History Of The Knitting Machine
Knitting Machine
This is a picture of a knitting machine from the 1800's from this Company below
Lamb Knitting Machine Manufacturing Co.
Class 1, 96 needles, Serial Number 34992, Circa 1885
Patent dates: Sep 15, 1863 Oct 10, 1865 Sep 28, 1869 Oct 29, 1879
During the latter half of the eighteenth century, improvements in the British textile industry were ushering in the Industrial Revolution; machines were invented to speed the production of woven fabric as well as meet the rising demand for yarn and thread. While the focus of this activity seemed to be weaving and spinning machines, similar improvements to knitting technology were being made. Today, knitting machines are just as important to the textile industry as weaving machines.
The first knitting machine was constructed around 1589 by an English reverend named William Lee (1550-1610). As the story goes, Lee was tormented by the constant clack-clacking of his wife's knitting needles. He imagined a device that, instead of producing one loop at a time, could knit an entire row of loops at once. While devices of this sort had been used by carpet weavers thousands of years earlier, Lee added to their design a line of hooks that would release the knitted loops, making room for the next row.
Lee soon abandoned his position in the church, traveling with his brother to the court of Queen Elizabeth I. There he presented his invention, requesting a royal grant to exploit the device, as well as sole claim to its patent (along with all the ensuing profits). The Queen refused, and Lee left England to try his luck at the court of King Henri IV of France. Though the French sovereign granted Lee the privileges he sought, before the inventor could establish himself, Henri IV was assassinated. Lee died penniless in Paris in 161O.
Though disheartened, Lee's brother continued to seek a financier for the knitting-frame. He returned to England, where he entered a partnership with a Nottingham businessman to build the world's first knitting factory. Soon the factory was so successful that the local hand-knitters appealed to the government to limit the use of the knitting-frame; by that time, several factories were in operation, manufacturing stockings so cheaply that they were no longer considered a luxury item.
The methods for knitting clothing remained unchanged until the early 1700s. About that time, improvements in the design of the knitting-frame began to appear. Machines were constructed to produce warp-knit fabric, which was less elastic and more like woven fabric than previous knits. In 1758 Jedediah Strutt designed a loom that could knit ribbed material, ideal for use as hosiery. The circular loom was invented by Frenchman Decroix in 1798; it created seamless tubular fabrics that were often employed as undershirts and underwear, as well as ladies' stockings; the Decroix loom was popularized by Marc Isambard Brunel, who patented it in 1816. Matthew Townsend improved upon the circular loom in 1847, enabling it to produce ribbed fabric. Finally, in 1855, the first water-powered knitting frame was constructed in Loughborough, England.
Arguably the most important development in knitting technology was the latch needle, patented by Townsend in 1856. This needle was essentially a half-hook with a small latch that would open and close, depending upon the needle's position. By using the latch needle the entire knitting process was made faster and more flexible. By the late 1860s, small home knitting machines were made available.
Today, knitting takes place on giant machines employing hundreds of needles per line and capable of producing more than four million stitches each second. Patterns were initially read by the machines off of punch cards; today, both home and commercial machines can be computer controlled to knit complex patterns. In many areas knitting has even superseded weaving, partially due to the fact that it can be performed almost twenty times faster.
This is a picture of a knitting machine from the 1800's from this Company below
Lamb Knitting Machine Manufacturing Co.
Class 1, 96 needles, Serial Number 34992, Circa 1885
Patent dates: Sep 15, 1863 Oct 10, 1865 Sep 28, 1869 Oct 29, 1879
During the latter half of the eighteenth century, improvements in the British textile industry were ushering in the Industrial Revolution; machines were invented to speed the production of woven fabric as well as meet the rising demand for yarn and thread. While the focus of this activity seemed to be weaving and spinning machines, similar improvements to knitting technology were being made. Today, knitting machines are just as important to the textile industry as weaving machines.
The first knitting machine was constructed around 1589 by an English reverend named William Lee (1550-1610). As the story goes, Lee was tormented by the constant clack-clacking of his wife's knitting needles. He imagined a device that, instead of producing one loop at a time, could knit an entire row of loops at once. While devices of this sort had been used by carpet weavers thousands of years earlier, Lee added to their design a line of hooks that would release the knitted loops, making room for the next row.
Lee soon abandoned his position in the church, traveling with his brother to the court of Queen Elizabeth I. There he presented his invention, requesting a royal grant to exploit the device, as well as sole claim to its patent (along with all the ensuing profits). The Queen refused, and Lee left England to try his luck at the court of King Henri IV of France. Though the French sovereign granted Lee the privileges he sought, before the inventor could establish himself, Henri IV was assassinated. Lee died penniless in Paris in 161O.
Though disheartened, Lee's brother continued to seek a financier for the knitting-frame. He returned to England, where he entered a partnership with a Nottingham businessman to build the world's first knitting factory. Soon the factory was so successful that the local hand-knitters appealed to the government to limit the use of the knitting-frame; by that time, several factories were in operation, manufacturing stockings so cheaply that they were no longer considered a luxury item.
The methods for knitting clothing remained unchanged until the early 1700s. About that time, improvements in the design of the knitting-frame began to appear. Machines were constructed to produce warp-knit fabric, which was less elastic and more like woven fabric than previous knits. In 1758 Jedediah Strutt designed a loom that could knit ribbed material, ideal for use as hosiery. The circular loom was invented by Frenchman Decroix in 1798; it created seamless tubular fabrics that were often employed as undershirts and underwear, as well as ladies' stockings; the Decroix loom was popularized by Marc Isambard Brunel, who patented it in 1816. Matthew Townsend improved upon the circular loom in 1847, enabling it to produce ribbed fabric. Finally, in 1855, the first water-powered knitting frame was constructed in Loughborough, England.
Arguably the most important development in knitting technology was the latch needle, patented by Townsend in 1856. This needle was essentially a half-hook with a small latch that would open and close, depending upon the needle's position. By using the latch needle the entire knitting process was made faster and more flexible. By the late 1860s, small home knitting machines were made available.
Today, knitting takes place on giant machines employing hundreds of needles per line and capable of producing more than four million stitches each second. Patterns were initially read by the machines off of punch cards; today, both home and commercial machines can be computer controlled to knit complex patterns. In many areas knitting has even superseded weaving, partially due to the fact that it can be performed almost twenty times faster.
posted by Sharon (Knitting Nan) @ 10:38 PM
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