Tricot Machines Compared: Guide Bars, Gauge and What Each Setup Makes

September 24, 2026

A tricot machine is a warp knitting machine: the yarn is fed into it vertically, off beams, instead of running across the width the way it does in weft knitting. Three fields on the spec sheet decide what any particular tricot machine can actually produce — the number of guide bars, the gauge, and the needle type. Everything else in an OEM catalogue is specialisation stacked on top of those three.

Machine builders publish model lists but rarely explain the reasoning behind them, so buyers end up comparing model names instead of capabilities. This page works the other way round: bars first, then gauge, then needle, then what each combination realistically makes.

Tricot machine vs raschel machine: what is the difference?

Tricot and raschel machines are both warp knitting machines, but they build different fabrics. A tricot machine makes smooth, uniform, light flat fabric at high speed, with loop formation reaching about 2,000 courses per minute, and most run two guide bars. A raschel machine runs slower but carries more bars, so it handles open, patterned and heavier constructions such as netting, heavy lace, spacer fabric and geogrid.

• Choose tricot for plain knit fabrics, lace, terry and velour constructions feeding fashion, home textiles and automotive interiors, typically under four ounces per square yard.
• Choose raschel when your structure needs more guide bars than a conventional tricot beam arrangement allows, which is roughly four.

Our warp knitting machine types overview places tricot next to raschel and double needle bar builds.

Where tricot sits in the warp knitting family

Tricot is the flat, general-purpose end of warp knitting. The fabric it produces is smoother and more uniform than raschel goods, and the machine runs faster — loop formation reaches around 2,000 courses per minute, against the slower cycle of a raschel machine carrying many bars. It is also the light end of the business: tricot cloth typically comes in under four ounces per square yard.

The output range is wider than the reputation suggests. Tricot machines are used for plain knit fabrics, lace, netting, terry and velour or velvet constructions, feeding fashion, home textiles and automotive interior work. If you are still deciding between warp and weft technology at all, our comparison of tricot and weft knitting machines covers that split; the warp knitting machine types overview places tricot next to raschel and double needle bar builds.

Guide bars: what each count buys you

Guide bar count is the first number to look at, because it sets the ceiling on structure complexity. Tricot machines exist anywhere from two to eight bars, and builders such as Vandewiele list two, three and four bar variants side by side, plus dedicated machines for elastic and non-elastic fabrics.

In practice the useful range is much narrower than the catalogue range, and the reason is worth knowing before you negotiate. A conventional beam arrangement generally limits a tricot machine to about four guide bars — the constraint sits in how many beams you can physically arrange and feed, not in the knitting head. That is why most tricot machines in service run just two bars, and why a jump from four to six is a different class of purchase rather than an incremental option.

Gauge: matching needle density to the yarn you actually run

Gauge is where a mismatched purchase hurts most, because it is fixed for the life of the machine. The usable span on tricot equipment runs from roughly E10 up to E44, and the bands map onto yarn types rather than onto fabric names:

The fine-gauge territory as a whole covers about 28 to 44 needles per inch. One number is worth carrying into any negotiation over a used machine: two-bar locknit tricot machines have historically been built most widely at E28 and E32, so those two gauges are the ones you will meet most often in the installed base, and the ones with the deepest supply of matching elements.

Needle type, and why it is not a free choice

Tricot machines are built with spring-beard needles, latch needles or compound needles. The needle type is tied to the machine, not selected per order, so it belongs in the buying decision rather than in production planning. A machine bought for one needle system stays on that system, which matters when you are sourcing replacement elements years later — check element availability for the specific needle type before the machine arrives, not after.

Reading an OEM model list without getting lost

Once bars, gauge and needle type are fixed, most of what remains in a manufacturer catalogue is specialisation — elastic versus non-elastic feed, jacquard attachments, specific fabric-family builds. Take the three core fields first and use them to shortlist, then read the model names.

Conditional conclusions, stated so you can check yourself against them:

• If you are producing fine apparel and intimate-wear cloth from textured or filament yarns at volume, then a two-bar machine in the E28–E32 region is the configuration to price first, and extra bars are unlikely to earn their cost.
• If your structures need lapping that two bars physically cannot produce, then the honest comparison is three or four bars inside a conventional beam arrangement — and if that still is not enough, you are shopping for a different machine class, not a bigger tricot machine.
• If you run coarse spun yarns, then the fine-gauge bands are the wrong end of the range entirely; look near E10 instead.
• This does not apply if your product is open patterned or heavy technical structure — netting, geogrid, heavy lace, spacer fabric. Those decisions belong on the raschel and double needle bar side of the family, where bar counts and gauges follow different rules.

For the single-machine level of detail — how gauge, guide bars and speed trade against each other on one purchase — see our dedicated guide to choosing a tricot machine. Full machine ranges and configurations are listed on grandstarcn.com. If you are unsure which of the three fields above is actually driving your requirement, send a fabric sample through the contact page and describe the yarn you intend to run.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many guide bars do I need on a tricot machine?

Most tricot machines in service run two guide bars, and two bars cover fine-gauge plain and jacquard structures for apparel and underwear. Tricot builds exist from two up to eight bars, but a conventional beam arrangement generally caps the machine at around four – the limit is in feeding the beams, not in the knitting head. Go above four only when your structure genuinely cannot be lapped on fewer.

What gauge should I buy if I am running textured yarn?

Fabrics built from textured yarns sit in the E20 to E24 band. Coarse spun yarns belong nearer E10, and fine dense fabrics run E36 to E44. Fine-gauge tricot as a whole spans roughly 28 to 44 needles per inch.

Is a tricot machine faster than a raschel machine?

Yes. Tricot machines produce a flatter, more uniform warp knit fabric and run faster than raschel machines, with loop formation reaching about 2,000 courses per minute. The trade is structural freedom: raschel builds carry more bars and handle open and patterned constructions that tricot machines are not built for.

What is the difference between a tricot machine and a weft knitting machine?

The yarn direction. A tricot machine is a warp knitting machine, so yarn is fed vertically off beams; a weft knitting machine feeds yarn across the width of the fabric. That single difference drives run speed, fabric stability and the whole downstream setup.

What can you actually make on a tricot machine?

Plain knit fabrics, lace, netting, terry, and velour or velvet constructions, mostly at light weights below four ounces per square yard. Those goods feed fashion, home textiles and automotive interior work.