Knitted Bindings

When producing knitted surfaces, the work can be close- or wide-meshed – with more or fewer needles forming the surface or the tube circumference. The needle or stitch count determines the gauge, the fineness: higher needle counts mean more stitches, more stitches mean more thread and more thread loops – and thus more stretch and better recovery. High-quality underwear therefore uses only knitted fabrics with high stitch counts.

Two-thread processing

For hard-wearing qualities such as double rib, yarns are often used two-threaded (running parallel) – the stitches are then formed from two threads lying side by side. This allows correspondingly finer threads from better raw materials, usually more firmly twisted: more strength in the yarn and the fabric, higher durability, clearly better shape retention and a more even, more attractive fabric appearance.

The knitted bindings at a glance

• Single-faced or right/left goods – single jersey and terry
• Double-faced or right/right goods – the basis of fine rib and double rib
• Interlock – dense surface, no curling edges
• Milano rib – smooth and shape-stable
• Nicki – velvety shear plush
• Ajour knit – openwork patterns
• Warp-knitted goods – low-stretch and ladder-proof

You will find all terms around materials and workmanship in our Underwear Glossary.