Editing Knitting (section)

===Courses and wales===
[[Image:Knit-schematic.png|thumb|left|Structure of stockinette stitch, a common weave in knitted fabric. The meandering red path defines one ''course'', the path of the yarn through the fabric. The uppermost white loops are unsecured and "active", but they secure the red loops suspended from them. In turn, the red loops secure the white loops just below them, which in turn secure the loops below them, and so on.]]
[[Image:Knitting wales slip stitch.png|thumb|Alternating wales of red and yellow knit stitches. Each stitch in a wale is suspended from the one above it.]]

Like [[weaving]], knitting is a technique for producing a [[two-dimensional]] fabric made from a one-dimensional [[yarn]] or thread. In weaving, threads are always straight, running parallel either lengthwise (warp threads) or crosswise (weft threads). By contrast, the yarn in knitted fabrics follows a meandering path (a ''course''), forming symmetric loops (also called bights) symmetrically above and below the mean path of the yarn. These meandering loops can be easily stretched in different directions giving knit fabrics much more elasticity than woven fabrics. Depending on the yarn and [[knitting pattern]], knitted garments can stretch as much as 500%. For this reason, knitting was initially developed for garments that must be elastic or stretch in response to the wearer's motions, such as socks and hosiery. For comparison, woven garments stretch mainly along one or other of a related pair of directions that lie roughly diagonally between the warp and the weft, while contracting in the other direction of the pair (stretching and contracting with the ''[[Grain (textile)#Bias|bias]]''), and are not very elastic, unless they are woven from stretchable material such as [[spandex]]. Knitted garments are often more form-fitting than woven garments, since their elasticity allows them to contour to the body's outline more closely; by contrast, curvature is introduced into most woven garments only with sewn darts, flares, gussets and gores, the seams of which lower the elasticity of the woven fabric still further. Extra curvature can be introduced into knitted garments without seams, as in the heel of a sock; the effect of darts, flares, etc. can be obtained with [[short row (knitting)|short rows]] or by [[increase (knitting)|increasing]] or [[decrease (knitting)|decreasing]] the number of stitches. Thread used in weaving is usually much finer than the yarn used in knitting, which can give the knitted fabric more bulk and less drape than a woven fabric.

If they are not secured, the loops of a knitted course will come undone when their yarn is pulled; this is known as ''ripping out'', ''unravelling'' knitting, or humorously, ''frogging'' (because the knitter will 'rip it', this sounds like a frog croaking: 'rib-bit').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter03/FEATwin03TT.html|title=Techniques with Theresa, Frog pond edition|access-date=6 November 2008|archive-date=14 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014082347/http://www.knitty.com/issuewinter03/FEATwin03TT.html|url-status=live}}</ref> To secure a stitch, at least one new loop is passed through it. Although the new stitch is itself unsecured ("active" or "live"), it secures the stitch(es) suspended from it. A sequence of stitches in which each stitch is suspended from the next is called a ''wale''.<ref name=":0">A wale, according to ''Knitting Technology: a Comprehensive Handbook and Practical Guide'', is "a predominantly vertical column of needle loops generally produced by the same needles at successive (not necessarily all) knitting cycles. A wale starts as soon as an empty needle starts to knit" (Spencer 1989:17).</ref> To secure the initial stitches of a knitted fabric, a method for [[casting on (knitting)|casting on]] is used; to secure the final stitches in a wale, one uses a method of [[binding off (knitting)|binding/casting off]]. During knitting, the active stitches are secured mechanically, either from individual hooks (in knitting machines) or from a knitting needle or frame in hand-knitting.

[[Image:Trikot.jpg|thumb|Basic pattern of warp knitting. Parallel yarns zigzag lengthwise along the fabric, each loop securing a loop of an adjacent strand from the previous row.]]