Textile Structure
how cloth is put together
Generator

Why one curls and the other does not

Why one curls and the other does not
Why one curls and the other does not. A knitted loop is not symmetric front to back. Worked every course the same way, the asymmetries add along the edges and the fabric rolls; worked alternately, consecutive courses point opposite ways and cancel.

A knitted loop is not symmetric front to back. Worked every course the same way, the asymmetries add along the edges and the fabric rolls; worked alternately, consecutive courses point opposite ways and cancel.

3 essays call curl. The drawing above is what it returns with no arguments at all; every call below passes it something, because a placement that passes nothing draws whichever member of the family the generator happens to default to rather than the weave its essay argues about.

Where it is called

Changing this generator changes every one of these figures.

The knitted loop. One thread, bent into a course of loops, each of them drawn through the loop below. Nothing here is straight, which is why a knit extends in every direction while a woven cloth extends only on the bias. Knits and other structures

The loop

A knit is one thread bent into loops, each drawn through the loop below. Nothing in it is straight, which is why it stretches in every direction while a woven cloth stretches only at an angle.

 Why one curls and the other does not. A knitted loop is not symmetric front to back. Worked every course the same way, the asymmetries add along the edges and the fabric rolls; worked alternately, consecutive courses point opposite ways and cancel. Knits and other structures

Why stockinette curls

A knitted loop is not symmetric front to back. Work every course the same way and the asymmetries add up along the edges; alternate them and they cancel. That is the whole difference between a fabric that rolls and one that lies flat.

 1×1 rib — alternate wales to the back. A knitted fabric seen in section across the wales. Alternate wales pulled to the back fold the fabric like a concertina, so its relaxed width is a projection; pulling it wide unfolds the section and no yarn changes length while it happens. Knits and other structures

Rib and interlock

A rib fabric is a plain knit folded like a concertina, and its enormous widthwise stretch is the fold opening out. Nothing in it is elastic, and the extension available is a cosine.

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