Flat Machine Knitting and Fabrics

by H. D. Buck

How the Half Cardigan or Tuck Stitch Is Made

The diagram at Fig. 28 shows the method used to make the half cardigan or tuck stitch on a flat machine. The cams shown are what are known as the Lamb system and are called the automatic cardigan or drop locks. The word “locks,” as applied to the flat knitting machine, means a full set of cams attached to the cam plates ready to affix to the carriage. There are a number of different systems of constructing these locks, but the one selected is the most simple of all and for this reason is used for illustration first. The others will be taken up at the proper place.

Fig. 28.
Automatic Locks for Making Half or Full Cardigan Fabrics.

In Fig. 28 only a part of the needle plates are shown. They are attached to a frame at an angle of 90° to each other and 45° to the horizontal as explained before. The cams are shown in working position with the carriage (to which they are attached when in use) removed. As indicated by the thread h, they are being moved toward the far end.

It should be noted that the automatic drop V-cams a, a, are in different positions. These cams are made so that they swing freely on the pivots b, b, and the swing is inside of the limits of the positions of the two cams in the drawing. It is controlled by pins on the top side of the swinging ends, the pins coming through a slot of the proper length in the cam plate to stop them at the right place.

When starting to move these locks from the near end toward the far end, the cam a, on the left, might be in any position within the limits of the before mentioned slot in the cam plate, but the instant it comes in contact with the butts of the needles it is automatically forced to the position shown.

In making the half cardigan stitch the right hand cam is held up to the top, as shown, at all times by means provided. This position forces the needles high enough so that the latches are above and clear of the loop that is on the needle, therefore when the needles are drawn down again by the cam f, they draw new loops and cast the old ones off over the latch and hook, and they drop down on the new loop, just as explained in describing how to make the plain rib. This refers only to the needles in the right plate.

The cam a, on the left side, however, having been swung down to its lowest position by contact with the needle butts, raises the needles only about one-half of the normal distance. Or to put it differently, the needles raise high enough to open the latches and catch the yarn when being drawn down again, but not high enough to permit the loop that is on the needle to slide down below the latch. Therefore, after the completion of the course we have the right side with the new loop drawn through the old one as in plain rib, but the left side still retains the old or previous loop and also the new one as at j. This leaves two loops on every needle on the left side and one on the right when the course is completed.

On the return course, from the far end to the near end, when the point i of the left cam, a, comes in contact with the first needle it must swing up in the same position as the right cam, a, therefore all the needles will draw the new loop through the two preceding ones and clear themselves, leaving only one loop on each needle as in the plain rib.

On the next course, from the near end to the far end, the left hand needles again hold the old loop and take on a new one as just explained, while the right hand needles cast off the old ones and hold only the new ones.

To condense the operation into a few words let us say that the left hand needles always must hold the two stitches while moving in one direction, and clear them off and hold only one on the return course; while the right hand needles always cast off the old stitch and hold the new ones only. The right hand needles would make the face side of the fabric.

The writer has made a special effort to explain the formation of this particular stitch, and the reader should make the same effort to get this formation clear in his mind, for this stitch is the base of almost all of the fancy stitches or design work which will be taken up later. The system used in design work is of course entirely different from the one just described, being what might be called a selective system, that is, a method whereby the designer may select the proper needles at the proper time and place to make the tuck stitches block out the design wanted.

Fig. 25, at band c, shows the tuck or half cardigan stitch; b is the face and c is the back. If studied carefully the reader will notice that the face side, b, has a full round stitch, while c, or the back of the fabric, has a small narrow stitch.