Consumers are often quick to point out the difference in quality, craftsmanship, sizing and style between handcrafted knits and those found in department stores. While many prefer handcrafted knits for their originality, as well as the care and attention they know the knitters have put into each piece, others prefer the consistency in sizing and attention to fashion trends that seems to come with store-bought knits. In reality, the difference between the two styles of knitted items comes mostly from the way they are made. Most of the knitted products available for purchase in department stores originally came from a knitting factory, which utilizes industrial knitting machines, while handcrafted knits typically involve knitting needles and the occasional crochet hook for finishing.

Historically, a knitting factory consisted of industrial knitting machines that were operated by people, although that has changed somewhat. In most modern factories, computers operate the industrial machines and are “fed” knitting patterns. The knitting pattern is the set of instructions that tells the machine when, where and how to manipulate the yarn. This creates authentic knit stitches that are joined to create a knit product, much the same way a knitter joins individual stitches with knitting needles. Many factories have multiple machines, which are divided into groups that handle the various types of yarn, allowing one knitting room to produce several different knitted fabrics at one time. Because the machines are in constant production, they require regular maintenance and repair of moving parts to keep the knitting process running smoothly and consistently.

In addition to repair, maintenance and basic programming of machines, human employees serve a vital role in the knitting factory. Knitting machines do not produce knit shirts, bags or any other type of knitted product. Instead, they produce rows of knitted fabric. Employees must take these rows of knit fabric to a laundry area, where they are washed and dried to ensure that products made from the fabric can be laundered without shrinking or damage.

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 30th, 2008 at 5:53 pm and is filed under Arts, Crafts & Hobbies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.