US3176480A - Rear panel for women's knitted garments and method of knitting same - Google Patents

Description

April 6, 1965 B. D. GORDON ETAL 3,175,430

REAR PANEL FOR WOMEN'S KNITTED GARMENTS 34- F I G- I {HIM I BARNETT D. GORDON EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE AN ATTORNEYS April 1965 B. D. GORDON ETAL 3,176,430

REAR PANEL FOR WOMENS KNITTED GARMENTS AND METHOD OF KNITTING SAME 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 29, 1961 INVENTORS. GORDON N. 3 at a s s. a A

A. ii

EDWARD J .BOUTILLETTE BARNETT ESTEPHAN DER ESTEPHANlAN ATTORNEYS P 1965 B. D. GORDON ETAL 3, 76, 8

REAR PANEL FOR WOMENS KNITTED GARMENTS AND METHOD OF KNITTING SAME Filed May 29, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 TROUSERS CENT E R BAG K SIDE BACK INVENTORS. BARNETT o. GORDON ESTEPHAN DER ESTEPHANIAN EDWARD J. BOUTILLETTE ATTORNEYS B. o. GORDON ETAL 3,176,480 REAR PANEL FOR WOMEN'S KNITTED GARMENTS AND METHOD OF KNITTING SAME 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 4 GOURSES-- April 6, 1965 Filed May 29, 1961 BARNETT ESTEPHAN DER ESTEPHANIAN BY EDWARD United States Patent 3,176,480 REAR PANEL FOR WGMENS KNITTED GAR- MENTS AND METHOD OF KNITTING SAME Barnett D. Gordon, Brookline, Estephan der Estephanian, Worcester, and Edward J. Boutillette, Ofiord, Mass, assignors to M.K.M. Knitting Mills, Inc., Manchester, N.H., a corporation of New Hampshire Filed May 29, 1961, Ser. No. 113,316 3 Claims. (GI. 66-189) This invention relates to a method of shaping parts for womens knitted garments in the process of knitting them. More particularly, the-invention relates to a rnethod of knitting a rear panel for a womans swimsuit in such a way as to provide for a concave curvature at the mid portion and a convex curvature at the lower portion for a smooth fit on the small of the back and the buttocks, respectively. This is done,'according to the invention, by first cutting out paper patterns which may comprise a number of pieces for a single part of a garment as, for example, the rear panel of a womans swimsuit; Such pieces will have curved edges so that when laid fiat and in contact, there will be gaps between the several pieces. These gaps provide a clue to the problem of arranging buttons on the pattern chain of a flat or fashioning knitting machine so that by shifting loops from some of the needles between the knitting of courses, the resulting fabric will be continuously knitted with no gaps but with the desired concave and convex shaping.

For a more complete understanding of the invention,

reference may be had tothe following description of the invention and to the drawings, of which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational iew of the rear panel of a womans knitted swimsuit embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an outline, on a larger scale, of the panel shown in FIGURE 1 folded double on its vertical median;

FIGURES is a magnified photographic reproduction of a portion of the fabric indicated in FIGURE .1;

FIGURE 4 is an outline of two paper patternjpieces representing half of the swimsuit panel shown in FIG- URE l, but on a larger scale;

knitting, a pattern is-first laid out.

FIGURE Sis a fragmentary elevational view of the upper portion of a skirt shaped by knitting instead of darts;

FIGURE 6 is an outline of the upper portion of a paper pattern for the skirt shown in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is an outline of a paper pattern for half a.

pair of trousers or slacks for women; and

FIGURE 8 is a diagrammatic illustration of the narrowing sequence of the fabric portion shown in FIG- URE3.

over the buttocks of the wearer and has a shallow depresv sion 14 in its mid area to fit in the small of the back of the wearer. If the rear panel is folded double along its vertical median lfiwhile unattached-to any other part,

the outline of the doubled panel is somewhat as indicated in FIGURE 2. The bulges 12 are not illustrated in this figure, but the shallow hollow 14 at the small of the back is indicated by the concavity of the line of fold.

, each other.

ice

Ordinarily, a well-fitted back panel of a swimsuit or other form-fitting garment for women must have narrow pieces of the fabric cutout and the resulting edges stitched together. According to the present invention, the shaping of the rear panel is done by the knittingv machine alone, two narrowing fingers being employed to shift loops of yarn on many of the needles as hereinafter described.

In order to obtain a proper form-fitting contour by Since the panel will be symmetrical with respect tothe vertical median, the pattern can conveniently be laid. out for half the panel. Such a pattern is shown in FIGURE 4 and consists of two pieces 18 and 26. representingthe side and central portions, respectively of a rear half-paneh When properly shaped as shown, the mutually confronting edges of the parts 18 and 21) of the pattern curve in such a way as ,to touch at only two places 22 and 24, leaving gaps 26 and 28 between the parts,

We have foundthat by merging wales along transfer lines such as are conventionally indicated at 30, 32 in 7 FIGURE 1, when knitting a panel from bottom tortop on a fashioning machine, a one-piece seamless rear panel equipped with enough narrowing points to take loops of yarns from knitting needles on the machine extending from any part'of thetransfer line 30 or the transfer line'32 to the adjacent selvage of the panel. When loops of yarn are taken from needles by points of the two narrowing fingers, the loops are shifted toward the center of the panel a distance of one needle-space, that is, the shifting movements of the narrowing fingers are toward As hereinafter described, when the narrowing fingers have been moved toward each other to shift yarn loops, sometimes they at once move back again a needle space while at other times they remain in the positions reached in the shifting operation. Each such shifting of loops of yarn by the narrowing finger on the left results in the termination of one of the wales by merging it into the wale next to the right of it (when the narrowing finger is returned at once to its previous position after shifting loops of yarn) or'into the Wale .next to the left of it (when the narrowing finger does of an area of a swimsuit panel corresponding to the rectangle 34- indicated by broken lines in FIGURE 1..

Approximately one quarter of the left transfer line 30 appears in FIGURE 3. Following is a detailed descripticn, by way of example, of the transfer line partly illustrated in FIGURE 3, it being understood that the numbers given may vary for swimsuits of other sizes or when using a difierent yarn, and that corresponding operations take place to form the transfer line 32 in theright half of the panel. The knitting starts at the bottom of the panel and proceeds upward. The narrowing begins at 40 where wales W and W merge, this being done by means of a narrowing finger (not shown) which takes the yarn loops on the needles to the left of wale W and shifts them one needle space to the right. Then eleven courses the hips.

are knitt'edduring'whichthe narrowing fingerdoes not move. 9 ing finger sometimes remaining in place after a shift of yarn loops, and sometimes returning one needle space toward the leftduring the knitting of the courses following a shift of loops:

The narrowing Wales merged: finger then 3 and 4 at 42 Stays. 4 and 5 at 44 Returns. 2 and 5 at 46 Do. 6 and 5 at 48 Do, 7 and 5 at 50 Do. 8 and 5 at 52 Stays. V 5 and 9 at 54 Returns. 10 and 9 at 56 Do. 11 and 9 at 58 Do. 12 and 9 at 60 Stays. 9 and 13 at 62 Returns. 14 and 13 at 64 Do.

- 15 and 13 at 66 Do. 16 and 13 at 68 Stays. 13 and 17 at 70 Returns. 18 and 17 at 72 Do. 19 and 17 at 74 Do.

,returns a needle space toward the left continues until the upper end of the transfer line is reached.

Subsequent operations are as follows, the narrow- At the same time, the other narrowing finger is makingthe transfer line 32 to be a mirror image of the transfer line 34) so that the panel 10 is symmetrical with.

respect to its vertical center line. Since the narrowing fingers in making the transfer lines 30, 32 advance verge upwardly, the angle of convergence being approximately 12 in the panel illustrated in part in FIGURE 3.

It is to be understood that 'therforegoing description of the fabric shown in FIGURE 3 is by way of example only and that the sequence of yarn loop'shift'ing operations and knitting of courses can be varied for different sizes of panels for swimsuits "or other shaped garments for women. The narrowing operations along the transfer lines 39, 32 results in a fabric having a surface contour similar 'to that which would be obtained by cutting out four pieces of flexible fabric, two pieces being shaped like the pattern part 18 and two like the pattern part 20 shown in FIGURE 4 and stitching these pieces together along mutually adjacent side edges.

The application of narrowing in knitting on a fashioning machine may be used for shaping other garments for women. FIGURE 5 is a partial showing of a skirt 85 which is full at the hips but gathered at the waist,

one of the transfer lines 82 indicating the termination of.

intermittently toward each other, the lines 30, 32 con- Wales by merging being indicated conventionally, the

designed to provide proper shaping of the skirt over the.

hips. In like manner, a blank can be knitted on a fashioning machine to be made into slacks for women, transfer lines for the termination of wales being estimated from a pattern 90 having gaps 92 for shaping the slacks over 9/93 Pike 66-175 7 1,97 ,708 3/61 Gordon 66-176 2,977,783 4/6-1 Crawford 66-189 FOREIGN PATENTS 15,780 9/91 Great Britain.

- centers of the respective buttocks-covering areas and converging upward at an angle of about.12,.

2. A seamless knitted three-dimensional rear panel for a form-fitting garment for women having two transfer lines starting approximately at the centers of respective buttocks-covering areas and extending upward, each said transfer line indicating the locus of points of termination of individual wales resulting from narrowing operations inhalf of the-panel during the knitting of the panel upward, some of said wales terminating by merging outward into the next Wale toward the nearest selvage, the other said wales terminating by'merging inward into the next wale away'from the nearest selvage, the inwardly merging Wales and outwardly merging wales being in a ratio of about three to one.

3. A method of knitting a seamless three dimensional rear panel for a form fitting garment for women, which comprises straight knitting from the bottom of the panel to the center of the buttocks covering areas,'shifting in ward a distance of one needle space by means of narrowing fingers all the yarn loops on needles between the centers of the buttocks covering areas and the corresponding selvages, knitting'several courses from selvage to selvage, shifting inward a distance of one needle space all the yarn loops on needles between the centers of the buttocks covering areas and the corresponding selvages, again knitting several courses, and continuing alternately shifting loops and knitting numbers of selvage-to-selvage courses to form two transfer" lines extending several inches up from the buttocks covering areas, the numbers of the courses knitted between successive shifts of loops being varied, said narrowing fingers being returned after some of the loop shifting operations to the position occupied thereby just before the shift and being retained in position after each of the other loop shifting operations, the sequence of knitting and loop shifting operations employed in forming substantially the entire length of each said transfer linecomprising several repetitions of the following cycle:

' loops are shifted one needle space,

several courses are knitted during which the narrowing fingers remain stationar loops are shifted one needle space, several courses are knitted during which the narrowing fingers return one needle space, loops are shifted one needle space, several courses are knittedduring which the narrowing fingers return one needle space, loops are shifted one needle space, several courses are knitted during whichthe narrowing fingers return one needle space.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS -DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner.

RUSSELL C. MADER, Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. 3. A METHOD OF KNITTING A SEAMLESS THREE DIMENSIONAL REAR PANEL FOR A FORM FITTING GARMENT FOR WOMEN, WHICH COMPRISES STRAIGHT KNITTING FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE PANEL TO THE CENTER OF THE BUTTOCKS COVERING AREAS, SHIFTING INWARD A DISTANCE OF ONE NEEDLE SPACE BY MEANS OF NARROWING FINGERS ALL THE YARN LOOPS ON NEEDLES BETWEEN THE CENTERS OF THE BUTTOCKS COVERING AREAS AND THE CORRESPONDING SELVAGES, KNITTING SEVERAL COURSES FROM SELVAGE TO SELVAGE, SHIFTING INWARD A DISTANCE OF ONE NEEDLE SPACE ALL THE YARN LOOPS ON NEEDLES BETWEEN THE CENTERS OF THE BUTTOCKS COVERING AREAS AND THE CORRESPONDING SELVAGES, AGAIN KNITTING SEVERAL COURSES, AND CONTINUING ALTERNATELY SHIFTING LOOPS AND KNITTING NUMBERS OF SELVAGE-TO-SELVAGE COURSES TO FORM TWO TRANSFER LINES EXTENDING SEVERAL INCHES UP FROM THE BUTTOCKS COVERING AREAS, THE NUMBERS OF THE COURSES KNITTED BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE SHIFTS OF LOOPS BEING VARIED, SAID NARROWING FINGERS BEING RETURNED AFTER SOME OF THE LOOP SHIFTING OPERATIONS TO THE POSITION OCCUPIED THEREBY JUST BEFORE THE SHIFT AND BEING RETAINED IN POSITION AFTER EACH OF THE OTHER LOOP SHIFTING OPERATIONS, THE SEQUENCE OF KNITTING AND LOOP SHIFTING OPERATIONS EMPLOYED IN FORMING SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF EACH SAID TRANSFER LINE COMPRISING SEVERAL REPETITIONS OF THE FOLLOWING CYCLE; LOOPS ARE SHIFTED ONE NEEDLE SPACE, SEVERAL COURSES ARE KNITTED DURING WHICH THE NARROWING FINGERS REMAIN STATIONARY, LOOPS ARE SHIFTED ONE NEEDLE SPACE, SEVERAL COURSES ARE KNITTED DURING WHICH THE NARROWING FINGERS RETURN ONE NEEDLE SPACE, LOOPS ARE SHIFTED ONE NEEDLE SPACE, SEVERAL COURSES ARE KNITTED DURING WHICH THE NARROWING FINGERS RETURN ONE NEEDLE SPACE, LOOPS ARE SHIFTED ONE NEEDLE SPACE, SEVERAL COURSES ARE KNITTED DURING WHICH THE NARROWING FINGERS RETURN ONE NEEDLE SPACE.

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