Abstract: This provides a knitted wire carrier that incorporates a locking stitch that passes through the warp threads adjacent to the wire weft. In one embodiment, the locking stitch constructed from a “heat-activated yarn” consisting of an underlying material having exhibiting minimal shrinkage under application of heat and an outer heat-activated adhesive coating that fuses to the warp and wire weft when heated. In another embodiment, the locking stitch is constructed from a composite yarn having at least one meltable thread and a plurality of shrink-resistant threads braided together so as to avoid distorting shrinkage upon heating to melt and fuse the meltable thread.