Patent ID: 7127321

Claim:
A design apparatus for a tubular fabric, the apparatus designing the tubular fabric composed of front and rear fabrics and producing knitting data allowing a flat knitting machine having at least a pair of front and rear needle beds to knit the tubular fabric, being characterized by: a monitor to display an external shape of the front and rear fabrics and a pattern on the fabrics; pattern input means for receiving input of a pattern extending to both the front and rear fabrics and for receiving input of a start point in the fabrics according to the designation of the point on the monitor by a user; and pattern development means for developing the pattern along with a direction around the front and rear fabrics from the start point in such a way that the developed pattern extends to both the front and rear fabrics and is substantially continuous at an edge between the front and rear fabrics, wherein species of stitches in the fabrics are designated so as to express the pattern in front and rear fabrics by the pattern development, and wherein species of face and rear stitches and racking direction along a left and right direction are inverted when the pattern crosses said edge.