Knitted fabric having open part and knitting method therefor

Details Knitted fabric having open part and knitting method therefor Knitted fabric having open part and knitting method therefor

2003-09-02

2004-07-27

Worrell, Jr., Larry D (Department: 3765)

Textiles: knitting

Independent-needle machines

Straight

C066S176000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06766667

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a tubular fabric having an open part splitting a part of knitwear vertically, such as a cardigan and a vest having an open part, or a slashed tubular fabric with its marginal parts around the slit overlapped with one part under the other, and to a knitting method thereof.
BACKGROUND ART
The applicant has proposed a basic knitting technique on a seamless knit in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 3(1991)-75656. The proposed knitting technique uses a so-called two-bed flat knitting machine comprising front and back needle beds arranged to be opposite to each other, for knitting a knitted fabric into a tubular form with alternate needles of front and back needle beds, for example, using odd needles for a front fabric part and even needles for a back fabric part. When the front fabric part is knitted, the back fabric part is engaged with needles of the back needle bed, while on the other hand, when the back fabric part is knitted, the front fabric part is engaged with needles of the front needle bed, whereby empty needles available to receive and transfer loops of each fabric part are always reserved on the opposite needle bed to knit the front and back fabric parts in the state of being overlapped with one fabric part under the other fabric part. As a result of this, several structure patterns in which front stitches and back stitches are mixed, such as links, purl stitches, and ribs, can be knitted in a tubular form. Also, the use of the empty needles enables the knitted fabric to be moved transversely so as be joined to an adjacent knitted fabric.
A four-bed flat knitting machine further comprising another pair of front and back needle beds can also be used. In this case, front fabric parts of e.g. sleeves and a body, can be knitted with needles of a lower front needle bed and an upper back needle bed, and also back fabric parts thereof can be knitted with needles of a lower back needle bed and an upper front needle bed. Accordingly, when the four-bed flat knitting machine is used, the need to allot the front fabric part to the odd needles and the back fabric part to the even needles, as is required in the two-bed knitting machine, can be eliminated. These knitting techniques can allow producing knitwear in the form of a nearly completed product on the flat knitting machine, and as such can eliminate or simplify the sewing process.
When a vest is knitted seamlessly, front and back bodies of the vest are knitted starting at hems toward a shoulder, while armholes and a neckline opening are formed therebetween. The front and back bodies are joined together at the shoulder and bound off. Similarly, when knitwear with sleeves, including T-sleeve, Set-in sleeve, and Raglan sleeve, is knitted, its body and two sleeves are simultaneously knitted in a tubular form until before armholes and then are joined together from armholes to the shoulder and, then, front and back parts of the body are joined together at the shoulder. These knitwear knitting methods are disclosed by Japanese Laid-open (Unexamined) Patent Publications No. Hei 2(1990)-91254, Hei 2(1990)-229248, Hei 4(1990)-209855, and Hei 4(1992)-153346.
When knitwear, such as a cardigan and a vest with a front open, is knitted, right and left marginal parts extending along the front open, where a placket is usually laid to form button holes and button, must be formed to be overlapped with each other, with one side under the other side, when wearing.
The front body and the back body can be knitted in an overlapped state (double-layer in section) by using alternate needles in the two-bed flat knitting machine for knit, as mentioned above. A multilayer (e.g. a triple-layer and a four-layer) knitted fabric can also be knitted by using every N-number needles such as three needles and every four needles. For example, when a triple-layer knitted fabric in section with its marginal parts overlapped with each other is knitted on the two-bed flat knitting machine, the marginal parts
121
,
122
of the front open
102
are knitted, for example, by using every four needles, as shown in FIG.
19
. In the drawing, reference numeral
105
r
,
105
l
denote a right front body and a left front body, respectively, and
107
denotes a back body.
However, when the marginal parts
121
,
122
are knitted in that manner, distance between one needle and another used to form loops of the marginal parts is increased, resulting in loose loops of the marginal parts and thus inferior texture of the marginal parts. To avoid this problem, the knitted fabric with the open part is commonly knitted in the manner that only the marginal parts are knitted separately from the body parts and then joined to the body parts by sewing in a sewing process. This knitting method is applicable to all types of fabrics with the open part, including the vest or cardigan with the front open, as mentioned above, and a slashed tubular fabric with its marginal parts extending along the slit or open part and overlapped with each other.
It is an object of the present invention that when a knitwear having an open part, such as a slit, formed in a part of fabric knitted in a tubular form and a marginal part(s) extending along the open part, such as a vest or a cardigan, is knitted seamlessly, loops of the marginal part(s) extending along the open part are prevented from being loosened to provide improved texture.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In order to solve the problems mentioned above, the present invention provides a method for knitting a knitted fabric comprising a front fabric part, a back fabric part, an open part, and right and left marginal parts extending along the open part by using a flat knitting machine comprising at least a pair of front and back needle beds, each of which has a large number of needles and at least either of which can be racked laterally to receive and transfer loop between the needle beds, wherein the knitted fabric is knitted in the state in which the front fabric part and the back fabric part are joined to each other at lateral ends of the fabric with respect to knitting width and either of the front fabric part and the back fabric part is split into right and left parts at some midpoint of the knitting width; so that the open part is formed to extend vertically from the splitting place and also the right and left marginal parts comprising an adequate number of wales extending along the open part are arranged in two layers to overlap each other when wearing, the method comprising:
(a) the step of performing a course knitting repeatedly in the state in which the number of wales of at least one of the right and left split parts of one fabric part having the open part formed at a lateral end thereof with respect to knitting width, which is determined in dependence with the number of wales of the marginal part continuous to the fabric part retained and knitted on the opposite needle bed, are previously sent round to the other fabric part retained and knitted on an opposite needle bed, in order that the one fabric part is retained on one needle bed and knitted in the state in which the right and left marginal parts are arranged in line with each other,
(b) the step of widening the open part by providing a narrowing knitting to the one fabric part having the open part formed therein, and
(c) the step of moving the wales as were previously sent round to the opposite needle bed in the step (a) to an outside of the one fabric part having the open part formed therein.
It is preferable that in the step (b), the opening is widened by moving the right and left marginal parts in a direction in which the right and left marginal parts are moved away from each other, so that the number of empty needles existing between the right and left marginal parts as were arranged in line with each other and knitted in parallel is increased, and the step (c) is taken in continuation to the step (b), such that while the wales as were sent round to the opposite needle bed are racked one stitch by one stitch, the wales are moved to an

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