US2441835A - Hosiery and method of knitting same - Google Patents

Description

May 18, 1948. J. H. MUELLER 2,441,835

HOSIERY AND METHOD OF KNITTING SAME Filed Sept. 26, 1946 IN VEN TOR. J55 Emellezj,

Patented May 18, 1948 1 UNITED'SLTATES PATENT OFFICE John H. Mueller, North Caldwell, N. J. Application September 26, 1946, Serial No. 699,462

This invention relates to knitted hosiery, and especially to hosiery produced initially as a flat fabric for the fashioning of stockings and other forms of hose.

The invention has reference, more particularly, to the knitting of the foot part of hose, whereby to widen an area thereof rearwardly of the toe portion and intermediate said toe portion and the narrowed arch or instep portion, so as to provide a widened interior to accommodate the nor,- mally wider span of thewearers foot in the region of the big toe joint or a bunion with which the foot of the wearer may be afflicted, and thus to reduce'restriction and accompanying irritating effect by-the hose foot part upon such sensitive part of the wearers foot, and consequently thereby assuring greater ease and com-- fort to the wearer.

The invention has for an object to provide a novel knitted hose foot structure wherein the knitted fabric, after being narrowed in the usual manner immediately forward of the heel part for snug fit beneath the arch of the wearers foot, is widened out in the area or zone adjacently rearward of the toe portion narrowing, whereby to increase the width of the foot part in such area or zone for comfortable accommodation of the normally wider span of the wearers foot in the region of the big toe joint, and especially if a bunion, with which the foot of the wearer may be afflicted, is present, while nevertheless maintaining a snug fit at the arch, of the wearer's foot; and the invention has for a further object to provide a-novel method of knitting, whereby such widened area or zone may be practically and easily obtained. 7

Other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularly enumerated, will be understood from the following description of the same. 1 I 7 An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, ,in

which i Fig. 1 is a side stocking constructed according to this invention so as to provide the same with awidened big toe joint or bunion accommodating area or-zone;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the toe portion of the stocking blank and adjacent big toe joint or bunion accommodating area or zone illustrative of one method of knitting the fabric thereof to produce the latter area or zone; and Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary yarn loop diagram, corresponding to the area A in Fig. 2, and showing the formation of some widening, courses whereby the increased big toe joint or bunion accommodating area or zone is obtained.

Similar characters of reference are employed in the above described views, to indicate corresponding parts.

view of the foot'portion of a 3 Claims. (Cl. 66-185) In the production of a blank for a stocking embodying the present invention, the knitting thereof is carried out in the well-known manner by knitting machinery familiar to the art, whereby to form the welt, leg and heel portions, including the narrowing IE! of the foot part beyond the heel portion H and at the arch portion l2 of said foot part. The knitting of the blank is thereafter continued until the area of the foot part desired to be widened for big toe joint or bunion accommodation is reached, which area is to be located adjacently rearward of the later formed and narrowed toe portion I3, and is generally indicated by the reference character H in Fig.1..

To produce the big toe joint or bunion accommodating widened area I4 of the foot part, the widening operation is performed by the round heel attachment of a knitting machine, and is accomplished by manipulating loops of selected courses in a manner similar to the manipulation thereof in efiecting narrowing of the fabric, except that instead of moving the transferred loops inwardly relative to the selvages, the transferred loops are moved outwardly or toward the selvages, so as to extend the latter and thus widen the fabric therebetween. In order, therefore, to distinguish the latter method of loop manipulation, which might, except for the contradiction of terms, be called narrowing out, I shall hereinafter designate the manipulation as Widening, indicated by reference character W in Fig. 1, in contradistinction' to normal narrowing manipulations.

Illustrative of one method of knitting, and the resultant widened area or zone produced thereby in the foot part of the hose, after the heel portion H and arch narrowing ID has been knitted, a desired number of normal courses l5 are knit until the area of the foot part is reached which is desired to be widened, whereupon a series of widening sections of selected number and spacing is produced. To produce said widening sections, a-selected number of loops of a normally knit course, which extend inwardly from the respective selvage edges of the blank, are picked up by a first dip' of a'loop transfer means of the knitting machine, whereby to be removed from the machine needles, then shifted outwardly one needle toward the selvage edges, and then redeposited upon the needles, thus forming a first widening course 15 (see Fig. 3). The next succeeding course is thereupon knit so that wales thereof are in line with the transferred and outwardly shifted loops of said widening course l6, whereupon the same number of loops of said succeeding course, which extend inwardly from the selvage edges of the fabric, are picked up by a second dip of said loop transfer means, whereby to be likewise removed from the machine needles, then shifted outwardly one needle toward the selvage edges, and then redeposited upon the needles, thus forming a second widening course H (see Fig. 3). complete one widening section, whereby the fabric of the blank is widened out to' the extent of two needles on each side thereof toward the widening section I6l1 is produced, the, knitting is continued to produce a selected number of normal courses l8, whereupon another widening These operations 4 sections as comprised of the double or successive widening courses It and IT, as above described, since in knitting machines the selvage forming means cooperates with two needles, said widening sections may, if desired, each comprise a single widening course, with intervening normal 7 7 courses of desirednumber, provided the selvage respective selvage edges of the blank. After such section, comprising successive widening courses 16 and I1, is knit. Theseoperations are continued until a widened area or zone of desired dimen sions and longitudinal extent is obtained, whereafter the knitting of the foot part of the hose is completed by knitting the narrowed toe portion it in any desired selected manner well known to. the art.

As'above indicated, the starting of the'widening courses l and I'lmay be begun any selected number of loops or needles inwardly from the respective selvage edges. of the fabric, accordingly as it may be desired to position the openings 19 and 2%,respectively left in the body of the fabric at the inner ends of said respective widening courses H5 and 11', in given spaced relation to the seam of the finished hose.

If, e. g., as shown, these openings l9 and 20 are desired to be'exposed in the finished fabric, then the Widening courses i5 and H are started a considerable number of needles inwardly from the respective selvage edges of the fabric,'but if, on the other hand, it is desired that said openings be concealed in the seam of the finished hose, then said widening courses should be started not more than two or three needles inwardly from said selvage edges of thefabric, so that, when said selvage edges are joined to produce the seam ofrthe finished hose, said openings will be enclosed within and covered by the seam formation;

As illustratively shown in the drawings, widening courses in and I! are each started within the fabric respectively twenty needles inwardly from the respective selvage edges of the blank. 7 It will be understood however that such start may be optionally made any lesser or greater number of needles, accordinglyas it may be desired to space the resultant openings land 20 from the finished Since each successive widening hose seam. course it and fl is shifted outwardly one needle, each widening section formed thereby widens the fabric of the blank at each side thereof to the extent of two needles, or, a total of four needles. The number of widening sections,,with intervening normal-courses, may also be subject tovariaxtion, but by knitting eight such widening sections Iii-41 as shown '(see Fig. 2), spaced by a suitable number of intervening normal courses l8, a total widening of eight times four needles, or thirty two needles, is produced, whereby to add substantial width to the fabric in the widened area, in

amount dependent somewhat upon the gauge employed.

The distortion'of; the wales, due to the forma- 'tion of thewidening courses I6 and I1, is not unduely noticeable in, the finished fabric, since, by reason of the elasticity of the knitted fabric,

"forming means is modified accordingly.

' CHomtheabove, it will be obvious that the present invention provides a novel foot structure for hose, and novel method of knitting the same, by which the foot part of the hose is substantially wideneclin an area or zone adapted to be coincident to'the wider span or breadth of the wearer's foot when the hose is worn, and which widened area or none is especially well adapted to accommodate the hose foot part to the foot of a wearer possessed of a bunion, whereby undue restriction and uncomfortable binding of the foot part over and upon the bunion is substantially eliminated, with consequent greater ease and comfort to the wearer.

- Having nowdescribed my invention, I claim:

1. In a foot part of a knitted fabric blank for producing 'ho'se,'a'-widened area adjacently rearward of the narrowed toe portion thereof comprising a plurality of successive widening sections the finished product-tendsto resume normal wale comprising two successive widening courses, each widening course having a selected number of loops thereof; which extend inwardly'from the respective selvage edges'of the blank, shiftedone needle outward toward said selvage edges.

2. In the foot part of a knitted fabric blank for producing hose including the usual heel, arch narrowing and toe narrowing formations, a widened area intermediate said archand toe narrowing adjacently rearward of thelatter comprising a plurality of successive widening sections, normal courses alternated with said widening sections, and each widening section comprising two successivewidening courses, each widening course having a selected number of loops thereof, which extend inwardly from the respectiveselvage edges of'the' blank, shifted one needle outward toward said selvage edges, whereby the fabric is widened by extension of each selvage edge by two needles at the, outer end of "each widening section- 3'. The method of knitting the foot part of a hosiery'blank to provide a widened area beyond the usual arch narrowing and adjacently rearward of the toe narrowing whichcom-prises transferring a selected number .of loops at each endof widening and normal courses until a widened dimensions and llongitudinal BX-V area of desired tent is obtained. l V

- 7 V 7 JOHN nMnnLnER.

REFERENCES CITED 7 The following references are of record in. the file ofthis. patent; V v

UNITED STATES PATENTS I Number Namei Date Uhlig May 11', 1937 2,319,224 Garrett May is, 1943

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