No matter what you wear, there is always one piece that is stretchy. Not only underwear, more and more outerwear is elastic, too. Stretch jackets, trousers, shirts, and blouses are seen quite often. Stretch cardigans, T-shirts, and leggings are standard garments completing the wardrobe. Knitted fabrics and fabrics containing elastane are the basis of modern collections and very popular, and not only because of their wearability. And stretch fabrics and knitwear require elastic seams when it has to be a quality garment.

Whether knitwear or stretch fabrics - for a perfect sewability and a better understanding of the appropriate sewing conditions, it is helpful to have a quick look at the material.

Knitwear

Knitwear is the generic term for all crocheted and knitted fabrics. Knitwear is described as a textile, where one thread loop is interlocked with another loop. The stitch is the smallest unit in a knitted fabric, and it consists of a head, two shanks, and two feet. Stitches are elastic and don't fill their space entirely.

Neighboring stitches are called a course, and stitches on top of each other are called a wale.

Stitch forming techniques can be classified in cross-thread techniques for knitted fabrics and weft-knitted fabrics, and warp-thread techniques for chain-stitch fabrics.

Knitted fabrics are made of stitches, which are formed from a loop of thread, which is held in position by other loops of thread. A distinction is made between right and left stitches, which are also characteristic for the stitch patterns on the right or left side of the fabric.

Read Full Report

Specialist for sewing and embroidery threads

For more than 150 years, AMANN has been setting trends and designed the future of sewing and embroidery threads with its path-breaking product developments. Whether in the world of fashion or for leatherware, for the broad range of technical applications, from work safety to filter and clean-room technology and to the automotive industry.