IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED REVERSIBLE GAITERS AND BOOTAKINS FOR CHILDREN, AND IN MITTS AND ARMLETS FOR LADIES, GENTLEMEN, OR CHILDREN
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Wilkins and William Gamble Pollard,
both of Leicester, in the County of Leicester, Hosiery Manu-
facturers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF KNITTED REVERSIBLE GAITERS AND BOOTAKINS FOR CHILDREN, AND IN
MITTS AND ARMLETS FOR LADIES, GENTLEMEN, OR CHILDREN."
2
Sealed the 30th June 1868, and dated the 15th January 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Wilkins and
William Gamble Pollard at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 15th January 1868.
We, WILLIAM WILKINS and WILLIAM GAMBLE POLLARD, both of
Leicester, in the County of Leicester, Hosiery Manufacturers, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED REVERSIBLE GAITERS AND BOOTAKINS FOR CHILDREN,
AND IN MITTS AND ARMLETS FOR LADIES, GENTLEMEN, OR CHILDREN," to be
as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of knitted
reversible gaiters and bootakins for children, and in mits and armlets
for ladies, gentlemen, or children.

page_text: Heretofore the articles above referred to have either been made by
hand or chiefly by certain descriptions of knitting machinery, for which
Patents were granted to John, Albert, William, and Henry Thornton,
dated October 10th 1855, No. 2267, and to John, James, Albert, and
William Thornton, dated August 8th 1863, No. 1962. The articles
produced by such machinery are generally known in the trade as
"turned work," or "purl work," such work being made upon double
ended needles or instruments, one course being worked at one end of the
needle and the other at the other end.
Now the object of our improvements is to make articles of this
description upon circular knitting machinery wherein two separate sets
of needles are arranged and employed so as to work in combination
with each other, as is well understood by persons acquainted with this
class of machinery, by which means we are enabled to produce tubular
articles of the above description of a very varied and ornamental
character, and by the introduction of an additional thread or threads
into portions of such articles in the course of working of the machine
what is known as rib and tuck work is produced, whilst other portions
of such articles by varying the action of the needles, instruments,
and threads employed are produced in what is known as double ribbed
or plain rib work, whereby the shape and texture of the article may
be greatly varied.
Hitherto circular knitting machines arranged with two sets of needles
for the production of ribbed or tuck work have not been made sufficiently
small in the diameter of the circle of needles employed to admit of the
tubular articles above referred to being made thereon.
And our improvements consist in making such tubular articles partly
of rib and tuck, and partly of double or plain ribbed knitted work upon
circular knitting machines arranged with two sets of needles in a circle
not exceeding three inches and three quarters, the number or guage
of the needles being varied according to the character of the work
required.
Tubular articles made in accordance with our improvements may be
turned inside out or reversed so as to vary the character or appearance of
the article if desired.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said William Wilkins and William Gamble Pollard
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 15th July 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
WILKINS and WILLIAM GAMBLE POLLARD, both of Leicester, in the
County of Leicester, Hosiery Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-cight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said William Wilkins and William Gamble
Pollard, Her special licence, that we, the said William Wilkins and
William Gamble Pollard, our executors, administrators, and assigns,,
or such others as we, the said William Wilkins and William Gamble
Pollard, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 REVERSIBLE
GAITERS AND BOOTAKINS FOR CHILDREN, AND IN MITTS AND ARMLETS FOR LADIES,
AND GENTLEMEN, OR CHILDREN," upon the condition (amongst others) that
we, the said William Wilkins and William Gamble Pollard, our
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing, under our,
or their, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Wilkins, on behalf of
myself and the said William Gamble Pollard, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of knitted
reversible gaiters and bookakins for children, and in mitts and armlet
for ladies, gentlemen, or children.

page_text: Heretofore the articles above referred to have either been made by
hand or chiefly by certain descriptions of knitting machinery for which
Patents were granted to John, Albert, William, and Henry Thornton,
dated October 10th 1855, No. 2267, and to John, James, Albert, and
William Thornton, dated August 8th 1863, No. 1962. The articles
produced by such machinery and generally known in the trade as
"turned work" or "purl work," such work being made upon double-
ended needles or instruments, one course being worked at one end of
the needle, and the other at the other end.
Now the object of our improvements is to make articles of this
description upon circular knitting machinery wherein two separate sets
of needles are arranged and employed so as to work in combination
with each other, as is well understood by persons acquainted with this
class of machinery, by which means we are enabled to produce tubular
articles of the above description of a very varied and ornamental
character, and by the introduction of an additional thread or threads
into portions of such articles in the course of working of the machine
what is known as "rib-and-tuck" work is produced, whilst other portions
of such articles by varying the action of the needles, instruments, and
threads employed are produced in what is known as "double-ribbed "
or "plain-rib" work, whereby the shape and texture of the article may
be greatly varied.
Hitherto circular knitting machines arranged with two sets of needles
for the production of ribbed or tuck work have not been made
sufficiently small in the diameter of the circle of needles employed to
admit of the tubular articles above referred to being made thereon.
And our improvements consist in making such tubular articles partly of
rib and tuck and partly of double or plain ribbed knitted work upon
oircular knitting machines arranged with two sets of needles in a circle
not exceeding three inches and three quarters in diameter, the number
or gauge of the needles being varied according to the character of the
work required.
Tubular articles made in accordance with our improvements may be
turned inside out or reversed, so as to vary the character or appearance
of the article if desired.
Having now stated the nature of our Invention, we will proceed to
describe the manner in which the same may be performed.
Figure 1 of the Drawing hereunto annexed shows so much of the.

page_text: vertical section of a circular knitting machine arranged to work with
two sets of needles as will make a workman acquainted with this
description of machinery and the manufacture of knitted fabrics to carry
our Invention into practice. The machine is shewn full size in the
Drawing, and is so arranged that the "frame" or vertical needles a form
a circle two inches and three quarters in diameter, or thereabouts,
which we have found to be a convenient size for the manufacture of the
articles above referred to, although in carrying out our Invention the
circle of needles may of various diameters so long as the circle of needles
does not exceed three inches and three quarters in diameter. The
description of needles employed in this machine is that known in the
hosiery trade as the "tumbler" needle, having a moveable tongue, which
is acted upon by the work so as turn over upon and cover the hook of
the needle when the work is knocked off, the loops turning back and
passing over the tongues when drawn up the stems of the needles. The
"frame" or vertical needles a are attached to sliding pieces a', and are
carried round in "saw gaits" or guides on the rotating socket or tubular
part as, through which the worked is carried away, and the needles a
are raised and lowered by means of stationary cam surfaces a³. The
"machine" or horizontal needles b are arranged, as is well understood,
to work between or intersect the "frame" needles a, and the
needles 6 are attached to the swinging pieces b¹ moving upon a circular
rim forming a centre at 6. The circular rim 62 forms part of the
rotating socket 6' moving upon the stationary bar 6', and at the parts
65, 6, 67, of the rotating socket b³ "saw gaits" or guides are provided,
which serve to carry round the swinging pieces and the needles b, and
at the same time space them correctly. Teeth are formed around the
outer rim of the socket 63, which engage with the toothed wheel 68 upon
the axis 6', to which motion is communicated by means of a toothed
wheel a* upon the lower end of the socket a³, so as to cause the two sets
of needles a and b to rotate together and maintain the same relative
positions.. The socket b³ rests upon the collar or surface 61° fixed upon the
stationary axis or bar 6'; and the surface 6" also acts as a cam surface
to push the needles 6 from the centre of the machine. 6" is a socket
moving with the needles 6 upon the stationary axis b*, and supported
by the collar ; and the socket 6" is provided with saw gaits or
guides, within which the needles 6 move. 613 is a stationary cam
surface, by means of which the swinging pieces b¹ and the needles 6
are guided towards the centre of the machine. The upper parts of the

page_text: swinging pieces b¹ are so formed that by pressing upon the ends nearest
the centre of the machine the needles b will be moved outwards, and
by pressing upon the ends furthest from the centre the needles will be
moved inwards, and in this manner the movements of the needles bare
partially governed by suitable cam surfaces. 6" is a lever moving upon a
stud on the stationary bracket 615; and the lever 6 carries a truck or
other suitable guiding surface 61, which (when the lever 6 is placed in
a suitable position by the attendant) acts upon the inner ends of the
swinging pieces b¹ so as to move the needles 6 further from the centre of
the machine. There is an ordinary guide or thread layer by which a
thread (or threads) is laid under the hooks of the "frame" needles
when raised into a suitable position, and c is another guide or thread
layer, by means of which an additional thread (or threads) is introduced
into the work from time to time, as previously described. The guide
or thread layer c is carried by the stationary bracket c', and can be
withdrawn from the needles and secured by the thumb screw c³ when
not required.
In manufacturing the articles above referred to in accordance with
our Invention the wider parts are formed from "rib and tuck"
work, and the narrower parts from "double ribbed" or "plain rib "
work, and a partial narrowing where it is desired may be produced by
forming that part from "plain and tuck rib" work, or by laying a
thread from the second guide under the hooks of the "machine"
needles before the work is knocked off these needles, but not under
the hooks of the "frame" needles, and the character of the work may
be otherwise varied without departing from the nature of our Invention
so long as either of the articles above referred is ribbed from end to end,
one part of the article being formed from "plain rib" or "double
ribbed" work, and the other from "rib and tuck" work or work where
an additional thread is introduced from a second guide after the work
has been knocked off one set of needles, and we would here remark that
by removing every other or some of the needles 6 the the character of
the ribbed work produced may be further varied, as will be readily
understood by a person acquainted with this description of manufacture,
by employing threads of different colors in characters of the most varied
and ornamental effects may be produced in articles of the description
above referred to without departing from the nature of our Invention.
We will now proceed to describe the movements of the needles in

page_text: producing courses of work of the various characters above referred to
in order to enable a workman to readily understand how to produce the
same, though we would have it understood that we do not confine
ourselves to the exact manner and order of the movements or the
particular character of the instruments shown and described, which
may be greatly varied without departing from the nature of our
Invention.
In order to produce "rib and tuck" work the thread from the first
guide or ordinary thread layer d (shown in Diagram, Figure 2) is laid
over the stems of the machine needles 6 and under the hooks and in
front of the tongues of the frame needles a, which latter then descend
a sufficient distance to draw the thread so laid through the two loops
of the separate threads forming the work on the stems of the frame
needles a, the work being thus knocked off by the descent of the
needles a below the stems of the machine needles b. Before the frame
needles a rise and by means of the truck 61 (which is pressed down upon
the swinging pieces in order to form this kind of work) the machine
needles b are moved outwards a sufficient distance to place the thread
laid over their sterns at the back of the tongues. The frame needles a
now rise and a thread from the second guide or thread layer c is laid
over the stems in front of the tongues and under the hooks of both the
frame needles a and the machine needles b. The needles b are then
caused by the cam surface 613 to move towards the centre of the machine
and draw the thread so laid through the loops of the separate threads
forming the work on the stems of the frame needles a, the work being
thus knocked over by the inward movement of the machine needles b.
The frame and machine needles afterwards move into such a position
as to place the loops upon their stems at the back of their tongues
prior to commencing a fresh course of work.
In order to make "plain and tuck rib" work all that is necessary is
to raise the truck 61 when it will cease to press upon the swinging
pieces 6 so as to throw out the machine needles b, as above described.
The thread from the first thread layer d will then be drawn with the
thread from the second thread layer c through the loops formed from
one thread only on the stems of the machine needles in place of two, as
previously described.
:
In order to form " plain or double-rib work" the thread from the
second thread layer c is dispensed with, the truck 61 being raised so as

page_text: not to press the machine needles outwards, as described when making
rib and tuck work. The thread from the thread layer d will then be laid
over the stems in front of the tongues and under the hooks of both the
machine needles b and the frame needles a, the thread under the hooks
of the frame needles a and machine needles being afterwards drawn
through the loops on the stems of those needles respectively, and the
work will thus be knocked off.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the means
of carrying the same into practice, we would have it understood that
we lay no claim to the arrangement of double needle knitting machinery
herein shown and described, as other arrangements of machinery of this
character may be employed in carrying out our Invention; but what
we claim is,―
Firstly. The manufacture of knitted reversible gaiters and bootakins
for children, and mitts or armlets for ladies and gentlemen or children,
of ribbed work from end to end of the article, the wider parts being
formed (by the introduction of a second thread or threads) of rib and
tuck work, or partly of rib and tuck and partly of plain and tuck rib
work, and the narrower parts of double rib or plain ribbed knitted work,
as herein described.
Secondly. We claim the manufacture of knitted articles such as herein
described upon circular knitting machinery arranged with two sets of
needles in a circle not exceeding three inches and three-quarters. in
diameter at or near the point where the work is knocked over, as herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Wilkins have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
Witness,
WILLIAM TONGUE,
Engineer,
Kennington,
London, S.
WILLIAM WILKINS. (L.s.)