Leading seamless knitting machine builder Santoni, a Lonati Group company, showed an interesting glimpse of the future with a striking range of garments for sportswear and activewear markets at last week’s Ispo show in Munich.

On show was a range of innovative sportswear and knitwear garments from Santoni’s latest seamless knitting machines, the SWD 6/2J double needle bar warp knitting machine and the soon to launch SM8-TR1 and SM6-RIB2 circular seamless knitting machines.

The SWD 6/2J is a compact seamless warp knitting machine for a new generation of seamless garments. The main characteristics of the garments on show were support and compression, greater comfort without seams and seamless garments complete with sleeves in ladder proof and open work constructions.

The SM8-TR1 garments on show were described as being highly breathable and said to have excellent moisture management due to the machine’s central feature being Santoni’s unique needle technology with patented collar for efficient stitch transfer on single jersey fabrics. Santoni says it developed the machine in order to ‘re-define sportswear ‘using the machine’s ability to knit ‘eyelet’ areas where required. The SM8-TR1 also knits double fabrics and plaited fabrics in both natural and synthetic yarns, an important factor given the massive trend towards merino wool fibre at last week’s Ispo.

“These features, combined with a high productivity, provide unique performance benefits for all those who are interested in producing sportswear to meet the latest trends and demands,” said Patrick Silva, Santoni’s Marketing Manager.

The SM6-RIB2 is said to offer fabrics with ‘outstanding weightlessness’ and performance. The machine has dial needles for creating rib fabrics for the true knitwear (sweaters) market. Santoni claims the SM6-RIB2 offers strongly personalized garments which respond to the customers’ needs and requirements. Very short production times are possible here, especially for fine gauges such as 16, 18 and 20.

The SM6-RIB2 is one of Santoni’s most interesting recent innovations. The machine is a double knit, cylinder and dial, electronic circular knitting machine with 6 feeds, suitable for seamless outerwear such as knitwear with true rib border. The cylinder has individual needle selection for three way technique and for high definition and floating yarn patterning. The machine is suitable for using both natural and synthetic yarns as well as covered and uncovered elastane, a must for a knitwear machine.

The SM6-RIB2 machine knits a garment length with welt and true rib border and is pressed off at the end of knitting of each garment length. The machine is able to knit any number of rib set outs and cutting lines for armhole and sleeves can be programmed in to the knit data. The machine was first shown at Santoni days in Brescia in September 2009 as a prototype but is expected to be production ready within a few months.