AN APPROACH TO THE ‘proKNIT’ SYSTEM AND ITS VALUE IN THE PRODUCTION OF WEFT-KNITTED FABRICS

Abstract

‘ProKNIT’ is the result of a project based on the consideration that knitted fabrics shrink in both directions, or that some of them shrink in one direction but expand in another. This shrinkage and extension is not proportional; it varies greatly depending on the type of knitted fabric. However, one value that always changes by increasing upon fabric shrinkage is the fabric’s weight. Increases in weight from shrinkage will not only increase the cost of production but may also affect the final product in a number of ways. Therefore, a program that would help to avoid problems of this nature could be created which would predict the weight of the knitted fabrics in different relaxed conditions, by using appropriate variables such as knitting machine gauge, yarn count, type of fabric, fabric loop length, tightness factor and courses & wales per unit length, but would not be too difficult to operate. This is how ‘proKNIT’ came about. The first part of the word ‘pro’ derives from the Greek meaning ‘before’; therefore, the name of the system appropriately refers to the estimations made before a knitting fabric is produced.