Abstract
No method has so far been established for evaluating the yarn knittability before knitting. Thus, any yarn defective in knittability cannot be found out until it is actually knitted. As an aid to solve this problem, we investigated various methods for evaluating the yarn knittability and obtained the following conclusions: (1) The analysis of knitting mechanism revealed that the measurements of eight presumed physical properties of yarns would enable us to evaluate the yarn knittability bebore knitting. (2) So, it is possible not only to find out the defective yarn, but also to clear up its cause. (3) Generally, the following four physical properties have a large bearing on knittability; (a) Unwinding resistance of the yarn out of a cone. (b) Friction between yarns themselves. (c) Friction between the yarn and the knitting needle. (d) Bending moment of the yarn.
Next, we produced an apparatus which made it possible to measure the said four important physical properties, simultaneously and synthetically, in terms of yarn tension. The results of measurements with this apparatus show a good agreement with the actual yarn knittability. Thus, it is found that this apparatus makes it easy to measure the yarn knittability.
