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Thread Number: 85877
/ Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
'Double Knits' definition |
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| Post# 1104240 1/12/2021 at 00:36 (1,197 days old) by toploadloyalist (San Luis Obispo, CA) | ||
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I've been wondering about the difference between 'knits' and 'double knits' fabrics as defined by some manufacturers jurisdictions. | ||
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Post# 1104248 , Reply# 1 1/12/2021 at 02:52 (1,197 days old) by Launderess  (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Double knit originally referred to a method of kitting two fabrics together on same needle.
As related to fashions of 1970's double knit (often of polyester) merely referred to two layers of double thick machine knitted fabric. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_kni... www.threadsmagazine.com/2... www.seamwork.com/magazine/2015/0... If you lived through the 1970's or watch television of period such as "That 70's Show", then you are familiar with the wonderful world of polyester double knit fabric. It showed up all over from leisure suits, to pants/slacks/trousers, to jackets... Many uniforms for say nurses and others were made from the stuff (and still are for that matter) for a few good reasons. Thanks to being made from our not so good friend Mr. Polyester those garments were "wash and wear". You could literally throw a "suit" into washer then dryer and have it look good as new. Well in theory anyway..., much depended upon what sort of washer and or dryer one used, and one's laundering skills. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leisure_su... Knits don't wrinkle, but do give (have stretch) so it double knit fabrics were often made into tailored and or garments that had nice fit to body. Again look at the pants guys wear on "That 70's Show" especially Fez and Kelso www.plaidstallions.com/images/cho... | ||
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Post# 1104308 , Reply# 2 1/12/2021 at 16:20 (1,196 days old) by CircleW (NE Cincinnati OH area) |
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I had a couple pairs of double-knit pants, and a leisure suit , while I was in high school. They were for church or some other more formal occasion. Never worn to school, as that was always jeans or cords. | ||
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Post# 1104327 , Reply# 3 1/12/2021 at 18:36 (1,196 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Post# 1104336 , Reply# 4 1/12/2021 at 19:10 (1,196 days old) by Combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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1970s double knit fabrics
The stuff was really durable And washed and dried beautifully
These are two quilts that my mother made out of scraps from dresses that she had made for herself and friends from the 70s. We have had these laying around the house and on the backs of the couches for years the backing finally wore out on one of them and she replace the cotton backing but the double knit never faded or wore at all. | ||
| Post# 1104371 , Reply# 5 1/13/2021 at 03:49 (1,196 days old) by toploadloyalist (San Luis Obispo, CA) | ||
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Thanks for your help! BTW, That 70s Show had Mila Kunis (Jackie) capture my heart! | ||
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Post# 1104419 , Reply# 6 1/13/2021 at 14:08 (1,195 days old) by Washerlover (The Big Island, Hawai’i) |
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My Wards Signature 20-lb capacity machine has the coveted “double knits” cycle meaning slow agitation/spin and warm wash with cold rinse.
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Post# 1104440 , Reply# 7 1/13/2021 at 18:01 (1,195 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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If made mostly from or all polyester then "double knit" items should be treated as permanent press. Gentle agitation with moderate wash water temps, and cold/cool rinse.
By late 1950's and certianily by 1970's most washing machines and dryers in North America and Europe at least had dedicated "Permanent Press" or "Easy Cares" cycles. You may have had to buy TOL or MOL to get them, but they were available. | ||
| Post# 1104443 , Reply# 8 1/13/2021 at 18:40 (1,195 days old) by ken (NYS) | ||
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Post# 1104473 , Reply# 10 1/14/2021 at 00:14 (1,195 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Exhibit A: The leisure suit.
This is probably one of the better examples of the double knit in its natural habitat.
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| Post# 1104475 , Reply# 11 1/14/2021 at 01:59 (1,195 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806) | ||
This may be going off the tracks a little but my 1963 RCA Whirlpool Imperial Mark XII has the same Wash N Wear cycle when you select cycle #10. It even has a Super Wash N Wear cycle when you select cycle #8.
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Post# 1104476 , Reply# 12 1/14/2021 at 02:52 (1,195 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Post# 1104482 , Reply# 13 1/14/2021 at 06:33 (1,195 days old) by ozzie908 (Lincoln UK) |
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@combo52 | ||
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Post# 1104487 , Reply# 14 1/14/2021 at 07:25 (1,195 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Cute Little Puppy That picture just slipped in there, and I left it.
On a service call last week my first customer on Capital Hill had this very playful 9 week old puppy and I was sitting on the floor in front of a WP Duet washer waiting for it act up and this puppy just crawled into my lap and went to sleep.
Friendly dogs are one of the many great perks of my job, one customer told me once that she thinks I just come to play with her dog, LOL
John L.
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Post# 1104493 , Reply# 15 1/14/2021 at 09:10 (1,195 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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 There were several variations of the wash cool down. The original W-n-W cycle had repeated partial drains and refills with no agitation, as many as could occur in 2 timer increments (4 mins) with the timer running only during the drains. A variation moreso for Perm Press than W-n-W had agitation for 1 timer increment after the refill. Kenmore had a version that agitated *during* part of the the refill (while the drain increment ran-out). Whirlpool introduced a separate Knit cycle in the 1970s ('72?) with a single cool down. Water conservation concerns later changed PP to a single drain/refill. The timer on our 1976 Supreme 80 went bad, the replacement had a single cool down on both PP and Knit whereas PP was originally a double cool down. A 2003 DD I have (timer below) has two spin sprays on PP labeled on the timer as a Cool Down. Normal cycle has no sprays in the first spin. Whirlpool had the Super Wash prewash/soak/drain cycle for years across many models. My 1991 KitchenAid has it, as did the parents' 1994 KA. Super Wash on the timer pictured does not involve soak/partial drain, it's just a longer 16-mins wash time.
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Post# 1104499 , Reply# 16 1/14/2021 at 09:49 (1,194 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Does my memory have crossed wires or was there a washer brand that offered slow agitation and fast spin speed on its Knits cycle? I believe the rationale was that knits hung on to water and thus required a fast spin.
John, the quilts your mom made are beautiful. She made what I'd consider the best use of double knit fabrics--and they are family keepsakes to boot. | ||
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Post# 1104538 , Reply# 17 1/14/2021 at 17:33 (1,194 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Knitted items made from wool actually can withstand and benefit from a fast (but short) spin cycle. Things like blankets, sweaters, etc.... not only will dry faster but won't be so heavy (especially the former) water laden when hung on lines to dry.
Polyester and other man-made fibers for most part are hydrophobic, they resist water and don't absorb that much if any. Short spin is all that is required, but you don't want it too fast due to risk of creating creases. If you've ever washed poly/cotton blend sheets with "normal" cycle and noticed after even ironing creases still remain no matter what one does, that is what happens to the polyester part. This will happen especially if tub was too crowded for synthetics but just fine for normal fabrics. Ideally "easy cares" fabrics or items should mean just that, things come out of washer and maybe dried or ironed (depending upon fiber content and manufactures instructions) with little fuss. Otherwise what is the point? | ||
| Post# 1104543 , Reply# 18 1/14/2021 at 18:16 (1,194 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas) | ||
 Ah yes, double knit polyester! I once owned a blue plaid sports jacket with wide lapels made from that miracle fabric. I wore it with a pair of white bell-bottom double knit pants, wide white leather belt and white monk strap shoes...quite stylish! LOL! I took my girlfriend on a date with that ensemble, wreaking of Hi-Karate. She broke up with me after that! | ||
| Post# 1104545 , Reply# 19 1/14/2021 at 18:25 (1,194 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY) | ||
Polyester clothing ~
People loved this stuff to death. It was everywhere and everybody had some. No wrinkles, no ironing at all, almost miraculous the way these "miracle fabrics" came out of the drier, especially for a generation reared on must-be-ironed--no excuse!!-- 100 % cotton.
But then it was accidentally discovered that a random hot ash from a cigar, etc. could make the fabric melt with alarming alacrity. And the air quickly flew out of that balloon. Glenn, I have to check but this Mark XII, does FOUR refills on PP on the low water level setting. And I love the Knits cycle on another Whirlpool for blended shirts. You leave the lid up; thus no spin, and the cool-down is a much better substitute for the dreaded gray water, no spin without a cooldown on some modern TL's.
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Post# 1104548 , Reply# 20 1/14/2021 at 18:53 (1,194 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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IIRC, WP and KM advised to always use max fill level on W-n-W / PP ... at least in the early days. Knit cycle was on the LAA and LDA series, don't recall LFA. The Imperial Mark 18 LAA and LDA models could (presumably, if low wasn't hard-wired into the timer) do a high spin on Knit via the separate speed buttons. | ||
| Post# 1104591 , Reply# 21 1/15/2021 at 05:10 (1,194 days old) by toploadloyalist (San Luis Obispo, CA) | ||
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Did Whirlpool ever have the simulateous fill & agitate like Kenmore? | ||
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Post# 1104594 , Reply# 22 1/15/2021 at 06:43 (1,194 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Reply # 21 | ||
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Post# 1104602 , Reply# 23 1/15/2021 at 09:22 (1,193 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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John, Agitation during refill for the remainder of the drain increment was a thing specifically related to combination of a W-n-W/PP cycle? ... vs. W-n-W/non-PP that repeatedly drained and refilled with no agitation ... vs. PP that drained, refilled, then agitated? Is that the logic behind the difference? | ||
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Post# 1104615 , Reply# 24 1/15/2021 at 11:58 (1,193 days old) by appnut (TX) |
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Our 1970 Kenmore 800 agitated during fill of the drain increment on the PP cycle. Neighbors next door had a 1966/1967 next to TOL WP pair that had cycle designated as PP/W'n'W cycle. It shifted to gentle about 4 or 6 minute segment of wash. It didn't agitate during fill on the drain increment. Only after finished filling during each of the 2 cooldown segments. Rinse agitation was also gentle.
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| Post# 1104712 , Reply# 25 1/16/2021 at 04:46 (1,193 days old) by toploadloyalist (San Luis Obispo, CA) | ||
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When did WP switch to the drain-pause-fill-agitate sequence? KM did so in 1976, on high speed. | ||
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Post# 1104751 , Reply# 26 1/16/2021 at 16:31 (1,192 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Two things don’t make sense to me regarding Kenmore’s cool down protocol:
1959-1960 models (had a ‘59 LK and grew up with a ‘60 Model 80) did several partial drains and refills with no agitation whatsoever. I used the Wash ‘n’ Wear Sturdy cycle for fun a couple of times, which provided medium temp wash water (warmer than warm, but not outright hot). After all those refills—don’t recall how many anymore, but I’d guess it was 4 or 5—the water at the front of the tub was still not cold. The water in the rear half of the tub, where the fresh water rained in, was, of course, cold. Fast forward a number of years and it started agitating as soon as the refill began. So you’ve gone to all the trouble of treating your W ‘n’ W items carefully, only to have them jerked around by (albeit slow) agitation with only half a tub of water. Why didn’t they let the machine agitate for a bit once each refill was complete? There would be no warm spots and it would be gentler to fabrics. | ||
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Post# 1104809 , Reply# 28 1/17/2021 at 03:36 (1,192 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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IIRC by late 1960's to early 1970's Lady Kenmore "Letter" top loaders had "warm/cold" as their "Delicates" cycle. Though some models may also have had a cold option for wash and or rinse to over ride programmed setting.
If we're talking about "delicates" made from nylon or other synthetics, then hot water isn't going to harm them, in fact might do a world of good depending upon what sort of wash day product was being used. www.automaticwasher.org/c... www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/... | ||
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Post# 1104810 , Reply# 29 1/17/2021 at 03:59 (1,192 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Furthermore while there were other options such as Deft, Woolite and other light duty detergents for "nice things"; many women still preferred to use soap like Ivory Snow or Lux Flakes for their fine washables.
If you're going to use soap, then you want hot, or very warm water for washing. In fact if using "Delicate" cycle for all sorts of wash made from cotton, linen, or man made fibers Ivory Snow, Lux and other soaps still tried hard well into early 1960's to hang onto that market. But by 1970's it was pretty much becoming a lost cause. Light duty detergents such as Woolite began stepping up their game. Then there is fact that those detergents didn't have associated issues that come from using soap on wash day. | ||
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