On November 6th, we had a guest presentation from Jag Sodhi
of Stoll Knitting. Stoll is one of the leading developers of advanced v-bed
weft knitting equipment.
Of the many cool things that Jag shared with us, a few
things stuck out. First, most of the advancements in the textile industry are
happening on the weft knit side. Industry innovators are finding that weft
knits are incredibly flexible (pun intended) and can solve several of the
challenges the textile industry faces. Among these challenges are the rise of
custom-fit, on-demand manufacturing, information protection and counterfeit
products, and our need to curb fast fashion’s devastating waste problem.
The other point that really stood out was that weft knitting
is proving to be so versatile and quick that tech companies are recognizing its
advantages in the development of smart textiles. Jag told us that currently, all
of the exciting advancements are happening behind the locked doors of secret
rooms deep in tech companies’ research departments, and not, surprisingly, in
apparel.
For the layman, knitting equates sweaters. And true, for
most of weft knitting’s history, the driving force of knitting technology has
been the fashion and apparel market. However, with the advent of smart
textiles, weft knits versatility and speed, and Stoll’s stellar software and
machine capabilities, it makes sense that tech-heads are seeing the possibilities
knit fabrics have to offer.
Jag’s presentation about Stoll and their machine and
software capabilities really opened our eyes to the possibilities they have to
offer. It’s refreshing to see that knits are starting to be widely considered
for other uses than apparel. And for our students, it was truly remarkable to
see a whole field of career opportunities open up before them.
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