Production methods of Textiles

Different textiles are produced in different ways. Some of the most common production methods are:

• Braiding / Plaiting
• Crochet, usually by hand
• Felt - fibers are matted together to produce a cloth
• Knitting - by hands or by knitting machines
• Knotting, including macrame - used in making nets
• Lace: hand made or machine made
• Pile fabrics - carpets and some rugs: Velvet, velveteen, plush fabrics and similar have a secondary set of yarns which provide a pile
• Weaving- the cloth is prepared on a loom, of which there are a number of types. Some weaving is still done by hand, but the vast majority is mechanised

Knitting is one of several ways to turn thread or yarn into cloth.

Unlike woven fabric, knitted fabric consists entirely of horizontal parallel courses of yarn. The courses are joined to each other by interlocking loops in which a short loop of one course of yarn is wrapped over the knot of another course.

Knitting can be done either by hand or by machine. In practice, hand knitting is usually begun by forming a base series of twisted loops of yarn on a knitting needle. A second knitting needle is then used to reach through each loop (or stitch) in succession in order to snag a knot of yarn and pull a length back through the loop. This forms a new stitch. Work can proceed in the round (circular knitting) or by going back and forth in rows.

Knitting can also be done by machines, which use a different mechanical system to produce nearly identical results. Originally a male-only occupation, the first knitting trade guild was started in Paris in 1527. Knitting became a household occupation with the growing popularity of knitted stockings and by the end of the 1600s, one to two million pairs of stockings were exported from Britain to other parts of Europe.