IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STOCKINGS AND HALF-HOSE OR SOCKS."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Luke Woodward, of Lee Works, Arkwright Street,
Nottingham, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
STOCKINGS AND HALF-HOSE OR SOCKS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Luke Woodward at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 10th June 1880.
LUKE WOODWARD, of Lee Works, Arkwright Street, Nottingham.
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STOCKINGS AND HALF-HOSE OR SOCKS."
" IMPROVE⭑
The object of this Invention is to enable the foot of stockings and half-hose or
socks to be manufactured at less cost than heretofore. The usual way of manu-
facturing stockings and half hose on flat or rotary knitting machines is, first, to
make the leg piece with two pieces to form the heel projecting from its end, and
between these two heel pieces a central piece to form the instep. Afterwards, the
partially formed stocking or half-hose has been transferred to another machine for
the lower part of the foot to be worked upon it. The ends of the two heel pieces
have been brought together, and the inner sides of the heel pieces laid on to a row
of needles, and the bottom of the foot has then been worked upon these needles.
Afterwards, the end of the central or instep piece previously mentioned is placed on
to a row of needles, and a continuation of this piece is worked to form the upper
part of the foot. The side edges of the upper and lower parts of the foot have
subsequently to be seamed together by hand, or on a piecing or seaming machine,
and the foot is then completed. Thus, when forming the foot in this manner, it is
necessary to have two transfers of loops from one set of needles to others, and
there are two seams to be pieced or sewn together.
In some cases in place of forming the foot in the above manner the leg piece and
the heel pieces have first been formed; the central loops at the end of the leg piece
and the side edges of the heel pieces have then been placed on to one straight row
of needles, and the whole, both top and bottom of the foot, has been worked upon
them in one piece; and in order to make the foot to the shape required, peculiar
double narrowings have been made at the sides of the instep, and at the sides near
the toe end.
These peculiar double narrowings are expensive to make; they require double

page_text: manipulation, and cannot be made by narrowing machinery except it might be by
a very slow and expensive process.
The object of my Invention is to enable properly shaped foot pieces of stockings
and half-hose to be made in one piece upon ordinary knitting machines provided
with ordinary automatic narrowing apparatus.
For this purpose I make single narrowings at the instep and near the toe of the
foot piece at a distance in from the selvage nearly but not quite equal to the length
of the side of the heel pieces. One broad set of points containing nearly as many
points as there are loops in the side of the heel takes the loops of this broad band
of fabric from the needles at one edge of the piece, and after shifting them inwards
lands them on to other needles. Similarly, on the other side another set of points
shifts the loops on the other edge of the piece. When making the narrowings for
shaping the toe, the number of loops shifted at the successive narrowings may be
gradually decreased as the toe end is approched.
By thus using a broad set of points at each edge of the fabric simply to take a
large number of loops and shift then all inwards towards the central line of the foot
piece, the narrowings will be made at the requisite distance from the selvage.
These sets of points can be worked by the ordinary narrowing mechanism just in
the manner that narrowings are commonly made automatically in rotary knitting
machines.
By making the feet of stockings in the above manner, they can be made upon
any ordinary rotary knitting machines fitted with narrowing mechanism, and there
will be only one transfer of the work from one machine to another, and one seam
to be pieced or sewn to connect together the selvages of the foot piece, so that the
foot pieces can be made at less cost than heretofore.
Along each of the sides of the foot piece and for some distance inwards towards
the centre of the piece the work may be thickened by the laying in of a splicing
or thickening thread leaving the central part of the piece which forms the top part
of the foot or instep the same thickness as the leg part, until the part is reached
where the narrowings commence for shaping the toe; the top part of this portion
of the foot can then also be spliced or thickened, so making a thin instep and
thickened toe and foot bottom.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Luke Woodward in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th
December 1880.
" IMPROVE-
LUKE WOODWARD, of Lee Works, Arkwright Street, Nottingham.
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STOCKINGS AND HALF HOSE OR SOCKS."
The object of this Invention is to enable the foot of stockings and half-hose or
socks to be manufactured at less cost than heretofore. The usual way of manu-
facturing stockings and half-hose on flat or rotary knitting machines is, first, to
make the leg piece with two pieces to form the heel projecting from its end, and
sometimes between these two heel pieces a central piece to form the instep, as is

page_text: represented by Figure 1 of the annexed Drawings. Afterwards, the partially
formed stocking or half-hose has been transferred to another machine for the lower
part of the foot to be worked upon it. The ends of the two heel pieces a, a¹, have
been brought together, and the inner sides of the heel pieces a, b, a³, b¹, laid on
to a row of needles, and the bottom of the foot has then been worked upon these
needles. Afterwards, the end of the leg piece or of the central or instep piece c, c²,
previously mentioned is placed onto a row of needles, and a continuation of this
piece is worked to form the upper part of the foot. The side edges of the upper
and lower parts of the foot have subsequently to be seamed together by hand, or
on a piercing or seaming machine, and the foot is then completed. Thus, when
forming the foot in this manner, it is necessary to have two transfers of loops
from one set of needles to others, and there are two seams to be pieced or sewn
together.
In some cases (in France more especially), in place of forming the foot in the
above manner, the leg piece and the heel pieces have first been formed; the central
loops at the end of the leg piece and the side edges of the heel pieces (along the
whole line from a to b, b¹, and a¹, in Figure 2) have then been placed on to one
straight row of needles, and the whole, both top and bottom of the foot, has been
worked upon them in one piece; and in order to make the foot to the shape
required peculiar double narrowings have been made at the sides near the toe end;
Figure 3 represents this double norrowing as it is made at the toe end.
These peculiar double narrowings are expensive to make; they require double
manipulation, and cannot be made by automatic narrowing machinery except by
a very slow and expensive process.
The object of my Invention is to enable properly shaped foot pieces of stockings
and half hose to be made in one piece upon ordinary knitting machines provided
with ordinary automatic narrowing apparatus.
For this purpose I form the stocking or half hose in the manner indicated by
Figure 4; I make single narrowings at the instep and near the toe of the foot piece
at a distance in from the selvage nearly but not quite equal to the length of the
side of the heel pieces, or about one fourth of the needles employed to make the
foot. The work when in the state indicated in Figure 2, is transferred to
the needles of the machine by which the foot is to be produced. The foot is
commenced as in the French process above referred to, and continued as far as
the point d' where the first narrowing occurs. One broad set of points containing
about one fourth of the number of needles employed to make the foot then takes the
loops of this band of fabric from the needles at one edge of the piece, and after
shifting them inwards the distance of two needles lands them on to other needles.
Similarly, on the other side of the fabric another set of points shifts the loops on the
other edge of the piece. The next narrowing occurs at d², and here the operation
is identically that performed at d¹, except that the number of loops shifted is less
by one. In the example given by the Drawing three other narrowings d³, d³, and d³,
complete the shaping of the instep, and at each successive narrowing the number of
loops shifted is one less than in the preceding. These narrowings may be placed
nearer to the selvage of the work if desired. Similarly, when making the
narrowings for shaping the toe, the number of loops shifted at the successive
narrowings is gradually decreased as the toe end is approached.
In this way
the narrowings are kept all in one line directed to the toe, and this line is about
one quarter of the circumference of the foot from the selvage.
The narrowings at the toe end occur at the points marked e, e, c, &c., in Figures
4 & 5. These narrowings are much more numerous and closely set than they are
in the instep, but in other respects the shaping at the toe is effected in the same
way as that at the instep.
By thus using a broad set of points at each edge of the fabric simply to take a
large number of loops, and shift them all inwards towards the central line of the
foot piece, the narrowings will be made at the requisite distance from the selvage.
These sets of points can be worked by the ordinary narrowing mechanism just in

page_text: the same manner that narrowings are commonly made automatically in all flat or
rotary knitting machines.
By making the feet of stockings in the above manner, they can be made upon
any ordinary flat or rotary knitting machines fitted with narrowing mechanism,
and there will be only one transfer of the work from one machine to another, and
one seam to be pieced or sewn to connect together the selvages of the foot piece.
This seam runs along the centre of the foot on the underside, as represented at
Figure 5, which is an underside view of the foot of the completed stocking or half
hose. It will be observed that in this view the points d', d³, &c., e, c, &c., fall on
the edge of the figure. Lines are drawn upon Figures 4 and 5 to indicate the
direction in which the "wales" or lines of loops in the fabric run.
The lines
marked on the one Figure correspond with the lines on the other Figure. In
consequence of but one transfer of the work being required and but one seam, my
improved stockings and half hose or socks having the foot pieces, as described
above, which are conveniently produced by automatic machinery, can be made at
less cost than any other of equal quality.
Along each of the sides of the foot piece and for some distance inwards towards
the centre of the piece, the work may be thickened by the laying in of a splicing or
thickening thread, leaving the central part of the piece which forms the top part of
the foot or instep the same thickness as the leg part, until the part is reached where
the narrowings commence for shaping the toe; the top part of this portion of the
foot can then also be spliced or thickened, so making a thin instep and thickened toe
and foot bottoms.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I claim,—
First. My improvements in the process of producing stockings and half hose or
socks consisting in taking the work when in a state to be transferred, and placing
it upon the machine with the two parts of the heel and the middle portion all
at once upon the needles; then working the foot all in one piece, and producing
by the automatic machinery single narrowings both at the toe and instep on either
side, substantially as described.
Second. My improved stockings and half hose or socks having single narrowings
on either side at both the toe and instep, and but one seam along the middle of the
foot on the underside, substantially as described and shewn by the Figures 4 and 5
of the Drawings.
Third. My improved stockings and half hose or socks having the toe formed by
means of a succession of single narrowings, each made one stitch nearer the
selvage than the preceding, and arranged so that all are on a line about one quarter
of the circumference of the foot from the selvage, substantially as described and
shewn in Figures 4 and 5.
In witness whereof, I, the said Luke Woodward, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Sixth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
LUKE WOODWARD. (L.S.)