Knitted Narrow FabricsByWilliam Davis, M.A.Branch of the Knitting Industry That Presents Interesting Features—Yarn Testing—Manufacture of Cleaners and Meat Bags, Coverings for Wires and Cables, Fancy Stitch and Colored Effects for Trimmings—Use of Core Thread to Give Strength
ByWilliam Davis, M.A.
Branch of the Knitting Industry That Presents Interesting Features—Yarn Testing—Manufacture of Cleaners and Meat Bags, Coverings for Wires and Cables, Fancy Stitch and Colored Effects for Trimmings—Use of Core Thread to Give Strength
Knitting machine builders are remarkable for the new inventions and adaptations they are constantly bringing out on their machines. Several important concerns in this line have recently been active in producing types to deal with the large trade now being done in narrow fabrics for various purposes.
The ordinary circular knitting machine of small diameter has long been recognized as a suitable means of making trials of new yarns to judge how closely they match the original sample, because in knitting there is not the necessity of elaborate warp preparation and loom mounting. The machine generally employed for this purpose is an ordinary type of stocking knitter containing 96 or 112 needles. If the machine is only to be employed as a sampling machine it is by no means necessary to have a full stocking machine, because in this work it is never necessary to use the ribber or dial which is always supplied.
The work of sampling to shade is done in most weaving or spinning factories and a narrow width plain stitch knitting machine is satisfactory for the purpose. It is usually quite suitable to work the machine by hand, owing to the small lengths required and the frequent changes necessary when testing different colors and qualities.
The latch needle machine is much better for this purpose than the bearded needle frame owing to the simplicity of loop formation and also owing to the facility with which small or thick yarns can be made to give good work on the machine with suitable adjustment of the stitch tensions. It is also used as a means of producing samples of color, as the various colors can be introduced rapidly one after the other on this machine.
This type of frame with the needles stationary, and revolving cams and thread guide has from the first been recognized as the best adapted for knitting gas mantles from ramie. The yarn is working in long lengths on a narrow width circular knitting machine using the latch needle and this fabric is afterwards cut into lengths according to the mantles being produced. Mantles of different sizes can be obtained by using different diameters of machines as supplied by machine builders for this purpose.
In most hardware establishments and department stores one sees woven metal material knitted into fabric on such machines, and intended to be used for cleaning pots and pans in household work. The wire has a sharp edge so as to grip the matter to be removed. Knitting the metal material into looped form enables the product to do its work with the greatest efficiency.
Another side line of the knitting industry is the production of what are known as meat bags, with which the carcasses of frozen and ordinary mutton and beef are covered prior to transport. These bags are usuallymade on circular knitting machines of large diameter using the latch needle, and as the size of the yarn is fine compared to the set of the needles a gauze-like character is obtained which allows free circulation of air as well as affording a clean method of handling the meat and protecting it in the course of transport on ship, train and truck.
Examples are given by the accompanying illustrations of a few products of the narrow fabric branch of the trade. It will be evident at once what an interesting field of application is afforded by this division of the knitting industry. Fig. 1 shows a plain knitted fabric worked in circular form on a knitting machine using the latch needle in which we have 40 needles in the circumference, so that in this tube, front and back, are 40 stitches shown here in flat form.
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It is evident that this tubing can be used for the purpose of covering wires and cables which slide inside the fabric. It has more elasticity than woven fabric of similar form and is generally produced in a more simple and direct manner. It should be pointed out, however, that this fabric is susceptible to being torn and if it breaks at any point a little further strain will cause it to unravel in a rapid manner. Thus it is clear that it cannot be used by itself to any great extent in cases where great strain or pull will be applied to it. Made in suitable materials, there is nothing to hinder this tube from serving as lamp wicks.
Fig. 2 shows the same fabric with a fancy stitch introduced at one needle on the cylinder of the knitting machine to produce what is known as “tuck” work. In this work the needle in question is made to hold its thread for one course without knocking over its loop, and takes a second thread on the next course so that two threads are knocked over together, giving rise to the effect shown in the middle of the illustration.
This effect is produced by inserting a needle at this point with a latch which is longer than the other needle latches of the machine, with the result that it does not knock over its stitches with the ordinary needles unless it receives a specially deep draw down, which it gets every second course. Allthe stitches made on this needle are double as compared with the single stitches in the rest of the tube. In a machine with 20 needles in the circumference, one needle would be inserted with this extra long latch to give a tuck stitch right down the tube.
As regards the position of the fabric at which the tuck effect is made to show, this is entirely a matter of arrangement in folding the tube. According to the line of folding the tuck effect can be made to appear in the middle or at the side.
Further examples of this style of narrow fabric are given in Figs. 3 and 4, made on the same diameter of machine. In Fig. 3 the tuck stitch is made both front and back of the tape; that is, a long latch needle is inserted in the cylinder every tenth needle so that there are two in the circumference in place of the single line in Fig. 2. In Fig. 3 the second vertical line of tucking stitches appears on the back of the fabric directly under the line shown on the face, and this has the effect of making the tuck stitch more pronounced.
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In Fig. 4 it will be recognized that this idea is further developed by having two vertical rows of tuck stitches showing on the face of the tube, and these are supplemented by two others placed directly under them on the other side of the fabric, thus giving a total of four long latch needles in the circumference of the machine. To give the proper effect, the tube as obtained from the machine has to be carefully pressed so as to show the fancy effect at the correct place, for if the tube gets out of alignment at any point, this will affect the form of the pattern.
In the knitting industry such pieces of tubing folded double are found extremely useful in trimming garments, particularly in the circular or cut trade, where so much depends on having articles tastefully ornamented at a moderate cost. At present the manufacturer has often to buy these touches of trimmings from the outside. The great advantage of doing the work on his own premises and on his own machines is that he can install such a machine at a very moderate cost and place among his ordinary knitting machines at little or no extra cost for mechanics.
Several other examples are given herewith of the application of this principle of the latch needle knitting machine for tubular fabrics suitable for narrow tapes or ribbons. Fig. 5 illustrates a fabric produced on a machine of still narrower dimensions, having only 12 needles in the circumference of the machine. In this case the pattern effect is introduced by having several feeds of thread in the circumference; three different colors are employed and introduced in the order of one white, one black, and one tan all the way down the fabric, thus giving rise to a style of pattern which is very suitable for many purposes of the knitting manufacturer, particularly of outer garments. There are three yarn feeds round the circumference of this machine and every revolution of the machine creates three courses in the three colors named.
It will be noted that this gives rise to a color effect showing at a decided angle to the right, in place of being exactly horizontal, as would be approximately the case in a machine of larger diameter. This is one of the defects of all machines of this character where several feeds are used. They create a decidedly spiral tendency and the color effects appear at an angle. In many cases this is no disadvantage, but rather the reverse, as it takes away the stiffness of the color scheme and produces attractive effects in twill fashion similar to what can only be created in woven goods by the aid of the corkscrew weave and an elaborate setting of the cloth.
Fabrics of the character shown in Fig. 5 are very useful for edging parts of knitting coats, jumpers or vestings, these edgings giving a suitable finish for the edges of the garment. In addition to the color feature, these bands are often made in a tight tension so as to give a rigid cloth which will strengthen certain parts at which extra pull is applied, enabling the garment to retain its shape.
Fig. 6 gives a view of a narrow fabric made on a circular latch needle knitting machine with only six needles in the cylinder. There are two feeds, one supplying blue yarn to the needles and the other supplying green, the pattern being alternate courses of green and blue. The material is artificial silk and the cord, for it is nothing more, is employed for threading through certain garments which have a kind of open trimming through the spaces of which this cord is passed to complete the drawing together of the part. Very often these drawing together cords are provided with tassels at their extreme ends to afford a further ornamental feature.
Fig. 7 gives another variation of this pattern produced on the same machine where the courses alternate with each other in red and green. This sample shows the facility with which new color blends can be produced to match any color of ground garment. One bobbin is simply replaced with another on the machine, or both may be changed. In this pattern again a decided tendency is shown for the effect to run in the direction of the right owing to the tendency to a spiral effect.
In some cases the cord made of the knitted fabric itself is too elastic and lacks the tensile strength required for certain purposes. In this event it is an easy matter to arrange that a center core thread be run into the machine as the fabric is being knitted. The core thread is made of some strong, non-elastic material and is arranged on a bobbin above the machine. That material is drawn off its bobbin and passes down the center of thecircle of needles so that it is completely covered by the knitted fabric. Its use considerably strengthens the cord and makes it suitable for certain purposes for which it otherwise would not be satisfactory.
Fig. 8 shows a sample of an actual cord made on the same type of machine where we have only four needles in the cylinder, these being worked with two yarn feeds, one black and one white, giving a one and one black and white effect in the cord. For this style it is necessary to have a core thread of material which passes into the center of the tube as the knitting proceeds. This makes the cord bulk larger and causes it to be quite round in effect.
The smallest cord of this character is produced from one latch needle by an arrangement such as is supplied with the Union Special sewing machine, where the latch needle works by power, enters its loop and takes the new thread, which it draws through the old one, thus making an endless chain of loops in a very rapid manner. These strings are used as the ground work of the ornamental edgings produced on this machine.
THE ABBOTT PRESS, NEW YORK