H. D. Buck

“ In making a fabric on a double jacquard machine which shows the design on one side only, it is good practice to put four cards on the front cylinder properly cut to put alternate needles into operation on alternate courses, in order to prevent putting more courses on the front plate than on the back. Or to explain it in another way, the needle in the back plate that makes the white part of the design knit only on the rounds on which the white thread carrier is used, and the needles that make the black parts operate only when the carrier with the black yarn is in use. ”

“ There is another very popular type, commonly known as the double-lock machine, which is, it might be said, in a class by itself. This machine, as the name would indicate, has two sets or pairs of locks mounted on the same carriage, and set as closely together as they can be and work properly.
The double-lock machine has many advantages over the single-lock type, the most important being that there can be made upon it a two-faced fabric, that is, a fabric with each side faced with a different yarn, either in color, quality or both. The popular “cotton back” sweater is in this class. ”

“ The chief individual characteristic of purl stitch machines lies in the fact that they have two needle plates, but only one set of needles, and the cams do not act directly on the needles, but act indirectly through what are called jacks. First we will try to get a thorough knowledge of the fabric this machine was primarily designed to make, and the stitch formation required to produce this fabric; then the mechanism and movements of the different parts of the machine will be more readily understood as we proceed with the explanation. ”

“ Generally speaking, the maximum speed of a latch needle machine, either flat or circular, is governed by the needle speed; that is, the speed at which the cams raise and lower the needles, and the thread velocity, which is of course dependent on the needle speed.
Speed of Flat Machines As a general rule, where the machine is in good condition and the yarn of fairly good quality, a flat machine with a crank drive should be operated at from 100 to 125 lineal feet per minute, and a chain drive may be operated at from 125 to 150 lineal feet per minute. ”

“ It will be noticed in Fig. 2 that in forming the loops the curvature or bend of the thread is gradual and uniform. When this yarn is knitted into fabric and both top or needle loop, and bottom or sinker loop are attached to or drawn through other and like loops, and we pull or stretch the fabric, we draw sharp curves or corners in the yarn where it passes around the preceding and succeeding loops. When we let go or take the strain off the fabric, the natural tendency of the fibre to straighten out or take an easier curve brings the fabric back into its original position. ”

“ On these machines the fabric is not held down by weights, hanging thereon, as in the hand machines, but by what is called a take-up roller which has means provided for adjustment to keep the desired strain on the fabric at all times. The weights which are in plain view are to hold the fabric up to and in close contact with the take-up roller through a frame with a small roller on the fabric side of the frame and the weights on the outside, which work on the lever and fulcrum principle.
An automatic machine must have a pattern chain of some kind or character to operate its automatic functions. ”

“ It is understood, of course, that the sleeve is shown opened up flat, and in being put on a garment would be doubled over and the edges joined on the underside of the arm. To reduce the size from the forearm to the wrist or cuff it is usual, in sweaters, to depend on the change to the plain rib stitch, for as explained previously the plain rib will come out much narrower than the half or full cardigan with the same number of needles and the same yarn. In underwear and theatrical tights it is customary to fashion down the forearm to the cuff. ”

“ The reason for providing two chains instead of one is to enable the operator to make two different kinds of rack in one garment by setting the studs on one chain for let us say a one-needle rack, and on the other for a two-needle rack. This arrangement permits the use of very short chains, as the racked pattern may repeat itself on the chain any number of times, where if a single chain were used it would be necessary to have a chain long enough to have a stud for each time the plate racked, when two patterns are required, and this would necessitate the use of a very long chain at times. ”

“ In the ladies’ high class fashioned underwear and tights the bust and hips are shaped. Much of this class of work, with the exception of hosiery, is made on the hand machines and involves much more labor, time and skill, than where the work is knit in a straight piece and made the proper shape by other means after being taken off the machine.
There are three advantages in fashioning the garments in the knitting operation. First, there is a saving in material as there is no material cut off in order to get the shape. ”

“ Where there is only one thread and guide on a machine it is a very simple matter to control it but in the modern full automatic machines, where there are several threads and guides, and they must be arranged so that any one on a single lock machine, or any two on a double lock, may be selected at will, it becomes more of a problem. ”

“ By having one yarn carrier threaded with cotton and one threaded with wool or worsted, as the case may be, and changing these carriers at the end of every course so as to keep the cotton always knitting at the cams that are leading or making the plain stitch, the cotton alone will draw through on the back of the fabric while the worsted or wool will practically cover the face stitch of the cotton. ”

“ At present, in the localities where mills are using both the circular and flat straight needle bed machines, it is generally understood that a flat fabric is a fabric of single thickness made on a flat machine, regardless of the stitch, and any fabric made on a circular machine is known as a tubular fabric. ”

“ It is quite obvious that if we provide means to sweep all the back jacks to their outermost positions and out of operation every time the carriage is moved from the right to the left end of the machine after having passed the needles across to the front plate, then swing a card with holes cut through at certain intervals up to the needle plate, those jacks that come into contact with that part of the card that is intact would be pushed into working position, while those that were in front of the openings or holes would pass through and not be affected. ”

“ In machine knitting of every kind there must be a needle for every loop, and therein lies the fundamental difference between machine and hand knitting. Latch needles, however, are constructed entirely different from the straight plain hand needles. Fig. 14 shows the construction of the latch needle. It will be noted by looking at the latches on the three needles that they swing freely on a pin or rivet lengthwise of the needle, but have no movement sidewise. ”

“ The card cylinder and cards are practically the same as used on the purl stitch machine and explained in a former chapter, but obviously the application must be somewhat different owing to the different construction and manner of operating the needles in this machine. Inasmuch as there are two sets of needles opposed one to the other, and each set forms the stitches which show on their respective sides of the fabric, it is possible and customary to make the designs in solid colors, differing in this respect from the links and links or purl stitch machine. ”

“ Rib is an alternative expression for wale, but is applicable more particularly where the fabric has a wale on both sides, in which case it is shown as a rib fabric. Where a cloth has a wale on one side only it is known as a jersey fabric, and is also sometimes called flat goods. Rib fabrics will be taken up later for it is my purpose to deal only with jersey or flat fabrics until the theory of knitting is thoroughly explained.
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Fig. ”

“ Another point of difference is that the purl stitch machine has one set of needles for both plates, with a hook and latch on both ends of each needle and no butts to operate them, while the ordinary machine has a set of needles for each plate with a hook and latch on one end only with a butt on the other end to operate it. ”

“ For 250 years or more after the invention of the knitting machine, knitted fabrics were in a general way supposed to be fit only for hosiery. Then some enterprising knitter woke up to the fact that knitted fabric was the ideal fabric for underclothing to be worn next to the body, and there was developed a great industry in knitted underwear. ”

“ If there is no change to be made in the middle of the garment the knitter may avoid it by either one of two means; either by using a stop like B, which will reverse the movement of the cylinder without starting the main chain, or by using a stop like E, which starts the main chain at the same time it reverses the movement of the cylinder, but in this event he must put in the main chain two extra links with a stud attached for stopping the chain immediately after starting without acting upon any of its automatic mechanism. ”

“ The ordinary flat machine has the needle plates set at an angle of about 90 degrees to one another, and 45 degrees to the horizontal, and they are set lengthwise so the needle slots of one plate are opposite the space between the needle slots of the opposite plate, or in a position so the needles of one plate will come up between the needles of the opposite plate. ”

“ These guards are mounted on a triangular or three-cornered frame which is pivoted at the center on the cylinder shaft with the guards mounted on the two lower corners, while the third corner is engaged by the lever n, which in turn is secured to the rod h. Now it is plain that if the bottom or base of this triangle is moved forward or toward the machine, the front guard would move under and disengage the front pawl while the back guard would move down and free the back pawl and allow it to operate on its ratchet wheel. ”

“ Latch Needle Knitting—Making Jersey Cloth on the Lamb Type of Machine Although what is known as the spring beard needle was a part of the original invention of the knitting machine, and was in use more than 200 years before the latch needle was invented, I am taking up the latch needle machine first for two reasons. First, because the latch needle type of machine is most largely used and is more popular in this country today than any other type; and second, because I believe it can be more easily understood by a person who is not familiar with machine knitting. ”

“ Needles are operated at a rate of speed that would make 500 or more stitches per minute per needle if the machine would keep them in continuous operation, but in practical work they make from 50 to 200 stitches per minute according to the size of the machine as more time is consumed as a rule in the movements of the machine between the stitches than is used in the actual knitting operation. ”

“ It should be understood that the back plate should never be racked over more than two needles except when all the needles are in the front plate. I have previously explained that when the cams are set for purl stitch, if the jacks are in the operating position in both plates we would make the purl stitch, but in any place where the jacks were drawn back out of operating position in one plate, in that place the needles would at all times stay in the opposite plate and knit the plain jersey stitch. ”

“ In making the half cardigan stitch it is customary to have the tuck or holdover stitch on the back plate; on the double-lock machine, where we have two feeds, it is on the back feed, and the plain course is on the locks that are leading. Therefore, to make a half cardigan stitch with these locks we would simply raise cams 2b and 3b up through the cam plate out of working position. ”

“ It will be recalled that when the yarn carrier block comes to the stop at the edge of the fabric, the plunger is raised out of engagement with its shoulder, and the block stops while the plunger passes on. When the carrier block that is being moved across by the plunger in the lead stops, the one that follows will also pass over the block without moving it, as the outside end of the block is beveled off to compel this. ”

“ Knit Fabric Construction Knitting is the art of constructing fabric or cloth with knitting needles by an interlocking of loops. The essential 10element of knitting is the loop, for the whole fabric is constructed from a succession of loops.
A loop is a very small length of thread, or yarn, taken at some point at a distance from the end and drawn through, or around, some object, usually another loop. ”

“ It was soon realized that by stopping the chain during the time the machine was making one kind of fabric without a change, which on most work is by far the greater part, and operating it only when needed, not only much time and material in making up the chain would be saved, but also much annoyance and trouble in providing means to keep the chain from getting twisted or out of place while running would be eliminated. ”

“ Therefore, all changes of the stitch, yarn, racking, etc., may be done to advantage at the proper time and place by the operator as the machine requires his whole attention anyway.
A prerequisite of an automatic machine is the operating of the machine by other than manual power, therefore automatic machines are first of all what are called power machines. This does not imply by any means that all power machines are automatic, but rather that all automatic machines are power machines.
Fig. ”

“ As the cams move farther along, the cam a-2 comes in contact with the butts and slides them down again. As the needles move downward the hooks catch the thread i which lies in their path, and as at l the stitch that is on the needle closes the latch as the needle slides downward. As the needle moves farther down the hook draws a new loop through the old one, while the latch closing up the hook allows the old loop to slip over the end (needle m) , and the pull of the fabric draws it down on to the new loop. ”