It may have been noticed in Fig. 45 that the machine illustrated has two separate fabrics on it. This is done very often when a knitter has a large machine and has no wide work to make. He simply utilizes the greater part of the machine by making two narrow fabrics.
When this is done both fabrics must be the same vertically or lengthwise of the fabric, but they may be of different widths and of different colors. This is made possible by the system of carriers and blocks mounted on ways together with the stops, as just described.
There are two carriers mounted on each way or bar, instead of one as previously explained, and stops are placed at each side of both fabrics so the plungers, either y or x or both, according to how many carriers are in use, will drop one carrier at the edge of one of the fabrics and pick up the other carrier to knit the course on the second fabric.
CHAPTER VIII
The Automatic Widening Machine—Explanation of Mechanism Used
We have explained what fashioned work is and how it is done by hand. Fig. 53 shows a machine built by Dubied & Co., which does this work by widening the fabric automatically in the knitting operation. It is called an automatic widening machine, and is particularly adapted to making sleeves. It overcomes the principal objection knitters have to making shaped work—that is, the extra labor involved, and has the advantages before-mentioned—namely, no material to be cut away to get the shape, a selvedge edge which means a small neat seam, and the proper shape for a proper fit.
Fig. 53.
Automatic Widening Machine, Dubied.
The Widening Device
To the casual observer, the widening machine would look to be a very complicated piece of mechanism, but as a matter of fact the widening device is surprising in its simplicity.