Attachment of knitted fabric strip to a piece of fabric

In the production of knitted garments especially pullovers, cardigans and sweaters it is frequently desired to add a knitted strip of material to the garment to define a neck opening. With this invention a first piece of fabric such as the strip is impaled on the points of a linking machine, the second piece of fabric such as the garment is then impaled on the points and the other marginal edge of the strip folded over the second piece of fabric and with said marginal edge abutting the points the two pieces of fabric are sewn together. When the strip has one marginal edge formed as a welt edge it is that edge which is impaled on the points.

The present invention relates to attachment of a knitted fabric strip to a 
piece of fabric, in particular the attachment of a knitted fabric strip to 
a garment to form an edging, for instance an edging around a neck opening. 
The knitted strip is knitted so that the wales extend transversely across 
the strip. Accordingly one longitudinal edge is a welt edge and the other 
longitudinal edge is a non-welt edge and is therefore liable to unrove. 
When using a linking machine to secure such a knitted fabric strip to 
another piece of fabric it has been common practice in the past to secure 
each stitch of the non-welt edge on a point of the dial so as to avoid 
unroving of the non-welt edge. This is a very skilled and time consuming 
operation. 
It is a general object of the present invention to avoid the necessity of 
securing each stitch on a point and thereby remove the skill factor in 
using a linking machine to secure a knitted strip to a piece of fabric. It 
is also an object to attach in a neat manner a knitted fabric strip to the 
edge of a piece of fabric so as to create a neat edging. 
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method 
of linking a plurality of pieces of fabric together including impaling a 
first piece of fabric on the points of a linking machine and positioning a 
second piece of fabric so that an edge of the second piece of fabric is 
arranged so as to abut the points, and holding the second piece of fabric 
in position whilst securing the first and second pieces of fabric together 
by a sewing operation. 
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of 
attaching a knitted fabric strip to a piece of fabric, the knitted fabric 
strip having a longitudinal welt edge and a longitudinal non-welt edge, 
the method comprising running the knitted fabric strip onto the points of 
a linking machine so that the points penetrate the strip adjacent to the 
non-welt edge, pressing onto the points an edge of the piece of fabric and 
folding the strip so as to envelope the edge of the piece of fabric and 
securing the strip fabric to the piece of fabric by sewing, the sewing 
being carried out so that the sewn stitches are located adjacent to both 
longitudinal edges of the knitted strip and serve to secure the non-welt 
edges so as to prevent unroving. 
Preferably after the strip has been run onto the points and before the 
piece of fabric is pressed onto the points, the non-welt edge is sewn to 
provide a seam of sewn stitches adjacent to the non-welt edge. 
Additionally, the fabric strip is preferably folded to envelope the piece 
of fabric so that the welt edge abuts the points, the piece of fabric 
enveloped by the strip is then presented to a sewing means for attaching 
the strip to the piece of fabric. Advantageously, the sewing means 
produces a seam of sewn stitches which overlaps said seam of stitches 
adjacent to the non-welt edge. The combination of both seams of stitches 
ensures that all free stitches of the non-welt edge are secured so as to 
prevent unroving. 
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a 
method of attaching a knitted strip to a piece of fabric, the strip having 
a pair of longitudinal edges for attachment to the fabric, one 
longitudinal edge being a welt edge and the strip having a folded marginal 
edge portion the fold of which defines the other longitudinal edge, 
impaling the welt edge onto the points of a linking machine, pressing onto 
the points an edge of the piece of fabric and folding the strip so as to 
envelope the edge of the piece of fabric with said other longitudinal edge 
abutting the points, and presenting the piece of fabric enveloped by the 
folded strip to a sewing means whereat the strip is attached to the piece 
of fabric. 
It is envisaged that the strip may include a knitted portion projecting 
laterally from the strip, so that when the strip is attached to the neck 
opening of a garment, the knitted portion forms a collar. 
The above method is particularly suitable for attaching an edging strip to 
a piece of fabric wherein the edging strip is knitted so as to have one 
longitudinal selvedge edge and an opposite longitudinal edge which has a 
folded marginal edge portion, which portion is automatically formed during 
knitting of the strip. A long continuous edging strip may be formed by 
knitting a plurality of short strips on a rib machine separated by a draw 
thread. After removal of the draw thread the individual short strips are 
joined in an end to end fashion to form a long continuous strip. In a 
preferred construction of strip, initially a selvedge edge is knitted and 
then the main portion of the strip is knitted on both beds of the machine 
to give a strip of a desired width; the stitches on one bed are then 
transferred to the other bed and a plurality of courses are knitted to 
form the maringal edge portion, and preferably a thin yarn, such as cotton 
is used so that the fabric of the marginal edge portion is thinner than 
the main portion of the strip. 
Finally, a draw thread is then knitted in before knitting of the selvedge 
edge of the next strip. 
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a 
linking machine having a dial of points spaced about the circumference of 
the dial, guide means for guiding the strip, as defined above, to the 
points so that one of the longitudinal edges is positioned just below the 
points, and sewing means including fabric gripping means for holding 
fabric in position during the sewing operation. 
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a 
linking machine for attaching a knitted fabric strip having a longitudinal 
welt edge and a longitudinal non-welt edge to a piece of fabric, the 
linking machine having a dial of points, a guide means for running the 
knitted fabric strip onto the points so that the points penetrate the 
strip adjacent to the non-welt edge, and preferably including a first 
sewing means for providing a seam of sewn stitches adjacent to the 
non-welt edge and a second sewing means for attaching the knitted fabric 
strip to the piece of fabric. Advantageously, the first and second sewing 
means are spaced apart as far as possible, the first sewing means also 
being spaced as near as possible, to the guide means. 
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided gripping 
means for attachment to the sewing means of a linking machine the gripping 
means being constructed so as to grip fabric presented to the sewing means 
.

Referring initially to FIG. 1 there is shown a linking machine 10 having a 
dial of points 12 which is rotatably mounted with respect to a fixed 
central platform 14 having an upstanding flange 70 which extends about its 
periphery. 
Circumferentially spaced about the platform 14 is a running-on or guide 
means 16 for feeding or running onto the points a fabric strip 30 and a 
sewing means 18; the dial 12 in use rotating in the direction of arrow A. 
The strip 30 as illustrated in FIG. 7 is knitted so as to have a lower 
longitudinal edge 6 defined by a welt edge and an upper longitudinal edge 
7 which is formed by a fold line defined by a folded marginal portion 30a. 
The strip 30 is knitted so that the marginal portion 30a automatically 
folds to the position shown after removal from the knitting machine. For 
instance the strip 30 may be knitted on a rib machine in which both needle 
beds knit from edge 6 to edge 7 and then the stitches are transferred to 
one bed only and knitting is continued for several courses to produce the 
marginal portion 30a. 
The running-on means 16 includes (FIG. 3) tensioning means in the form of a 
pair of nip rollers 20 mounted on a platform 21, one of the rollers 20a 
being rotatably driven whilst the other roller 20b is free running. Roller 
20b is mounted on arm 22 (see FIG. 5) which is pivotally connected at one 
end to platform 21 via a pivot 23. A resilient spring 24 is attached to 
the other end of arm 22 so as to resiliently bias roller 20b into contact 
with roller 20a. 
In order to separate the rollers to assist in setting up, a cam 26 (FIG. 5) 
is rotatably mounted on the arm 22 and is co-operable with a flat surface 
26a formed on drive shaft housing 26b. A lever 26c is provided which 
enables the cam 26 to be rotated so as to deflect arm 22 to separate 
rollers 20a, 20b. On further rotation of the cam 26 it passes `over 
centre` so as to also engage pin 27. In this position the cam is held in 
contact with pin 27 under the bias of spring 24 and thus the rollers 20a, 
20b are held in a spaced apart condition. 
Roller 20a is driven from the main drive shaft (not shown) of the linking 
machine so that its peripheral speed is slower than that of the dial. Thus 
a predetermined tension may be applied to the strip fabric 30 being fed 
onto the dial 12. 
The tension applied by rollers 20a, 20b may be changed by either exchanging 
roller 20a for another of different diameter or by providing a variable 
speed drive for changing the speed of rotation of roller 20a. In order to 
achieve removal of roller 20a, a knurled nut 31 is provided which 
maintains roller 20a in driving contact with its drive shaft (not shown). 
Thus roller 20a may easily be removed by operating cam 26 to separate 
rollers 20a, 20b and then removing nut 31. 
An articulated guide support arm 40 (FIG. 3) is provided which carries 
several guides 41 each comprising a pair of guide arms 42 spaced apart so 
that the strip fabric 30 passes therethrough in a flat condition. The 
lower edge 6 of the strip 30 rides across the base members 41b which 
extend between each pair of guide arms 42. The guide 41 nearest the 
rollers 20a, 20b is provided with an upper stop 43 which engages the upper 
edge 7 of the strip fabric 30. Each guide 41 is mounted on the support arm 
40 via a boss 45 which is rotatable on the arm 40 and which may be locked 
in position by a bolt 45a. 
The articulated support arm 40 has a joint 40a which is releasibly 
lockable. Accordingly the position and angular orientation of the guides 
41 is adjustable and these are arranged so that the lower edge of the 
fabric strip 30 runs across the surface of the platform 21 into the nip 
between rollers 20a, 20b. 
The platform 21 is positioned so that its upper surface is slightly below 
the dial of points 12 and therefore accurately determines the position of 
the lower edge 6 in relation to the points. 
An adjustable guide 50 (FIG. 4) is positioned between the rollers 20a, 20b 
and the dial of points 12 and serves to incline the strip 30 away from the 
dial of points 12 so that penetration of the points is performed at an 
oblique angle. This ensures that penetration of the points occurs near to 
the edge 6 of the fabric strip 30. 
Guide 50 comprises a quadrant support 51 carried by arm 52 secured to the 
frame of the machine. Guide arm 53 is supported by a curved arm 54 
slidably received in a curved channel (not shown) formed in the quadrant 
support 51. The curved arm 54 carries a threaded bolt 56 which projects 
through a slot 57 formed in the quadrant support 51 and enables the arm 54 
to be held in a desired position. Movement of arm 54 relative to quadrant 
51 alters the inclination of guide arm 53. The guide arm 53 slidably 
carries a stop 58 which engages the upper edge of the fabric strip 30 and 
ensures that the lower edge 6 is maintained at its predetermined height 
prior to being impaled onto the points. 
The strip 30 when impaled on the tip of the points is forced down the 
shafts of the points by pusher means 12a and the strip eventually abuts 
against the flange 70 and is maintained in a vertical position thereby. 
The pusher means 12a includes a shoe 12b which is mounted on a shaft 12c. 
The shaft 12c is oscillated in order to cause oscillatory deflection of 
the shoe 12b for pushing the fabric onto the points. 
At a convenient location between the sewing means 18 and the running-on 
means 16 an edge of the second piece of fabric 80 is impaled onto the 
points manually by an operative. The operative then folds over the fabric 
strip 30 to envelope the edge of the fabric 80 with marginal portion 30a 
residing on the inside of the fold. The strip 30 is folded so that its 
upper edge 7 abuts the shafts of the points. The strip remains folded due 
to the tension within the strip (FIG. 10). 
The folded strip 30 enveloping fabric 80 is then presented to the sewing 
means 18 whereat the two pieces of fabric are sewn together. 
The sewing means 18 (FIG. 6) includes a needle 81 which is reciprocated 
radially of the dial of points 12 by drive means 82 (FIG. 2) to co-operate 
with a looper 18a. The drive means 82 includes a slide 83 in which the 
needle 81 is mounted, the slide 83 being reciprocated by a push rod 85 
mounted at one end on an eccentric 86. The needle is located slightly 
above the points in order to penetrate all layers of fabric. The sewing 
means 18 also includes a gripping means 90 which serve to intermittently 
grip fabric presented to the sewing means 18. The gripping means 90 
includes a stationary gripper jaw 91 in the form of a guide member 92 
which serves to incline the fabric strip 30 so that the needle 81 
penetrates the fabric obliquely and thereby ensuring the needle penetrates 
as close as possible to edge 7 of the fabric strip 30. 
The gripper means 90 also includes a movable gripper jaw 93 which is 
movable radially of the dial of points 12. The jaw 93 is mounted on one 
arm of a U-shaped support 94, the other arm 94b being pivotally attached 
to frame member 95 via a pivotal connection 96. A push rod 97 is attached 
to a lever 98 and is reciprocally driven thereby in order to cause 
reciprocal deflection of support 94 about pivotal connection 96 and so 
cause gripper jaw 93 to move toward and away from gripper jaw 91. The 
pivotal connection 96 includes a threaded shaft haing a knurled head 96a, 
the shaft being threadedly received in frame member 95. The arm 94b is 
biased by means of a spring (not shown) into contact with head 96a so that 
rotating of head 96a displaces the support 94 circumferentially of the 
dial 12. The gripper jaw 93 is provided with a slot 100 (FIG. 6) through 
which the needle 81 passes. Located on either side of slot 100 is a sharp 
projection 101 so that when fabric is trapped between jaws 91 and 93 it is 
positively gripped and held in position. The jaw 93 has a dished surface 
93a so that the point of engagement with the fabric is as near to edge 7 
as possible and so that, when the jaws 91 and 93 are in a gripping 
position, there is sufficient clearance above the slot 100 to accommodate 
the bulkiness of the fabrics. 
The movement of the movable gripper jaw 93 is synchronized with the 
movement of the needle 81 so that the gripper jaw 93 is in its gripping 
position during advancement and penetration of the needle 81 and so that 
the gripper jaw 93 moves to its fully retracted position whilst the needle 
81 withdraws from the points. Consequently the gripper jaw 93 is spaced 
from the fabric during indexing of the dial of points 12. 
After sewing the two pieces of fabric together, the impaled pieces of 
fabric are removed from the points by a plough member (not shown) which 
urges the fabric off the points as the dial is indexed. 
The above apparatus may also be used to join a strip 30' FIG. 11 of knitted 
fabric having longitudinal edges defined respectively by a welt edge 6 and 
a non-welt edge 6'. In this respect the strip 30' is fed through the 
running-on means so that its lower longitudinal non-welt edge 6' is run 
onto the points 12 of the linking machine. In order to prevent unroving, 
the sewing means 18 is arranged to produce a sufficient number of stitches 
per inch in order to secure all free loops of the non-welt edge 6' so as 
to prevent unroving. 
Preferably, securance of strip 30' to a piece of fabric 80 is achieved 
using a linking machine as illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9. 
The linking machine 200 illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 includes similar 
features to that described in relation to FIGS. 1 to 6 and accordingly the 
same reference numbers have been adopted to designate these features. 
The machine 200 includes an additional sewing means 13 which is spaced 
circumferentially of the dial from sewing means 18. The dial rotates in a 
direction of arrow A and so the sewing means 13 and 18 are respectively 
referred to as first and second sewing means. 
The first sewing means 13 of conventional construction, is positioned next 
to the pusher means 12a as shown in FIG. 9 and co-operates a looper 13a to 
create a seam of sewn stitches 13b (FIG. 11) adjacent to lower edge 6' of 
the knitted strip 30'. 
At a convenient circumferential location between the first and second 
sewing means 13, 18 an edge of the second piece of fabric 80 is impaled 
onto the points. The fabric strip 30' is then folded to envelope the edge 
of fabric 80 so that the welt edge 6 abuts the shafts of the points as 
shown in FIG. 11. The strip 30' remains folded due to the tension within 
the strip. 
The folded strip 30' enveloping fabric 80 is then presented to the second 
sewing means 18 whereat the two pieces of fabric are sewn together. 
Preferably, the seam produced by the second sewing means overlaps the seam 
13b so that visually there appears to be only one seam. The production of 
the two seams of sewn stitches is also arranged so as to ensure that all 
the free switches of the non-welt edge 6' are secured thereby preventing 
unroving.