Shima Seiki Manufacturing Ltd., Japan, recently placed a 3-D seamless garment WHOLEGARMENT®
knitting machine at the Raleigh, N.C.-based North Carolina State University’s (NCSU’s) College of
Textiles. The machine allows students to experiment with whole-garment knitting design and to see
first-hand the benefits of seamless knitting, which include no chaffing and seams that don’t pull
apart.
“To us, the idea of whole-garment knitting is that we can do prototypes in one place we don’t
have to send garments out to be sewed but the other aspect is that you are getting a better design
because you are actually designing the fabric at the same time you are designing the shape of the
garment, so the two are better integrated,” said Lisa Parillo-Chapman, instructor, department of
textile and apparel technology and management.
January 2004
