Knitwear

A guide to men's wardrobe fabrics Inside Noé Lédée’s Suitcase Semi-traditional manufacturing Repairing your clothes Silk: a guide to care

Knitwear

Everything you need to know about knitwear to better choose the essential pieces for your wardrobe.

Fabrics

Knitwear - Mens suits and clothes De Fursac

Wool

An animal-based fiber, wool comes from the fleece of sheep. The key quality criterion is the fineness of the fibers, expressed in microns (which corresponds to the diameter of the fiber). This can range from 10 to 50 microns depending on its origin.

In addition to its soft feel, wool is wrinkle-resistant, offers excellent insulation, and quickly absorbs and releases moisture.

Highly elastic, it is considered one of the most stretchable natural fibers. Its surface is covered with scales, which are responsible for felting and pilling when subjected to friction.

Merino wool and mohair

Merino wool is a very fine wool with a diameter between 10 and 20 microns. It comes from the Merino sheep, which is mainly raised in Australia, but also in New Zealand, Argentina, South Africa, Uruguay, and the western United States. Its small diameter makes it a soft and silky material. There are several categories of Merino wool: ultrafine, superfine, fine, medium fine, medium, and coarse. It is also insulating and helps regulate body temperature while absorbing moisture. It doesn’t retain odors and has antibacterial properties.

Mohair, whether knitted or woven, is a rather dry fiber to the touch. At Fursac, we favor blends of Merino wool and mohair to make the fabric softer and more supple. Mohair fibers are thicker than Merino wool fibers, which makes them more durable and wrinkle-resistant.

Cashmere and alpaca

Cashmere is an animal-based fiber, sourced from the hair of the Angora goat from China and Tibet. Its diameter ranges from 7 to 19 microns depending on its quality, making it a fine and very soft material. It retains heat well and is extremely comfortable. It also absorbs and releases moisture very quickly. However, it is quite delicate and tends to pill easily.

Alpaca is also an animal-based fiber, obtained from the hair of a species closely related to the llama. Its appearance lends itself to creating bold, stylish pieces.

Cotton and mercerized cotton

Cotton is a plant-based fiber that surrounds the seed of the cotton plant’s fruit. The quality of the fiber depends mainly on its length (the longer the fibers, the finer they are, and the better the characteristics of the resulting yarn). Cotton has a soft and pleasant feel, is lightweight and durable, and easy to care for. It is breathable, making it suitable to wear all year round. It also absorbs and releases moisture very quickly. However, it tends to wrinkle easily.

Mercerization is a treatment applied to cotton, where the yarn is soaked under tension in caustic soda. This process causes the fiber to swell, its cross-section becomes round, and the outer layer breaks. The result is a shinier appearance and a stronger fiber.

Nylon (or polyamide) and polyester

Nylon is a synthetic fiber chemically produced from petroleum derivatives. It has the advantage of being durable, easy to care for, and wrinkle-resistant. Its ability to retain heat is low. It has good elasticity and feels relatively soft.

Polyester is a synthetic fiber resulting from the condensation of two petroleum-based components. It is highly resistant and durable, with excellent elasticity. It is wrinkle-free, but like nylon, its ability to retain heat is low.

Types of knit

Knitting involves forming a series of yarn loops called stitches to create a fabric known as knitwear. There are many variations of knitting, from which the basic principles of knitting are derived.

1. Interlock : This knit is made of two rows of stitches, one behind the other, giving the impression of a double thickness. It is in fact two 1x1 ribs interlocked together: the back and front sides are therefore identical.

2. Jersey : This is the basic knit, produced on a machine with a single needle bed. On the right side of jersey knit, the stitches form V-shapes interlocked with one another. On the wrong side, the stitches look like overlapping bridges. It is named after the island of Jersey, where it has been produced since the 16th century. It is made by knitting one row of knit stitches, then one row of purl stitches.

3. Milano : This is an interlock-based knit with two rows of stitches, one behind the other, giving it a double-layered effect; hence its name "double face". One row is jersey, alternated with a row of 1x1 rib. This knit offers good elasticity and excellent stability.

4. Ribs : Rib knit (called "ribs" in English) is a double-faced jersey with distinct vertical columns on both sides. It can be made of a variable number of knit and purl stitches. For example, a 1x1 rib consists of one knit stitch and one purl stitch, a 2x2 rib consists of two knit stitches and two purl stitches, and so on.

5. Cables : Cables are made by crossing stitches or groups of stitches over other stitches or groups of stitches, creating interwoven effects.

6. Seed stitch : Seed stitch consists of knitting one stitch, then purling the next, alternating consistently. Visually, seed stitch creates small bumps that look the same on both sides.

7. Basketweave stitch : Basketweave stitch is named after the pattern that resembles a wicker basket, giving it a woven appearance.

8. English ribs (cardigan ribs) : This is a knit where the front and back show spaced-out ribbing. It is formed with two rows of stitches: when one row knits 1x1 ribs, the other does not, and vice versa.

9. Garter stitch : It has the appearance of the wrong side of jersey stitch: small overlapping bridges. It is made by knitting only knit stitches.

10. Half cardigan ribs : This is a modified form of English ribs, where the front looks like small pearls and the back resembles English ribs.

11. Honeycomb stitch : This knit has a textured appearance with cells that resemble the structure of a honeycomb.

12. Cotton piqué : The knit appears "piqued" on the front side with small, regularly spaced raised details. This stitch can be used, for example, to break the monotony of a jersey sweater. It is commonly seen on polo shirts.

13. Jacquard : Jacquard knitting is a technique used to create colored patterns. Different colored yarns are used, which are sometimes knitted and sometimes carried along the back of the fabric as floating yarns. The needles that form the fabric face are selected to knit or to skip. Each row works with only one color at a time. Rib jacquard (also called double jacquard) solves the issue of floating yarns. Since there are two rows of knitted yarns, the yarns not meant to appear on the front are knitted on the back.

14. Fair Isle : Fair Isle is a jacquard knitting pattern using many colors, knitted in horizontal bands. The juxtaposition of bands with different patterns creates the uniqueness of each sweater. It originated in the early 19th century on the island of Fair Isle, in the Shetland archipelago, north of Scotland. Fair Isle sweaters were originally hand-knitted with wool from Shetland sheep. Each family of farmers or sailors traditionally knitted sweaters with their own arrangement of bands. Fair Isle gained widespread popularity when the Prince of Wales, Edward VIII, wore it publicly in 1921. Quickly, Fair Isle sweaters became iconic in English fashion and spread beyond the Channel.

15. Argyle : The argyle pattern is believed to have originated in Scotland, specifically in the county of Argyll, where the Campbell clan wore this design on their tartans. It is made with overlapping diamonds in various colors, crossed with diagonal lines. It was popularized in the 20th century by the Scottish brand Pringle of Scotland. In the early 1920s, it was adopted by golfers, especially Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor. Today, it remains a popular and timeless pattern for sweaters.

16. Intarsia : Derived from the Italian word intarsio, meaning "inlay", this is another technique for creating knitted patterns. Unlike jacquard, intarsia does not leave inactive yarns at the back but switches yarns at each color change in the pattern. This results in a lighter knit, with the same pattern on both the front and back. It is often used for creating large motifs.

17. Jersey "French terry" : Part of the terry fabric family, it typically has a looped texture on one side and a smooth texture on the other. Absorbent, soft, and comfortable to the touch, it is ideal for sportswear.

18. Jersey fleece : This knit typically has a fleece texture on the reverse side and a smooth finish on the front. Warmer than French terry but less absorbent, fleece jersey is soft and comfortable, making it ideal for sportswear. Technically, three yarns are used to form a single row of stitches. The reverse side contains yarns in long loops which, once brushed, create a fluffy appearance.

19. Flatlock : The flatlock seam, also called flat seam, is a decorative seam that allows jersey knits to be joined edge to edge. It uses three threads, making the assembly more durable.