Wool and blend knitted fabric follows a different finishing logic from woven wool cloth: greige comes off the circular machine in tubular form, stays stretch-sensitive throughout, and needs its elasticity kept intact at almost every station. Two choices set the pace and handle of this route — how scouring and milling are configured, and which method carries crabbing, drying and decatizing. QL's wool-finishing machines cover the combined scouring-and-milling, crabbing, decatizing and pre-shrinking stations on this route.
View this process route diagram.
What makes wool and blend knits different in wet finishing: stretch-sensitive, elasticity to keep
The route starts with yarn winding and circular knitting, producing tubular greige that is inspected before scouring and milling. Its loop structure makes tension control an important finishing consideration: equipment choices must account for both fabric form and station order.
The tubular fabric first completes scouring and milling. Whether piece dyeing follows depends on whether the greige was knitted from coloured or undyed yarn. Untwisting, slitting and mangling come afterward. Slitting converts the tube to open width for crabbing and subsequent dry finishing. QL covers the upstream combined scouring and milling station with the WPF-4XS; its crabbing and decatizing equipment provide tension control at their respective stages, while the WPF-WDYS uses relaxed belt transport downstream.
Scour–mill set-up: separate or combined
Whether scouring and milling run as separate machines or one combined machine comes down to how mixed each batch is in colour and weight, not which set-up is inherently better.
- Separate: mill then scour — the WPF-1S Wool Milling Machine does the wet-heat and mechanical work first, the WPF-XN Rope Scouring Machine cleans the fabric after in rope form, each machine running at its own pace, suited to batches that stay uniform and run in steady volume.
- Combined: the WPF-4XS Four-Channel Wool Scouring and Milling Machine does both steps on one platform, with each channel independently set, so batches mixing different colours and weights run at the same time without queuing for a shared recipe.
A batch that routinely mixes colours and weights points to the combined machine; a uniform, steady-volume batch works just as well on separate machines.
Dyeing by fabric state: yarn-dyed or white knitted fabric
Whether the knitted greige still needs dyeing depends on whether it already carries colour.
- Yarn-dyed greige (mainstream): the yarn was dyed before knitting, so the fabric is already finished-colour and skips dyeing, going straight through untwisting, slitting and mangling — turning the tubular greige into open width and releasing knitting tension, a step specific to knits; pre-owned refurbished equipment is available from QL.
- White greige: still needs colour or whiteness added through piece dyeing or bleaching, with untwisting and slitting slotted in after dyeing rather than replacing it.
Both branches meet at untwisting, slitting and mangling before crabbing. The map marks yarn-dyed greige as the mainstream branch; the actual order determines which path is used.
Crab-setting and low-tension drying
Crabbing and drying equipment for knitted fabric must each be selected for the fabric's tension requirements and intended finish. The WPF-ZN is an option for batch crabbing: it sets the whole piece in a hot-liquor bath, with constant-torque control holding wrapper tension rather than applying it directly to the fabric. Wool knits can be processed on this machine.
The process diagram also retains a continuous-crabbing branch. A knit mill considering that process arrangement should work with QL to confirm a suitable configuration using its fabric samples and existing equipment before specifying the connection between stages.
Hydro-extraction follows crabbing, then drying. Hydro-extraction removes surplus water and drying completes the drying task; they are separate stations. The diagram shows conventional and cylinder-drying branches. Equipment for either branch must suit the knitted fabric and required handle, and suitable existing equipment can remain in use. QL can help establish these connections from the customer's fabric, process and installed equipment.
See crabbing principles for wrapper tension and processing knitted wool.
Decatizing, pre-shrinking and handle
Decatizing sits at the end of the dry-finishing chain, converting the temporary lustre, handle and flatness left by earlier steps into a set that survives garment making.
Before decatizing, the fabric is reconditioned on the WPF-PP Rotating Disc Moistening Unit, raised and sheared, combed into one direction by the WPF-SM Vertical Brushing Machine, then run through the WPF-WDYS Belt-Type Steaming-Shrinking Machine — open-width travel for relaxed pre-shrinking on this knit route. The route includes no pin-wheel weft-straightening station. Raising develops the nap and shearing levels it; QL supplies pre-owned refurbished equipment for both stations.
Decatizing itself is a choice of four:
- Discontinuous: the WPF-JXZN-MAX Discontinuous Decatizing Machine, with its Ø2000 mm oversized cylinder, gives ample fabric travel for a deeper set.
- Continuous: the WPF-LXZN Continuous Decatizing Machine runs fabric through without interruption, with ultra-low-tension delivery well suited to knitted fabric.
- Continuous pressure: the WPF-LXZN-P Continuous Pressure Decatizing Machine pressurises the vessel to 0–3 bar, reaching close to kier-grade setting depth in a single pass, with woven-and-knitted tension control covering elastane-bearing stretch knits.
- Autoclave (kier): sets deepest of the four but runs batch-only; pre-owned refurbished equipment is available from QL.
Where an order calls for a fuller, cloud-like handle, an air-flow softening step can be added before final inspection, also available from QL as pre-owned refurbished equipment; a standard flat handle goes straight to final inspection and rolling.
Bring your fabric types, batch sizes and current machine list to QL and we talk process before configuration: WhatsApp +1 380 900 2442, or +86 189 2110 8080.