CA1188529A

CA1188529A - Elastomeric pile fabrics

Info

Publication number: CA1188529A
Application number: CA000408637A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Geoffrey A. Horsfall
Original assignee: Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd
Current assignee: Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd
Priority date: 1981-09-03
Filing date: 1982-08-03
Publication date: 1985-06-11
Also published as: ATA331482A; DE3213581C2; FI821364L; NO822731L; AU8174582A; PT75477A; NO153895B; FI821364A0; FR2512081A1; BE892703A; NL8203205A; IT1152786B; DE3213581A1; PT75477B; IL65350A0; SE8205005L; SE8205005D0; NO153895C; IL65350A; IT8221529A0

Abstract

ABSTRACT

A method for producing a warp or weft knitted fabric on a knitting machine, the fabric having a first, elastomeric fibrous component, a second, non-elastomeric, fibrous component and optionally a third or more, non-elastomeric, fibrous components characterised in that at least part of the second fibrous component is knitted into the fabric with a long float such that when the fabric is removed from the knitting machine, the elastomeric first component contracts such that the long floats of the non-elastomeric second component are forced into free standing loops to provide a loop pile on the fabric. Desirably the free standing loops are cropped to produce a pile fabric in which the second fibrous component is in essentially discontinuous lengths, each of which is in general associated with one stitch only.

Description

s~

ELASTOMERIC PILE FABRICS
_ Thi~ invention relate~ to novel elastomeric pile ~abrics and to a method of producing ~uch fabric~.
According to one aspect of the invention we provide a 5. method for producing a fabric having a first, elastomeric, fibrous component, a ~econd, non-elastomeric, fibrous component and optionally a third or more, non-elastomeric, fibrous component on a knitting machine characteri~ed in that at lea~t part of the second fibrous component i~ introduced into the 10. fabric with a long float 3uch that when the fabric i~ removed ~rom the machine, the elastomeric first component contract~
such that the long ~loat3 of the non~elastomeric, second component are forced into free qtanding loop~ to pro~ide a loop pile on the fabric. As an optional further feature o~ the 15. method, the free ~tanding loops of the ~econd component are cropped to provide a cut pile.
According to another a~pect of the invention we pro~ide an elastomeric fabric having a non-ela~tomeric cut or loop pile made by the above described method, ~uch loop pile 20. pre~erably being greater than 0.5 mm and more preferably greater than 1.O ~.
With rePerence to a warp knitted fabric we use the term "long float" to mean that the second fibrous component i9 knltted into the fabric wlth at least a 1-0/3-4 notation . On 25. a 21 gauge knittin~ machine, though the ~econd ~ibrou~
component may be knitted into the fabric with a 1-0/3-4 notation, we prefer that it is knitted into the fabric with at lea~t a 1-0/4-5 notation. Ho~e~er on a 28, 32 or 36 gauge knitting machine, the ~econd fibrous component is knitted into 30. the fabric with at lea~t a 1-0/4-5 notation but preferably with at lea~t a 1-0/5-6 notation.
With reference to the knitting of a weft fabric, we use the term "long float" to mean that during knitting, the pile bar avoids a minimum of three needle~.

35'~3 The method of the invention can be carried out on either a warp or weft knitting machine. However, we have found that the ~ethod of the invention is particularly sulted to the production of warp knitted fabrics using a conventional warp 5. knitting machine having a bearded, compound or latched needle.
Accordingly in one embodiment of the invention we provide a method for producing a warp knitted fabric on a warp knitting machine, the fabric having a first, elastomeric, fibrous component, a second, non-elastomeric, fibrous component 10. and optionally a third or more, non-elaqtomeric, fibrous component characterised in that at least part of the second fibrous component is knitted into the ~abric with a long float such that when the fabric i9 removed from the kn~tting machine, the elastomeric fir3t component contractq such that the 15. long floats of the non-elastomeric 3econd component are forced into free qtanding loops to provide a loop pile on the fabric.
Desirably the free qtanding loops oY the second component are cropped to provide a cut pile.
Warp knitted cut pile fabrics containing an elasto-20. meric fibrou~ component are customarily made by brushing(loop rai~in~) operation3 followed by cropping (cutting) the raised yarns. This result~ in only a proportion of the fila-ment3 in the yarns from which the pile is formed, being cut and accordinely the fabric 90 formed contains essentially 25. contin-lous pile yarns in which only a proportion of the fila-mentq therein are cut. In fabrics according to this invention t substantially all the filament~ and in particular more than 90 and preferably more than 97~ are cut in ~uch a way as to result in discontinuous lengths of tuft~ of pile yarn. In general the 30. di3continuous lengths of pile yarn are associated with only one stitch.
Accordingly we provide a warp knitted fabric contain-ing an elastomeric fibrous yarn, a second fibrous yarn in the Porm of a cut pile and optionally a third or more fibrous 35. yarn characterised in that more than 90%, and preferably more than 97%, of the filament~ in the ~ibrous pile yarn have been cut into discontinuou~ lengths. In general, as mentioned above, each o~ the discontinuous length3 o~ pile yarn i9 aq~ociated with only one stitch.
5. Whil~t in the above deqcribed method ~or producing a warp knitted Pabric we have indicated that the second, non-elastomeric, ~ibrous component is knitted into the fabric with a long float it should be understood that this does not preclude knitting into the ~abric, u~ing appropriate needle iO. bar~, other component~ with long floats.
mough the method o~ the invention i9 particularly suited to the production o~ a qimple warp knitted ~abric, more complicated ~abric~ can be produced by mean~ of the u~ual warp knitting patterning device~ o~ part set threading or 15. pattern warping ~or all of the bars on the knitting machine.
Furthermore lower ~abric weightq and pile den~ities having a uni~orm appearance can be produced by uni~ormily part set threading the bar used to lay the plle. For example, a 1 in, 1 out repeat on the pile bar would halve the pile den~ity.

2~, Typically, however, an elaqtomeric yarn (~irst component) is knitted with full ~et threading on bar 1 (the back bar), with a covering non-elastomeric yarn (third com-ponent) with ~ull set threading on bar 2 (the middle bar) and a non-ela~tomeric pile yarn (second component) with ~ull ~et 25. threadin~ on bar 3 (the ~ront bar) which will lay the yarn with long ~loat~ on the surface o~ the technical back o~ the fabric. The third component enqure~ that the ela~tomeric yarn remains hidden and protected against physical damage and over~tretching.
30. For a typical 28 gauge, 32 gauge or 36 gauge fabric, the ela3tomeric yarn will be knit with a 1-0/1-2 notation and the yarn on bar 2 with a 1-2/1 O, 2-3/1-0 or 3-4/1-0 notation and the yarn on bar 3 with between a 1-0/4-5 and 1-0/9-10 notation, ~or example a 1-0/5-6, 1-0/6 7 or 1-0/7-8 notation.
35. In this way the ~econd fibrous component is knitted into 5~

the fabric with a long float. However different throws (floats) and bar phasings can be used in order to modify the conqtruction of the fabric to produce either a decorative or functional affect, for example a two needle overlap can be used 5. on bar 2 for extra ~abric power. Furthermore iaying in technique~ can be used for the various bars.
Alternatively, the elastomeric yarn could equally well be knitted on other than ths back bar of a three or more bar knitting machine, for example on the middle bar of a 10. three bar knitting machine in whioh ca~e the elastomeric yarn might be knitted with a 1-0~1-2 notation, the 3econd component (~ay nylon) with a 1-0/7-8 notation on the front bar and the third component (say nylon) with a 3-4/1-0 notation on the back bar. If suitable heat 3etting conditions are u~ed, the 15. fabric produced will have a more rigid final structure than the earlier described fabric. If de~ired the rigidity of the fabric might be increased further by using the same notation on a four bar machine but with a fourth component (~ay nylon) having a 1-0/1-2 notation on the fourth bar. Rigidity 20. o~ the fabric will be particularly deqirable if the fabric i~
being used for uphol~tery becau~e the presence of excessive residual stretch would be a hindrance with 3uch an end use.
Aq the knitted fabric comes from the needles of the 25. knitting machine the elastomeric component relaxes and the second component is forced into free standing loop9. The loop height can be enhanced and made more uniform by varlcu mechanical and thermal proaesses associated with elastomeric fabrics. In particular, the fabric after leaving the knitting 30. machine may be treated with steam or a liquid in a manner which enhances shrinkage (contraction) of the elastomeric component in the faDric.
The fabric may be dyed and finished by method~
conventionally u3ed with ~tretch fabrics.
35. Desirably the free standing loops of the second component in the knitted fabric are cropped in a conventional ~81~SZ~

marner to provide a cut pile. Cropping may be carried out at any suitable stage of the prooess, for ex~nple immediately after knitting or after steaming or mechanical relaxation or after the heat ~etting or after dyeing;
5. Various fibrous components may be used in the con-struction of the fabric.
Whilst the first, elastomeric, component can ba a natural material we prefer a synthetic elastomeric filament yarn. The filament yarn u~ed is preferably bare.
10. Alternatively, however, it may be wrapped. A suitable filament decitex can be selected in the range 10-200 but we prefer that the elastomeric yarn has a decitex in the range 22 to 56.
The second and third components of the fabric may either be filament or staple yarns and may be either natural or 15. synthetic. The second component, ie the pile yarn, will typically have a decitsx in the range 22 to 100 when the fabric is destined for apparel purposes and could have a decitex of 300 or more when the fabric i9 destined for upholstery. When a third component is used in the fabric then this will have a 20. decitex which i9 related to that of the deoitex of the elastomer in order to reflect the aesthetics and practicality of the proposed end use for the fabric.
It should al30 be understood that whilst the presence of an elastomeric component in the fabric is essential during 25. the production of the fabric it might be that the end use envisaged for the fabric might not require the fabric to have elastomeric properties. When this is the case then the elasto-merio properties of the first component may be reduced or destroyed during th0 processing of the fabric, for example by 30. high temperature dyeing or heat setting. Alternatively the elastomeric properties of the first component can be inhibited by the choice of a suitable fabric construction particularly in relation to the third component.
Knitted fabric~ produced in accordance with the 35. invention may be used for a variety of end u~es more 5~:~

particularly for making up into swim wear, leisure wear, sportswear, lingerie, industrial and domestic upholstery and automobile furnishings.
A guide to the choice of the pile bar knitting 5. notation, for a specified knitting gauge, to give a loop suitable for cropping to give desired fabric aesthetics, can be obtained by numerical computation as follows:

Let 'L' - paces to be spanned - machine gauge (needles/inch) Let ,p,~ knitted wales/cm x 100%
wales/cm as presen-ted to the cropping machine 15. Let 'Q' be the value corresponding to 'P' on the graph shown in Fig l.
,, Let 'H', the pile height,- 1QOOx L x 25-4 mm 'H' can be chosen to give a pile height potential appropriate to the de~ired aesthetic and erld use. 0~ course, the thickness and texture of the ground yarns, yarn shrinkage and contraation before cropping, type of knitting need:Le and the precise Icnitting conditions of bars other than the pile bar 25. can affect the relationship between calculated (H) and the actual heights oP the pile loops above the fabric back (Fig 3) and so the calculated value of pile loop height cannot be precise.
To qimpli~y calculations, development charts can be 30. devised relating 'H' to the number of needles spanned on the pile underlap for different values of P. This is illustrated in Fig 2 for a 28 gg (28 needles/inch) tricot warp knitting / machine using values of P of 35% and 70%.
The invention will now be descr-ibed by way of the 35. following Examples:-s~

Thi~ ExEmple illu~trates the effect o~ knittedcourse level and of the pha~ing of the middle ~uide bar on fabric properties.
5. A three bar 28 gg bearded needle Mayer warp knitting machine Model No K4-WPS-T-J waæ loaded with 2320 threads per bar of 44 decitex elastomer (T136 Lycra) ~ila~ent yarn on the bzck bar~ 22 decitex 7 filament semi-dull circular nylon 66 yarn on the middle bar and 44 decitex 13 filament semi-dull 10. circular nylon 66 yarn on the front bar. (Lycra i~ a Trade Mark of E I Du Pont de Nemours and Company).
The kritting machine was qet up to various condition~
in turn to provide a number of ~abric~. These conditions are speclfied in Table 1.
15. TABLE 1 ~ _ _ ~ ........ ~ , PIECE BACK BAR MIDDLE BAR FRONT BAR COURSES RACKS

20.NO NOTATION RUN IN NOTATION RUN IN NOTATION iRUN IN (-/CM) KNTET-1 1-2/1-0 40 - 1-0i2-3 160 1 _o/7-8 383 25 - ~ o 2 1-2/1-0 39.3 1-0/2-3 156 1-0/7-8 377 27.6 45

3 1 -2/ 1-0 39.3 1 -0/2-3 154 1 -0/7-8 371 39 45 I~ 1 -2/ 1 -0 39.3 2-3/ 1-0 154.5 l o/7-8 373.5 30 45 25. 5 1-2/1-o 41.4 2-3/1-0 158 1-0/7-8 381 Z7.6 45 __ ~ ~ _ _ ~ ~
NOTE: (1) Run ins are quoted in cm/rack. The run , in of the elastomer filament yarn on the 30. back bar is ~peaified in the relaxed state.
(2) The courses per cm given are defined at the ~inker by the usual machine settings.

5;~

After removal of the fabrics from the knitting machine the elastomer yarn contracted ~o cau9ing the component which had been knitted on the front bar to contract and to ~orm lnto a danqe loop pile having a height above the stitches o~
5. approximately 2 mm in each case.
All the pieces of fabric were linked together to give a total of 460 racks in the fabric length. Thi~ continuous length of fabric was then passed down a 3tenter, in steam at 100 C, at 95 cm width and 35% overfeed Pollowed by a further 10. stenter pass, at 195C and 60 sec3 exposure, ~t 1m width and 10% overfeed. The resulting relaxed, heat set fabrics were then given two pa~ses on a cropping machine to cut o~ the tops of the loop pile to leave a virtually completely cut pile.
. The fabric pieces were then dyed together at 105C
15. in a Softflow jet dyeing machine a~ a liquor ratio of 15:1 using dye3tuffs and chemical auxiliarie~ commonly used ~or elastomeric fabrics. The now mid-blue ~abrics were dried at 1 m wide at 140C.
The extensions and moduli of the fabrics were 20. measured by the following method using an Instron Tensile Testing machine at a constant rate of extension. Three speci-men~, 150 mm x 50 mm with the longer dimension paralleling the wales were cut from each fabric piece and conditioned for 16 hours and tested at 65~ Relative Humidity and 61C. The 25. machine was adjusted 90 that the distance between contaot lines o~ the ~aws was 10 cm and the cross head and chart speeds were set at 50 cm/min with the machine 3et to cycle between zero extension and a maximum load of 3.6 kg. A hysteresis graph for two cycles was produced. From the second load curve, the 30. exten3ion at 3.6 kg (warp modulus) and the load3 at 20~, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% extension were measured. On sample~ cut at ri~ht angles to the above, the extension at 3.6 kg was also determined (weft modulus).
Details of the finished fabrics, which all had a 35. pleasing crushed appearance with a dense, well cropped pile, are listed in Table 2.

85;2~

_ _ _ ~ __ _ _ PIECE WALES X ELAS- WEIGHT MODULUS % LOAD (GM) AT (%) NO COURSE TOMER (GM/ WARP WEFT _ STR ~TCHE' OF
5~ (-/C~ (O ~2) _ _ ~0 40 60 80 lOO

1 25 x 42 11.4 338 198 133 120 220 290 380 500 2 25 x 44 11.6 355 191 137 120 220 310 410 570 3 25 x 44 11.7 354 190 120 120 210 31o 440 590

4 25 x 38 11.4 349 214 157 120 200 290 39o 500 10. 5 25 x 41 11.3 342 223 135 130 210 2go 380 480 6 24 x 41 11~6 329 223 147 83 180 250 340 460 ! ~ ~ _ , _ _ . .

15. The 3ame knitting machine as u~ed in Example 1 was loaded with the same yarns on the back and middle bars as for Example 1. 44 decitex 20 filament bright trilobal nylon 66 yarn was loaded at 2320 ends to the front bar. Knitting notations were back bar 1-0/1-2, middle bar 2-3/1-Q and front 20. bar 1-0/7-8 with the machine set to knit 25 courses/cm. Run ins per rack were baok bar 40 cm (relaxed), middle bar 150 cm and ~ront bar 392 cm.
The re3ulting fabric wa~ processed as that in Example 1 to give a pleasing highly lu3trous crushed pile appearance of 25. 275 gm/m2 wei~ht. The pile wa~ den~e. Moduli as defined in Example 1 were warp 175% and weft 110%. The loads at 20, 40, !: 60, 80, 100% stretch were 73, 213, 347, 483 and 633 grams respectively. The fabric contained 12% elastomer.

30. This example illu~trates the use of a 2 needle overlap construction on the middle bar. The knitting machine o~ Example 1 was loaded with the same yarns on the same bar~ as in that Example. This fabric wa~ knitted to the specifications of Table 3.

3S2~

____ PIECE1 3ACK BAR 1 MIDDL,E BAR _ _ FRONT BAR_ COUR- RACKS
NO NOTATION RUN NOTATION RU~ NOTATION RUN SES KNIT-

5. IN IN IN ( / TED
(CM) (CM) (CM) CM) _ __ _~ _ _ ~___ l 1-0/1-Z 40 3-l/0-2 244 1-0/7-8 384 25 2.30 10. 2 1-0/1-2 40 4-2/0-2 272 1-0/7-8 394 25 230 NOTE: R~n ins are quoted in cm/rack. The run in of the elastomer ~ilament yarn on the 15. back bar i~ speci~ied in the relaxed state.
The two ~abric lengths were joined together then dyed and ~inished and tested as per Example 1 except that a liquor ratio o~ 17:1 was used in dyeing and that ~he fabrics were tumbled in a steam tumbling ~achine a~ter the ~irst crop 20. and before the second crop. Again the ~abrics were sub-stantially completely cropped. In the ~inished state both Pabrics had a pleasing crushed cut pile appearance with piece No 2 being less lu~trous and fuller in handle than piece No 1.
The ~abric was ef~ectively completely cropped~
25. Details of the finished ~abrics are given in Table 4.

PIECE WALES X ELAS- WT MODULUS(5) LOAD(GM) AT % STRETCHES OF.
NO COURSES TOMER (~M/ WARP WEFT 20 40 60 80 100 3o~ (-/CM) (%) M ) _ _ . __ _ _ l 22x37 9.9 299 79 45 230 580 1480 _ 35. 2 23x36 3.9 344 109 120 180 380 720 1370 2630 , s~

EXAMPLE_4 The knitting machine oP Example 1 was set up as described in that Example but using a Pront bar oP 22 decitex 7 filament semi-dull circular nylon 66 yarn as well as having a 5. middle bar threaded with thi yarn. The fabrics were knitted to the speciPications given in Table 5.

~____ PIECE BACK BAR LMIDDLE BAR ERONT BAR COUR- RACKS
10. NO NOTATION RUN NOTATION RUN NOTATION RUN SES KNIT-IN IN IN (-/ TED
(CM) (CM) (CM) CM) _~ _ __ . _ _ _ _.
15. 1 -0/1-2 40 2-3/1-0 156 1-0/7-8 370 28 230 3 ~ 2 40 2-3/1-0 156 1-0/6-~ 370 28 ~15 20. NOTE: Run in~ are quoted in cm/rack. The run-in o~ the elastomer filament yarn on the back bar is speci~ied in the relaxed qtate.
APter steam relaxation then heat setting (195 C) piece number 3 was cropped once whilst pieces 1 and 2 were 25. cropped, tumbled in steam, then cropped again. The Pabrics were dyed a~ ~or Example 1 but at a liquor ratio o~ 36 to 1.
Dye temperature was 105C. The resulting Pabrics all gave a ~ub~tantially uncrushed pile. APter sampllng the Pabric~ were returned to the jet dyeing machine at 110C Por 15 minuteq at 30. a liquor to goods ratio of 15 to 1 to yield pleasart orushed blue velour ~abric~. Piece 3 gave a slightly more bristly hand than pieces 1 and 2. Properties of the cru~hed ~abrics are set out in Table 6.

s~ ~

__ ~ ~_ _ _ r PIECE WALES X ELAST- WT MODULUS % LOAD (GM) AT % STRETCHEC
NO COURSES OMER (2M/ WARP WEFT ~ OF:
5. __ =_ (1) M) --Z L 60 3 10~

1 28x42 16 263 232 136 120 190 250 33 430 10. 3 30xll9 l7 s 304 275 151 100 190 Z'70 33 41C

This illustrate~ the use o~ polyester filament yarn.
l 5. The knitting machine of Example 1 was loaded at 2320 threads per bar with 44 dacitex elastara (T136 Lycra) on the back bar, 22 decitex 10 filament circular extra dull polye~ter (ICI T6001) on the middle bar and 44 decitex 30 filament circular dull polyestar (ICI T5001) on the front bar.
20. The knitting machine was set up to the condition~ of Table 7.

_ -- .... . . _ ~ , PIECE BACK BAR MIDDLE BAR FRONT BAR COUR- RACKS
25. NO NOTATION RUN NOTATION RUN NOTATION RUN SES KNIT-IN IN IN (-/ TED
(CM) ( CM) ( CM) CM) ___ _ _ _ . . _ 30. 1 1 -0/ 1 -240 2-3/ 1 -O1 691-0/7-8 378 25 300 2 l_o/l-z 40 2-3/l-0 ~6Z l-o/6-7 329 Z5 170 .

NOTE: Run ins are quoted in cm/rack. The run-in 35. of the elastomer ~ilamen'c yarn on the back ; bar is speci~ied in the relaxed state.

The requlting fabrics were steam relaxed then heat qet a~ 1 65C at 1 metre width before cropping. Sub-stantially all the loop3 were cut. The cropped fabric3 were qoft flow jet dyed at 105C for 60 minutes using dyeqtuffs 5. and auxiliaries quitable for thiq polyester and at pH 5.5 with a liquor ratio of 15 to 1. After reduction clearing at pH 10 the fabrics were then heat qet at 195 C. The resulting mid-blue cloths had a pleasing crushed appearance and a soft clinging hand. Fabric properties are given in Table 8.
10. TABLE 8 __ .
PIECE WALES X ELAS- WEI- MODULUS(%) LOAD AT % STRETCH
NO COURSES TOM- GHT OF:
(-/CM) ER (~M/ WARP WEFT 20 40 60 80 100 15. _ (~ M ) _ _ ~ _ ~ _ 1 5x42 2.7 299 235 164 180 290 370 470 560 20, 2 ~ 6x45 11.7 318 252 161 130 210 320 400 480 Tnis Example illustrates the effect of` changing the length of the yarn float on the bar knitting the pile loop.
The knitting machine and yarns of Example 5 were used with the same threadings. The back bar threaded with the elastane wa3 qet to knit a 1-0/ 1 -2 notation at a relaxed run in o~ 40 cm/rack. The mi.ddle bar threaded with the 22 decitex polyeqter was set to knit a 2-3/1-0 notation at a run in of 163 cm/rack. The ~ront bar notation wa3 quccessively changed and 12 racks of fabric knitted at each notation. Front bar conditions used were:-~85~

FRONT 3AR NOTATION RUN IN (CM) ~-0/4~5 244 1 0/5-6 ~90 5. 1-0/7 8 378 1-0/9-10 . 458 The knitted course level at the ~inkers defined 10. by machine ~ettings wa~ 25/cm.
The ~abrlc wa~ steam relaxed and then heat qet at 1 metre width a3 in Example 5. The height of the pile loops above the fabric back (Fig 3) was mea~ured and this plotted ~raphically against the needle spaces spanned for eaah ~ront 15. bar notation knitted (Fig 4). The height o~ the pile loops can be ~een to correspond closely with the values of H calculated from the formula ~et out previously and marked on Fig 4.
The ~abric was then cropped using cropper settings appropriate to each pile loop height. For the longer pile bar 20. ~loats, zones containing a short cut pile height were deliberately produced adjacent to zoneq containing long pile heights. The fabric was then dyed at a liquor ratio o~ 30:1 and dried according to the method o~ Example 5.
The fabric.s all had a plain uncrushec appearance and 25. had all cropped sati~factorily. The longest pile loops, eg 1~0/9-10 notatlon, resulted in both a lor,g rich cotton-like pile and a shorter, les3 luxuriou~ pile fabric according to the oropping height uqed. The shorte~t pile loop, 1~0/4-5 notation, gave a single, very shortj but ~erviceable pile 30. fabric.

This Example illustrate3 the cropping of fabrics both before and after dyeing and o~ the use o~ beam dyeing.

52~

A 28 g~ 3 bar Mayer bearded needle machine Model No K4-WPS-T J was full set threaded on the back bar with 2320 ends of 44 decitex ela~tane (T136 Lycra) and set to knit a notation of 1-0/1-2 at a relaxe~ run in oP 40 cm/rack. The middle bar 5. was full set threaded with 22 decitex monofilament nylon 66 and set to knit a notation of 2-3/1-0 at a run in of 156 cm/rack.
The front bar waq full set threade~ with a 44 decitex 13 ~ilament round cross section semi-dull nylon 66 yarn. The front bar notation was 1-0/7-ô at a run in of 3~6 cm/rack. The lO. fabric was knitted at 25/cm at the sinker as de~ined by machine settings.
470 racks of fabric were knitted. The fabric was steam relaxed and heat set at 107 cm width. Approximately half the fabric was cropped and then the total fabric length 15. was batched on to a beam and dyed mid-blue at 105C for 60 minutes. The fabric was then removed from the beam and dried on a stenter at 140C. The cropped section of the pile wa~
laid uniformily down in a unidirectional manner to give a plain cut pile fabric. This section o~ the fabric was then placed in 20. a steam tumbling machine to produce a softer fabric with an attractive uniform pile. The uncut dyed section of the fabric was then cropped to give a plain cut pile fabric.

A 28 gg single ~ersey weft knitting machine was 25. loaded with 76 decitex 30 filament circular cros~ section polyester yarn and wikh a wrapped elastane yarn (78 decitex Lycra wrapped with 44 decitex nylon 66). The yarns were loaded and knitted to the 4 10 feed repeat con3tructions shown in conventional notation in the attached Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 for 30. Fabrics A, B, C and D. After knitting the fabrics were steam relaxed. All yielded stretch fabrics with pile loops. The pile loops on Fabrics A and B were largest and most suitable for further operations such as cutting.

RH/NDW
WP02 Al6-30 B07-~2

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A method for producing a warp knitted elastomeric fabric with multidirectional stretch on a warp knitting machine, the fabric having a first, elastomeric fibrous component knitted in a stretched condition, at least a second, non-elastomeric, fibrous component and optionally a third or more, non-elastomeric, fibrous component, at least part of the second fibrous component being knitted into the fabric with a throw of at least 1-0/4-5 such that after the fabric has been removed from the knitting machine and allowed to freely relax, the elastomeric first component contracts sufficiently that the long floats of the non-elastomeric second component are forced into free standing loops on the technical back of the fabric substantially by widthwise contraction, the length of the yarn constituting the loops lying substantially across the width of the fabric, the resulting loop pile having a pile height greater than 0.5 mm on the fabric.

2. A method for producing a warp knitted fabric as claimed in Claim 1 in which the second fibrous component is knitted into the fabric with at least a 1-0/5-6 notation.

3. A method for producing a warp knitted fabric as claimed in Claim 1 in which the second component is forced into free standing loops having a loop pile height greater than 1.0 mm.

4. A method for producing a warp knitted elasto-meric fabric as claimed in Claims 1, 2 or 3 in which the fabric after it has been removed from the knitting machine is treated with either steam or a liquid in a manner which enhances contraction of the elastomeric component in the fabric.

5. A method for producing a warp knitted fabric as claimed in Claims 1, 2 or 3 in which the fabric after leaving the knitting machine is subjected to a heat setting or high temperature dyeing process in order to reduce or destroy the elastomeric properties of the first component.

6. A method for producing a warp knitted fabric having a cut pile as claimed in Claim 1 characterised by a subsequent step of cropping the free standing loops of the second component to provide a cut pile on the fabric.

7. A loop pile knitted fabric made in accordance with the method claimed in Claim 1.

8. A cut pile knitted fabric made in accordance with the method claimed in Claim 6.

9. A cut pile knitted fabric according to Claim 8 in which more than 90% and preferably more than 97%
of the total filaments available for cutting in the fabrous pile yarn have been cut into discontinuous lengths.