US2324256A - Stocking - Google Patents

Description

July 13, 1943. A X DESMONDS 324,256

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L) J l l Patented July 13, 1943 STOCKING Albert X. Desmonds, Indianapolis, Ind., assigner to Real Silk Hosiery Mills, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind., a corporation of Illinois Application January 18, 1941, Serial No. 374,983

1 Claim.

My invention relates to hosiery, particularly to womens hosiery knit on two machines, a legger and a footer. More specifically, my invention relates'to the formation of a stocking heel and has for its object the provision of a smooth, round heel which will fit the foot well and which can be simply and economically formed.

In carrying out my invention, I knit the leg of the stocking on a full-fashion knitting machine, forming the leg with heel-tabs extending beyond the last course of knitting of the front or center portion of the leg-blank, the lower portions of such heel-tabs being narrowed, preferably by inward transfer of stitches in a manner set forth more specifically hereinafter. The leg blank thus formed is transferred to the footer, the last course of stitches in the leg-front, an inner Wale of stitches adjacent the front edge of each heel-tab, and the last course of stitches in each heel-tab being topped on to a single row of needles in the footer. The foot is then knit in any desired pattern, the rst course o-f stitches in the foot joining integrally With the stitches of those courses and Wales of the leg and heel portions topped on to the footer needles.

The accompanying drawing illustrates my invention: Fig. 1 is a view illustrating the characteristics of the lower end of the leg portion of a stocking blank ready for transference to the footer; Fig. 2 shows, in full lines, the condition of the leg-blank after being topped on to the footer and, in dotted lines, the foot portion subsequently to be knit; Fig. 3 is a fragmental diagrammatic View on an enlarged scale showing stitches of the left-hand heel-tab and adjoining portions of the leg blank; and Fig. 4 is a fragmental View, somewhat idealized, of a nished stocking as stretched upon a at form showing in light lines the direction in which the wales run in the nished heel.

In practicing my invention, the leg portion I!! of the stocking blank is knit in any desired manner to the course indicated in Fig. l by the dotted line A-A. Knitting is then continued at each side of the blank to form a heel-tab II which, beginning with the course B-B, is narrowed toward its lower end, desirably by the inward transfer of stitches in a group of wales along the outer edge of the heel-tab. In the knitting of the leg portion of the blank, reinforcing threads are incorporated, preferably throughout the entire extent of each heel-tab and also for a distance above and inwardly from the heel-tabs at the sides of the blank.

Desirably, the inward transfer of stitches which results in narrowing the heel-tab below the course B-B is not uniform throughout the extent of the narrowed portion of the heel-tab. Instead, I prefer to begin the narrowing rather gradually down to an intermediate course C-C of the heeltab to form an oblique line of fashion marks I3 and then to increase the rate of narrowing from the course C-C to the last course D-D of the heel-tab to form a second line of fashion marks I4 of greater Obliquity. By way of example, the narrowing down to the course C-C may be effected by transferring the stitches in an outer set of wales for a distance of one wale at alternate courses, while the narrowing between courses C-C and D-D may be effected by transferring stitches for a distance of one Wale at every course.

The proportions and shape of the heel-tab may vary as desired, but ordinarily the lower end of the heel-tab at the course D-D should have a width of between ten and twenty wales. For a reason which will become apparent hereinafter, the line of fashion marks I4 should meet the last heel-tab course D-D at a distance of several wales from the inner marginal edge of the heeltab.

At the front, -or center, of the blank and between the heel-tabs I may knit extra courses of stitches of independent thread or threads to form a raveling tab I5. Similar raveling tabs I6 may be knit below the course D-D of each of the heel tabs II. With completion of the raveling tabs I6, the leg portion of the stocking blank is finished and ready f-or transfer to the footer.

In transferring the leg portion of the stocking blank to the footer, the ,center portion of the course A-A between the heel tabs, the inner marginal edges of the two heel-tabs, and the last courses D-D of the respective heel-tabs are brought into substantial ali-nement, and the leg portion of the blank is topped on to a row of needles 20 in the footer. 'Ihe stitches topped on tothe needles 2G at each side of the leg blank are those intercepted by the broken line X-X in Fig. 3 and comprise, first, the stitches in course D-D of the left-hand heel-tab from the outer edge thereof to a Wale (indicated at w-w) between the lower end of the row of fashion marks I4 and the inner marginal edge of the heel-tab; second, the stitches in the Wale w-w between the course D--D and the course A-A; third, the stitches in course A`A between the Wale w-w and the corresponding Wale in the right-hand heel-tab; fourth, the stitches in that corresponding Wale from course A-A to course D-D; and fifth, the stitches lying outwardly of such corresponding wale in course D--D of the righthand heel-tab. This leaves the raveling tab I5,

the two raveling tabs I and the marginal edges 2| of the two heel-tabs projecting beyo-nd the row of needles 2%. The ravel tabs l5 and IB may now be unraveled; and the footer is then operated to finish the foot.

While the foot 22 may take any desired form, I prefer to knit it for a number of courses of full width from the outer corner of one heel-tab to the outer corner of the other, and then narrow it for a succeeding group of courses by inward transference of the stitches in a `set of wales at the sides of the foot, such inward transference leaving a row fashion marks 23. In the knitting of the foot, reinforcing threads are desirably incorporated along the sides of the blank.

When the knitting of the foot has been completed, the marginal edges of the blank are sevved together to form a seam 24, as shown in Fig. 4, the toe portion of the foot being closed by the usual looping process.

The application of the sides of the heel-tabs I I to the needles 2i) is facilitated if the Wale which is to receive those needles is first split or spread in order to make easier the insertion of the needles of the topping loa-r. Obviously, it would be more difficult to spread an extreme marginal-Wale than a Wale which is spaced a slight distance from the margin; and it is for this reason that the heelmtab wales applied to the needles 20 of the footer are not the extreme marginal Wales of the heel-talos but instead are wales, such as the Wale w-w of Fig. 3, spaced for a short distance from each extreme inner Wale.

t is also of advantage in applying the inner side edges of the heel tabs to the footer if the Wale to be split for application to the footer needles is not crossed by any transferred stitches. It is for this reason that I perfer, as pointed out above, to so form the heel tabs that the line of fashion marks I4 will meet the last course D -D of each heel-tab at a point spaced outwardly from the inner marginal edge of the heel tab, in order that there may be between the lowermost fashion mark and the innei` marginal edge of the heel-tab a few intervening Wales which contain no fashion marks. In practice, I prefer to terminate the line of fashion marks I4 at the fourth Wale from the inner marginal edge of the heel-tab, split the third Wale (w-w from the inner edge oi' the heel-tab, and apply the stitches of that Wale to the needles 20 of the footer.

I claim as my invention:

lull-fashioned knit stocking blank, comprising a leg portion and a foot portion, said leg portion including heel-tabs each of which is narrowed toward its lower end by the inward transfer or outer Wales to leave a row of fashion marks the stitches of one of such intervening Wales in each heel-tab, with the stitches of the last course of the center portion of the leg portion between the heel-tabs, and with the stitches of the last course of each heel-tab, said blank including inwardly from each said row of fashion marks one or more wales which extend continuously without a fashion mark through the heel tab and into said foot portion.

ALBERT X. DESMONDS.

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