Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Sept., 1887.
Specification Accepted, 21st Oct., 1887
I ALFRED LEES of Clyde Works, Radford Nottingham Lace Manufacturer do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My improvements consist in employing combinations of different materials, such as
silk and cotton, or silk, cotton and wool or linen threads, or threads of any other
material which can be worked up in straight bar knitting machines of the usual
construction in which two or more thread carrier bars are employed.
The combination of threads in a knitting machine provided with only two thread
carrier bars, may be arranged as follows, the carriers on one bar may be supplied
with threads of cotton of the same colour, and the threads of the other bar may be
supplied with threads of silk or wool or other material of a like colour in which case
the knitted fabric produced will be of the same colour throughout but having stripes of
cotton alternately, with stripes of silk or wool or other material, but if the carriers of
one bar are supplied with cotton of two colours alternately and the carriers of the
other bar are supplied with silk or wool or other material of two other colours
alternately, the knitted fabric produced will have stripes of cotton alternately, with
stripes of silk or wool or other material but showing stripes of four colours alternately
lying parallel to each other from end to end of the fabric.
In knitting machines provided with three or more carrier bars three or more
different materials of the same colour or of different colours may be employed.
But whether two or more carrier bars are employed in each case each carrier is
supplied with a thread from a separate cop or spool.
And if the traverse of each carrier bar is adjusted to the same length the width of
each alternate stripe will be the same, that is to say there will be the same number of
wales in each parallel vertical stripe.
But if two or more carrier bars are employed and two or more widths of stripes
are required then the traverse of the bars must be adjusted accordingly in the
usual way.

page_text: Likewise care must be taken that the traverse of each bar be of such length that
each thread carrier lays its thread on to the outer needles which form the edges of the
next adjacent stripes.
By such means when two carrier bars are employed if one bar is adjusted to make
a longer traverse than the other bar, then a vertical striped fabric will be produced
having each alternate stripe wider than the next adjacent stripe on each side of it.
And if more than two widths of stripes are required, the number of the thread
carrier bars will have to be increased and the traverse adjusted accordingly.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is,
The employment in straight bar knitting machines of threads of two or more
different materials to form two or more adjacent stripes of knitted fabric the said
stripes running from end to end of the fabric substantially as described in the
foregoing specification.