Basics Fashion Design: Knitwear, Second Edition | Juliana Sissons

Contents:

Introduction
The machine-knitting industry dates back to the early sixteenth century, but it could not be more exciting and alive than it is today. Knitting provides endless creative outcomes, enabling an independent and experimental approach to design. Modern developments in technology and manufacturing, coupled with contemporary treatments and spinning technology are constantly reviving the knitwear industry. Knitwear can be found at all levels of the fashion market, from the industrial mass production of hosiery, underwear and sportswear to the use of its sculptural qualities in high fashion and accessories, such as bags, shoes and jewellery. The medium also provides an astounding range of possibilities for art, interior design and architecture.

Knitwear: An Introduction to Contemporary Design, second edition begins with a brief history of knitting and knitwear design, with an introduction to yarns, fibres, machinery and tools. The book then leads you through the essential stages of creative design development,

Introduction offering a range of exercises to hone your practical skills: how to knit a tension swatch, basic techniques on domestic machines and how to create knitting patterns. It looks at the differences between two- and three-dimensional design, exploring the textural and sculptural qualities of knit. The important considerations of the finer details, trims, embellishment and fastenings are explored before the final chapter, which examines the exciting possibilities in knitwear for men. This new addition takes a different approach to the previous chapters by showcasing exemplary international practitioners in menswear, in order to demonstrate how the knitting techniques that have been explored throughout the book can be applied in contemporary knitwear design.

Menswear design is an emerging area within the fashion industry, designers are pushing more boundaries than ever before. Students are playing with unique themes, concepts and influences, leading to valuable sources of research for innovative design outcomes, thus giving men the freedom to explore more adventurous colour combinations, flamboyant textures and exciting developments in garment scale.

Interviews with fashion/knitwear designers and knitted textile specialists serve to illustrate the different ways you can work with knitted textiles, offering inspiration and insight into the range of careers within the knitwear industry.

I hope that this book will provide you with the fundamental skills, knowledge and inspiration to design and create your own innovative knitted textiles.

Approach to knit
In order to take a fresh look at knitting, and at ideas that are normally taken for granted, we should first understand historically how these techniques came about and consider the classic, timeless designs as significant and creative starting points for further design development. Hand-knitting skills and patterns have long been passed from generation to generation, allowing a greater understanding and acknowledgement of knitting as an intellectual, artistic tradition. A growing number of new and exciting designers are graduating each year from fashion and textile courses, and by comparing their designs with the work from the early knitters, a story starts to emerge.

This chapter offers an introduction to knit and knitwear design, comparing traditional knitting techniques with their modern reinventions. It looks at the characteristics and behaviour of different yarns and fibres, from the traditional to the contemporary, such as metallic, steel and plastic. It offers an overview of knitting machines and tools and the different aspects of work that can be produced. Finally, it looks at how developments in design and technology are radically reinventing this traditional craft.