【Course Introduction】

A flat knitting machine is a forming knitting machine capable of producing shaped flat or three-dimensional garment pieces and other products. It is generally divided into manual flat knitting machines and computerized flat knitting machines. The needle bed of a flat knitting machine is flat, typically featuring front and back needle beds equipped with latch needles. The needle bed width ranges from 500 to 2500 mm, and the gauge ranges from E2 to E18. Flat knitting machines are mainly used to knit sweaters, gloves, as well as apparel accessories such as collars, hems, and plackets.

【Target Students】

○ Beginners committed to pursuing a career in knitting.

○ Professionals working in the apparel industry.

【Course Content】

Day 1: Introduction

1.Understanding yarn and basic knit structures.

2.Relief cast-on method, loop cast-on method.

3.Yarn changing.

4.Creating holes.

5.Cable knitting.

6.Learning knitting loop principles and drawing loop diagrams.

Day 2: Partial Knitting

1.Wedge, triangle, and curve shapes.

2.Buttonholes and openings.

3.Tubular forms.

4.Openwork curved forms.

5.Ruffle design.

6.Sock knitting techniques.

Day 3: Garment Piece Techniques

1.Increasing and decreasing stitches.

2.Knitting darts and shoulder slopes.

3.Collar and garment piece knitting.

4.Measuring gauge and calculating dimensions.

5.Binding off.

Day 4: Yarn Exploration

1.Novelty yarns.

2.Special waterproof yarns.

3.Blending and spinning yarns with a textile machine.

4.Creative experiments with different yarns.

5.Using pattern cards for single-bed float jacquard and designing custom pattern cards.

6.Relief jacquard.

Free Practice: 1-2 days for consolidation.

Day 5:

1.Tuck stitch structures.

2.Intarsia structures.

3.Fringe decoration.

4.Bead embellishment.

5.Long loop structures.

6.Creative pleating and volume design.

Day 6:

1.Principles of the ribbing attachment machine.

2.1x1 rib, 2x1 rib, and 2x2 rib cast-on methods.

3.Full cardigan stitch.

4.Learning and drawing double-bed stitch diagrams.

Day 7:

1.Half-cardigan and full-cardigan stitch structures.

2.Creative color-blended cardigan structures.

3.Plated stitches.

4.Pocket knitting techniques.

Day 8:

1.Creative variations of single-bed and double-bed structures.

2.Calculating dimensions and completing a finished product.

Weekend Access: Machines available for practice.

Practice & Q&A

【Faculty Team】

Echo

Lecturer and External Mentor at the Fashion School of Shanghai International Fashion Education Center (SIFEC)

Holds a Master's degree in Art and Design from Donghua University and a Master's degree in Fashion Design from Istituto Europeo di Design (IED). With 10 years of experience in style design and product development for domestic and international fast-fashion and knitwear brands, she has taught fashion design courses at East China Normal University, Shanghai Sanda University, SIFEC Fashion Institute, and Istituto Marangoni over the past two years. Her teaching emphasizes fostering students' divergent design thinking, integrating woven fabrics or knitted structures with fashion design styles, and allowing students to experience firsthand how variations in stitch types, gauge, yarn composition, and fabric structures affect textile surface effects through hands-on machine practice. This approach enhances students' ability to express their design concepts through knitting and weaving techniques while stimulating creativity and elevating aesthetic sensibility.