UNI TED STATE S DEPARTMENT or AGRI CULTURE FORE I GNAGRI CULTURAL SER'I CE WAS G ND HI NO C 2 2 0 50 T , . ' E R RNA T U M ' Kn it s i n We s t er n Enr Ope -Th e i r I mpa c t on Co t ton FAS M- z sz P e C s m s e d m e a g 8 h a r t capt id ne a c r o s bot to hou ld r a fr o l f t , ' A e We e I un t d K n d m l l count r i s , s t G r many , t a ly , i e i g o , N nd B e m eth er la nd , a l g iu . P e en e numbe s t l e t h ou ld r e d 8 0 9 40 r c ta g r a f s a , , 9 , , 2 0 , a nd o. P r efa ce h e chni u ofkni in a r n i ui Th e b eginnings oft te q e tt g e lost in a t q ty . Th e principles of hand knitting as a fabric-form ing process a a h av b n known for c n uri s. I n r his ori im s ppe r to e ee e t e p e t c t e , w f kni in M ch aniz a io o n ets were m ad e ith a typ e o tt g stit ch . e t n f th ss how v r o ccurr d m uch la r h an th e pro ce , e e , e te t e w a in lo m . A cura h e v . W d ev elopm ent of the e v g o t e, t R e illiam n land is n rall cr di d wi h in en in th e firs Lee of E g , ge e y e t e t v t g t kn in m achine in 1 589. This m a chine could kni s o kin itt g , t t c gs; equipm ent like it was used sub st a ntially unchanged for ab out e d of th e 1 sth cen r r r 200 y ears. B y th en t u y, the ota y fram e and w arp fram e h ad appeared ; m ech anical circular knitting was nv r nd A w er-d riv en m i ented a ou 1 81 6 . po achine capable of sh aping garm ents as th ey were b eing knitt ed was inv ent ed b y ’ W illi n s an his d m a m Cott on i 1 869 , d t evelop ent m ad e possible - full fashioned knit apparel. The warp knitting m a chine was ’ inv 0 ented also in th e 1 86 s. From these beginnings h as arisen an im portant sect or of m od rn x il ind us ries th e w orld v r wh os rowth in e te t e t o e , e g th e as d cad has be n nothin sh ort of h n m l p t e e e g (p e o ena . This report will a tt em pt to set forth and analyz e th ese ’ d e v elo pm ent s and to evaluat e cott on s fut ure role in this im or an se m en of the x ile ind us r in W es ern E ur p t t g t te t t y t ope. C o n t en t s S U M M A R Y C H A R A C TER IS TI C S OF K N ITTI N G I N D U STR Y Types of knit s D ev el opm ent of th e industry Characteristics by cou ntry Products of knitgood s ind ustry G R O WTH OF K N ITS Y arn cons um ption by fiber type Fact ors fost erin g growt h of knit s M anm ade fi b er prod ucers K nitting m achinery prod ucers K nitters and apparel m anufa ct urers Consum ers R ole of International I nstit ute for Cotton M AN U FA CT U R I N G A S P E C TS Y arns for knitting Cotton yarns i n N yl on , p olyester, acryl c, ble ds Te xt ured Other m anm ade yarns K nittin g m achinery dev elopm ent s Cost com parisons Problem s of knits Yarn probl em s ’ B arr e and other knittin g d efects Di m ensional stability S hrinkage i i n Bleachi ng, dye ng, pr nti g ’ Apparel m aker s problem s ’ Consum ers probl em s I NTER FIB ER R ELATION S H I P S INEND - PR OD U CTS cki h S to n gs , pantyhose, ose Fabrics U nderw ear O uterw ear S hirt s ’ m n i s d sses bl us W o e s s u t , re , o es ’ e sui M en s slacks, jack ts, ts H o useh ol d item s I nd ustrial item s O UTLOO K ' u ly 1 9 73 T H R I M PA CT ONco E I r m s c k t n e , C o to D iv isio n SUM M ARY 10 12 knit ood s Over the past to years , g have manufacturers to extend the use of manmade fi bers in constituted an ever- i ncreasing porti on of total textile knits and have promoted manmade fi ber knitg ood s production in Western Europe . at the consumer level . ’ l96os knit ood s R Pri or to the , the g industry of ecognizing the challenge to cotton consumpti on Western Europe largely produced fi ni shed garments , arisi ng from the growth of knits mainly of manmade l whereas in the recent past it has put greater emphasis fi bers , the Internati onal Institute for Cotton ( 11C ) on the producti on of fabrics . Although a su bstantial has di rected an increased proporti on of its research porti on of the knitting i ndustry still produces tradi and development funds i nto overcoming the pro tional — blem s items sweaters , st ocki ngs , socks , gl oves , and confronting cott on mainly in the knit outer — It underwear the character of the i ndustry has wear market . has fostered research on new types of In changed d ramatically . additi on , s ome textile firms cotton yarns and treatments and techniques t o deal whose traditional busi ness has been solely in woven with shrinkage and dimensi onal stability of cotton 1 . 1 C goods have added knitti ng equipment and expanded fabrics In additi on , the has placed emp hasi s on o i nto the producti on of knit fabrics . promoti on of cott n knit products in Western The m ost imp ortant single change occurring in European program countries . knits has been the development of knit fabri cs of Traditi onally utilized for knit items such as socks , out r varied characteristics suitable for and sewn sport shi ts , and underwear , regular cott on yarns can ’ ’ ap parel , particularly men s and women s outerwear , be pro cessed readily on practi cally all types of equip t whi ch had formerly been mad e almost exclusively of ment o her than tricot type warp knitting machi nes . “ woven fabrics . This phenomenon rested upon the H owever , they have a num ber of technical parallel improvement of knitti ng equipment and di sadvantages when processed on some types of knit manmade fi ber yarns of all types , parti cularly equipment . For these , cott on yarns must be pliable , textured yarns . A seri ous problem from the stand elasti c , extra fine , and st rong ; as a consequence , their of fi point cotton interests i s that , for a number of cost may be greater than alternative manmade ber reas ons , cotton has not shared in the growth of knits . yarns that can be used . M - oreover , some of the maj or end use markets for While it is diffi cult to make cost comparisons - both cotton and wool have been eroded by knit pro between knit and woven end products , it appears that ducts of manmade fi bers . there is no overwhelmi ng cost advantage to either , 1 1 196 1 1971 ehain The years , to inclusive , have been a and that the choice between them al ong the of peri od of active growth wherein , based on yarn con distri buti on will turn on other economi c considera sumpti on , the knitting indu stries of Western Europe ti ons and on fashi on elements . 1 i have expanded more than 00 percent . The increase Although the growth of k nits has been noth ng ' in several countries has been m ore than double the short of phenomenal , there conti nue to be many Western European average . In total , Western Europe problems in their production and use . It is li kely that is a net exporter of knit textiles , but imports of knit manmade fi ber producers , knitters , and apparel 1 7 9 0 .