One of the most fascinating inventions of humankind is their ability to create fabric in order to protect themselves from weather, insects, heat, dust, rain etc. or to make them look presentable, pretty or adorning themselves. Fabric has many uses in human life and thus creating it is also a very important aspect of human life. Fabric can be created by using two major methods: Knitting and Weaving. Today’s article is aimed at drawing the difference between these two methods.

1. Based on Technique: Knitting involves creating fabric with one yarn with the help of two needles. Knitted fabric consists of a number of consecutive rows of connected loops that intermesh with the next and previous rows.

While in weaving, two separate sets of yarn namely warp and weft are interlaced together to form the fabric. Usually, a loom is used to weave these together. It holds the warp thread in place and weaves the surrounding weft, and both are held at right angles with each other. Both the threads run in different directions.

2. Based on Fabric Produced: The fabric produced through knitting is thicker and is more elastic. The fabric produced further requires only a few stitches to finish it into a garment. The fine holes in knitted fabric is what provides elasticity to it and thus the fabric can stretch or fit snuggly as per the body type.

Whereas the fabric produced through weaving is fine and has more flow. The fabric produced requires further tailoring (cutting and stitching) to make it into a garment. The fabric itself is less elastic (except for spandex) and can stretch only in one direction.

3. Based on Tools/Equipment Used: Knitting when done with hands use two needles and yarn which are quite portable and you can easily carry your knitting project with you. Even the machines used for knitting are relatively small and occupy less space.

While weaving, even when done manually requires a loom which is much bigger in size when compared with the knitting needles. These loom machines occupy an entire room and are not very portable. On the industrial scale as well the machines used for weaving cloth are much bigger than those used for knitting and require a far bigger setup area to operate.

4. Based on Design Patterns: Knitting has two basic stitches: knit and purl and with a combination of these two stitches you can create a plethora of design patterns. These design patterns provide a distinctive texture to the garment while at the same time allows you to add multiple colours in the design.

While there are three basic weaves types in weaving: plain, twill and satin these provide different designs in the fabric but do not provide the texture as distinctive as knitting. Weaving allows you to create a plethora of designs as well with multiple threads and colours.

5. Based on the Yarn Used: Knitting yarn tends to be stretchy as it is not spun tightly thereby, providing it more energy and spring. It is this characteristic of the yarn that provides the knitted garment the elasticity and stretch. Knitting yarn is not too strong and tends to break easily.Knitting yarn comes in balls or skeins.

Whereas weaving yarn is much stronger than the yarn used for knitting as it is constantly stretched. These yarns need to be stronger or else they will keep breaking during the weave process, making the whole exercise difficult. Though you can still use knitting yarn for weft, it is not suggested to use knitting yarn for warp. Weaving yarn comes in cones. You need long lengths of yarn to set up a loom, so it is more cost-effective to purchase cones of yarn for weaving.

I hope you are now educated enough to know the difference between knitting and weaving. With this basic knowledge you shall be equipped to distinguish between a knitted fabric and a weaved fabric. Although with the advent of machines the difference between the two have narrowed down a lot but still knitted fabrics are generally used for garments in the winters while weaved fabrics are used all year round.

The Original Knit offers a huge collection of knitwear for babies and children upto the age of two years. These knitwear are especially made with hands to provide your child that extra protection and warmth during the harsh winters.