The terms FABRIC and KNITTED are very often confused concepts. It may not matter to many people, but the difference is. At the beginning, one more concept should be added: MATERIAL. The material is made of various raw materials, such as cotton, wool, silk or linen, and only later we divide the materials into fabrics and knitted fabrics.
WHAT IS FABRIC?
A fabric is a flat textile product made by interweaving with each other perpendicular systems of warp and weft threads. They are intertwined according to the assumed weave (woven). We distinguish many types of fabrics, such as: canvas, flannel, silk and also jeans. Examples of clothing made of fabric include jackets (often also made of polyester and nylon) and trousers (cotton, denim).
WHAT IS KNITWEAR?
Knit, on the other hand, is a textile product formed by creating rows or columns of interconnected stitches. The yarn in the knitted fabric has a very large clearance (slack), thanks to which the knitted fabrics are very elastic and stretchable in all directions. They are characterized by a varied texture of the material. Knitted fabrics can be made, among others: T-shirts, polo shirts (cotton) or sweatshirt (cotton polyester).
Fabrics are a stiffer and more durable material, less flexible, but thanks to this, they do not stretch out in use. A frequently used procedure is to add elastane to the fabric to increase its elasticity. However, it does not match the elasticity of the knitted fabric, which is softer and more elastic but can therefore stretch out when used.
WHAT IS GRAMMAGE?
The grammage is a metric measurement of the weight of the material per square meter. To put it simply, it is information about how many grams 1 square meter of material weighs.
Due to the thickness, the material is divided into:
- thin (light) -> 30-150 g / m², e.g. linen, lace
- medium -> 130-350 g / m² eg: oxford, cotton – t-shirt, jackets – polyester, nylon
- thick (heavy) -> 350+ g / m² e.g. jeans, sweatshirts – knitted fabrics
