Tricot Warp Knitting Machine: How the Process Works, Step by Step

September 29, 2026

A tricot warp knitting machine makes fabric from a full sheet of parallel warp ends, with a sinker bar that holds the fabric at every stage of the knitting cycle and a take-down that pulls the cloth downward at a steep angle to the needle bar. That geometry is why tricot runs fast on fine continuous-filament yarns and produces light, stable fabrics, and it is also why it struggles with spun, bulky or heavily textured yarns that a raschel handles without complaint.

This guide walks through the process in the order the yarn experiences it, then maps each step to the fabrics a tricot line can and cannot make. Where a number is quoted, it is a typical value cited by public references or by our own product pages, not a promise for any particular machine.

How the tricot knitting process works, step by step

Every warp knitting machine shares the same basic idea: instead of one yarn travelling across the fabric course by course, as on a weft knitter, hundreds or thousands of warp ends feed in parallel from beams, and each needle forms a loop from the ends laid onto it by the guide bars. What separates tricot from raschel is not the principle but the way the loop is held and the fabric is drawn away.

1. Warp ends come off the beams

Each guide bar is fed by its own beam, so a two-bar machine runs two warp sheets and a four-bar machine runs four. Tension on each sheet has to be even across the full width, because every end is knitted on every course.

2. Guide bars lap the yarn around the needles

The guide bars swing through the needles and shog sideways to wrap yarn around the needle hooks. The lapping pattern of each bar decides the structure: which needles the yarn visits, how far it underlaps on the back, and how the bars lock together.

3. The compound needle forms the loop

Tricot is associated with compound needles: a grooved needle and a separate closing element that move together to open and close the hook, instead of a latch that flips on its own. Our overview of warp knitting machine types describes this pairing as the needle family built for fine, smooth fabrics at high speed, and our compound needle vs latch needle guide goes deeper into why.

4. The sinker holds the fabric throughout the cycle

This is the defining trait. Engineering references such as the ScienceDirect topic digest on tricot machines separate tricot from raschel by the role of the sinker: on tricot the sinkers control the fabric through the whole knitting cycle. There is no grid-shaped trick plate for the fabric to rest on; the sinker bar holds the old loops down while the needles rise and knock over.

5. The take-down pulls the fabric downward

On a tricot machine the fabric is drawn down at an angle of about 110 degrees to the needle bed, as our machine-types page notes. A raschel draws its fabric away at about 160 degrees, almost in line with the needles. That difference sounds small, but it changes how much the take-down tension loads the needles, which is the root of most of the yarn limits on tricot.

Tricot vs raschel: where the process differences show up

The two families are often confused because both are warp knitters. The table below collects the differences that public references repeat most often. Treat the speed and bar counts as typical figures, not specifications.

For a wider view that also covers double needle bar machines, see our comparison of warp knitting machine types.

What the steep take-down means on the shop floor

The 110-degree draw-off is the detail that decides a lot of day-to-day behaviour. Because the fabric pulls down across the needle rather than straight away from it, take-down tension turns into a bending load on the needle stem. Our machine-types page puts it plainly: when tension gets too high the needles can bend, and this happens most with fine needles that lack stiffness. Compound needles take more of that load, but even with them, pulling the yarn too hard lets the loop slip back and the machine stops knitting cleanly.

Two practical consequences follow for anyone running or buying a tricot line:

• Take-down tension is a setting to respect, not a dial to crank. If a fabric is coming off loose, the fix is usually in run-in and stitch density, not in pulling harder. Pulling harder is how needle bending starts.
• Yarn choice is part of the machine choice. Fine filament yarns ride through a tricot knitting zone easily. Bulky or hairy spun yarns add friction and bulk at the sinker, and that is where the flatter draw-off and trick plate of a raschel are more forgiving.

What a tricot line makes, by number of guide bars

Public references describe tricot machines as built with 2, 3 or 4 guide bars, and the Wikipedia entry on warp knitting characterises tricot fabric as light, usually under about 4 oz per square yard, with fine vertical ribs on the face and horizontal ribs on the back. Our own tricot machines page groups end uses by bar count:

• 2 guide bars: mosquito nets, mattress and bedding fabrics, embroidery grounds and tulle, coating substrates, advertising media. On our range this is the GS-HKS2.
• 3 guide bars: automotive interior fabrics, upholstery, sportswear, toy plush, outerwear and lingerie. This is the GS-HKS3 (EL).
• 4 guide bars: premium upholstery, shoe fabrics, cleaning textiles and pile fabrics. This is the GS-HKS4 (EL).

Two variants extend the basic process rather than replace it: a jacquard bar for pattern control (GS-KSJ 3/1 (EL)) and weft insertion for fabrics that need crosswise stability (GS-KS-MSUS (EL)). If you are weighing bar count and gauge together, our tricot machine buying guide covers that decision in detail.

Gauge and width

Reference sources list E28, E32, E36 and E40 as common tricot gauges, and cite working widths up to 335 inches at the wide end of the market. Finer gauges suit lighter, denser fabric; coarser gauges suit heavier constructions and thicker yarn within the tricot range.

When tricot is the right process, and when it is not

If your core fabric is a light, dense, stable knit on continuous filament yarn, such as lingerie and swim bases, sportswear, linings or coating substrates, then a tricot line fits the process, because its sinker-held knitting zone and high running speed are built for exactly that work.

If you need pile or brushed surfaces within the same light-to-medium weight family, then a three- or four-bar tricot machine is the usual route, because the extra bars carry the pile or effect yarn.

If your product relies on spun yarns, heavy technical constructions, open lace or netting with many pattern bars, then this conclusion does not apply: that is raschel territory, because raschel accepts heavier and spun yarns and supports far more guide bars. The same exclusion holds for spacer and other three-dimensional fabrics, which need a double needle bed.

Before committing, send a sample fabric or a yarn specification to the machine maker and ask which bar count and gauge they would knit it on. Our manufacturing site at grandstarcn.com lists the full machine range, and our contact page is the fastest way to get a fabric reviewed by an engineer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between tricot and raschel knitting?

Tricot holds the fabric with the sinker bar through the whole cycle and draws it down at about 110 degrees, which suits fine filament yarn and fast running. Raschel supports the cloth on a trick plate at about 160 degrees, accepts spun and heavier yarns, and can carry many more pattern bars for lace and nets.

Why do needles bend on a tricot machine?

The steep downward draw-off turns take-down tension into a sideways load on the needle stem. Fine needles with little stiffness bend first when tension is set too high. Compound needles resist this better, but over-pulling can still make loops slip back.

What fabrics can a tricot machine make?

Light, dense and stable knits: lingerie and swim bases, sportswear, linings, embroidery grounds, mosquito nets and coating substrates on two bars, with upholstery, shoe, plush and pile fabrics on three or four bars.

Can tricot machines knit spun yarn?

They are designed around fine continuous filament and textured filament yarn. Spun and bulky yarns are normally sent to raschel machines, whose flatter take-down and trick plate cope better with extra friction and bulk.