(Not only) Olympic athletes like it hot: High-tech sports and thermal underwear made by Mayer & Cie.

• February 14, 2022

“In view of the icy temperatures reported in coverage of the Olympics, thermal underwear would seem to me to be an obvious choice,” says Jürgen Müller, head of the patterns department at the circular knitting machine manufacturer Mayer & Cie. His choice of underwear can be manufactured in different ways on a circular knitting machine.

Extra warm thermal underwear: Single jersey, plush and fine rib all deliver warmth and comfort

First is a fully elastomer-plated fabric made of thicker yarns such as microfibres of between 150/1 and 167/1 dtex, all in E28 gauge. The inside of the single jersey fabric is napped for a fleece effect. Circular knitting machines the Mayer & Cie. expert recommends for this purpose are the MV 4 3.2. II and the S4-3.2. Relanit machines suitable for the manufacture of thermal underwear are the Relanit 3.2 S, the Relanit 3.2 HS and the Relanit 4.0.  

Plush fabric with a 1.5 mm short loop also feels like fleece on the skin. The MPU 1.6 knits this fabric in gauges E22 to E28. “Yarn that shrinks a little is especially good for this purpose,” Müller explains. “It can be functional microfibre yarn, which is always multifilament.” A 10 per cent admixture of elastomer yarn is also common. Silver yarn cabe knitted in as an option to prevent unwanted odour generation.

The third alternative for circular machine-knitted thermal underwear is fine rib fabric napped inside. Elastic by definition, it does not require any elastomer content. “Underwear manufacturers often opt for a mixture of 75 per cent cotton and 25 per cent polyester,” Müller says. “On an FV 2.0 or a D4 2.2 the double jersey fabric comes out fine in E22 to E24 gauge.”

Sports underwear, figure accentuating and extra breathable: Body mapping and fine gauges

Those who perform a physical activity with a high degree of intensity and are quick to perspire should wear as their first layer fine single jersey underwear. “Good results,” Jürgen Müller says, “are achieved with polyester and polyamide yarns combined with a higher elastomer content of up to 18 per cent.” The fabric is knitted in fine gauges of E28 to E44 on, for example, an MV 4-3.2 II or an S4-3.2 II. The resulting compression effect makes fabrics especially breathable and easy and pleasant to wear.

“Body mapping is another trend in sports underwear,” Müller says. It takes the different perspiration areas of the human body into account. Patterns are made with double-sided plating. Body mapping requires larger plain segments in the back or stomach area as well as breathable jacquard areas underneath the armpits or on the sides. Body mapping structures almost without exception require elastomer plating. That means knitting with three yarns: basic, plated and elastomer. “The right machine for this task is our MJ 3.2 E,” Müller says, adding that “not even this option is likely to keep spectators warm at the Games in China…”

SHIMA SEIKI to Exhibit at Pitti Filati 90

SHIMA SEIKI ITALIA S.p.A., Italian subsidiary of leading Japanese computerized knitting solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD., will exhibit at the 90th edition of the Pitti Immagine Filati exhibition in Florence, Italy. Products exhibited will include the N.SVR123SP computerized flat knitting machine as well as APEXFiz design software.

The N.SVR123SP computerized knitting machine features a special loop presser bed, capable of producing hybrid inlay fabrics with both knit and weave characteristics. Demand for such novel fabrics are very high across a wide range of applications, from fashion apparel to sportswear, innerwear, outerwear, uniforms and other functional clothing, as well as home furnishing and technical textiles. Shown in 18G at the SHIMA SEIKI booth, N.SVR123SP will also feature the special i-Plating option, capable of alternating yarn colors in any pattern, producing jacquard-like designs using plain jersey stitch. Plating can be performed within the same course and for individual needles. In combination with the loop presser and spring-type moveable sinker system even greater diversity in knit design is possible. An SVR123SP machine in 14G with i-Plating option will also be on display at the booth of yarn spinner IAFIL S.p.A. as well.

APEXFiz is subscription-based design software that maintains the proven functions that have made SHIMA SEIKI’s SDS-ONE APEX series design systems so popular with fashion designers. Installed on personal computers, those strengths are now enhanced with the added versatility to adapt to different work styles and business environments including teleworking and telecommuting. APEXFiz software supports the creative side of fashion from planning and design to colorway evaluation, realistic fabric simulation and 3D virtual sampling. Virtual samples are a digitized version of sample making that are accurate enough to be used effectively as prototypes, replacing physical sampling and consequently reducing time, cost and material that otherwise go to waste. APEXFiz thereby helps to realize sustainability and digitally transform the fashion supply chain.

APEXFiz along with SHIMA SEIKI’s yarnbank digital yarn web platform are featured at a special section launched at the previous session of Pitti Filati no. 89 called Pitti Studios. Pitti Studios is a content production service that yarn companies exhibiting at Pitti Filati can use for their own promotion. Yarn companies provide a piece of yarn, which is digitized on yarnbank and used to simulate photorealistic fabric on APEXFiz. This is then processed by a creative studio specializing in digital content to provide static and animated 3D virtual representations. The process shows how to use the latest DX tools to provide accurate representation of a finished garment without having to produce any fabric, converting the conventionally wasteful process of sample-making into a sustainable one.

Continuing from past editions of Pitti Filati are knit samples produced in collaboration with Italian designer Vittorio Branchizio.

Exhibition Details