Basic

knitted fabric Knitted fabric is a textile that results from knitting, the process of inter-looping of yarns or inter-meshing of loops. Its properties are distinct from woven fabric in that it is more flexible and can be more readily constructed into smaller ...

s include stocking stitch, reverse stocking stitch, garter stitch, seed stitch, faggoting, and tricot. In some cases, these fabrics appear differently on the right side (as seen when making the stitch) than on the wrong side (as seen from the other side, when the work is turned).

Stockinette/stocking stitch and reverse stockinette stitch

Stocking stitch (in US, stockinette stitch) is the most basic knitted fabric; every stitch (as seen from the right side) is a knit stitch. This fabric has also been referred to as Knit or Knitted, Front, Smooth, Jersey, Plain, Vertical and Plain Sweater Fabric. In the round, stocking stitch is produced by knitting every stitch; by contrast, in the flat, stocking stitch is produced by knitting and purling alternate rows. Variations on this fabric can be made by twisting stitches (knitting or purling through the back of each loop on the needle instead of the front) on one or both sides; Barbara Walker calls these "crossed" (only knitted stitches twisted) and "twisted" (knits and purl twisted) Stockinette. Stocking-stitch fabric is very smooth and each column ("wale") resembles a stacked set of "V"'s. It has a strong tendency to curl horizontally and vertically because of the

asymmetry Asymmetry is the absence of, or a violation of, symmetry (the property of an object being invariant to a transformation, such as reflection). Symmetry is an important property of both physical and abstract systems and it may be displayed in pre ...

of its faces. Reverse stocking stitch (also called Reverse Stockinette, Rough Fabric, Wrong Fabric) is produced in the same way as stocking, except that the purl stitches are done on the right side and the knit stitches on the wrong side. In the round, reverse stocking stitch is produced by purling every stitch. File:Stockinette example front.JPG, Stockinette stitch front File:Stockinette example back.JPG, Back of stockinette stitch, also same appearance as reverse stockinette stitch

Garter stitch

Garter stitch is the most basic form of welting (as seen from the right side). In the round, garter stitch is produced by knitting and purling alternate rounds. By contrast, in the flat, garter stitch is produced by knitting every stitch (or purling every stitch, though this is much less common, and often referred to as 'reverse garter stitch'). In garter-stitch fabrics, the "purl" rows stand out from the "knit" rows ( a similar effect is used in shadow knitting). Together, they form little horizontal ridges. Garter-stitch fabric has significant lengthwise elasticity and little tendency to curl, due to the

symmetry Symmetry () in everyday life refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, the term has a more precise definition and is usually used to refer to an object that is Invariant (mathematics), invariant und ...

of its faces.

Seed/moss stitch

Seed stitch is the most basic form of a basketweave pattern; knit and purl stitches alternate in every column ("wale") ''and'' every row ("course"). In other words, every knit stitch is flanked on all four sides (left and right, top and bottom) by purl stitches, and vice versa. Moss stitch (also called Irish/American moss stitch) is created by alternating between knit and purl stitches across every row as well. Here, however, there are always two knit stitches stacked upon each other in every column and they are flanked by two purl stitches on all four sides. Seed/moss-stitch fabrics lie flat; the symmetry of their two faces prevents them from curling to one side or the other. Hence, it makes an excellent choice for edging, e.g., the central edges of a cardigan. However, seed stitch is "nubbly", not nearly as smooth as stockinette/stocking stitch.

Faggoting

Faggoting is a variation of lace knitting, in which every stitch is a yarn over or a decrease. There are several types of faggoting, but all are an extremely open

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

similar to

netting In law, set-off or netting is a legal technique applied between persons or businesses with mutual rights and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities, replacing gross positions with net positions. It permits the rights to be used to discharg ...

. Like most lace fabrics, faggoting has little structural strength and deforms easily, so it has little tendency to curl despite being asymmetrical. Faggoting is stretchy and open, and most faggoting stitches look the same on both sides, making them ideal for garments like lacy scarves or stockings.

Tricot knitting

Tricot is a special case of warp knitting, in which the yarn zigzags vertically, following a single ''column'' ("wale") of knitting, rather than a single ''row'' ("course"), as is customary. Tricot and its relatives are very resistant to runs, and are commonly used in

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...

Other basic fabrics

Other classes of basic knitted fabrics include ribbing, welting, and cables. Ribbing after blocking by WordRidden

References

* June Hemmons Hiatt (1988) ''The Principles of Knitting'', Simon and Schuster, pp. 18–20. . * {{knitting Knitting stitches