gauze knit, when I've seen it advertized, has turned out to be what I'd consider a sleazy jersey or it's been 15D tricot, the "chiffon" of the fancy nylon nighties of my youth.

Site with decent quality knits at fair prices and good pictures, most of which are correctly labeled:

(I think I've only caughta couple of errors in their naming over the years.)

Some more helps, maybe:

basic fabric books like Sandra Betzina's or Claire Shaeffer's fabric guides

basic college textile textbooks, usually with titles like "Textiles" -- my favorite is a pair of books by Debbie Ann Gioello -- the first is about the technical construction of fabrics, and the second is sort of an encyclopedia with photos of each fabric draped straight and bias, and "how to sew". A little out of date now, but solid information. Recommend asking for them on interlibrary loan:

(you'll have to do some pasting on these URLs). Also out of print, but good: Connie Long's Sewing with Knits. (less on structure of fabric, more on how to sew) Kay

Standing ovation! Well done, Kay.

I'll say! Wow. Thank you so much. I would so much hate to wind up with some of that sleazy curly knit; just too old here to fight that stuff. Wonderful, Kay. I do sincerely thank you. Polly

"BEI Design"

STANDING OVATION!!! clap clap clap!!

thank you for the education!!!!

I'm probably pushing too far - but I really need to: If you were going to stitch garments for somebody weighing 3 pounds and anticipated hospital brutal laundry or (maybe even worse yet, Daddy helps with the wash) what would be your choice for knit fabric buying? Polly

"betsey" STANDING OVATION!!! clap clap clap!!

Have you consulted with the staff at the hospital? I would think that would be the best place to investigate, they should have some experience with what works well and stands up best.

Are you making the little caps or more than that? Preemies have very delicate skin (I had one 40 years ago), so whatever it is, I suspect it should be mostly cotton, and as smooth a knit as you can find. If they don't stand up well to washing, well that's the nature of the thing. And if the preemies survive, I would hope they will outgrow the garments long before they wear out. That presumes the garments stay with the baby when he/she goes home from the hospital.

By the way, it's more than a little insulting to the men on this newsgroup to suggest that "Daddy(s)" are incapable of running laundry equipment. My DH did lots of laundry over the years, and almost 100% of our laundry after he retired and always did an outstanding job of it.

You're welcome. Forgot to mention one of my favorite knits... Malden Mills' (now Polartec) Powerdry, in the medium to silkweight form. The medium weight is something I'd wear for winter long johns, but I also use it for DH's shirts. Polyester, smooth to slightly bumpy on the outside, brushed inside. Designed to wick moisture away from the skin, and washes and dries easily. Not sure how fast it would dry in the Swamp, but here in the PNW, a shirt pulled out of the washer and hung will air dry in less than 3 hours, which can be a real boon with babies. The silkweight is about like the old heavy nylon tricot slips in feel, and is meant for lightweight underwear and the like -- menopause nightgowns are a big use for it, too.

is a good place to buy it -- sign up forthe sales. I bought some last month for a princely $2/yard. Very easy to sew, soft on the skin. Here are some photos of samples I took for the FabricandNotions group: (medium or shirt weight) (silkweight)

I make gowns, oneseys, shirts, receiving blankets, 'real' diapers,caps and have the cutest little footed pajama pattern you ever saw. It is hard to find well-made preemie clothing and harder still to pay for them. Mostly, parents of preemies are staggered by the bills and I do love to sew for them. Didn't mean to insult every new daddy's laundry technique. I was speaking from personal experience and you don't even want to hear about it. It begins with 'firmly pack the washer with everything that's soiled, pour on a generous cup of bleach and turn the dial to HOT'. The story goes downhill after that. Polly

When I came home from the hospital (before DD was discharged), my DMIL and I immediately started making tiny gowns from 14" doll patterns. She made a quilted bunting with matching hat as well. I tore most of my diapers in half and they were still bulky around my tiny babe.

But one story doesn't apply to all men. Just sayin'.

Polly, please drop me an email. Address in headers is good.

Thanks.

Kay

Around here, the NICUs tend to want only cotton knits, done with the seams to the outside of the garment. For ease of construction, I'd stay away from jersey and tend towards interlock. I'd also avoid pointelle and similar to avoid fingers and toes getting caught in the holes.

I'd also ask the hospital what they want. Napped fabrics like flannels or brushed knits are more flammable than un-napped knits, and oxygen use increases the possibility of ignition. Luckily, medical equipment and wiring is of much higher grade than residential wiring -- they pay a lot of attention to not producing sparks.

FWIW, DH's powerdry shirts (100% poly) survive hot home laundry on occasion. But I'm not sure what the temperature of a hospital laundry can do to them. Chemically, polyester is very chemically stable to detergents, bleach, etc. but it's thermoplastic and can permanently deform at too-high temps.

Kay

WOW! I thought I knew a lot about knits, but now I know a lot more. Thanks!

Would that I could obtain more silkweight!! I was persuaded to buy a piece a couple of years ago, and it was black. I was very wary, as I do NOT wear synthetic fabrics in this hot, sticky climate, but needed a black top to go with a specific skirt, so made it up. Lo and behold, it it just as wearable in summer as in winter! When the temps and humidity are both in the 90s! I looked for more a few weeks ago, and found the Mill Direct site, and they had it in several colors, so bookmarked it. Alas, I got sick, and wasn't sewing anything, so let it go. Looked for it again last week, and the only color they have left in silkweight is pale pink. Ordered enough for two tops (it should be here on Wednesday) but I would dearly love to find it in another half dozen colors.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans

Go back and look periodically, they cycle new stuff in and out regularly, although the "Spruce Green" 200 weight Polartec I bought two summers ago for a throw has never appeared again TTBOMK.

Thank you,I will do that. In the meantime, I went over to Hancock Fabrics today as I needed some more waistband elastic and some clear elastic. I noticed last time I was in that they had considerably upgraded the quality of their fabrics (unlike TSWLTH), and they had lots of my favorite summer woven fabric - rayon challis prints - and it was all half price. I now have fabric to make five lower garments; whether they will be loose pants, floor length culottes or long flowy skirts I have not yet decided, but they are all luscious. I also bought a couple of lengths of rayon/poly "linen look" for more conservative pants, but only one piece of knit for a matching top.

I take it the fabric from Mill Direct is actually mill ends? I have not yet found yardage available from any other source.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans

Yum! My favorite summer fabric is rayon and rayon-blends. Lucky you that you still have a Hancock's. Both the local ones here closed several years ago, I'd have to drive about

20 miles through the worst traffic bottlenecks in the area to the nearest one. :-(

I don't think so:

"Welcome to Mill Direct Textiles. We are a newly formed company made up entirely of former employees of the Malden Mills Retail Store. All of us are also former employees of the Mill and have a vast experience with the fabrics we are selling. We are eager to help you find the right fabrics for your needs. We work directly with Polartec LLC in Lawrence, Massachusetts and can, therefore, offer you the full family of Polartec® fabrics-known for their quality and as the most technically advanced outerwear products in the marketplace."

Why not contact them and ask:

Oh, poor you!! I am very spoiled, living as I do close to the heart of the city, so very few things are more than a couple of miles away; in fact, you can probably hear the outrage when I declare that Hancock's is out in the 'burbs! A whole 15 minutes away! (including a trip across the Mighty Mississippi). JoAnn's is also 15 minutes away, but in a different direction. Of course, I hop on the freeway for both of these, I have some friends who will not drive the freeway, insist on going the surface roads always, and I think they are just plain crazy. But then, I have never had the privilege of being unable to drive on freeways and bridges, particularly when the kids were growing up and had to be somewhere. It was always a case of "you have a car, get into it and get going."

Yes, I read all that on their website, which was why I could not understand why their stock varied so much.

I already e-mailed them, explaining that a piece as small as 1.125 yds would make me a top, but have not yet heard back. Of course, this is a holiday weekend, so it may take them a while to catch up.

BTW, rayon challis is also on sale on Hancock's website, but they do not seem to have nearly as many colors and patterns as there were in the store.

Olwyn Mary in new Orleans.

I think if a tornado is coming that you're supposed to get in the bathtub and haul a mattress over yourself. I don't know what you're supposed to do driving on the freeway in New Orleans but I'll take a tornado any day. Mercy! I love your city but there's probably nothing on earth that compares to the Great Chicken Bridge during rush hour. ( Rush hour is any time of day or night.) Polly

"Olwyn.Mary" Oh, poor you!! I am very spoiled, living as I do close to the heart of

Well, Mill End Store is 5 minutes away:

Fabric Depot about 15 minutes (except on Friday at rush hour): They are both local (not national chains) and huge. And there are three JoAnn's, one Super Center about 10 minutes away, and the closer one good for a thread or zipper run, about 4 minutes from here. So, not really poor me, although I would not object to a Hancock's. ;-)

There are times of day here when it's much faster to take surface roads then the freeways. Especially, as now, when they are doing major maintenance work on one of the inter-state bridges, and traffic can be backed up for 10 miles going north on I-205..

I imagine they do take advantage of overruns and mill ends, but I don't think that is there ONLY source.

A little more searching on their site did locate black PowerDry (Kay's recommendation):

However, I realize you probably do not want "full rolls". That would keep you in tops for several years. Maybe you could sell the excess on eBay? ;->

I order some fabrics online, but I much prefer to touch stuff. It can make such a difference, plus the color can be so dissimilar to what one sees on a computer monitor. I have ordered swatches occasionally, that's a big help.