Hosiery technology

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Hosiery technology

• Radko Kovar, Martina Syrovatkova
• KTT,
• Technical University of Liberec,
• Halkova 6, 461 17 Liberec, cz

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Brief content

• 1. Principles of hosiery technology
• 2. Production of stockings and tights (pantyhose)
• 3. Production of socks and knee socks
• 4. Single-cylinder machines
• 5. Double cylinder machines
• 6. Machines programming
• 7. Finalization of products
• 8. Structure and properties of products
• 9. Supplementary information

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1. Principles of hosiery technology

• Content
• 1.1. Classification of hosiery products
• 1.2. Standardization of hosiery products
• 1.3. Materials used in hosiery products
• 1.4. Welts
• 1.5. Shaping of heels and toes
• 1.6. Shaping of legs
• 1.7. Used knitted structures and designs
• 1.8. Closing of toes

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1.1. Classification of hosiery products

• The term Hosiery products is used for clothes,
  covering manly lower extremities (legs and foots)
• From the point of view of fabric fines there
  are
• Fine products, usually made of multifilament
  yarns on knitting machines with 24 40 needles
  per 25.4 mm (fine women stocking and tights)
• Course products, usually made of spun yarns on
  knitting machines with 5 24 needles per 25.4 mm
  (socks, knee socks, course pantyhose)

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Machines used

• Majority of hosiery products is produced on
  small-diameter circular knitting machines

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Machines used

• Another used technologies are mainly
• Warp knitting
• Weft knitting on flat machines. Example

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• From the point of view of product length there
  are
• Footlets (covers only toe, foot ant heel)
• Socks of different lengths
• Half hoses (reach under or above the knee)
• Stockings
• Tights (usually sewn from 2 longer stockings).

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1.2. Standardization of hosiery products

• In Czech Republic next standards are relevant
• CSN 804159 Elastic medical tights and
  compressive products
• CSN 805801 Standard stockings, half-hoses, ,
  classification
• CSN 805802 EN 13770 Measuring of resistance of
  hosiery products in abrasion
• CSN 805810 Fine stockings, half-hoses, socks and
  footlets
• CSN 805841 Course tights, regulation and
  classification
• CSN 800863 Measuring of weight of knitted
  products
• CSN 800864 Measuring of dimensions and
  appearance of hosiery products

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1.2. Standardization of hosiery products

• Some chosen ISO standards
• ISO 59711981 Size designation of clothes
  pantyhose
• ISO 5971 (CSN 805044) Marking of sizes of
  hosiery tights
• ISO 7070 (CSN 805045) Marking of sizes of
  hosiery products
• ISO 81172003 Textile machinery - Knitting
  machines - Nominal diameters of circular machines

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1.3. Materials used in hosiery products

• All usual textile yarns could be used, produced
  both from staple and continuous fibers (spun
  yarns, monofilament, multifilament)
• Usually fine hosiery products prefers continuous
  fibers and course products staple spun yarns
• Yarn linear density needs to correspond with the
  machine gauge g, usually defined as number of
  knitting needles per 25.4 mm (one English inch)
• Roughly yarn diameter could be somewhere around
  l/5 of needle pitch (25.4/g) or lower

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1.4. Welts

• Quality welt should meet next demands
• To be fast (upper border ready for use)
• No or low curling
• Suitable stretchability
• Double cylinder machines are able to produce very
  suitable rib (double-faced) structure
• Single cylinder machines are able to knit
  single-faced structure only, tubular welt is
  often used

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Mostly used types of welts

• a) Rib welt (1x1 rib structure) with fast border,
  great stretchability, often with elastic inlayed
  yarn.
• b) Tubular welt formed by transfer of kinks of
  the yarn in some of initial course again on
  knitting needles after knitting double welt height

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1.5. Shaping of heels and toes

• Heels and toes could be knitted as
• Reciprocated, knitted on reverse movement of the
  needle bed and creating 3-D pouch on about one
  half of the product.
• Rotation producing only tubular fabric.

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Examples of heels

• Reciprocated
• a) 3-D pouch on about one half of the product.
• b) Part above the pouch could be reinforced.
• Rotation
• c) Producing only tubular fabric with inserted
  additional courses on about one half of the
  perimeter
• d) Only reinforced and shaped by thermal setting
  later.

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Examples of toes

• Reciprocated
• a) Knitted in the same way as reciprocated heel
  but sawn together later.
• b) Similar toe with inserted a group of rotation
  courses.
• Rotation
• c) Only reinforced tubular part is finalized by
  sewing. The seem may be led from left to right
  side or from above down.

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1.6. Shaping of legs

• The number of needle in circular needle bed is
  done. This fact limits changes of product
  diameter. Basic and generally used possibility is
  change of stitches length.
• The change of the yarn consumption is connected
  with the change of wales and courses density and
  so as well with fabric diameter.

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1.7. Used knitted structures and designs

• Mostly used single-faced structures (from single
  bed machines)
• Plane structures
• Plated structures
• Plush structures
• Laid-in structures
• All in different modifications

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1.7. Used knitted structures and designs

• Mostly used double-faced structures (from double
  bed machines)
• Plane double-faced structures
• Rib structures
• Purl structures etc. in different modifications
  and designs
• Heels, foots and toes are knitted in plane
  single-faced structure. The reason is relatively
  flat surface and low thickness and so better
  comfort of user.

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1.8. Closing of toes

• Product of circular machine is ended by tubular
  open part and before usage the toe need to be
  closed. Next two possibilities are important
• Closing the toes by sewing on product
  finalization
• Closing the toes when knitting on circular
  machine. There are several used principles (see
  chapters 2, 3, 7)