US443900A - Art of knitting stockings - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 sheets-Sheet 2.

3.0. .OOVELL & E. s. ORAM.

ART OF KNITTING STOCKINGS.

No. 443,900. Patented Dec. 30, 1890.

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EDGAR C. CO'VELL AND ELISIIA S. CRAM, OF LACONIA, NESY HAMPSHIRE.

ART OF KNITTING STOCKINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 443,900, dated December 30, 1890.

Application filed March 27,1890. Serial No. 345,550. (No model) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, EDGAR O. COVELL and ELISHA S. CRAM, of Laconia,in the county of Belknap and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Art of Knitting Stockings, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention has for its object the production of such improvements in the mode of knitting stockings as will permit of the same being manufactured more expeditiously and economically than heretofore, and whereby at the same time they may be made to fit the foot and leg of the wearer and have certain portions which are subjected to the greatest wear made of greater strength than the remaining portions. 1

Our invention consists of the improvement in the art of knitting stockings on springbeard-needle knitting-machines embracing the following steps or acts: knitting the foot and lower leg or ankle portion with the stitchwheel positioned to knita comparatively close or short stitch, then moving the stitch-wheel to knit the upper portion of the leg with a comparatively loose or long stitch, forming the heel of an independent web, and insertingthe same in or uniting it to a foot and leg constructed as aforesaid, as will be more fully described hereinafter.

The invention also consists in a mode of procedure which includes, in addition to the hereinbefore-recited steps, first, picking upon the needles a previously-formed seamless and shaped or fashioned toe-piece, and forming an independent seamless and fashioned or shaped heel-piece, which is inserted in the stocking, the other portions of which are formed as described in the foregoing paragraph.

The invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and then be pointed out in the appended claims.

Of the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a stocking knit in accordance with our improvements, as the same will appear after being cast from the machine. Fig. 2 is a similar view, the toe and a portion of the foot being represented as broken off, showing a step which may be performed after the knitting of the stocking is completed. Fig. 0 view of the completed stocking.

The same letters of reference designate the same parts in all of the views.

Our invention may be practiced on anycircular spring-beard-needle knitting-machine in which the stitch-wheel is made adjustable, so as to form longer or shorter-stitches, and as such means are common and their structure and manner of use are generally understood by all knitting artisans they need not be shown herein.

In the practice of our improved mode we may proceed by taking a seamless and fashioned or shaped toe-piece a and pick a course of stitches b at or near the edge thereof upon the needles of the machine, and then, with the stitch-wheel so positioned as to knit a close stitch, we knit the foot portion 0 to the line where the heel is to be formed, when we take a previously-formed seamless and shaped or fashioned heel-piece d and pick a course of stitches e on or near the upper edge thereof upon the needles at the proper point, and continue the knitting of the stocking with the stitch-wheel positioned so as to knit a close stitch until the ankle or lower-leg portion f of the stocking is formed, when we change or adjust the stitch-wheel so as to knit a longer or loose stitch, and knit the leg portion gin this manner, after which the stocking may be cast from the machine, and will appear in side elevation, as shown in Fig. 1. e now severthe stitches along a line just below the line e and unite the lower or forward edge h of the heelpiece cl to the rear edge 1' of the sole portion of the foot, which edge i was formed by severing a portion of the stitches, as before described, and which will be clearly understood by an inspection of Fig. 2 of the drawings. If the toe and heel portions were picked upon the needles along a course formed at some distance from the edge, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, we ravel off such projecting edges to the lines b or e, and thus complete the stocking, which will appear as shown in Fig. 3. In this way we are enabled to produce astocking shaped to fit the foot and leg of the wearer, make the same expeditiously and economically and so as to be practically seamless, and form the toe and heelportions, which are usuis a side ally subjected to the greatest amount of wear, of greater strength than the other or remaining portions.

It is obvious that the steps or acts recited may be taken in an order-somewhat different from that n1entioned-as, for example, the knitting may be begun by commencing at the top of the stocking with a comparatively loose or long stitch and knitting the lower-leg and foot portion in a comparatively close or short stitclnforming the toe portion in any suitable way; but these and other formal Variations may be practiced without departing from the nature or spirit of our improvements.

\Ve are aware of the patent to \V. E. Sheehan,l\ o. 337,706. Vi'e therefore do not claim, broadly, uniting" separately-formed heel and toe pieces to a circular web; but

\Vhat we claim, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent of the United States, is'

1. The improvement in the artof knitting stockings 0n circular spring-beard-needle knitting-machines, which consists in knitting the foot to the upper line of the heel with the stitch-wheel set to knit. a close stitch, then picking on a heel formed of an independent web, then forming the ankle, then setting the stitch-wheel to term a loose stitch and so finishing the leg, then cutting into the web direetly below the upper line of the heel, and [inally uniting the free edge of the heel to the edge of the cut web, all in the manner set forth and described.

The improvement in the art of knitting," stockings on circular spring-beard-needle knitting-machines, consisting in picking upon the needles a previously-formed seamless and fashioned toe-piece, then knitting the foot to the upper line of the heel with the stitchwheel set to knit a close stitch, then picking on a previously-formed seamless and fashioned heel-piece, then kn itting the ankle, then finishing" the leg with the stitch-wheel set to knit a loose stitch, then cutting into the web to form an edge, and finally uniting the free edge of the heel to the cut edge of the web of the stocking, substantially as described.

'In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 3d day of March, A. l). i890.

EDGAR C. COVELL ELISIIA S. CRAM. Witnesses:

FRED P. I lockms, PETER ABBOTT.

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