5. The Knitting Industry
History
We have just seen by what processes cotton yarn becomes first gray cloth, and then finished goods. There is of course a tremendous variety of woven fabric, ranging all the way from the coarsest sail cloth to the finest organdie. And there are certain finishes such as velveteen and corduroy which, for want of space, we have not even touched upon. There is, however, a whole class of cotton fabric which is not woven but knit; and since most of our hosiery and underwear are made in this way, it behooves us to take at least a brief glance at the knitting industry.
Transferring Design to Copper Roller
The principle of knitting is so familiar to every one who is or has a mother or wife that no description of it is necessary. Curiously enough, although the original stocking frame was invented as far back as 1589, power was applied to the industry for the first time at Cohoes, N. Y., in 1832. This city is still the centre of underwear manufacture in this country.
Cloth in Tenter-frame
Two Types of Machines
Knitting is now done on two general types of machines: the flat bed knitter, and the circular knitting machine. In the former the garment is knit in one flat piece and seamed afterwards. Underwear made in this way is described as full-fashioned. On the circular machine a seam is not necessary, for the complete cylinder of fabric is made at once. While it is possible to manufacture underwear on a circular frame, its use is far better adapted to the knitting of hosiery, and a very large industry for the manufacture of this product has grown up in and near Philadelphia.
The Flat Bed Knitter
The Cotton Knitting Frame, invented in 1864, is still the basis of the modern flat-bed knitter. The product is a flat web which can be widened or narrowed by transferring the loops from the edge needles to a separate instrument, and then replacing them. In knitting stockings, the shaped legs are made on one machine, then transferred to a heeler, and then to a third machine which knits the feet. The stockings then must be seamed up the back. The largest machines are capable of knitting twenty-four garments at one time. The advantage of this type is that it produces more elastic fabric, but it requires more operatives and more highly skilled labor than the circular machine.
Calendar
The Circular Machine
A series of inventions made in Philadelphia from 1867 to 1889 perfected the completely automatic circular machine of which there are now more than seven times as many in use in this country than there are full-fashioned knitters. The seamless machine goes on continuously and manufactures the entire garment at once. Narrowing is done by shortening the loops, and this accounts for the loss of elasticity.
The finishing operations consist of seaming, where necessary, and removing imperfections.
Growth
The growth and importance of the industry is perhaps best realized from the fact that in 1870 there were 5,625 machines in the country, in 1905, 88,374, and now well over one hundred thousand. In 1850 men wore hand-knitted socks and flannel underwear. From 1860 to 1910 the product of the country’s knitting machines rose from $7,300,000 to $200,100,000.
Folding
Cotton yarn is used more than woolen because it spins more cheaply and is less difficult to knit.