Abstract: A circular knitted fabric and a method for making such a fabric is disclosed. The fabric employs a multifilament elastomeric yarn as a ground yarn and a polyester yarn as a pile yarn. The fabric is comprised of a plurality of knitted regions arranged in a pre-defined ornamental pattern on the fabric. The fabric has at least a first non-pile region and a second region having a pile of a first height. Also, a third region provides a pile of a second height. The fabric is visibly translucent through at least the first region of the fabric, so that an object positioned on a first side of the fabric is visible from the second side of the fabric when the object is viewed through the non-pile first region of the fabric.

Abstract: A blister fabric of a knit or woven construction may be needle punched to produce internal connections of filaments or fibers from yarns extending into, and/or between, the yarns of an adjacent layer. Interconnections of fibers among separate layers are produced by needles which enter a first layer and then carry fibers from the first layer to a second adjacent layer within the blister of the fabric. Such interconnected fibers which bridge or span multiple layers in the fabric serve to strengthen the blister fabric, making the fabric more resistant to abrasive forces.