US2235455A - Knitting method - Google Patents

Description

5 March 1s, 1941. N, F AHR 2,235,455

KNITTING METHOD Filed June 22, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v Patented Mar. 18, 1941 UNITED sfr/iras lrnvrrrlNc. METHOD Nicholas F. Lahr, St. Joseph, Mich., assigner to Cooper, Wells & C0., St. Joseph, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application June 22, 1939, serial Nq. 280,580

1 Claim.

5. related fields where knitting with relatively fine yarn or thread is effected.

In womens hosiery, particularly the fullfas`h` ioned variety, considerable difficulty has been encountered due to the fact that the knitted material is subjected to considerable strain at the knee when the wearer sits down. Hosiery of this character is made of relatively -fine silk thread with a high twist. In addition to the ordinary stretching which the fabric must undergo, the eXtra stretching due to bending ofthe leg atthe knee' while maintaining the stocking taut has'rre-V suited in straining the threads beyond their lim-4 it causing such threads to break and starting runs.

Various expedients have been relied upon to introduce an elastic and stretchable intermediate section which will yield sufliciently to take up the extra stretching of the stocking. Thus the more common expedients include picot work at intervals or the` knitting of a mesh for accomplishing the same purpose.

As is well known in the art, hosiery made of Y silk for women is generally knitted from silk thread or yarn, each of which is composed of anywhere from two to seven or even more fine silk filaments. In accordance with this inven'- tion, the naterial is knittedon a fiat bed knitting machine of the'usual typehaving at least three yarn .carriers for the main body of the stocking. It is understood, of course, that any odd number of carriers may be utilized. As-

suming that three carriers are used, one carrierv feeds an elastic thread while the other two carriers feed silk threads. The elastic portion is knitted in the stocking, preferably just below the welt, although any other location may be provided.

In accordance with this invention, I preferably use an elastic yarn, one form'ofwhich is available in the trade under the name of Lastex and generally consisting of a rubber filament-wound with fabric such as silk, cotton or any other ma terial. This composite thread, hereinafter re'- ferred to as an elastic thread, is preferably of Aa size of the same order as the silk thread used in the knitting of the stocking.

In the actual knitting, it is understood ot' course that the thread or yarn is operated upon while in a moist condition. In the event that cotton covered rubber is used as the elastic (Cl. (i6- 96) thread with two or more silk threads as the others, it may be necessary to use some vegetable oil rather than water for moistening the various threads. Thus cottonseed or soya bean oil may beused for moistening the elastic thread and then the knitted article cleaned with a suitable oil solvent to remove the oil. In the event that oil is used, it is preferable to leave it in the thread as short a timeas possible to prevent any undesirable action on the rubber. Of course, any of the oil resistant rubbers may be usedas the core of the elastic thread in which case no special precautions on oil removal are necessary.

If the elastic thread is silk 'covered or covered `with some other material which does not absorb excessive amounts of water, then the conventional Water moistening may be relied upon. g A band having any number of courses may be provided in accordance with theV following plan. For practical purposes ina womans stocking this band should be at least about one inch in width and preferably greater. This stretchable band consists of the following in the order of knit ting: one or more silk threadA courses of c011- ventional knitting, then one course of elastic thread of conventional knitting, then a course of silk threadl with the loops elongated or loosened,v then a silk thread course of ordinary size loops joined to the loose loops in a picot fashion so that two loose loops are caught by oneV ordinary loop. After this `course of silk thread, the elastic thread course may be repeated, or if desired, additional silk courses may be repeated prior to the elastic thread course.

'I'he elongated loops are preferably of such a size that in the normal condition of the'nished fabric the distance between the two adjacent courses having the picot interloops is `about the same as between every other normally spaced loop. Hence in a gauge machine, there are thirty needles to the inch and sixty threads per inch. By elongating the loops as above and providing a .picot interloop, a space of about onethirtieth of an inch is produced between the picot interlooped courses. The space has about the same dimension 1along the course due to the halving of the numberof actively engaged loops.

It is understood, of course, that the figures given aboveare illustrative and may be varied within wide limits. Thus two interlooped courses of elastic thread may be provided or several sets of picot' interlooped courses may be provided or both in combination may be provided. Another factor having substantial bearing on the loop size is the relative sizes of elastic 'and silk thread. An elastic thread, heavy in comparison to the silk thread, will naturally tend to pull down the silk loops when the tension on the elastic thread is released. Furthermore, the slightest pull on the knitted fabric in any direction tends to distort the loops and proportions between loose loop and normal loop sizes.

- I have observed that the knitted fabric made in accordance with my invention yields equally well in all directions. Thus, when tension along the course length is present, the elastic thread tends to straighten out and lpulls the loose loops longer. When tension transverse to the course length is present, the loose loops tend to pull the elastic threads out from the course. In practice, both the loose loops and elastic thread yield due to the tendency of the fabric to narrow when lengthened and vice versa. With a pattern of course as described, an elastic mesh\ is provided which yields substantially in all directions.

In the knitting operation it is preferred to have the elastic thread with just enough tension to prevent sagging of the thread. In practice the elastic thread has. a diameter equal to or about two or threektimes that of the silk thread so that the loops of elastic may be somewhat thicker than the silk loops.

The invention here is restricted to knitting with fine thread or yarn of the order of 42 gauge or more, it being understood that this number represents the number of needles for an inchand a half. It is further understood that the knitting is restricted to the at work used in the manufacture of full fashioned hosiery, for example.

The actual carrying out of this process on a knitting machine of the flat bed type is obvious after the pattern of courses and picots has been determined upon. v Inasmuch as a standard knitting machine is used, no specific description of the machine willbe made apart from the general figure shown in the drawings.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a view of a womans hose;

Fig. 2 shows a detail enlarged view of the elastic band with a portion of the edge;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of .an elastic thread; and

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of a. fiat-bed knitting machine head.

Referring to Fig. 1 there is shown ahose having a leg portion IIJ with foot portion II and an elastic section I2 which is supported between leg shown in Fig. 4./ This head comprises the usual frame portion I5 carrying a bank of needles I6 and points I1 and is provided with three yarn carriers I8, I9 and 20. A minimum of three yarn carriers is necessary for carrying out this invention. However, this number may be increased by units of two to any other odd number of yarn carriers.

The yarn carriers I8, I9 and 20 each pull the yarn or thread through suitable moistening means I, 2 and 3 such as cups with wicks. The moistening medium, as pointed out before, may be'water or vegetable oils or any other preparations well known in the art.

Two of the yarn carriers, as for example, I8 and I9 in Fig. 2, have ordinary silk thread or yarn. Yarn carrier 20 is adapted to supply elastic thread, a small section of which is shown in enlarged detail in Fig. 3. This elastic thread comprises a core 2I of rubber upon which is wound a silk or any other fabric thread 22 in one direction and if necessary a. second thread 23 superimposed on 22 andwound in the opposite direction. Inasmuch as such threads are well known in the art, further description is unnecessary.

Referring to Fig. 2, Athere is shown a course 25 of silk thread with the loops knitted in a normal manner. Engaging the loops of course 25 is a course 26 of elastic thread. This is followed by a course 21 oi silk thread whose loops are elongated and interlooped with the next course 28 in a picot fashion. Thus two loose loops of course 21 are engaged by one loop of course 28. After silk course 28, which is a conventional course as far as loop size is concerned, an elastic thread course 29 follows and then a loose silk course 30, similar to course 21. As shown in dotted outline, course 25 may be knitted by thread from carrier IB, while courses 26 and 21 are supplied by carriers 20 and t9 respectively. As indicated by the arrow, the courses as given above are in the order of knitting.

It will be noted from Fig. 2 that the elasticsection or band is divided by a line into the elastic portion proper 33 and a se'lvage pcrtion 3l. The

knitting in the selvageis preferably carried out in a. regular loop formation on all courses with no picot work at all. It is understood, of course,

that if desired the picot work can be extended to the very edge of the knitted fabric; but in order to provide a strong section for seaming, it is preferred to provide the portion 34 as shown.

' plurality of courses of ordinary knittinglwith the silk prior to the picot part. This, however, may lbe varied to suit individual needs.

As previouslypointed out during the knitting operation it is preferred to supply the elastic thread under just enough tension to prevent sagging. If the elastic 'thread is tensioned excessively there is some danger of snagging of the needle as well as a puckering of the finished fabric. However, under certain conditions it may be advisable to supply the elastic thread under some tension. y

vIt is understood that the proportions in loop shown on the drawings and given by way of example are merely suggestive. Because of handling materials which yield readily, it is diilicult and unnecessary to set forth precise details. Uniformty in any one product is necessary but variations among the products is permissible.

What is claimed is:

A` method of flat knitting a strain absorbing section in a stocking with fine yarn on a machine having a needle gauge of at least 42 which comprises knitting one course with yarn, knitting a vsucceeding course with an elastic thread with all last yarn course being the iirst yarn course in a succeeding cycle.

NICHOLAS F. LAHR.

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