The concept of seamless clothing
Seamless garments are equivalent to knitted garments, which are relaxed and comfortable, free to move, soft and close to the body and have no sense of restraint. They occupy 2/3 of the daily clothing consumption. Traditional knitting technology requires stitching of seamless garment pieces, and the thickness of stitching and seam marks will affect the comfort and aesthetics of seamless garments, especially tight-fitting and corset seamless garments. In order to solve the discomfort and destructive appearance of the stitching process for tight and corset seamless garments (mainly underwear at the time), the seamless knitting process came into being.
Seamless knitting, also known as "three-dimensional one-time forming knitting technology", its production process is based on the human body curve database and the digital model of human physiological function requirements, relying on computer-aided design tools to complete the style design, and adopting industrial intelligent digital control technology , It is the yarn directly from the industrial knitting machine into a clothing product with a "three-dimensional, one-piece" modeling structure, which is a digital and intelligent modern clothing production technology. In short, seamless knitting technology is the use of special seamless knitting equipment, the use of computer digital simulation functions, one-time shaped clothing produced in three-dimensional form, so that the neck, waist, buttocks and other curved parts do not need to be stitched, and can be The yarn is completed directly to the garment.
The development history of seamless knitting
Seamless knitting technology originated in Europe. In 1984, Italy's Sangiacomo company (seamless loom manufacturer) and Israel Tefron (the world's largest seamless clothing manufacturer) developed the first seamless knitting equipment prototype. At present, with the gradual promotion of seamless knitting equipment, combined with the technical characteristics of weft-knitting large-diameter circular looms, with the maturity of modern computer automation control technology and the application of functional fibers in the field of seamless knitting, seamless knitting technology is gradually becoming The clothing weaving field is mature and perfected. Its application field has been extended from simple clothing products to various branches of textile and clothing products, and most textile materials including nylon, polyester, cotton, wool, silk and flax can be used. Compared with seamless knitting technology, traditional knitting machines (mainly refer to circular knitting machines, including multi-track single-sided, double-sided circular knitting machines and electronic needle selection circular knitting machines) can only weave flat fabrics in rolls, and then dye, Multiple post-finishing processes such as styling form the finished fabric.
Seamless knitting technology is divided into three types: weft knitting, warp knitting and flat knitting. Weft knitting is to feed one or several yarns into the working needles of the knitting machine from the weft direction, so that the yarns are sequentially bent into loops and stringed to form a fabric. The difference between warp knitting and weft knitting is that the loops formed by it are arranged in the vertical direction or the warp direction, and are formed by nesting adjacent yarns. Warp knitted fabrics are mainly chemical fiber garments and industrial fabrics with strong elasticity. It is difficult to use natural fibers with weak elasticity such as cotton yarn to knit. It has the variability and adjustability of the width during weaving. Weft-knitted fabrics have a wider application surface. In addition to various chemical fibers (such as nylon, polyester, polypropylene, spandex, etc.), natural fibers such as cotton yarn, modal, etc. that have no elasticity or very little elasticity can also be used for weaving; weft-knitted fabrics The width change is not achieved by the change of the retracting needle (flat knitting machine) or the width (warp knitting), but by the change of the elasticity of the yarn, the draft ratio, the change of the fabric density and the change of the local fiber force. Therefore, weft-knitted fabrics have better multi-angle ductility and stretchability than warp-knitted fabrics. The application of weft-knitting technology is more common in the fields of clothing and functional sportswear that emphasize body-fitting comfort. The seamless flat knitting machine is knitting and forming by increasing and decreasing the courses by putting needles and narrowing needles. It is impossible to achieve different knitting densities in the same course. Therefore, the products woven with seamless flat knitting machines mainly have weak three-dimensional structure and function. Sexual demand is not strong, only clothing with simple flat graphic effects, such as sweaters with thicker fibers and larger meshes. At present, the most widely used weaving equipment in the field of seamless clothing is mainly weft knitting circular knitting machine.
Although the cylindrical product directly knitted from the seamless knitting equipment already has most of the characteristics of the garment, such as the curve part has been shaped, the final size has been determined, the elastic waistband has been installed, the finishing cut has been marked, and the side line has been tied. However, the seamless garments currently produced should be called “less stitched” garments, and some simple finishing processes are still required. The seamless clothing produced by warp knitting technology can basically achieve the technical effect of "weaving and wearing". It is a "full-formed overall knitting processing technology" that does not require post-processing or finishing. However, due to the cost of equipment and the maturity of technology The reason for this is that technical improvements are currently being carried out before large-scale promotion.
In the future, as the design and development trend of seamless clothing products "outer clothing" becomes more and more obvious, the consumption substitution speed of seamless clothing to traditional textile clothing will also accelerate, and ultimately seamless clothing products will become traditional knitted clothing, Even an important addition to woven clothing.
