Changing the Yarn Carriers
There is one other change that is made by these levers and slides besides the changes in the stitch, and that is changing the yarn carriers to make stripes of different colors. This is done, not by changing the yarn in the yarn carriers as one might imagine, but by providing a carrier for each yarn needed and then changing the carriers. These carriers are shown at letter k, in Fig. 46. They are not fixed to the carriage but are attached to a block which slides back and forth on ways or gibs which are shown at 1, 2, 3 and 4, and reach the length of the machine. The gibs are undercut on a bevel on both edges and the block is undercut in the same way, so they dovetail together to keep the block from lifting off, yet are free to slide back and forth on the gib. These blocks have a depression or are cut out on the upper edge with a square shoulder at each end of the cut out, and the carrier is moved back and forth by a plunger which is attached to the carriage and engages these shoulders.
In Fig. 47, at letter x, are shown the plungers, and Fig. 48, letter x, shows them placed in the block and attached to the carriage. These plungers are set to pick up the desired yarn carrier by the slide, i, on the front, and slide, z, on the back. (Fig. 48.)