A new kind of lace
for that extra
special occasion

There are several reasons why producing four-way stretch fabrics is expensive. Firstly, the shrinkage of the fabric in the width results in a lower yield and in some cases, only one as opposed to two panels can be produced on the machine in order to compensate for the shrinkage with a greater knitting width. Secondly, high-quality, expensive yarns are used.

Despite all of these challenges, the production of high-quality four-way stretch lace can be worthwhile, as the new TEXTRONIC® article shows.

To produce the innovation, KARL MAYER lace expert Jamie Heather combined a functional fabric material with a complex pattern and used an MT 84/1/40 S for the production process.

A clever patterning technique ensures a lower cost for what is generally extremely high-quality yarn and offers additionally a attractive design look. Thus, Jamie Heather used textured yarn instead of organzine for the flossing and in one version a filet-threaded warp in the front guide bar which acts as a shield to protect the bulky material from filament breakage.

This front ground bar option is only available in the new MT 84/1/40 S.

Expertise is also required when knitting such yarns on the machine, especially when using elastic Bourdon cord and covered elastane yarns. Most innovatively the jacquard bar is threaded with a covered elastane yarn, which provides for the width stretch and aids the overall soft feel. To achieve the required fabric soft stretch, a type of elastane with a comfort modulus is threaded in the back bars.

Anyone who is interested in seeing the new innovation live is invited to visit the KARL MAYER booth A301 in Hall 5 of the Singapore EXPO at ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025.