Effect of pattern elements of weft knitting on haptic preferences regarding winter garments

An empirical survey was conducted, manually evaluating the relative haptic preference of patterns in weft knitting for winter garments in Mönchengladbach, Germany. Thirty-six patterns were compared in a blind test using ranking orders with respect to six primary hand values (thickness, softness, warmth, weight, stiffness, and smoothness) and general preference for winter garments by 35 participants. Traits of popular patterns included softness and smoothness as well as tucked stitches, rib structures, and float stitches on the surface. On the other hand, unpopular patterns included lace, purl stitches, and ripples.