Knit fabric for a neck portion of a knit product and knitting method thereof

Abstract: A method and apparatus for knitting the neck portion 2 of a sweater, cardigan or vest by use of a flat knitting machine carrying at least a pair of front and rear needle beds 5, 6 which are arranged movably in a longitudinal direction. The neck portion 2 is formed subsequent to knitting of the right and left sides of the body 3b, 3a.

Description: The invention relates to a knit fabric for neck portion of a knit product such as a sweater, cardigan or vest, and a knitting method thereof. Conventionally, in order to form a neck of a knit product having a V-shaped neck, U-shaped neck, round neck or turtle neck, the neck portion of the knit fabric is cut into a V-shape, U-shape or round shape after the front body has been knitted and, after that, a reinforcement piece or a turtleneck is linked by using a knitting machine. Such a procedure, however, requires a considerable length of time, thus reducing the productivity. Furthermore, when the reinforcement piece or turtleneck is sewed onto the front fabric, the overlapped portion will be thicker, thus causing not only a bad appearance but, also, producing a less comfortable garment. In the light of the above problems, it is possible to knit the reinforcement piece or turtleneck subsequently to the cut-out neck portion, however, in this case, the number of loops existing on the edge of the cut-out neck portion is so limited that the radius of the reinforcement piece or turtleneck is formed too small to be actually used. In FR-A-2176447, a method of knitting a blank is disclosed in which a blank knitted in a one piece opened out form is shaped so that portions of the blank above the arm pit regions are knitted separately from one another but are joined integrally to the single portion of the blank located below the arm pit regions, thereby producing, below the arm pit regions, a single piece of fabric constituting the shoulder regions of the garment. The present invention is intended to overcome the foregoing problems and an object is to provide a knitting method employed for a neck portion of a knit product in which a neck portion having a preferred radius or a preferred shape is knitted subsequently to the front body portion and a knit fabric having a reinforcement piece or turtle neck. The invention provides a knitting method for a cut-out neck portion of a knit product, including a front and a rear body portion, comprising knitting a front body by a flat knitting machine carrying at least a pair of front and rear needle beds either or both of which are arranged for movement in the longitudinal direction, forming a cut-out portion for a neck subsequently during a knitting period wherein both left and right front body portions are knitted, a knit fabric for a neck portion is formed on the cut-out portion, characterised in that an action of widening stitches is done by increasing the number of loops forming each edge of the cut-out portion. The invention further provides a knit fabric comprising a cut-out neck portion having a reinforcement piece, characterised in that at least one loop of the neck portion is divided into two loops so as to increase the number of loops which form the neck portion next to the reinforcement piece. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described referring to the accompanying drawings. Further, marks which appear in the drawings are explained as follows: ○ a missed front stitch ○ knitting of a front stitch V making of a front stitch tuck ⊗ a new loop ○ knitting of a back stitch split knit ↑ transferring of a loop ↓ transferring of a loop V ○ a missed front stitch tuck [First Embodiment] A knitting method for a neck portion of a knit fabric according to the present invention is employed for a U-shaped neck portion 2 of a vest 1, and such method is executed by using a flat knitting machine which carries two, front and rear, movable needle beds provided in the inverted-V shape arrangement when viewed from side, each bed carrying a multiplicity of knitting needles mounted on the top thereof for forward and backward movement. The knitting of a front body piece (knitted fabric) 3 of the vest 1 shown in Fig.1 starts with its bottom region 4 and finishes with the neck portion 2. Fig.2-1 to 2-30 illustrate a series of primary courses for knitting the neck portion 2, in which alphabetic capital letters A, B, C, D, ... represent knitting needles of the front needle bed 5, alphabetic small case letters a, b, c, d, ... are knitting needles of the rear needle bed 6, rightward numeral and letter P denote the distance of movement of the rear needle bed 6. Wales which form a bottom part of U-shaped neck portion 2 are knitted by a number of knitting needles, but all those knitting needles are indicated as "W" in Fig.1 for convenience in the following description. The action at each of the courses for knitting the neck portion 2 will now be explained. By repeating knitting courses of front body as shown in Fig. 2-1 to 2-2, with yarns 1 ○, 2 ○ supplied to the knitting needles D, E, F, ...N, O, P of the front needle bed 5, a front body 3 of the vest 1 is knitted. At the end of the front body 3 or the start of the neck portion 2, loops are formed on the knitting needles D to H, by which a front body part 3a on the left of the neck portion 2 is to be knitted by supplying a yarn 3 ○ as shown in Fig.2-3. In Fig.2-4, a loop held on the front knitting needle H is now also held on the rear knitting needle h, that is, one loop is split into two loops, and in Fig.2-5, loops held on the front knitting needles D to G are transferred to the rear knitting needles d to g. Accordingly, in Fig.2-6, the rear needle bed 6 is moved 1 pitch leftward from the position shown in Fig.2-5, and, loops held on the rear knitting needles d to h are transferred to the front knitting needles C to G. As a result, the loops held on the front needles D to H in Fig.2-3 are now held on the front knitting needles C to H, thus there increases a loop which is to form the left-side edge 2a of the neck portion 2, in other words, the action of "widening stitches" is done. In Fig.2-7, a yarn 5 ○ is supplied to the front knitting needles L to P and loops are formed on them, and on the other hand, a yarn 4 ○ supplied to the front knitting needles is tucked on the knitting needle I and forms a loop on each of the front knitting needles C to G, while missing the knitting needle H. A knitting structure formed through the courses in Fig.2-4 to Fig.2-7 appears to be as indicated with an arrow α in Fig.3. At the courses shown in Fig.2-8 to 2-11, the action from Fig.2-4 to 2-7 is done to increase loops of wales which are to form right-side edge 2a of the neck portion 2. More specifically, in Fig.2-8, a loop held on the front knitting needle L is now also held on the rear knitting needle 1, that is, one loop is split into two loops. In Fig.2-9, loops held on the front knitting needles M to P are transferred to the rear knitting needles m to p. In Fig.2-10, the rear needle bed 6 is moved 1 pitch rightward from the position in Fig.2-9, and then the loops on the rear knitting needles 1 to p are transferred to the front knitting needles M to Q. Thus, there increases a loop on the right-side edge 2a of the neck portion 2, in other words, the action of "widening stitches" is done. In Fig.2-11, a yarn6 ○ is supplied to the front knitting needles C to G and loops are formed on them. On the other hand, a yarn7 ○ supplied to the front knitting needles is tucked on the knitting needle K at its left end and forms a loop on each of the front knitting needles M to Q, while missing the knitting needle L. A knitting structure formed through the courses in Fig.2-8 to Fig.2-11 appears to be as indicated with an arrow β in Fig.3. Further, at the courses shown in Fig.2-12 to 2-15, the action from Fig.2-4 to 2-7 is done, and at the courses shown in Fig.2-16 to 2-19, the action of widening stitches as shown in the courses of Fig.2-8 to 2-11 is done to the right-side edge 2b of the neck portion 2. Furthermore, at the courses shown in Fig.2-20 to 2-23 and the courses shown in Fig.2-24 to 2-27, the action of widening stitches is repeated on the left-side edge 2a and the right-side edge 2b of the neck portion 2 respectively. Thus, the preferred number of loops are formed on the left-side edge 2a and the right-side edge 2b of the neck portion 2 of the vest 1. Further, a yarn8 ○ is supplied to the front knitting needles E to S in Fig.2-28, and in Fig.2-29, every other loop of the loops on the front knitting needles E to D is transferred to the every other rear knitting needles e, g, i, k, m, o. After that, a yarn9 ○ is supplied to the knitting needles F, H, J, L, N and e, g, i, k, m, o as shown in Fig.2-30 and rib-knitting is repeated for a predetermined number of times. As a result, a reinforcement portion 7 is formed subsequently to the left-side edge 2a and the right-side edge 2b of the neck portion 2. Although not shown with figures, the courses shown in Fig.2-4 to 2-7 and the courses shown in Fig.2-8 to 2-11 may be changed as described in the following paragraphs. After the loop held on the front knitting needle H in Fig.2-4 is made to be held also on the rear knitting needle h, that is, after the loop is split into two loops, the rear needle bed 6 is moved 1 pitch rightward, and then the loops held on the front knitting needles D to H are transferred to the rear knitting needles c to g. Succeedingly, the rear needle bed 6 is moved 1 pitch leftward, and then the loops on the rear knitting needles c to h are transferred to the front knitting needles C to G. Further, after the loop held on the front knitting needle L in Fig.2-8 is made to be held also on the rear knitting needle 1, that is, after the loop is split into two loops, the rear needle bed 6 is moved 1 pitch leftward, and then the loops held on the front knitting needles L to P are transferred to the rear knitting needles m to p. Succeedingly, the rear needle bed 6 is moved 1 pitch rightward, and then the loops on the rear knitting needles 1 to q are transferred to the front knitting needles L to Q. Additionally, the knitting needles adjacent to tucks are missed in Figs.2-7, 2-11, 2-15, 2-19 2-23 and 2-27, but it is because the added loops are not entangling each other. When the added loops are entangling each other or another loop is to be formed on each of the increased loops, the action of missing is not necessary. [Second Embodiment] In this embodiment, yarns1 ○ , 2 ○ supplied to a front body 3 of a vest 1 is knitted by repeating knitting courses as shown in Fig.4-1 and 4-2 as described in the first embodiment. At the end of the front body 3 of the vest 1 or the start of the neck portion 2, as shown in Fig.4-3, a yarn 3 ○ is supplied to the front knitting needles D to H and new loops are formed, and at the same time, the old loop held on the knitting needle H is transferred to the rear knitting needle h by going through the newly formed loop and forms another loop, in other words, "split knit" (See Japanese Patent Publication Sho.62-62053) is done here. In Fig.4-4, the loops held on the front knitting needles D to G are transferred to the rear knitting needles d to g. Although the action of forming a new loop by supplying the yarn3 ○ to the front knitting needle H and the action of transferring the old loop held on the front knitting needle H to the rear knitting needle h through the newly formed loop occur coincidently in the above method, that is, "split knit" is done in the above method, the two actions may occur step by step. In Fig.4-5, the rear needle bed 6 moves 1 pitch leftward from the position shown in Fig.4-4, and loops held on the rear knitting needles d to h are transferred to the front knitting needles C to G. In Fig.4-6, a yarn 4 ○ tucked on the front knitting needle I is supplied to the front knitting needles C to H and loops are formed on them. Thus, the loops held on the front knitting needles D to H in Fig.4-3 are now held on the front knitting needles C to H. By this way, a loop for forming the left-side edge 2a of the neck portion 2 is added, that is, the action of "widening stitches" is done. A knitting structure formed in the knitting courses Fig.4-3 to 4-6 appears to be as indicated with an arrow γ in Fig.5. At the courses shown in Fig.4-7 to 4-10, almost the same action as the courses shown in Fig.4-3 to 4-6 is done to increase the number of loops for forming the right-side edge 2b of the neck portion 2. More specifically, in Fig.4-7, a yarn5 ○ is supplied to the front knitting needle L after the loop originally held on the front knitting needle L is transferred to the rear knitting needle 1, that is, the action of "split knit" is done, and in Fig.4-8, the loops held on the front knitting needles M to P are transferred to the rear knitting needles m to p. In Fig.4-9, the rear needle bed 6 moved 1 pitch rightward from the position shown in Fig.4-8, and loops held on the rear knitting needles 1 to p are transferred to the front knitting needles M to Q. As a result, the loops held on the front knitting needles L to P in Fig.4-7 are now held on the front knitting needles M to Q, and the number of loops at the right-side edge 2b of the neck portion 2 increases, that is, "widening stitches" has been done. In Fig.4-10, a yarn 6 ○ tucked on the front knitting needle K is supplied to the front knitting needles L to Q and loops are formed on them. A knitting structure formed in the knitting courses Fig.4-7 to 4-10 appears to be as shown with an arrow δ in Fig.5. Further, at the courses in Fig.4-11 to 4-14, the courses shown in Fig.4-3 to Fig.4-6 are repeated and at the courses in Fig.4-15 to 4-18, the action of "widening stitches" which is shown at the courses in Fig.4-7 to 4-10 is done. Accordingly, "widening stitches" is repeated at the left-side edge 2a and the right-side edge 2b of the neck portion 2 in Fig.4-19 to 4-22 and in Fig.2-23 to 2-26, and an expected number of loops can be formed at the left-side edge 2a and the right-side edge 2b of the neck portion 2. Further, a yarn7 ○is supplied to the front knitting needles E to S in Fig.4-27, and in Fig.4-28, every other loop of the loops on the front knitting needles E to D is transferred to the every other rear knitting needles e, g, i, k, m, o. After that, rib-knitting-is repeated by the front knitting needles F, H, J, L, N and the rear knitting needles e, g, i, k, m, o, as shown in Fig.4-29, for the number of predetermined times. Then, a reinforcement portion 7 is formed successively to the left-side edge 2a and the right-side edge 2b of the neck portion 2. In the above two embodiments, a flat knitting machine carrying a multiplicity of knitting needles on a pair of front and rear movable needle beds is employed, but it is possible that more than two pair of the needle beds might be arranged instead. Further, although the rear needle bed is provided movably in the embodiments, it is possible that the front needle bed may, instead of the rear needle bed, be provided to be movably, or both the rear and front needle beds may be provided movably. Furthermore, each of the left front body portion and the right front body portion in the embodiments is knitted up separately by supplying a yarn to each of them. However, when either of said front body portions is knitted up to the shoulder portion first, and then, the other front body portion is knitted up, both the front body portions are knitted to the shoulder portions by only one yarn. Additionally, although a U-shaped neck portion is obtained by the method in the embodiments, when a width of the knitting courses for forming the left-side edge and the right-side edge of the neck portion is reduced at a predetermined rate as the left-side edge and the right-side edge of the neck portion are knitted up to the shoulder portion, a V-shaped neck as shown in Fig.6 can be obtained. And, when the width of reciprocating motion is reduced at a large rate around the center of the cut-out neck portion, a round neck as shown in Fig.7 can be obtained. The foregoing relates to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention, it being understood that other variants and embodiments thereof are possible within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims: A knitting method for a cut-out neck portion of a knit product (1), including a front and a rear body portion, comprising knitting a front body (3) by a flat knitting machine carrying at least a pair of front and rear needle beds (5,6) either or both of which are arranged for movement in the longitudinal direction, forming a cut-out portion (2) for a neck subsequently during a knitting period wherein both left and right front body portions are knitted, and a knit fabric for a neck portion is formed on the cut-out portion, characterised in that an action of widening stitches is done to loops of courses in the left and right front body portions (3a,3b) for forming each edge of the cut-out portion. A knitting method for a cut-out neck portion of a knit product as claimed in claim 1, comprising a procedure to increase the number of loops of the edges (2a,2b) of the cut-out portion (2) by: splitting loops during the knitting of courses for each of the left and right front body portions (3a,3b) between the start of the neck portion and each end of the shoulder portions; transferring loops located adjacent the split loop held on knitting needles of a first needle bed to the needles of a second needle bed; moving either or both of the needle beds (5,6) in the longitudinal direction so that the transferred loops are not overlapped with the split loop when the transferred loops and the split loop are transferred back to the first needle bed; and repeating the procedure of widening stitches until a neck portion (2) with an increased number of loops is formed. A knitting method for a cut-out neck portion of a knit product as claimed in claim 1, comprising a procedure to increase the number of loops in the edges (2a,2b) of the cut-out portion (2) by: splitting loops during the knitting of courses for each of the left and right front body portions (3a,3b) between the start of the neck portion and each end of the shoulder portions by letting the loops be held on needles of both the front and rear knitting needle beds (5,6) or by forming a new loop with a yarn supplied to needles on the front or rear knitting needle beds on which the original loop is held; moving either or both of the needle beds (5,6) in the longitudinal direction so that the split loop should not be overlapped with the original loop when the original loop and the loops located adjacent the position of the original loop are transferred from the needles of the first needle bed to the needles of the second needle bed; moving either or both of the needle beds (5,6) in the longitudinal direction so that the loops held on the needles of the second needle bed should not be overlapped with the loops which were originally placed on the needles of the first needle bed when the loops held on the needles of the second needle bed are transferred to the needles of the first needle bed; and by repeating the procedure of widening stitches until a neck portion with an increased number of loops is formed. A knitting method for a cut-out neck portion of a knit product as claimed in claim 1,2 or 3, wherein a predetermined number of loops placed at the centre part of the cut-out portion (2) of a neck are held on knitting needles while the number of loops forming a left and a right edge of the cut-out portion increase in the knitting courses one by one, thereby wales of a U-shaped cut-out portion of a neck are formed. A knitting method for a cut-out neck portion of a knit product as claimed in claims 1,2 or 3, wherein the width of the knitting courses for forming the left and right edges of the cut-out portion (2) of the neck is reduced as the left and right front body portions (3a,3b) are knitted up, thereby a V-shaped cut-out portion of a neck is formed. A knitting method for a cut-out neck portion of a knit product as claimed in claims 1,2 or 3, wherein the width of the knitting courses for forming the left and right edges (2a,2b) of the cut-out portion (2) of the neck is reduced as the left and right body portions (3a,3b) are knitted up and the width is reduced at a larger rate around the centre part of the cut-out portion than at the outer part of the cut-out potion. A knit fabric comprising a cut-out neck portion (2) having a reinforcement piece, characterised in that at least one loop of the neck portion is divided into two loops so as to increase the number of loops which form the neck portion next to the reinforcement piece (7).

Inventors: NAKAI SHUN-ICHI, NAKAI, SHUN-ICHI
Applicants: SHIMA SEIKI MFG, SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD.
Application year: 1991
Main classification: D04B1
IPC codes: D04B7, D04B1, D04B15, A41D1