Technical Applications of Knitted Fabrics

Knitting is the second most widely used fabric manufacturing technique after weaving. In addition, knitting is also commonly used in technical applications due to distinct characteristics of its structure. The knitted fabrics have some added advantages over other fabric manufacturing techniques, e.g., flexibility, adaptability and air permeability. The knitted fabrics are made with two different types of techniques, and the fabrics made with these techniques also have different characteristics. Due to this reason, the application area of knitted fabrics is also extended to many folds. The 2D and 3D knitted structures are widely used in technical applications; especially, 3D fabrics have more freedom of material selection, and different materials can be used in different layers of fabrics as per requirement. This chapter covers the different technical applications of knitting including medical, sports, automobile and composites. These applications of knitted fabrics are discussed with respect to structure type, materials and specific areas of application.