HAND KNITTING NEEDLES TO COMMERCIAL FASHION NEEDLES JOURNEY
Knitting industry started with home based knitting work with one or two needles making beautiful garments like socks, shirt, sweater, shoes etc for kids and other members in the family. In the traditional set up; every girl was ex- pected to know knitting in her early years of life. Knitting was considered to be auspicious in Indian Culture. Still home knitting is popular as a hobby and helped women in cooler climates stay warm. But the percentage in the economic con- tribution in knitting segment may be negligible.
Commercial knitting industry started with the industrial revolution. It has developed with advance technology and innovations. Circular knitting, flat knitting technology, from yarn to garment technology has been revolutionary. Knitting industry contributing 50 % of share in world total garment market, India’s contribution to world knitting (knitted gar- ment) market is approximately 53 %. The hub of Indian knit- ting industry clusters like Tirupur, Ludhiana etc, are making major contribution in the export market. Knitted garments were traditionally made by only woollen and cotton yarns, then acrylic yarns; now all synthetic fibres along with span- dex / stretch fibers are high in demand.
Woven and knitted, what do the consumer choose?
Well, it depends on their comfort, and personal choice. Sports- wear, gym wear, night wear, loungewear, inner wear are ma- jorly made using Knitting technology ie, wherever comfort is priority, knitting is the choice, as knitted garments have a versatile construction, which can be stretched at any angle contributing to the dimensional stability and comfort to the wearer. Health awareness and Covid 19 pandemic lockdown during 2020, has given a boost to this industry.
Due to the versatility in fibres, yarns, design, construction, and application; there is scope for research and development that is needed and can be further explored by industry. Wo- vens are swiftly replacing knitting in corporate men’s, wom- en’s wear, uniforms, technical textiles and many more. Will the apparel industry explore this segment and increase our share in world export market.
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