Hosiery technology

Radko Kovar, Martina Syrovatkova KTT, Technical University of Liberec, Halkova 6, 461 17 Liberec, cz

Brief content:
1. Principles of hosiery technology 2. Production of stockings and tights (pantyhose) 3. Production of socks and knee socks 4. Single-cylinder machines 5. Double cylinder machines 6. Machines programming 7. Finalization of products 8. Structure and properties of products 9. Supplementary information

1. Principles of hosiery technology:

Content: 1.1. Classification of hosiery products 1.2. Standardization of hosiery products 1.3. Materials used in hosiery products 1.4. Welts 1.5. Shaping of heels and toes 1.6. Shaping of legs 1.7. Used knitted structures and designs 1.8. Closing of toes

1.1. Classification of hosiery products

The term Hosiery products is used for clothes, covering manly lower extremities (legs and foots) From the point of view of fabric fines there are:
Fine products, usually made of multifilament yarns on knitting machines with 24 40 needles per 25.4 mm (fine women stocking and tights) Course products, usually made of spun yarns on knitting machines with 5 24 needles per 25.4 mm (socks, knee socks, course pantyhose)

Machines used:
Majority of hosiery products is produced on small-diameter circular knitting machines

Machines used:
Another used technologies are mainly
Warp knitting Weft knitting on flat machines. Example:

From the point of view of product length there are:

Footlets (covers only toe, foot ant heel) Socks of different lengths Half hoses (reach under or above the knee) Stockings Tights (usually sewn from 2 longer stockings).

1.2. Standardization of hosiery products

 In Czech Republic next standards are relevant:
 CSN 804159: Elastic medical tights and compressive products  CSN 805801: Standard stockings, half-hoses, , classification  CSN 805802 EN 13770: Measuring of resistance of hosiery products in abrasion  CSN 805810: Fine stockings, half-hoses, socks and footlets  CSN 805841: Course tights, regulation and classification  CSN 800863: Measuring of weight of knitted products  CSN 800864: Measuring of dimensions and appearance of hosiery products

1.2. Standardization of hosiery products

Some chosen ISO standards:
ISO 5971:1981 Size designation of clothes pantyhose ISO 5971 (CSN 805044): Marking of sizes of hosiery tights ISO 7070 (CSN 805045): Marking of sizes of hosiery products ISO 8117:2003: Textile machinery - Knitting machines - Nominal diameters of circular machines

1.3. Materials used in hosiery products

All usual textile yarns could be used, produced both from staple and continuous fibers (spun yarns, monofilament, multifilament) Usually fine hosiery products prefers continuous fibers and course products staple spun yarns Yarn linear density needs to correspond with the machine gauge g, usually defined as number of knitting needles per 25.4 mm (one English inch) Roughly yarn diameter could be somewhere around l/5 of needle pitch (25.4/g) or lower

1.4. Welts
Quality welt should meet next demands:
To be fast (upper border ready for use) No or low curling Suitable stretchability

Double cylinder machines are able to produce very suitable rib (double-faced) structure Single cylinder machines are able to knit singlefaced structure only, tubular welt is often used

Mostly used types of welts:

a) Rib welt (1x1 rib structure) with fast border, great stretchability, often with elastic inlayed yarn. b) Tubular welt formed by transfer of kinks of the yarn in some of initial course again on knitting needles after knitting double welt height

1.5. Shaping of heels and toes

Heels and toes could be knitted as:
 Reciprocated, knitted on reverse movement of the needle bed and creating 3-D pouch on about one half of the product. Rotation producing only tubular fabric.

Examples of heels
Reciprocated
a) 3-D pouch on about one half of the product. b) Part above the pouch could be reinforced.

Rotation
c) Producing only tubular fabric with inserted additional courses on about one half of the perimeter d) Only reinforced and shaped by thermal setting later.

Examples of toes
 Reciprocated
a) Knitted in the same way as reciprocated heel but sawn together later. b) Similar toe with inserted a group of rotation courses.

 Rotation
c) Only reinforced tubular part is finalized by sewing. The seem may be led from left to right side or from above down.

1.6. Shaping of legs

The number of needle in circular needle bed is done. This fact limits changes of product diameter. Basic and generally used possibility is change of stitches length. The change of the yarn consumption is connected with the change of wales and courses density and so as well with fabric diameter.

1.7. Used knitted structures and designs

Mostly used single-faced structures (from single bed machines):
Plane structures Plated structures Plush structures Laid-in structures All in different modifications

1.7. Used knitted structures and designs

Mostly used double-faced structures (from double bed machines):
Plane double-faced structures Rib structures Purl structures etc. in different modifications and designs

Heels, foots and toes are knitted in plane singlefaced structure. The reason is relatively flat surface and low thickness and so better comfort of user.

1.8. Closing of toes

Product of circular machine is ended by tubular open part and before usage the toe need to be closed. Next two possibilities are important:
Closing the toes by sewing on product finalization Closing the toes when knitting on circular machine. There are several used principles (see chapters 2, 3, 7)