AU2010246490A1

AU2010246490A1 - A Touch-Fastening Anti-Skidding Material And Method of Making The Same

Info

Publication number: AU2010246490A1
Application number: AU2010246490A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Yang Ming-Shun
Original assignee: Formosa Saint Jose Corp
Current assignee: Formosa Saint Jose Corp
Priority date: 2009-10-22
Filing date: 2010-11-25
Publication date: 2011-09-01
Anticipated expiration: 2030-02-17
Also published as: GB2477320A; PL119135U1; MY154659A; CO6430049A1; IL208839A; NL1037664C2; ES2390179A1; DOP2010000319A; GB201017762D0; NL1038320C2; PL119437U1; DE102010049386A1; FR2951742A1; PE20110381A1; RU2413800C1; NL1037664A; UA103995C2; CZ304993B6; CZ21638U1; PL391617A1

Abstract

A touch-fastening anti-skidding warp knitted fabric (10, 1 0a) comprising a foundation layer (40) that has wales (A, Al, A2, BI, B2. B3) of the fabric (10, 10a) that comprise pliable base yarns (30a, 30b) and a plurality of discrete synthetic filaments (20a, 20b) knitted together. Each stitch of the synthetic filaments (20a, 20b) is looped around a previous stitch of the filament in the same wale and is 5 subsequently cut to form a discrete length of the filament (20a, 20b) that comprises a "U' shaped loop (21) in the foundation layer (40) and two legs (22) projecting frm the foundation layer (40) by a predetermined distance which are used to constitute hooks (22). The Fabric may incorporate apertures (X) or may be in a planar form without aperture. 30b 30a 10 20a 20b 20a 20b 20b 20b 20a 20b 30b 30a B FIG .1 AlB1 10a

Description

P/00/0 1128/5/91 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Name of Applicant: Formosa Saint Jose Corp. Actual Inventor Yang MING-SHUN Address for service is: WRAYS Ground Floor, 56 Ord Street West Perth WA 6005 Attorney code: WR Invention Title: A Touch-Fastening Anti-Skidding Material And Method Of Making The Same The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 1 A Touch Fastening Anti-Skidding Material and Method of Making the Same (a) Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a novel design of knitted structure of a touch-fastening anti-skidding fabric, which has the features of being fit for mass production and manufacture 5 of large width surface area fabrics that have flexibility, resiliency, and light weight, and also offers the advantages of high air permeability and low manufacturing costs, and is fit for combination with other materials and suitable for being bonded to various felts, rugs, flannelette, loop cloth (terycloth) to realize touch-fastening and anti-skidding. (b) Description of the Prior Art 10 The commonly known hook-and-loop types of touch-fastener straps is Velcro straps (Velcro is a Registered Trade Mark of Velcro Industries BV) and these have the features of touch-fastening and anti-skidding. The known hook-and-loop straps are often composed of a first band that has a plurality of male hooks and a second band that has a plurality of female loops that are engaged by the male hooks when the two bands are placed into mutual contact 15 The male hook band has a surface forming a felt-like face on which a plurality of projecting hooks that have ends forming hooks is uniformly distributed. The female loop band has a surface forming a velvet-like face on which curled and entangling yams are uniformly distributed. When the felt-like faces of the male and female bands are put together to so as to mutually confront and touch each other, the hooks engage the curled and entangling yams 20 so as to hold the bands together. The known structure of the touch-fastener strap is effective in fixing articles to be fastened together, but the conventional touch-fastener strap suffers high manufacturing costs and difficulty in making large width products, and is only fit for continuous manufacture of small-surface-area elongate straps, making the production performance very poor. Further, the conventional touch-fastener strap is generally not 25 pliable, making it difficult to bond to articles or materials showing a three-dimensional shape. 2 We are aware of British patents GB 927828, GB 927828, GB 927828, and GB2049749 European Publication EP1698245A3,. US Patent US4854136 and Japanese Publication JP 20040415 all of which describe various hook-and-loop type of touch fastening fabrics, but none of theses disclose a textile warp knitted fabric in which the synthetic threads form the 5 hooks are knitted together along the wales of the fabric. Furthermore none of these disclose the concept of knitting with pliable textile yams and synthetic filaments that have totally different characteristics to the pliable threads together to form a foundation layer. In the patent application there is described and shown in the drawings a unique touch-fastening material, which is manufactured by knitting synthetic fibres with pliable 10 yarns of different characteristics or different diameter sizes in order to suit the needs of different applications, wherein the length of the synthetic fibres used to form the male hooks can be set according to the kitting method used. The present application describes in more detail the method ofmanufacturing the fabric. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 15 An object of present invention is to provide a mass-productive, light-weight, air-permeable, resiliently expandable, and structure simplified anti-skidding fabric that provides effective skidding resistance for use with various other materials, including felts, rugs, flannelette, and loop cloth terryclothh) that have a looped or entangling structures to form a touch fastener. 20 An object of the present invention is to provide a structure of touch-fastening anti-skidding fabric formed by warp knitting whereby the fabric is flexible and resilient, and which is formed by knitting pliable yams simultaneously with synthetic filaments or fibres that form the legs and have different characteristics to those of the pliable yams, so that a knitted foundation layer is formed that comprises a great number of synthetic fibres 25 projecting therefrom that are used to form hooks. 3 A further object is to provide a touch fastening fabric that can be manufactured in a mass production manner with excellent features of light-weight, air permeability, resilience, and processability. Another object of the present invention is to provide an anti-skidding fabric, which 5 possesses excellent stretchability and flexibility that offers excellent characteristics of being easily applied to a three-dimensional surface so that the anti-skidding material can be easily shaped for forming an excellent bonding surface for three-dimensional configuration. A further objective of the present invention is to provide a touch-fastening anti-skidding material that can be used with felts, rugs, flannelette, and loop cloth (terrycloth) for 10 anti-skidding purposes. According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a touch-fastening anti-skidding warp knitted fabric comprising a foundation layer that has wales of the fabric that comprise pliable base yams and a plurality of discrete synthetic filaments knitted together, wherein each stitch of the synthetic filaments is looped around a previous stitch of 15 the filament in the same wale and is subsequently cut to form a discrete length of the fiament that comprises a loop in the foundation layer and two legs projecting from the foundation layer.. Preferably the synthetic fibres are monofilaments selected from the following synthetic materials polyamides, polyesters, polypropylene, and polyethylene. Preferably the synthetic 20 filaments each have a diameter in the range of 0.02mm to 0.5mm. and have a Shore hardness of between 35A to 90A or between 40D to 90D. Preferably the pliable yams are natural or synthetic spun yarns selected from the group comprising acrylic, cotton, cellulose, or polyester cotton, or blends of these fibres. Preferably the pliable yams and the synthetic filaments are knitted so that each stitch of 25 synthetic filament is looped around a previous stitch of the synthetic filament along the wales 4 of the fabric to form a wale of loops of synthetic filaments, and the pliable yams accompany the stitches of the synthetic yams to form the loops that are extended transversely to an adjacent wale of the fabric. The foundation layer of the fabric may have apertures and the apertures the shape of the 5 apertures is selected from the following shapes namely, polygonal, circular, hexagonal, rectangular, or quadrangular. Alternatively the foundation layer need not have apertures knitted into its structure. According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a method of warp knitting a touch fastening fabric having hooks for engaging loops or entangling structure of 10 another structure , wherein the method comprising the steps of: (a) Simultaneously warp knitting a plurality of continuous lengths of pliable yarns together with a plurality of continuous lengths of synthetic monofilaments on a double needle bed warp knitting machine to form two foundation layers each of which is knitted on one of the needle beds and has wales 15 of the fabric that have the stitches of the synthetic filament linked together along the wale with wales of the foundation layers linked along and between the wales by the pliable yams, and wherein the two foundation layers are linked together by stitches of the synthetic filaments that extend between the two foundation layers; and, (b) Cutting the stitches of the synthetic filaments that extend between the 20 foundation layers to form two separate fabrics each of which has a foundation layer with discrete lengths of the filaments that have a loop linked to the next stitch of the filament along each wale of the foundation layer and two legs projecting from the foundation layer. Preferably the knitting process is commenced by knitting pairs of adjacent wales 25 together with the pliable yam passing from one wale to the next of the wales of the pair. 5 Preferably the foundation layer comprises wales that are knitted by passing the pliable yams between adjacent wales of the foundation layer. Apertures may be formed in the foundation layer by knitting a set of fist pairs of wales, splitting each of the first pairs of wales into two wales and passing the pliable yarns to an 5 adjacent one of the wales of each split first pair of wales and knitting the wales together to form a second set of pairs of wales, splitting the second pairs of wales into two wales and passing the pliable yams to an adjacent one of the wales of each split second pair of wales and knitting the wales together to re form the set of first pairs of wales and thereby define apertures in the foundation layer between the wales. 10 The present invention provides a touch-fastening anti-skidding material, which comprises a knitted foundation layer and a plurality of synthetic fibres or yarns that is collectively knitted in the foundation layer and secured together. The synthetic fiaments possess predetermined rigidity strength to provide strong legs that project from the foundation layer whilst the pliable yams make a foundation layer that is flexible, resilient, 15 and light-weighted. Together the contrasting characteristics of the filaments and yams produce a fabric that when placed in contact with felts, rugs, flannelette, and loop cloth (terrycloth), the anti-skidding material of the present invention provides excellent resistance against skidding. The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present 20 invention. To appreciate fully these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts. 25 Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to 6 those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiments incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative examples. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 5 Figurel shows a touch-fastening warp knitted fabric that has a network of apertures X and is constructed in accordance with the present invention; Figure2 shows a second touch-fastening warp knitted fabric that does not have the network of apertures like those of the fabric of figure IX and is constructed in accordance with the present invention; 10 Figures 3 and 4 show, schematically, the steps of the knitting part of the fabrics of figures 1 and 2; Figure 5 shows schematically a cross sectional view taken along one of the wales of the fabric shown in Figures 4 and 5; Figure 6 shows schematically steps of knitting the apertures in the fabric of figure 1; 15 Figures 7 an 8 show in greater detail a portion of the knitting shown in figure 6; Figure 9 is a schematic view showing legs of the fabric of Figures 1 or Figure 2 that have been subjected to heating to melt the tips of the legs to form hooks; and, Figure 10 is a schematic view showing legs of fabrics of Figures 1 or 2 that have been subjected to heating and deformation to form hooks 20 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be 7 made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. Referring to FiguresI and 2 the fabrics 10 and 1Oa each comprise a foundation layer 40 that has a plurality of hooks 22 projecting from the plane of the foundation layer 40. In use, 5 when the fabrics 10 or 1 Oa are brought into contact with another fabric or surface (not shown) that has a looped or tangled structure, such as for example, felts, rugs, flannelette, and looped cloth (terry-cloth), the hooks 22 engage and tangle with the other fabric or surface to grip it and thereby create a touch fastener that can be pulled apart. The difference between the fabric of figure 1 compared with the fabric of figure 2 is that 10 the knitted foundation layer of the fabric of figure 1 has network of apertures 'X' formed during the knitting process, whereas the fabric of figure 2 does not For simplicity, in the following description of Figures 3 to 10 of the drawings, only a few wales or columns that extend along the length of the fabrics 10 or 1 Oa are shown. These wales are identified by the references "A" and "B". It is to be understood that the pattern of 15 stitches shown in the drawings is repeated throughout the width and length of the fabrics 10 and 1Oa, thus permitting fabrics of various widths and stretchability to be made. Both of the fabrics of figures 1 and 2 are warp knitted on a double needle bed warp knitting machine in which two foundation layers 40 are knitted simultaneously (one layer 40 on each needle bed) as a single structure with the stitches 20a and 20b knitted across the two 20 needle beds. Once the knitted structure is removed from the needle beds of the knitting machine the stitches 20a and 20b that extend between the foundation layers 40 are then cut to separate the foundation layers 40 and form two identical fabrics 10, or 1Oa as shown respectively in Figure 1 or Figure 2 whilst at the same time the legs 22 of the cut stitches am used to form the hooks of the fabric.. By varying the tension of the stitches 20 and 20b across 25 the needle beds it is possible to make longer or shorter legs 22. 8 To make the double knitted structure that is cut to form two fabrics 10 or 1 Oa of the present invention, continuous lengths of two types of textile yams or filaments are knitted simultaneously. The two types of filaments and yams used are fibres 20a and 20b that form the legs 22 that are used to make "hooks" of the fabric 10, and pliable fibres 30a and 30b that 5 form each the foundation layers 40 of the fabric 10 and hold the legs 22 into place in the foundation layer 40. The fibres 20a and 20b are preferably monofilaments (sometimes called "Drawn Textile Yams (DTY) or extruded filaments) selected from one or more of the following synthetic plastic materials, namely, polyamides (for example Nylon - a registered Trade 10 Mark of Du-Pont Corporation), polyesters, polypropylene, and polyethylene. Preferably the monofilaments have a diameter in the range of 0.02mm to 0.5mm, and have a Shore hardness of between 35A to 90A or a Shore hardness between 40D to 90D. The pliable threads 30a and 30b are preferably made from natural or synthetic spun yams such as, for example, acrylic, cotton, cellulose, or polyester cotton blends, and are more 15 pliable than the fibres 20a and 20b. Referring to Figures 3 and 4 there is shown schematically two adjacent wales A, and B of the foundation layer 40 of the fabric of figure 2. Each alternate wale A is started by simultaneously knitting a pair of continuous threads 20a, 20b, and 30a to form the first stitches of each wale (Al, A2, A3, and so on) of each of the two foundation layers 40. 20 Simultaneously each alternate wale (B1, B2, B3 and so on) of each foundation layer is started by knitting a pair of continuous threads 20a, 20b, and 30b together. As explained above when the two foundation layers 40 are separated, the stitches 20a or 20b that extend between the two foundation layers 40 are cut to leave discrete lengths of the filament 20a or 20b, each of which comprises a loop 21 linked to the previous stitch and 9 two legs 22 that project from the foundation layer 40 and these are modified as shown in figure 9 and 10 to constitute the hooks of the fabric 10 or 1Oa. For reasons of clarity, Figure 3 only shows the threads 20a, 20b, and 30a, and Figure 4 only shows the threads 20a, 20b and 30b. In reality, the wales A1, A2, A3 and BI, B3 of the 5 fabric 10a of figure 2 are knitted together by passing the pliable threads 30a and 30b transversely between adjacent wales A and B and knitting them with the stitches of the threads 20a and 20b as discussed below. In figure 3 the loops 21 of alternate stitches (2nd, 4 and so on) along the wale of each foundation layer 40 are formed using a continuous lengths of the threads 30a and 10 threads 20b, whilst the loops 21 of altemate stitches (3', 5d', and 7h and so on) along the wale B of the foundation layers 40 are formed using continuous lengths of the threads 20a and yams 30a. In figure 4 the loops 21 of alternate stitches (2ndt, 4h, 6* and so on) along the wale B of the foundation layers 40 are formed using the thread 30b and threads 20a, whilst the loops 21 15 of alternate stitches ( 3 d, 5, and 7" and so on) along the wale B of the foundation layers are formed with threads 20a and yams 30a. A cross sectional view taken along the length of each wale is shown schematically in figure 5. The pattern of stitching shown in figures 3 and 4 is repeated widthways on the needles of the two needle beds for all the wales of the foundation layers 40 using multiple yams 30a 20 and 30b and multiple filaments 20a and 20b and along the length of the foundation layers 40, thus making it possible to knit two fabrics 10 as shown in figure 2 of any desired width when the stitches 20a and 30b are cut. Figures 6 to 8 show the method of knitting the fabric of figure 1 with apertures or gaps "X" in the foundation layer 40 of the fabric 10. The apertures 'X' can be of any desired 25 geometric shape, such as circle, honeycomb, hexagonal, or a quadrangle, or other geometric 10 shapes. The presence of the apertures X improves the stretchability and deformability in the longitudinal and the transverse directions of the fabric10 compared with that of the fabric 1Oa of figure 2. Referring to figure 6, the knitting process is started by knitting together a first set of 5 pairs of wales (Al, B1), ( A2, B2) and (A3, B3) spaced across the width of each foundation layer 40 10 using the threads 30a and 30b and threads 20a and 20b, following the pattern of stitches shown in figures 3 to 5. Initially alternate pairs of the first set of pairs of wales are not linked to the next adjacent pairs of wales in the foundation layer 40. Instead, as shown in figure 7 and the lower part of 10 figure 6, each of the linked pairs of the first set of pairs of wales in each foundation layer are knitted using the pattern of stitches shown in figures 3 and 4 for a short distance. After knitting a short distance along the pair of wales, each pair of the first set of pairs of wales ((A1, B1), ( A2, B2) and (A3, B3) and so on) in each foundation layer 40 are split into two separate wales and knitted with one of the wales of an adjacent pair of wales (as 15 shown in upper part of figure 6 and in Figure 8) to form a second set of pairs of wales ((B1, A2), and (B2, A3) and so on)) . The pairs of wales ((B1, A2), and (B2, A3) and so on)) in each foundation layer 40 are knitted together at intervals along the length of the foundation layer 10 by extending the yams 30a and 30b into adjacent wales and knitting them with the stitches of the yams 20a and 20b for a short distance along the length of the foundation layer 20 40. Subsequently the pairs of wales in the second set of pairs of wales are each split into two wales and the split wales (Al, B1),( A2, B2) and (A3, B3) are knitted together as shown in the lower part of figure 6, to reform the first set of wales. The pattern of stitches is repeated along the length and width of the foundation layers 40 to produce the desired size of 25 fabric 10 and thereby form apertures "X' in the two layers 40. 11 As explained above, the knitted structure is removed from the needle beds of the knitting machine and the two foundation layers 40 are separated by cutting the stitches of the filaments 20a or 20b that extend between the foundation layer 40 to leave two fabrics that have discrete lengths of the filaments 20a or 20b that comprises a loop 21 linked to the 5 previous stitch and two legs 22 knitted into the foundation layers 40, and the two legs of each stitch are used to constitute the hooks of the fabric 10 or 10a, that project from the foundation layer 40 of the fabric 10. It will be seen that as the knitting progresses, the pliable base yams 30a and 30b are allowed to extend transversely to an adjacent wales of the foundation layers 40 and are 10 simultaneously knitted alternately with the stitches 20a and 20b to make the foundation layers 40 but the loops 21 of the synthetic yams 20a, 20b are linked to each other along the length of the wales of the foundation layers 40 so that the loops 21 of each previous stitch loops around the loops 21 of the next stitch, and leaves ends that form short legs 22 of predetermined length projecting from the foundation layers 40. 15 Referring to figures 9 and 10 a further feature of the present invention is shown wherein, after the filaments 20a and 20b are cut the to form two separate pieces of fabric 10 or 1 Oa, the fabric 10 or 10a is further processed by passing the fabric through a tunnel-type oven (not shown) for heating and melting the free ends of the legs 22 of each synthetic yam 20a, 20b to form rounded ends 23 that constitute "hooks" (see figure 9). Alternatively, the free ends of 20 the legs 22 of each synthetic yam 20a, 20b may be subjected to heating and compressed to deform the ends to form hooks 24 as shown in figure 10. With the fabrics 10 10a of figures 1 and 2 the short legs 22 of synthetic filaments extend beyond the surface of foundation layer 40 and project outside the foundation layer 40 and the distance or length of the legs 22 of the synthetic yams 20a, 20b can be adjusted as desired by 25 during the knitting stage by making the loops of the threads 20a and 20b that extend across 12 the needle beds of a looser or fighter knit by controlling the tension of the monofilaments as they are knitted.. The Shore harness of the filaments 20a and 20b determines the rigidity and strength of the legs 22. Thus, the touch-fastening anti-skidding fabrics 10 and 10a of the present invention 5 posses advantages of light weight, high air permeability, and flexibility and is fit for mass production of large width products. To summarize, the present invention provides a touch-fastening anti-skidding material that is structured to have synthetic filaments 20a, 20b of short lengths knitted together with pliable threads 30a, 30b, that forms the foundation layer of the fabric to provide the effect of 10 anti-skidding which when brought into contact with felts, rugs, flannelette, and loop cloth (terrycloth) that have a looped or entangling structures, will I grip the other materials. Further, the synthetic yarns 20a, 20b, are tightly knitted together and with the pliable yarns 30a and 30b, so that they are not pulled out of the foundation layer 40 by the felts, rugs, flannelette, and loop cloth (terrycloth) when being separated or pulled apart from the other 15 fabric. The present invention has excellent touch-fastening characteristics and better grip and resistance against skidding when in contact with other looped or entangling structures. While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the 20 forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. 13

Claims

1. A touch-fastening anti-skidding warp knitted fabric comprising a foundation layer that has wales of the fabric that comprise pliable base yams and a plurality of discrete synthetic filaments knitted together, wherein each stitch of the synthetic filaments is looped around a previous stitch of the filament in the same wale and is subsequently cut to form a discrete length of the filament that comprises a loop in the foundation layer and two legs projecting from a surface of the foundation layer..

2. A fabric according to claim 1 wherein the synthetic fibres are monofilaments selected from the following synthetic materials polyamides, polyesters, polypropylene, and polyethylene.

3. A fabric according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the synthetic filaments each have a diameter in the range of 0.02mm to 0.5mm.

4. A fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the filaments have a Shore hardness of between 35A to 90A or between 40D to 90D.

5. A fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the pliable yams are natural or synthetic spun yams selected from the group comprising acrylic, cotton, cellulose, or polyester, or blends of these fibres.

6. A fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein successively, the pliable yams and the synthetic filaments are knitted so that each stitch of synthetic filament is looped around a previous stitch of the synthetic filament along the wales of the fabric to form a wale of loops of synthetic fiaments, and the pliable yams accompany the stitches of the synthetic yams to form the loops that are extended transversely to an adjacent wale of the fabric.

7. A fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the foundation layer comprises a fabric having apertures in the foundation layer.

8. A fabric according to any one of claims I to 6 wherein the foundation layer does not have apertures knitted into its structure. 14

9. A fabric according to claim 7 wherein the shape of the apertures is selected from the following shapes namely, polygonal, circular, hexagonal, rectangular, or quadrangular.

10. A fabric as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein at least the tips of the legs are subjected to heat to melt the ends of the legs and thereby form hooks.

11. A fabric as claimed in claim 10 wherein the tips of the legs are deformed to form hooks

12. A fabric substantial as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

13. A method of warp knitting a touch fastening fabric having entangling means for engaging loops or entangling structure of another structure according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the method comprising the steps of: (a) Simultaneously warp knitting a plurality of continuous lengths of pliable yams together with a plurality of continuous lengths of synthetic monofilaments on a double needle bed warp knitting machine to form two foundation layers each of which is knitted on one of the needle beds and has wales of the fabric that have the stitches of the synthetic filament linked together along the wale with wales of the foundation layers linked along and between the wales by the pliable yams, and wherein the two foundation layers are linked together by stitches of the synthetic filaments that extend between the two foundation layers; and, (b) Cutting the stitches of the synthetic filaments that extend between the foundation layers to form two separate fabrics each of which has a foundation layer with discrete lengths of the filaments that have a loop linked to the next stitch of the filament along each wale of the foundation layer and two legs projecting from the foundation layer.

14. A method according to claim 13 wherein the knitting process is commenced by knitting pairs of adjacent wales together with the pliable yam passing from one wales to the next of the wales of the pair.

15. A method according to claim 13 or claim 14 wherein the wales of the foundation layer is knitted 15 by passing the pliable yams between adjacent wales of the foundation layer.

16. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 15 wherein the apertures in the foundation layer are formed by knitting a set of first pairs of wales, splitting each of the first pairs of wales into two wales and passing the pliable yams to an adjacent one of the wales of each split first pair of wales and knitting the wales together to form a second set of pairs of wales, splitting the second pairs of wales into two wales and passing the pliable yams to an adjacent one of the wales of each split second pair of wales and knitting the wales together to re form the set of first pairs of wales and thereby define apertures in the foundation layer between the wales.

17. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 16 wherein at least the tips of the legs are subjected to heat to melt the tips and thereby form hooks.

18. A method according to claim 17 wherein the tips are the legs are deformed to form hooks. 16