US2077557A - Knitted fabric and method of making the same - Google Patents

Description

April -v G. GASTRICH 2,077,557

KNITTElj FABRIC AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed March 9, 193s- QSheets-Sheet 1 F1. :s-Ql- INVENTOR:

April 20, 1937.

*' Patented Apr. 20, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE KNITTED FABRIC AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME

Application March 9,

1 Claim.

This invention relates to knitted fabrics and articles of wearing apparel, such as silk stockings or the like, made therefrom, and to a novel method of making the same. 1

As is well known, the silk thread or yarn from which hosiery and similar articles are made is graded according to its evenness, expressed in percentage, the silk varying from 68% evenness, usually regarded as a low grade silk, to 92% which is an extra fine grade. Since the price of silk having the higher percentage of evenness is much higher than the price of silk of lower-percentage of evenness, the lower priced stockings are commonly knit from silk of an evenness of from 68% to 78%, while the higher priced stockings are knit from the better grades of silk.

Not only does silk thread or yarn of difierent grades differ in evenness, but in silk of the same grade there is often a variation in evenness of the 2 yarn, even though the silk may come from the same filature, and various lengths of the yarn,

often several yards long, will have a diameter either greater or less than the average diameter ofthe yarn, this condition occurring at more or 25 less regular intervals throughout the yarn.

In the production of hosiery, particularly 1 ladies stockings, this variation in evenness of the silk frequently causes one or more coursewise extending rings or bands to appear in the stock- 30 ing which difier in shading and appearance from the body of the stocking. These elfects are readily observed after the dying and boarding process, and are especially noticeable when the stocking is stretched on the leg of the wearer. The

v 35 number of stockings showing the effects of variation in evenness often reaches large proportions, resulting in an excessive number of secon thus materially increasing the cost. of manufacture of the stockings and substantially curtailing production.

Qne of the objects of the invention is to obviate the above disadvantages, and enhance the appearance of articles of wearing apparel, particularly ladies silk stockings, by minimizing or preventing the efiects caused by variation in evenness of the yarn from which the stocking is knit; more particularly, two or more separate main body yarns of the same grade and kind are used in knitting the stocking, the yarns being alternately employed in succeeding courses throughout substantially the entire stocking length, whereby the variation in evenness in any particular length of'one of the yarns is compensated for and its eifect minimized by the adjacent yarn or yarns, so that the overall effect is free 1933, Serial No. 660,081

from rings or other noticeable efiects ordinarily caused by variation in evenness of the silk.

Another object is to reduce the number of rejections and seconds due to variation in evenness of the silk, and to enable lower grades of silk to be used, resulting in increase in production and reducing the cost of manufacture of the stockings.

With these and other objects inview, which will become apparent from the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings, my invention resides in the novel fabrics and a1- ticles, and method of producing the same, as hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a full fashioned stocking embodying the invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are diagrammatic views of the foot and leg portions, respectively, of the flat knitted blank of the stocking of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the loop formation of the fabric of Figs. 2 and 3; and

Figs. 5 and 6 are diagrammatic views of a modification of the invention shown in the other figures.

Referringto Fig. 1 there is shown a full fashioned silk stocking of the type produced on a straight knitting machine, the stocking havmg a welt l, leg portion 8, instep 9, heel l0, sole I I, and toe l2.

Usually, and as shown, prises a sheer non-reinforced area in which the undesirable eifects of rings or stripes caused by variation in evenness of the silk are especially pronounced. The stocking is preferably made on the Reading full fashioned knitting ma.- chine, the various parts are well known in the art, and are shown and described in detail in the Reading Full Fashioned Knitting Machine catalogue (copyright 1929) published by the-Textile Machine Works, Reading, Pennsylvania.

Fig. 3 illustrates one method of knitting a stocking blank comprising the welt and leg portions of the stocking of Fig. 1. Instead of using a single yarn for the main body yarn and employing one main yarn carrier asheretoi'ore, two separate yarns of the same grade and kind, carried by two main yarn carriers, are used to the stocking leg com-- and operation of which form the main bodyyarn, the separate yarns respectively forming adjacent courses and alternating in succeeding courses throughout the fabric. In the figure, the horizontal lines between the picot edge [4 and topping-on course l5 diagrammatically represent the path of travel of the main yarn carriers in a legger on which the blank is made. The arrows on the lines indicate the direction of travel in successive courses of the yarn carriers, shown in this instance as carriers Nos. 2 and 4, although it will be understood that various other through carriers, for example, Nos. 1 and 3, may likewise be used. The method of controlling the carriers to alternate the yarns in succeeding courses throughout the fabric is as follows:

One of the carriers, such as No. 2 carrier, is caused to traverse the knitting field from right to left, as viewed in Figs. 3 and 4, and lay the yarn to form a course 2a, and in the succeeding course the carrier travels from left to right, thus forming two adjacent courses 2a from the yarn carried by No. 2 carrier, the No. 4 carrier being held at this time at the right hand side of the blank. In the succeeding two courses 4a, No. 2 carrier is held atthe right hand side of the blank, and No. 4 carrier is caused to travel from right to left in one course and return in the succeeding course, as. indicated by the arrows, thus forming the courses do from the yarn carried by No. 4 carrier.

The yarn of the succeeding two courses 2a is again laid by No. 2 carrier, and No. 4 is held as in the former case. In this manner the yarns carried by Nos. 2 and 4 carriers are caused to alternate in succeeding courses throughout substantially the entire length of the leg portion of the stocking, as indicated by the horizontal lines extending across the blank, and the effect of variation in evenness in one or more lengths of either of the yarns is minimized or compensated for by the other yarn in the adjacent course, so that no rings or bands are observable. As stated above, the alternate feeding of the yarns by the carriers in succeeding courses is continued throughout the length of the stocking leg, and preferably through the instep.

It will be noted that when one of the carriers is laying the yarn in any given course, the other carrier is not taken completely out of action, but is caused to traverse a distance of two or three wales at the right hand selvage edge of the fabric, this travel being indicated by the short horizontal lines at the right hand side of the blank of Fig. 3. The purpose of this operation is to prevent the formation of loose loops or ends at the edge of the fabric, and to thus avoid the production of a ragged selvage, by the yarn of either of the carriers while waiting for the return of the other carrier. As will be seen from Fig. 4, the limited movement given to the waiting carrier causes the yarn of such carrier to form two wales of loops at the selvage edge; this not only insures that a tight selvage will be obtained, but also produces a reinforced selvage.

While the main yarn carriers are caused to alternately lay their yarns throughout the length of the main blank, it is not necessary to carry this out in the lower ends of the reinforced heel tabs Illa since the effect of variation in evenness of the yarn is minimized by the reinforcing yarn employed in these areas.

Fig. 2 diagrammatically illustrates that portion of the stocking blank produced on a footer,

in which two main yarns are alternately employed, in the same manner as in the leg, through the instep portion 8 to the beginning of the toe l2.

It will be understood that it may be unnecessary to employ the invention in various portions of the stocking, for example, in the welt, or in the lower portion of the leg, as the instep portion, or in the heel and foot portions, in which the effects of variation in evenness of the silk will not be observable or, if observable, will not be objectionable.

The movements of the yarn carriers in the manner stated may readily be obtained on the Reading machine by the use of the well known reinforced selvage attachment, disclosed and claimed in U. S. Patents Nos. 1,713,628, 1,793,669 and 1,833,310, or by stop control mechanism of the type disclosed and claimed in a copending application of Rudolph Anke, on which U. S. Patent #2,049,887 was issued on August 4, 1936 for Full fashioned knitting machine, or by any other suitable mechanism known in the art for controlling the action and extent of traverse of the respective yarn carriers in the manner described.

Figs. 5 and 6 show a modification, in which three separate yarns are employed to form the main body yarn of the stocking, and three main yarn carriers are used to alternate the positions of the yarns in succeeding courses throughout the fabric. In the specific embodiment illustrated, Nos. 1, 3 and 6 carriers are employed, although various other through carriers may be employed, if desired. Referring to Fig. 5, which diagrammatically illustrates the paths of travel of the yarn carriersin successive courses of the stocking blank shown, No. 1 carrier is shown as laying the yarn from left to right to form a course la (shown in the upper part of Fig. 6) from the yarn carried by No. 1 carrier, while Nos. 3 and 6 carriers are waiting at the left and right selvage edges" respectively of the blank, except that they are given a limited movement as hereinafter stated. In a succeeding course, which is preferably the course 6a adjoining that formed by the yarn of No. 1 carrier, No. 6 carrier lays its yarn from right to left, while Nos. 1 and 3 carriers are held at opposite sides respectively of the blank. In the next course No. 3 carrier lays its yarn from left to right to form the next course 3a, Nos. 1 and 6 carriers being held at the opposite selvages at this time. The cycle of operation of the carriers is now repeated in the succeeding three courses, each yarn carrier traveling in an opposite direction from that of its travel in the preceding course since each of the carriers starts from the opposite side of the blank. The three main yarns are thus caused to alternate throughout substantially the entire length of the stocking, and thus variation in evenness of one of the yarns is compensated for and its effect minimized or rendered negligible by the two adjacent yarns so that the over all effect is substantially free from rings or other undesirable effects due to the variation in evenness of the silk.

As indicated in Fig. 5, when the carriers are held at the opposite sides of the stocking blank they are permitted to traverse two or three wales of the fabric, thus resulting in a clean tight selvage at both edges of the blank, shown in Fig. 6. The control and movements of the carriers may be effected by any of the yarn carrier stop control means above referred to.

In the specific embodiment illustrated, the leg and foot portions of the blank are knit on separate machines, viz., a legger and a footer, but it will be understood that the stocking may or may not be full fashioned, and may be produced on single unit machines, or on various other machines of the straight type.

While the invention is particularly applicable to silk yarn, it is also applicable to various other kinds of yarn or thread, such as'artiflcial silk, cotton, or other yarn in which variation in even- 5 ness of the yarn tends to detrimentally afiect the appearance of the article knit therefrom. The invention is obviously not limited to stockings, since various other articles of wearing apparel may be knit in accordance with the method 10 of the invention to thereby prevent or minimize undesirable efiects caused by variation in evenness 0! the yarn employed.

Of course, the improvements specifically shown and described, by which I obtain the above re- 15 sults, can be changed and modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the invention herein disclosed and hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

A flat knit full-fashioned hosiery blank the leg portion of which comprises two yarns knit in four course cycles, one of said yarns being knit across the entire width of the blank in the first two courses of each cycle and being knit only across one selvage in the second two courses of each cycle, and the other of said yarns being knit only across said one selvage in said first two courses and being knit across the entire width of the blank in said second two courses, whereby said one selvage is reinforced and the formation of floats due to yarn alternation is obviated.

GUSTAV GASTRICH.

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