IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED FABRICS AND IN MA- CHINERY EMPLOYED THEREFOR
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Haseltine, of the "International Patent
Office," Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED FABRICS AND IN MA-
CHINERY EMPLOYED THEREFOR." A communication from abroad by
Henry Augustus Clark, of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of
America.
Sealed the 31st January 1871, and dated the 3rd September 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Haseltine at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 3rd September 1870.
I, GEORGE HASELTINE, of the "International Patent Office," South-
ampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED FABRICS AND
IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREFOb,” a communication, to be as follows:-
The present Invention relates to that class of machines for knitting
fabrics known as and commonly called circular knitting machines,

page_text: that is, machines in which a series of needles suitable for knitting
are arranged in a circular line within grooves in a suitable frame or
holder.
The primary aim of the present improvements is to cheapen and
simplify and also to enlarge the capacity of the class of knitting
machines to which this Invention relates, and thus to supply or meet
the great and continually growing want of and demand for by families
of a knitting machine that is not complicated in the arrangement and
construction of its parts, and can be repaired and operated by persons
of ordinary intelligence.
The objects of this Invention are, first, to render such machines
capable of producing a greater variety of work than could heretofore be
made upon them.
Second. To make the machines capable of being instantly reversed
while knitting, and to any desired extent, so as to make both tubular
or flat work either separately or both combined in the same article, as,
for instance, in forming the various parts of a stocking, to narrow or
widen either the tubular fabric or the flat webs, and without change in
the size of the needle carrying frame.
Third. To make on the said machines a fabric with different colored
stripes running lengthwise of the tube or strip, or with such stripes
themselves having different colors running crosswise of the same, so as
to present in cach stripe a cross stripe or block.
Fourth. To make fancy tubular goods of different texture by employing
at times all the needles of the series, and at other times a lesser number
than the whole series, but by continuous revolution of the series in either
one or the other direction.
Fifth. To make or produce an ornamental fringe and cord on the
fabric, and to cover by knitting a core, whether the same be a cord,
wire, flat spring, whip handle, or other article.
Sixth. To simplify the cost of manufacture of the needles, give greater
strength to their shanks, and to decrease the liability of their being
broken or otherwise deranged.
I provide the machine with a grooved frame for supporting and
carrying the needles cylindrical in form, and having the grooves cut in
a direction parallel to the axis of the cylinder. This frame may be
elevated or lowered for the purpose of increasing or decreasing the

page_text: length of travel of the needles therein for producing a tighter or looser
texture of stitch. For the purpose of holding the needles in their
grooves while allowing the necessary longitudinal movement I provide
a barrel or band encircling the same, which band is sunk within a
groove cut around the circumference of the said frame, and so arranged
as to be readily attached to or detached from it. I also round off the
tops of the ribs or pillars which separate the needle grooves, in order to
prevent the cutting or breaking of the stitches or yarn, especially when
knots or irregularities appear. The needles are bent out at the proper
part in the direction of their length, thereby securing their retention in
the grooves of the frame or cylinder, preventing their wabbling or their
being twisted or turned upon their axes, and ensuring their true and
steady movement. When using needles of this form I am sometimes
able to dispense with the encircling band above described. I also
enlarge the shank of the needles to form a bulge at the part where
the latch is pivotted, whereby the discharge of the yarn loop is ensured
and the loop kept from riding over the point of the latch. The
needles are made to advance and retire at the proper time to form the
stitch by means of a cam groove formed in a barrel or cylinder which
surrounds the frame or needle holder, and which is so constructed that
the machine may be revolved in either direction. I construct-this cam
with adjustable parts, so that the form of the cam groove may be so
changed as to vary its character or action upon the needles; I thereby
change the extent of their travel so as to produce stitches of a closer
or more open texture, this effect being the same whichever way the
machine may be revolving. I may accomplish this purpose in several
ways, for instance, I may construct the cam in two or more parts,
hinging the detached parts at one end, and providing the other end with
a set screw to adjust its heighth to the required length of stitch; or I
may construct the cam with a slide block or piece or pieces susceptible
of being adjusted and retained by a set screw or by other convenient
means; or I may construct within the cam groove two slide blocks or
pieces at such points thereof and of such a form as will secure the
above-described result when the machine is revolving in either direction.
To the movable part of the cam, however the same may be constructed,
I attach an index or pointer combined with a graduated dial in such a
manner as to allow a regularity of adjustment of such part to be secured.
To the revolving cylinder of the machine I attach a yarn holder or
carrier in such a manner that it revolves with the said cylinder, and

page_text: presents the yarn to each needle in succession, so that it may be grasped
between the hook and latch of the needle as it descends, and be drawn
through the old loop, thereby forming a new one. In order to permit
the same yarn carrier to be used both in the forward and reverse motion,
instead of fastening it solidly to the movable cylinder I fasten it to a
ring, which is so secured to the said cylinder as to revolve with it until
it abuts against a stop or stops located on the permanent frame of the
machine, the ring being then arrested or retained while the cylinder
continues its motion in the same direction, thus allowing it to be brought
into the position to deliver the yarn to the needles at the proper instant
during the return motion. The stops are adjustable upon the stationary
part of the machine, so as to allow the knitting of goods of any required
width.
In order to facilitate the prompt insertion-and-removal-from-the-
machine of the needles, and to obviate the tedious operation of placing
them in or taking them out through a single groove, I cut away a con-
siderable portion of the inner surface of the cam ring or cylinder, or
make a rebate around its whole inner surface. By means of automatic
spring switches within the cam grooves I compel the needles at each
return movement of the cam cylinder (which may be turned in either
direction) to rise to their full height, and thus secure the lifting of the
latch above the loop on the needle and the elevation of the needle hook,
so that in its next descent it will seize the thread for the next loop
or stitch.
I construct a lifter for raising the fabric in connection with the
upward movement of the needles, preventing the slipping down of the
stitches on the needles below the ends of the latches, and holding the
stitches above the said latches 'until the needles are again brought down
to their normal position, thereby keeping the needle hooks from being
accidentally closed by the yarn when it is presented to the said hooks.
Besides the ordinary stitch I can knit tufted or piled fabric by laying
between the regular courses of stitches, directly after the course has
been knitted, a course of loose loops formed from continuous yarn, and
then binding this last course in place by a succeeding course of regular
stitches.
-

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Haseltine in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 2nd March 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HASELTINE, of the "International Patent Office," Southampton Build-
ings, London; send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said George Haseltine, Her special licence that
I, the said George Haseltine, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said George Haseltine, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
KNITTED FABRICS AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREFOR," a communication
to me from abroad by Henry Augustus Clark, of Boston, Massachusetts,
United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said George Haseltine, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
KNOW NOW YE, that I, the said George Haseltine, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification:-
The present Invention relates to that class of machines for knitting,
fabrics known as and commonly called circular knitting machines,

page_text: that is, machines in which a series of needles suitable for knitting
are arranged in a circular line within grooves in a circular frame or
holder.
The primary aim of the present improvements is to cheapen, simplify,
and also to enlarge the capacity of the class of knitting machines to
which this Invention relates, and thus to supply or meet the great and
continually growing want of and demand for by families of a knitting
machine that is not complicated in the arrangement and construction
of its parts, and which can be repaired and used by persons of ordinary
intelligence.
The objects of this Invention are, first, to render such machines capable
of producing a greater variety of work than could heretofore be made
-upon-them.
Second. To make the machines capable of being instantly reversed
while knitting, and to any desired extent so as to make tubular or flat
work either separately or both combined in the same article, as for
instance, in forming the various parts of a stocking to narrow or widen
the tubular fabric or the flat webs and without change in the size of the
needle carrying frame.
Third. To make on the said machines a fabric with different colored
stripes running lengthwise of the tube or strip, or with such stripes
themselves having different colors running crosswise of the same so as to
present in each stripe a cross stripe or block.
Fourth. To make fancy tubular goods of different textures by em-
ploying at times all the needles of the series, and at other times a lesser
number than the whole series, but by continuous revolution of the series
in either one or the other direction.
Fifth. To make or produce an ornamental fringe and cord on the fabric,
and to cover by knitting a core, whether the same be a cord, wire, flat
spring, whip handle, or other article.
Sixth. To simplify the cost of manufacture of the needles, give greater
strength to their shanks, and decrease the liabilty of their being broken
or deranged.
3
I provide the machine with a grooved frame for supporting and
carrying the needles, cylindrical in form, and having the grooves cut in a 3
direction parallel to the axis of the cylinder. For the purpose of holding

page_text: the needles in their grooves while allowing the necessary longitudinal
movement, I provide a barrel or band encircling the same, which
band is sunk within a groove cut around the circumference of the said
frame, and so arranged as to be readily attached to or detached from it.
I also round off the tops of the ribs or pillars which separate the
needle grooves in order to prevent the cutting or breaking of the
stitches or yarn, especially when knots or other irregularities appear.
The needles are bent at the proper part in the direction of their length,
thereby securing their retention in the grooves of the frame or
cylinder, aud preventing their wabbling or their being twisted or turned.
upon their axis, thus insuring their true and steady movement. When
using needles of this form I am sometimes able to dispense with the
encircling band above described. I also enlarge the shank of the needles
so as to form a bridge at the part where the latch is pivoted whereby the
discharge of the yarn loop is secured and the loop kept from riding over
the point of the latch. The needles are made to advance and retire at
the proper time to form the stitch by means of a cam groove formed in
a barrel or cylinder which surrounds the frame or needle holder, and
which is so constructed that the machine may be revolved in either
direction. I construct this cam with adjustable parts, so that the form
of the cam groove may be so changed as to vary its character or action
upon the needles, I thereby change the extent of their travel so as to
produce stitches of a closer or more open texture, this effect being the
same whichever way the machine may be revolving. To the revolving
cylinder of the machine I attach a yarn holder or carrier in such a
manner that it revolves with the said cylinder and presents the yarn to
each necdle in succession so that it may be grasped between the hook
and latch of the needle as it descends and be drawn through the old loop
thereby forming a new one. In order to permit the same yarn carrier
to be used both in the forward and the reverse motion instead of fastening
it solidly to the moveable cylinder, I fasten it to a ring which is so
secured to the said cylinder as to revolve with it until it abuts against a
stop or stops located on the permanent frame of the machine, the ring
being then arrested or retained, whilst the cylinder continues its motion
in the same direction, thus allowing it to be brought into the position
to deliver the yarn to the needles at the proper instant during the
return motion. These stops are adjustable upon the stationary part
of the machine, so as to allow the knitting of goods of any required
width.

page_text: In order to facilitate the prompt insertion and removal from the
machine of the needles and to obviate the tedious operation of placing
them in or taking them out through a single groove, I cut away a
considerable portion of the inner surface of the cam ring or cylinder
or make a rebate around its whole inner surface. By means of auto-
matic spring switches within the cam grooves I compel the needles at.
each return movement of the cam cylinder (which may be turned in
either direction) to rise to their full height, and thus secure the lifting
of the latch above the loop on the needle, and the elevation of the needle
hook, so that in its next descent it will seize the thread for the next loop
or stitch.
I construct a lifter for raising the fabric in connection with the
upward movement of the needles, preventing the slipping down of the
stitches on the needles below the end of the latches, and holding the
stitches above the said latches until the needles are again brought down
to their normal position, thereby keeping the needle hooks from being
accidentally closed by the yarn when it is presented to the said hooks..
Besides the ordinary stitch I can knit tufted or piled fabric by laying
between the regular courses of stitches directly after the course has been
knitted, a course of loose loops formed from continuous yarn, then
binding this last course of loose loops formed from the continuous yarn,
and then binding this last course in place by a succeeding course of
regular stitches.

page_text: Figure 8 represents the latch needle as ordinarily constructed.
Figure 9 shews another form of cam mechanism.
Figure 10 illustrates the manner in which the loops are disposed to
produce the new tufted fabric herein described.
Figure 11 shews a portion of such fabric complete. Like letters
indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
A is the bed of the machine, which is provided with a projection B in
the form of a clamp, and a thumbscrew B', for the purpose of securing
the machine to the table, as is usual in hand machines; C is the needle
frame, cylindrical in form and having the needle grooves made in the
usual manner parallel to the axis of the cylinder; D is a cylindrical
ring fitted to revolve around the needle frame by means of the ring
gear e¹, Figure 2, which meshes into and is propelled by the spur
wheel E, Figures 1 and 5, which spur wheel is actuated by the crank F.
A groove H, Figure 2; is cut around the inner periphery or face of the
ring D, which groove receives the butts of the needles d, Figures 1, 4,
5, and 7, and is raised and depressed in parts, as represented in Figure 2,
for the purpose of advancing and withdrawing the needles in forming
the stitch. J is a band represented in detail in Figure 6, whose office is
to keep the cam ring D from rising, and also to retain the needles in
their places in the grooves. It is made to close into a groove cut around
the circumference of the needle frame C, as represented in Figure 5;
this band is hinged at f, Figure 6, and may be easily removed by opening
the clasp g.
The form of the cam for advancing and retiring the needles may be
seen in Figure 2, which cam is so constructed that the action on the
needles is the same in whichever direction the cam ring D is revolved.
It will be seen that the needles having traversed the horizontal part of
the groove H pass into the more elevated part A, the office of which
elevation is to advance the needles to free their latches from the loops of
the fabric, and allow the said latches to close as the needles retire down
the depressed part of the groove B². In order to regulate the amount of
depression given to the needles and with it the length of the stitch, the
upper surface of the cam groove is made moveable, and consists of a
block F dovetailed or otherwise so constructed as to admit of being slid
upward or downward. This block is provided with a thumbscrew L,
Figures 1, 2, and 9 passing through a slot M, whereby it can be raised

page_text: and depressed and fastened in any required position. N is an index or
pointer attached to the sliding block and indicates upon a dial on the
outside of the ring D the extent to which the slide block is raised or
depressed. Within each of the elevated portions A² of the cam grooves
is a switch C², which acts automatically as follows:-The pivots on
which they are hinged pass through the cylinder and receive in a slit a
spring D², which keeps the switches in their normal position, as shewn
at E3. The said spring may be dispensed with if the weight of the
switch is sufficient to make it resume its place after having been lifted.
It will be seen that when the cam ring is advancing in either direction
the needles will come in contact with the sharp edge of the first switch,
and ride up and over it to the highest part of the groove, but they pass
under the second one which is instantly restored to its normal position
_by_the_action of the spring or by its own weight.
Figure 9 illustrates another method of constructing the cam by
hinging the moveable block at H* instead of having it slide up and down
in a dovetailed groove, as in Figure 2. A set screw is attached at Land
an index finger at D', as in the method illustrated in the last-mentioned
Figure. It is evident that there may be two such can blocks, cither to
facilitate the knitting by reverse motion or to enable the machine to knit
two courses at one revolution.
In Figure 7 is represented a needle constructed according to the
present improvements, and at Figure 8 one as ordinarily constructed,
that is, with a simple hook and latch at one end and a bend or foot at
the other.
By my improvements a bend is made in the shank so that the needle
when being moved in the groove, which is somewhat deeper than the
thickness of the needle cannot be turned upon its axis by the action of
the cam groove H on the bottom projection of the needle. The necessity
of cutting the annular groove which requires nice and accurate work-
manship and the use of the hinged ring or band y are dispensed with,
and I thus save the expence of both and prevent the liability of the ring
or band to get broken or out of order, and also give greater strength to
the shank of the needle. I also make a bend or swell in the needle just
below the latch to facilitate the passage of the loop under the latch, and
I thus prevent the catching of the loop on the hook instead of its passing
over to form a new one. This object has been accomplished by cutting

page_text: away a part of the shank under the latch; but my method is preferable,
as it avoids the weakening of the needle when it is already weakened in
forming the latch hinge.
G represents the yarn carrier, whose normal position is slightly in
advance of the cam block F, whichever way the machine is moving.
If the cam ring D was intended to rotate only in one direction this
yarn carrier might be attached permanently to the said cam ring in the
proper position to present the yarn to the needles at the instant they
are about to be withdrawn by the cam H, so that the yarn may be
caught by the hooks and drawn through the former loop; but as my
Invention has partly for its purpose the construction of a rotary knitting
machine which shall knit equally well in whichever direction the
machine is revolving, I attach the said yarn carrier not directly to the
cam ring D, but to a friction slide S, preferably in the form of a ring,
passing entirely round the cam ring D and resting on a flange of the
same. The said ring is held in position by two or more clamps R
attached to the cam ring D, one of which is constructed with a spring T,
and by means of a slot sliding upon a screw t it may be so adjusted as
to give the amount of friction required to compel the friction ring to
move with the cam ring D until a projecting portion of the carrier D
abuts against one of the stop pins U, U¹.
The manner of using the stop pins is as follows:-Around the flange
of the bed A are drilled small holes V equidistant from each other, and
equal in number to the number of needle grooves in the needle cylinder.
To knit a flat web I insert the two small pins U, U', a short distance
beyond the last needle on each side of the strip required to be knit.
As the yarn carrier G strikes the pin U I keep the machine moving
until the motion of the ring S is arrested by the stop pin W abutting
against the clamp R; then it is ready to go back and knit the other
way, when the same operation is repeated by the carrier G striking
against the pin U₁ at the other side of the strip which is being knit.
The pins Ware so adjusted that the motion of the cylinder D shall be
arrested at the moment the carrier G is in the proper position relatively
to the cam F to present the yarn to the needles on the return stroke.
The dotted lines at X, Figure 1, represent spaces or rebates cut away
from the inner periphery of the cam cylinder to facilitate the removal of
several needles at a time when the ring y is removed. These rebates
may be advantageously extended nearly around the cylinder, the weight

page_text: of the needles and the knitted fabric serving to keep them down to their
positions.
In Figures 3, 4, and 5, is a cloth raiser formed as a double incline
(see Figure 5 more particularly) and connected by an arm with an
expansive ring or spring fitting inside the cylinder O and within a
groove around the cylinder m. This cylinder m rests upon a shoulder
or flange 2 around the inside of the cylinder C, and n is a gear wheel
screwed upon the lower end of m, and receiving the same number of
revolutions as the cam ring D by means of the gear wheel p on the inner
end of the shaft carrying the driving gear wheel E for the cam cylinder D.
A slot 3 is provided in the cylinder m, in which is a pin on the lower
part of the cloth raiser . The friction of the spring against the
cylinder C will hold it and the cloth raiser stationary, when the move-
ment of the cylinder m-is-reversed-until-the-end-of-the-slot-3-comes-into-
contact with the pin, and then the cylinder m and cloth raiser / move
together. The yarn guide G is on a loose ring Z that is connected with
or supported by the cam D. The ring Z is shewn as formed with a
segmental plate upon it, which carries the yarn guide G, and in the
edge of the plater are notches 4 and 5, taking a spring detent s on the
cam ring D, and giving motion to the yarn guide, but the inclined sides
of the detent & allow it to spring out of one notch 4, if the segment » is
stopped by one of the pins 6 taking against the stationary arm 7, and
when the detent S springs into the other notch 5 the parts are to be
turned the other way.
8
When the machine is used for knitting a complete cylinder the
stop pins 6, 6, and 8, 8, are taken out, and the parts are revolved. The
cloth raiser / following the depressed needles and yarn guide G in
the position shewn in Figure 5, the operation of knitting will be per-
formed in the usual manner, the cloth raiser k, however, will lift the
cloth at the point when the cam groove H raises the needles, so as to
prevent the stitches slipping down the needles below the ends of the
latches thereto until the needles are again brought down to their normal
position. I thus prevent the accidental closing of the hook by the latch
when the yarn is presented to the said hook. When a portion of a
cylinder is to be knitted to form a strip the pins 6, 6, and 8, 8, are to
be placed in suitable holes in the segment and base of the cam'ring D
to stop against the stops 7 and 10 respectively, the number of stitches in
the fabric being regulated by the positions of the said pins 6 and 8, and

page_text: the operation is as follows:-Starting with the parts in the position.
shewn in Figures 3 and 4, with the pins against their respective stops,
the previous motion is reversed, so that the yarn guide G is moved in
the direction of the arrow a, the yarn is laid in the needle hooks as
usual, and the undulating groove in the cam ring draws down the
needles forming the loops in the yarn. During this operation the
cloth raiser has remained stationary, because the slot 3 has been
moving along over its pin, but so soon as the yarn guide G has moved
sufficiently far from k for the latter to be in its proper relative position,
the two move together, performing the knitting as usual, the cloth
raiser lifting the cloth as the needles are lifted by the part A² of the
cam groove H sufficiently to prevent the stitches slipping below the
latches of the needle and closing the hooks as the needles are again
drawn down. As the segment » comes round the other pin 6 takes
against the stop 7, arresting the movement of the yarn guide G, but
the ring cam D is still moved, the detent s springing out of the notch 5
and sliding on the edge of the segment » until it falls into the notch 4,
at this moment the other stop 8 comes into contact with 10 to check the
movement of the ring cam D. During the movement of the ring cam D
and cylinder m after the guide G has been stopped, the cloth raiser k
has been moved to the extreme edge of the fabric, and contiguous to G,
so that the parts are in position for the motion to be reversed by first
starting the yarn guide G, and after it has gone the proper distance
for the loops to be formed then the cloth raiser k is moved, and the
knitting performed as before. By this construction the knitting machine
is made to operate equally well, whether revolved in one direction or
the other.
It will be readily seen that this machine being automatically reversible,
I am able not only to knit cylindrical work in either direction, but can
also knit a straight web having two perfect selvedges, which can be
narrowed or widened to any form desired; or I can produce an article
partly tubular and partly flat, as, for instance, the heel of a stocking.
It is well known that in hand knitting and crotcheting the fabrics are
sometimes made with loops here and there upon the surface, but in
making such work the loop must be formed just at the period when it is
to be fastened singly in and connected with the body of the fabric, and
such loop is fastened by its next adjacent stitch or stitches in the same
row or course. Looped fabrics have also been made upon straight

page_text: framed machines by employing for the loops yarns different from those
employed for the body of the fabric. They have also been made by
supplying an independant yarn for as many looping devices as there are
needles employed, and also by leaving breaks or gaps in the regular
course of stitches, by having every needle or otherwise a blank.
By the present new mode of knitting such goods upon a circular
machine with the same yarn that is employed to knit the body of the
fabric, a series of loops can be formed across the whole width or circle
of the fabric while the machine is at rest and before binding any of
them to the fabric, and the machine then put in operation, and these
loops knitted over as they hang from the needles with the next course
in order of regular knitting, the loops being thus bound to the previously
knitted portion, and the said row of loops lying between two rows of
regularly knitted-stitches, and-alternating-with-them-or-not-as-may-be-
desired.
To effect the above result any rotary machine may be employed, but
it is preferable to use a reversible one, provided it has no devices within
the needle cylinder to interfere with the proper control and management
of the yarn.
In order to make a web having two selvage edges and with a tufted
or piled surface on one side of the fabric I leave out of the machine all
the needles except what may be sufficient to form the breadth of goods
desired, and having set up or started the work in the usual manner I
revolve the machine to make one, two, or more rows at option, and then
by hand take the same thread and run it back in and out between the
needles in a zig-zag direction, either regularly between all of the needles,
or around two and over one, or in any other way, taking care in so
doing to hold with the other hand loops of such length as may be
wished, these loops of the yarn extending from the fingers back to the
needles over which they have just been laid. When this has been done 3
(and with a practised hand it can be very expeditiously accomplished)
the machine is continuously revolved, and another course of regularly
knitted stitches formed directly over this zig-zag layer of thread, whereby
the same becomes interlaced with and bound by the stitches last made.
This process is then continued in the same manner until the work is 3
done. When the whole circular series of needles is employed, and the
same process pursued, a tubular tufted fabric is produced, the tufts of
which are within the tube. By turning the tube, when finished, inside

page_text: The
out, the material is furnished for a muff or other similar articles.
loops so made may if desired be cut, and if preferred combed also to
resemble fur.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I claim,-
First. In circular knitting machines the yarn carrier attached to the
moveable cam ring by means of the friction ring or segment, sub-
stantially as set forth for the purposes specified.
Second. In combination with the said cam ring and friction ring the
reversing pins inserted in the bed, and adjusted substantially as described.
Third. The cam so arranged as to work equally well whichever way
the machine moves, and constructed substantially as described.
Fourth. The peculiar construction of the latch needle, substantially as
set forth for the purpose specified.
Fifth. The automatic switches, constructed substantially as set forth
for the purposes specified.
Sixth. The lifter, constructed and operating substantially as described.
Seventh. The improved tufted fabrics, made in the manner described
and shewn.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Haseltine, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Second day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
.
GEORGE HASELTINE. (L.S.)
Witness,
W. ROBT. LAKE.