Knitted Seamless Drawers, and the Process for Producing the same.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Apr., 1891-Accepted, 23rd May, 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Knitted Seamless Drawers, and the Process for Producing the same.
1 FRIEDRICH RABE of Chemnitz Saxony, Merchant, 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 said invention relates to an improved method or process by which I am
enabled to produce knitted drawers without seam and having the gusset at the fork
worked into the rest of the fabric.
In order that my said invention may be more clearly understood will at
once proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying sheet of
drawings.
The usual method at present practised for producing knitted drawers is first to
produce on a hand or power frame each leg piece with the body piece belonging
thereto as a single piece of the shape shown in Fig. 1.
Next two such pieces with
"
their edges half open
"
are placed together as in Fig. 2.
The leg pieces are sewn up and the body pieces are joined together at the back
by a seam dd, bb.
A slit from a' a' downwards towards the fork is left at the front and trimmed
with suitable material for receiving the buttons and button holes.
The seams of the leg and body pieces do not however meet in a point at the fork
but a gusset or clock is inserted at this place. Such a gusset is usually a separately
knitted square piece as shown in Fig. 3. which is folded in the manner represented
in Fig. 4 and sewn to the leg pieces so that the part i comes to d d and k to c, e when
the finished garment appears as illustrated in Fig. 5.
Attempts have been made to diminish the number of seams arising from this
mode of making drawers by knitting the leg pieces on a knitting machine so as to
close them all round, but this method of manufacture does not obviate the necessity
for the seams either in the body or in the gusset where they are particularly
objectionable.
In order to avoid seams of every kind I make drawers in the following manner.
On a wide Lamb knitting machine (or on any other knitting machine having
two rows of needles standing opposite to each other) produce the whole body
piece as represented in Fig. 6 closed all round. Such a body piece is however not
of the length which has hitherto been usual that is from a. b to the level e but is
continued beyond this point to Im that is to say as much further as the length of
the inserted gusset amounts to. At Im the leg pieces are closed ali round but
worked in such a manner that they do not meet as in d (Fig. 2) but lie at a
distance apart from each other corresponding to the width no (Fig. 6) of the gusset
formerly sewn in at this part. I use from Im onwards two thread guides one for
each leg piece and let the meshes of the two centre parts py and no fall away from
the needles. In order that the corners pn go of the leg pieces may be firmly joined
the loops at these places are crossed in the manner shown in Fig. 7 by hanging the
loop "' of the front row on the back needle and the loop a of this row is hung upon
the front needle. The leg pieces are then finished by knitting them close round
forming fashioned work and the two rows of meshes and no of the centre part
are held against each other as shown in Fig. 8 and joined together by a row of
loops produced by hand.
I
By this process the piece which has hitherto been inserted as a separate gusset
is knitted on to the leg and body parts while a seam at the line no (Fig. 9) is
avoided.
The gusset knitted in in this manner may be left as an even plain fabric or if

page_text: desired the seams produced by inserting a gusset may be produced at ne and oc by
a cover and drop rib as shown in Fig. 10.
For this purpose the two loops 1 and 2 for the point of the triangular imitation
gusset are hung sideways symmetrically to the middle loops c. at the distance of a
needle (say outwards) and the old loops s of the previous row are drawn upwards
on to the empty needles. After two or three rows the two pairs of loops 23 are
then covered sideways and again the old meshes are hung on to the emptied
needles. This process is continued and the pairs of meshes 45, 67 each diverge
the distance of a needle.
By this means ornamental stripes en co Fig. 9 indicative of the old gusset are
produced.
By the process hereinbefore described a pair of drawers is produced entirely
without perceptible seam. The front of the body part is then slit as shown in
Fig. 9 and trimmed in the ordinary manner.
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
1. The process of producing on a knitting machine provided with two rows of
needles standing opposite to each other knitted drawers having a gusset knitted into
the fabric thereof by forming the entire body part knitted closed and extended
beyond the junction of the leg part a distance corresponding to the length of the
gusset, by forming the leg parts knitted closed at a distance apart corresponding to
the width of the gusset and by effecting the final closing of the fabric at the fork
by sewing a row of meshes substantially as hereinbefore described and set forth.
2. As a new article of manufacture knitted seamless drawers having a gusset
worked therein and forming an integral part of the fabric substantially as herein-
before described and set forth.
Dated this 17th day of April 1891.
EDWARD TURNER WHITELOW,
70, Deansgate, Manchester, Agent for Applicant.