Knitting Machine
From KnitWiki
A machine for textile and garment production.
Knitting machines may be broken down by a variety of variables:
Type of knitting:
- [[#Flatbed weft knitting|]]
- [[#Circular weft knitting|]]
- Warp knitting
Type of needle used:
- spring needle
- latch needle
How the machine is powered:
- hand powered
- motor driven
- mill powered
Although knitting machines may be industrial or domestic, Knit Wiki primarily focuses the domestic craft of knitting so this article only addresses domestic equipment.
Contents |
[edit] Machines vs tools
Knitting machines are not the only method of creating knit fabrics without traditional hand-knitting techniques. There are a variety of tools which have no moving parts which have been used in the history of knitting, with varied names such as knitting looms and knitting spools.
In contrast, knitting machines have many moving parts, and have been powered by everything from humans and horses to electric motors.
[edit] History
The first knitting machine was invented in 1589 by William Lee. Although initially invented in the United Kingdom near Nottingham, the Reverend Lee was unable to secure a patent royal and so moved his framework knitting machines to France, but was ultimately unable to successfully develop the industry and his business collapsed. His workers and machines returned to England and helped spark a revolution in the textile industries there.
In 1663 the London Company of Framework Knitters was chartered producing stockings primarily in silk, but by the late 1700s demand was rising for cheaper cotton, frame became too expensive for operators to purchase and were primarily leased by the wealthy to the workers, and producers were finding themselves short of thread and yarn building market pressures that led to powered spinning machines and the industrial revolution. (The power loom was not invented until 1785.)
