What’s the difference between knit and woven fabric?
This post was originally posted on the self-made wardrobe project’s old blog, but I thought you might find it interesting.
What’s the difference between
knit fabric and woven fabric?
Knitted fabrics (knits) are made by being knit.
Woven fabrics (wovens) are made by being woven.
(I’ve always assumed that’s where the names all came from, but I’m not sure which came first.)
Both are creating using yarn (fluffy, soft string) or thread (thinner/finer than yarn). In fact most fabrics are created using either yarn or thread.
Knitting is where you take a single length of yarn, and use it to create a row of loops, and then another row of loops on top of that, etc.
The loops are called stitches (not to be confused with a stitch in sewing), and you knit using needles. The needles are used to hold and manipulate the stitches (loops). How you manipulate those stitches determines what pattern your finished fabric has.
Weaving is done using a loom and multiple pieces of yarn or thread. You have parallel lines of yarn going vertically along your fabric, this is called your warp. Then you have yarn that moves horizontally across your fabric (right to left) over and under the warp (the threads moving vertically along your fabric). This yarn moving horizontally over and under your warp, is called your weft, and it “weaves” in and out of your warp. How the weft weaves over and under the warp determines the pattern of the finished fabric.
What does that mean about the finished fabric?
A couple things.
Knits are generally stretchier than wovens. Since knitted fabric is comprised of loops stacked on top of loops, this loops can expand, and then contract again. Woven fabric is based on a grid (remember that it has threads that go up and down as well as left and right.) That makes wovens much more “stable” and less stretchy, than knits.
Because knits are stretchy, they also knits move with your body more than wovens do. This is why knits are used in athletic wear, and most casual clothing.
But because knits are used in athletic wear and because they drape more and move more, knits are more casual than wovens. So, most put-together/office/”grown up” clothing is usually made of woven fabric (of course sweaters are the exception, along with some blouses.)
The stability of wovens also means you’re able to tailor them, which makes them better than knits for sharper, more tailored garments (think suits & jackets.)
So to recap…
Knits: made of loops of yarn/thread
Wovens: are made of a grid of yarn/thread
Knits: have stitches
Wovens: have a warp & a weft
Knits: less stable
Wovens: more stable
Knits: more stretchy
Wovens: less stretchy
Knits: more casual
Wovens: more formal
That’s the very basics of knitted fabric and woven fabric.
Of course, you can go deeper there are exceptions & caveats & more layers to explore, but these are the basics between the fabrics.
I love them both, because they’re both good for very different things.
But I’d love to know,
Do you have a preference? Knits or Wovens?
Three and a Half Things to Remember About Frogging
1. it sucks.
2. we all do it.
3. a stitch in time, and all that jazz.
3 1/2. ribbit. ribbit.
Ripping out your knitting is never fun.
It can sometimes feel freeing, but that doesn’t make it fun.
And most of the time watching all those stitches disappear just sucks.
(It stings less with experience, but I don’t think it ever totally stops sucking.)
It happens to everyone.
Sooner or later you’ll need to rip out a chunk of a project
Alternatively, you could completely detached yourself from the finished object.
(Frogging is generally easier than detaching. But then again, sometimes it’s not.)
A stitch in time. Rip off the band aid. Bite the bullet. Etc.
If you have that niggling feeling you need to rip out, just do it.
Frogging one inch of knitting is a lot less painful than frogging six inches.
(If you’re unsure, don’t frog. But stop knitting now, and check again tomorrow.)
And the half.
I can’t say frogging without mentally adding a deadpan “ribbit. ribbit.”
It always makes me giggle.
(ribbit. ribbit.)
I’m looking for yarn storage ideas. How do you store yarn?
So, part of dealing with bedbugs is having to wash/dry all your clothes & linens (and in my case yarn, fabric, and fiber) on hot, before sealing them all away in plastic bags.
The heat kills any bugs that might be living in the fabrics, and once they’re washed you seal them away so they can’t get reinfected before the apartment is treated.
In the endless cleaning and packing, I’ve realized a couple things,
: You can fit an amazing amount of crap in an apartment.
: I have a lot of shoes. And shoes are very hard to pack.
: This whole thing is a giant pain in the ass.
: And it gives me the chance to reorganize my yarn & fabric.
All my yarn and fabric used to live in bins under my bed, but that wasn’t very accessible. Plus now the idea of storing things under my bed creeps me out a bit.
Of course since this is an apartment, with somewhat limited storage, I just might end up going back to bins under the bed, with everything individually ziplocked.
But I wanted to ask, how do you store your yarn?
Maybe you have a system I can draw some much needed inspiration from.
So, how do you store your yarn?
Leave a comment and let me know!
