After doing this the position of the jacks would be similar to those shown in the back plate in Fig. 60, except that that illustration showed three in and three out, while we would have eleven in work and five out in the present instance. The three rules marked m, shown in Fig. 60, are used for this purpose. They save the time of counting the jacks and drawing them back one or two at a time. By the use of one of these rules, properly cut, all of the jacks to be put out of operation may be moved back in one sweep.
To go back to our design, set the pin shown in the arc e, Fig. 60, to stop the racking handle at eight needles, put on six courses or three rounds, stopping with the carriage on the left, which will leave all the needles in the front plate, and rack the back plate to eight needles to the left. Put on three more rounds and rack the eight needles to the right, and continue doing this.
It should be understood that the back plate should never be racked over more than two needles except when all the needles are in the front plate. I have previously explained that when the cams are set for purl stitch, if the jacks are in the operating position in both plates we would make the purl stitch, but in any place where the jacks were drawn back out of operating position in one plate, in that place the needles would at all times stay in the opposite plate and knit the plain jersey stitch.
Now in this basket design we have in the back plate, disregarding the first eight jacks, five jacks that are not operating alternating with eleven that are. Therefore, the first three rounds would make purl stitch on eleven needles alternating with five making plain jersey stitch.
When we rack the plate over eight needles we find that the five slots with the non-working jacks of the back plate are just opposite the middle five needles of the eleven that have been making purl stitch, and are, of course, at the time of racking in the front plate. We also find that the five needles that have been making the jersey stitch in consequence of having been opposite the five non-working jacks in the back plate, are now opposite the middle five of the eleven working jacks of the back plate. Therefore it is plain that these five needles would make purl stitch for the next three rounds, while the middle five needles of the eleven that were making purl stitch would make jersey in the next three rounds. There are always three needles on each side of the five that are racked over that purl stitch all the time.
Two and Two Rib
Fig. 65 shows two designs the lower one being very simple. With the carriage on the left end of the machine arrange the jacks in the back plate two and two, or two in working position and two out. Then move the carriage across to the right end of the machine and we will find that the needles have arranged themselves to conform to the arrangement of the back jacks, alternating two and two in both needle plates. Now move the handle b, Fig. 61, to the left and this will raise cams a and b, Fig. 62, up into the cam plate out of operation, thus preventing the jacks from moving to their innermost position. Therefore, they cannot exchange needles and so would make a two and two rib fabric, knitting this continuously without any further change.
Fig. 65.
Diagonal Diamond Design
and Two and Two Rib Made on
Hand Purl Stitch Machine.
The upper half of Fig. 65 is made by arranging the jacks in the back needle plate so that five will be in working position, alternating with five out. With this arrangement of the jacks, and without any further manipulation, the machine would knit a straight vertical stripe of five needles purl stitch and five needles plain jersey stitch. If, however, we rack the back needle over one needle every round when the carriage is at the left end of the machine, and all the needles are in the front plate, for five rounds we would have these stripes running diagonally instead of vertically, and the distance they would run to the right or left, depending on which way we racked, would depend on how many times we racked in one direction. In this instance it would be for seven rounds, or rather we would rack over in the one direction every round for six rounds, and on the seventh we would rack the plate back the five needles at once. Then start over racking the other way one needle each round as before to make the second row of diagonal blocks. This racking back of five needles at one time would of course bring the non-working jacks to the position where the working jacks were, and the working jacks to the position where the non-working jacks were. Therefore, the needles that were knitting the purl stitch would begin making plain jersey, while the needles that were making plain jersey would now make purl stitch.