Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile or fabric; it is used in many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine.
Combined knitting or combination knitting is a style that combines elements of Eastern-style knitting with the Western techniques. The name was suggested by Mary Thomas in her 1938 book "Mary Thomas's Knitting Book", where she described the technique as "..the better way to work in Flat Knitting. The resulting fabric is more even and closer in construction." By wrapping the yarn the opposite way while purling, the knitter changes the orientation of the resulting loops; then the next row's knit stitches can be formed by inserting the needle through the back leg, rather than through the front leg, without twisting the stitch. This technique is suitable for all knitted fabrics from the basic Stockinette stitch, to any other style, such as Fair Isle, circular knitting, or lace knitting.
Entrelac is a knitting technique used to create a textured diamond pattern. While the result resembles basket-woven strips of knitted fabric, the actual material comprises interconnected squares on two different orientations.
Lace knitting is a style of knitting characterized by stable "holes" in the fabric arranged with consideration of aesthetic value. Lace is sometimes considered the pinnacle of knitting, because of its complexity and because woven fabrics cannot easily be made to have holes. Famous examples include the wedding ring shawl of Shetland knitting, a shawl so fine that it could be drawn through a wedding ring. Shetland knitted lace became extremely popular in Victorian England when Queen Victoria became a Shetland lace enthusiast. Her enthusiasm resulted i.a. in her choosing knitted lacework for presents; e.g. when in ca. 1897 the Queen gave a lace shawl as a present to American abolitionist Harriet Tubman. From there, knitting patterns for the shawls were printed in English women's magazines where they were copied in Iceland with single ply wool.
Cable knitting is a style of knitting in which textures of crossing layers are achieved by permuting stitches. For example, given four stitches appearing on the needle in the order ABCD, one might cross the first two the next two, so that in subsequent rows those stitches appear in the new order CDAB.
Slip-stitch knitting is a family of knitting techniques that use slip stitches to make multiple fabrics simultaneously, to make extra-long stitches, and/or to carry over colors from an earlier row.
In knitting, an increase is the creation of one or more new stitches, which may be done by various methods that create distinctive effects in the fabric.
Drop-stitch knitting is a knitting technique for producing open, vertical stripes in a garment. The basic idea is to knit a solid fabric, then (deliberately) drop one or more stitches, producing a run in the fabric. The run will continue to the bottom edge of the garment, or until it encounters an increase, at which it stops.
Knitting abbreviations are often used for brevity in describing knitting patterns.
In knitting, welting is the horizontal analog of ribbing; that is, one or more horizontal rows of knit stitches alternating with one or more rows of purl stitches.
In knitting, a yarn over is technique in which the yarn is passed over the right-hand knitting needle. In general, the new loop is knitted on the next row, either by itself or together with an adjacent stitch. The yarn-over may also be dropped on the next row, producing a longer stretch of yarn between the stitches of the previous row. Conversely, the effect of a yarn-over can be obtained by picking up the yarn between stitches of the previous row; the difference is that the yarn then is shorter, and the flanking stitches of the previous row may be overly drawn together.
In knitting, weaving is a family of techniques used for several purposes in knitting.
In knitting, a short row is a row that is not fully knitted; the work is turned before reaching the end of the row. When working short rows, technique must be employed to prevent holes or gaps where the work is turned. There are several ways to do this. Among the most common are (1) Wrap and Turn, (2) German short rows and (3) Japanese short rows.
Basic knitted fabrics include stockinette stitch, reverse stockinette stitch, garter stitch, seed stitch, faggoting, and tricot. In some cases, these fabrics appear differently on the right side than on the wrong side.
Warp knitting is a family of knitting methods in which the yarn zigzags along the length of the fabric; i.e., following adjacent columns, or wales, of knitting, rather than a single row, or course. For comparison, knitting across the width of the fabric is called weft knitting.
Double knitting is a form of hand knitting in which two fabrics are knitted simultaneously on one pair of needles. The fabrics may be inseparable, as in interlock knitted fabrics, or they can simply be two unconnected fabrics. In principle, an arbitrary number of fabrics can be knitted simultaneously on one pair of knitting needles with yarns, as long as one is careful.
Knitted fabric is a textile that results from knitting. Its properties are distinct from woven fabric in that it is more flexible and can be more readily constructed into smaller pieces, making it ideal for socks and hats.
A selvage or selvedge is a "self-finished" edge of fabric, keeping it from unraveling and fraying. The term "self-finished" means that the edge does not require additional finishing work, such as hem or bias tape, to prevent fraying.
Illusion knitting or shadow knitting is a form of textile art, in which the knitting is viewed as simply narrow stripes from one angle, and as an image when viewed from another angle. Illusion knitting has been recognised as an art form since 2010, largely due to the advances made by Steve Plummer who has created several large and detailed pieces. Similar effects occur in Tunisian crochet.
