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. This exchange of the yarn carriers at the end of each course is done automatically by the machine, therefore requires no attention by the operator.
Full Cardigan Stitch
To make the full cardigan stitch the procedure would be practically the same as explained on the single-lock machine, as both pairs of these locks would be tucking or holding on one side (opposite sides) on one course, and each would reverse itself on the return course. The cams 1b, 2b, 3b and 4b would be lifted up out of operation. When this is done the cams 1c, 2c, 3c and 4c would operate automatically to give us this result. This is the stitch used as a rule to make the two-faced fabrics, that is, to make the two sides of different colors.
In connection with this explanation the question may arise as to why the half cardigan stitch is used in making a fabric with one side cotton and the other side wool or worsted, and the full cardigan stitch used when making the two sides of different colors. The answer to this is that the half cardigan stitch makes the better fabric of the two for most purposes on account of the face stitch being full and round, thereby filling up the space between the wales. Inasmuch as the cotton stitch on the face is very short, and the wool or worsted quite long, and both are the same color, the cotton will show but very little, if any. On the other hand, if two widely divergent colors were used, the face would not show a solid color but would have more of a salt and pepper effect.
To go back to Fig. 40 it will be noted, as stated before, that while the principle of these locks is the same as the Lamb system previously explained, the construction is somewhat different. The stitch cams, 1, 8, 7, 6, 3 and 4 are shaped along the lines of a parallelogram, while all the stitch cams in the Lamb system were triangular. Cams 3 and 4 are made this shape to allow placing the triangular cam, 1d, in position to act as a guard cam to prevent the butts of the needles from flying up between after dropping off the ends of the stitch cams 3 and 4. Yet it allows these stitch cams to be moved freely up and down through the angular slot in the cam plate, which shows at the ends, in order to make the stitch longer or shorter as the need may be. Cams 1 and 6 are made this shape to allow placing back of them the triangular cams 9 and 10, but these are for another purpose.
It sometimes happens that it is desirable to make a fabric with the stitch so short that it would not cast the old stitch off over the end of the needles with all the cams set high enough to make this short stitch. When this is the case, cams 1 and 6 only would be moved up to a point where they would not draw the new stitch through the previous one on their respective courses, therefore would not use any yarn, while the opposite cams 2 and 5 would draw a full stitch.
After the needles had passed these cams (2 and 5) the cams 9 and 10 on their respective courses, having been set down to the proper position, would draw the needles in this plate down to the point where the old stitch would cast off, thereby completing that stitch without undue strain on the yarn on account of the needles on the opposite side being free to raise far enough to prevent it. Cam 11 acts as a guard cam for 7 and 8 and also is used on a short stitch to cast off for these two cams, the same as 9 and 10 cast off for 1 and 6.
Fig. 41.
Plating Yarn Carrier.