How are knitted carpets constructed?

In the context of machine-made floor covering, knitted carpets are constructed by looping the backing, locking, and pile yarns together simultaneously.1

While production rates for this method are generally higher than those of traditional looms, they do not reach the high speeds achieved by modern tufting machinery. Specific variations in the knitting process include:2

• Warp knitting: Uses beams to feed the yarn supply into the machine.2
• Weft knitting: Utilizes smaller packages to feed the yarns.2
• Specialized machinery: Certain machines, such as the German Malipol machine, employ knitting principles to bind pile to a backing fabric, though some later models have been developed to use unknitted weft threads instead of a traditional backing.2

The quality of materials and the finished product in knitted carpets are comparable to the middle range of traditional carpets. Although development in this area continues, the growth of knitted carpet sales has been limited by current design constraints.2