What is weft interlining(interfacing)/tricot interlining?
Fusible weft interfacing, or sometimes they called as tricot interlining(interfacing), is a kind of fusible knitting interlining(interfacing). The base fabric of this kind of interlining(interfacing) is knitted by weft inserted warp knit machines, by inserting a yarn in weft direction.
We usually call tricot interlining, which is not a wrong name. This is mainly because this kind of interlining is made from Karl Mayer tricot warp knitting machine. Weft insertion warp knit interlining is very long. Tricot interlining is easy to remember.
Categories of weft interlining(interfacing)
From outlooking we can generally classify the weft interlining(interfacing) into 2 kinds:
- hairy style weft interlining(interfacing)
- normal style weft interlining(interfacing).
They are classified by the raw material and knitting construction.
Hairy style weft interlining(interfacing)
Besides dyeing and finishing, sanding and napping process is very important during the hairy style weft interlining(interfacing) production. It cuts the thick weft yarn lightly and makes the surface of fabric become hairy and furry hand-feeling.
The structure of hairy style weft interlining(interfacing) is a little more complex compared with normal style. It has 2 gauges in vertical crossed and 1 weft yarn inserted. The vertical yarn usually be polyester FDY like 30D24F/40D24F. The weft yarn can be viscose or cotton.
The weight can be higher than normal interlining(interfacing). From 55gsm to 90gsm, this kind of weft interlining(interfacing) can be used in suits, coats and some other clothes in cold season. It looks warm and it is stable and soft. This interlining(interfacing) also supports the outlook shape of a cloth better than normal knitting interlining(interfacing).
However, due to people’s living style changing, there are fewer hairy style weft interlining(interfacing) in the garment market. It has become an old fashion fusible interlining(interfacing) representative. But some tailer insists using this kind of interlining(interfacing), even by sewing method, especially in expensive suit and coat. Probably because they think hand sewing means good quality and higher class.
Normal style weft interlining(interfacing)
Structure of normal style weft interlining(interfacing) is much more simple compared with hairy style weft interlining(interfacing). It only has 1 gauge in vertical and 1 weft inserted yarn in the structure. In the old times people use cotton as a kind of weft yarn inserted. Nowadays, we usually use DTY polyester from 50D to 200D as weft yarns. This makes the composition highly integrated and easily adjustable.
There are 2 kinds of normal weft interlining(interfacing) by different vertical yarn density.
Wide vertical yarn style
If we knit on E24 warp knit weft inserted machine, you can find we only use 50% of knitting needle. The distance between 2 vertical yarns become wide.
The wide style gives a delicate feeling for weft interlining(interfacing). The weight of wide style base fabric can go from 20gsm to 60gsm or even higher. With coating, 38gsm to 42gsm is widely welcomed by many garment factories.
| Name | Warp Yarn | Weft Yarn | Wide Warp Yarn Style | Coating Weight | Using |
| WF3050T | FDY 30D | DTY 50D | 21gsm | 6gsm | |
| WF4050T | FDY 40D | DTY 50D | 25gsm | 8gsm | |
| WF3075T | FDY 30D | DTY 75D | 27gsm | 8gsm | |
| WF4075T | FDY 40D | DTY 75D | 30gsm | 8-10gsm | wide |
| WF40100T | FDY 40D | DTY 100D | 30gsm | 8-10gsm | |
| WF40120T | FDY 40D | DTY 120D | 30gsm | 8-10gsm | wide |
| WF40150T | FDY 40D | DTY 150D | 30gsm | 8-10gsm | wide |
| WF40150T-32 | FDY 40D | DTY 150D | 32gsm | 10-12gsm | wide |
| WF40150T-35 | FDY 40D | DTY 150D | 35gsm | 10-12gsm | |
| WF40150T-48 | FDY 40D | DTY 150D | 48gsm | 10-12gsm |
Narrow vertical yarn style
Narrow vertical yarn style can be easily understood. The distance between vertical yarn is narrow. We use fully 100% needles of the machines.
[image of structure, interlining(interfacing)]
The narrow yarn style fabric looks like weave fabric. Even experienced tailor can make a mistake in recognizing the narrow weft interlining(interfacing) and weave interlining(interfacing), though they are knitted and weaved by totally different 2 machines.
This style gives the interlining(interfacing) a thick and warm feeling. The weight is usually higher than wide styles. With coating, 46-50gsm like WF4075 is most welcomed.
| Name | Warp Yarn | Weft Yarn | Wide Warp Yarn Style | Coating Weight | using |
| WF3075 | FDY 30D | DTY 75D | 34gsm | 10gsm | |
| WF4075 | FDY 40D | DTY 75D | 37gsm | 10gsm | wide |
| WF4075-40 | FDY 40D | DTY 75D | 40gsm | 10gsm | wide |
| WF40100 | FDY 40D | DTY 100D | 40gsm | 10gsm | |
| WF40100-44 | FDY 40D | DTY 100D | 44gsm | 10gsm |
The characteristics of weft interlining(interfacing)
Compared with weave interlining(interfacing), weft interlining(interfacing) has a high capacity in one weft warp knit machine. It lowers the cost of interlining(interfacing) production and offers a better fusible interlining(interfacing) choice for massive garment factory. Weft interlining(interfacing) indeed has some outstanding advantages in factory use.
Outstanding advantages of weft interlining(interfacing)
- Higher fusing bond strength
Compared with normal weave fabric, the weft interlining(interfacing) has a higher fusing bond strength with shell fabric. For the same gsm weight of interlining(interfacing) base fabric, the weft interlining(interfacing) fabric structure is few and far between.
For weft interlining(interfacing), the vertical yarn is stable. After finishing vertical FDY will be shrink and will lock the weft yarn tightly. The weft yarn in contract will be expanded after finishing. The fibers in DTY yarn will have more space to become fluffy, which gives more strength to get fused with our shell fabric.
For traditional weave interlining(interfacing), though they are all DTY, the D number and F number of which are all smaller than which we choose in weft interlining(interfacing). Due to high density of weave interlining(interfacing), the yarn cannot expand well in a relatively smaller space.
Therefore, for normal weave interlining(interfacing) in some condition can have smaller fusing strength, compared with weft interlining(interfacing).
- More stable structure, no curve edge
Most knitting interlining(interfacing)s have the curve problems, especially the circular elastic interlining(interfacing). Now in dyeing factory this problem can be solved to some degree by correct finishing temperature or better finishing reagent. However, tailor sill should be very careful when they are cutting the fabric to avoid curve edge occurs.
Though weft interlining(interfacing) is also a kind of knitting interlining(interfacing), they seldom have this problem. The weft yarn does not have any knots while knitting. There is no strength for them to become curved at fabric edge. They are very similar like weave knitting method.
- Better support for shell fabrics, better shape after fusing
Unlike soft and elastic knitting fabric, the weft interlining(interfacing) can have elasticity and stability at the same time. Weft interlining(interfacing) is welcomed in suits and coats making. It can easily form the bone shape of the clothes. Especially for fully fuse, the weft interlining(interfacing) is more stable than circular elastic interlining(interfacing). Compared with weave interlining(interfacing), the cost is smaller also.
Some defects of weft interlining(interfacing)
- Weft skew
When the base fabric knitting on the machine, the structure is loose. The vertical yarn cannot lock the weft yarn effectively. When they are going into dyeing vet, the skew problem will occur. To avoid this problem, preshrinking is necessary. When we doing the final drying finishing, we should also take more care about weft yarns.
- Interlining(interfacing) fabric shrink problem
The weft interlining(interfacing) is not weave interlining(interfacing). It is knitting interlining(interfacing). It does have shrink problem when it is fusing with shell fabric. Please try to give fully time to preshrink both shell fabric and interlining(interfacing) will be helpful to reduce the accidents during production.
- Adhesive coating seeping
Some low-cost weft interlining(interfacing) has smaller density of weft yarns, which can cause adhesive coating powder seeping to other side problem. When choose this kind of interlining(interfacing), we do suggest focus more on the density of weft yarn rather gsm weight only.
What qualities can make good weft interlining(interfacing)s?
- Choose a correct finishing process
Weft interlining(interfacing) fabric before coating can have 2 finishing ways: dry finishing and dyeing finishing.
Dyeing finishing is the traditional way to make fusible weft interlining(interfacing). Good quality weft interlining(interfacing) cannot live without this. People can add more functions in dyeing factory, like anti-stat, anti-water, etc… But the cost will be high.
Considering the cost, some garment factories prefer dry finishing of weft interlining(interfacing) fabric. By making the fabric going through a 8-10 meters oven, the yarn will be shrink and turn in to a stable structure. However, with this method, the interlining(interfacing) fusing bond strength will be smaller than the dyeing finishing.
Garment factory should make a balance of cost and quality to avoid production accidents.
- Choose weft yarns composition
Weft yarn composition is also a significant aspect affected by customers’ requirement. For example, if customer need the weft interlining(interfacing) in delicate hand-feeling, we should choose less than 75D/72F DTY to make production rather than 150D/96F, which looks too heavy.
- Focus more on the density of yarns
The density of weft yarn is the most significant key to weft interlining(interfacing) quality. Good quality weft interlining(interfacing) must have a relatively higher weft yarn density. When the weft yarn has a higher density, the coating seeping will not be easy to occur. In addition, the hand-feeling and surfacing will be better than those of low densities. However, he producer of weft interlining(interfacing) should find a balance for yarn size and yarn density. Otherwise the width of the fabric cannot be controlled well due to overlarge densities.
Tips for using weft interlining(interfacing)
Here are some tips for weft interlining(interfacing) fusing. But in the daily production process, all the interlining(interfacing) choose and use should be tested, proved and confirmed by production manager and designer to avoid production accident.
| Clothes kind | Suggested Interlining(interfacing) | Tips | Suggested Coating |
| Lady daily clothes | WF3050T, WF4050T, WF4075T | lady’s daily clothes fusible interlining(interfacing) should be light and soft. Wide style weft interlining(interfacing), small gsm will be more suitable | PES coating for daily washing |
| Men’s daily cloth | WF4075T, WF3075, WF40100T | middle weight interlining(interfacing) needed | PES coating for daily washing |
| Suits, work uniform and blazer | WF4075-40, WF40100, WF40100-44, hairy style weft interlining(interfacing) | middle/high weight interlining(interfacing) needed, show more structure, easy to wash or dry wash | PA for dry washing |
| Coats, jacket, and parka | WF4075-40, WF40100-44, WF40150T-48, hairy style weft interlining(interfacing) | high weight interlining(interfacing) needed, show more structure, warm and anti-water sometimes needed | PA for dry washing |
| Artificial leather Products | WF4075-40, WF40100-44 | high density to support the structure, care more about leather | Low temperature PA, avoiding leather damage |
| Small pieces fusing for wearing comfort | WF40150T, WF40150T-32 | depends on the actual need | depends on the actual need |
| Fully fused | WF40150T-32, WF40100-44 | depends on the shell fabric | depends on the actual need |
