Now to return to where we left the needles and jacks at the right inside corner of cam b. The jacks of the back plate have reached their innermost position, and the heads or humps c (Fig. 63) lie under the bridge c (Fig. 62). At the point where the front jacks opposite are reaching their innermost position, the heads or humps c of the back jacks come under the concave e, which allows the hook of the needles, just coming forward from the opposite plate, to raise up the head and enter the clutch b of the jack. As they move farther to the left, the heads of these back jacks are under the plane surface of the bridge c, which secures the needles to these jacks. As the jacks start to move back toward their outermost position, the heads of the jacks of the front plate are under the concave f of bridge d. This allows the needle hooks of this end to draw out and release themselves from the jacks of this side, and be drawn through the loop to the back plate, and by this means to cast the previous loop off from the back plate toward the front one.
Upon the return from left to right, the needles are exchanged from the back plate to the front one in the same manner, only of course, the action is just opposite to that just explained. Therefore, the needles would pass through the loop from the back to the front plate, and cast off the previous loop from the front plate toward the back one. This would make the purl stitch.
While the machine was designed primarily to make this purl stitch, there can be made on it a larger variety of stitches than on any other machine, but in general practice the stitches made are limited as a rule to the purl, jersey and plain rib, 1 and 1, 2 and 2, etc. The term 1 and 1 rib means one needle in each plate alternately. The term 2 and 2 rib means two needles together alternating in each plate without a needle working between the two from the opposite plate. It is also possible to make the half or full cardigan stitch.
The jersey stitch may be made by one of two methods. First, when the needles are all in one plate move the jacks in the other plate to their outermost position, where the cams of that side cannot operate on them and the needles will stay on one side as there are no jacks operating on the other side to take them across. Second, by moving the handle b, Fig. 61, to the left. By doing this we would draw the cams a and b (Fig. 62) up into the cam plate out of working position, therefore the jacks would not move to their innermost position so the needles would not move far enough forward to meet the opposite jacks and could not be taken over into the opposite plate. This system of being able to operate any number of selected needles, or all of them, on either the purl or jersey stitch, either alone or in combination with the rack, is the base or principle used to make practically all the designed or pattern work produced on the ordinary purl stitch machine.
Fig. 61 shows the top side of the carriage. The letter a indicates the handle for operating the carriage; b is the lever for changing the stitch from purl to jersey, or vice versa, by raising out or putting into operation the cams a and b, Fig. 62. The letter c shows the lever for changing yarn carriers while d1 and d2 are the slides for changing the length of stitch. This change is made the same as has been explained for the ordinary flat machine; that is, by shifting the stops, of which there are three for each stitch cam or six on each of the slides d1 and d2.
CHAPTER X
Designs on Plain Purl Stitch Machines—Automatic Jacquard Type—Details of Jacquard-Designing on Jacquard Machine
Figures 64, 65 and 66 show some of the design effects which may be made on the links and links system of knitting. Fig. 64 is a basket weave design. To make this we will assume that the machine is set up, that is, has work on it, with the carriage at the left end of the machine. Then all the needles would be in the front plate. The back plate should be racked to its last position to the right. The last working jack in the back plate, left end, should be opposite the last needle in the front plate, but in the right end of the back plate there should be 8 jacks more than needles in the front plate. Now starting at the right, count eight jacks, which leave in operating position; then draw five back out of operating position; leave eleven in operation, and drawn five out. Alternate in this way with eleven in work and five out for the length of the work.
Fig. 64.
Basket Weave Design Made on Purl Stitch Hand Machine.