Patent ID: 6935140

Claim:
A method of knitting a tubular knitted fabric, whose first knitted fabric and second knitted fabric are continuously connected with each other at both ends thereof, using a flat knitting machine comprising at least a pair of first and second needle beds arranged in front and back, either of or both of which are slidably moved in a transverse direction, wherein three sectioned portions of a front-layer knitted fabric portion ( 3 a , 12 a ), a middle-layer knitted fabric portion ( 5 b , 12 b ) and a back-layer knitted fabric portion ( 5 a , 12 c ), into which a part of the first knitted fabric is sectioned in a widthwise direction of the knitted fabric, are folded back in three layers at their respective boundaries so that the front-layer knitted fabric portion ( 3 a , 12 a ), the middle-layer knitted fabric portion ( 5 b , 12 b ) and the back-layer knitted fabric portion ( 5 a , 12 c ) can be formed sequentially from a front side of the knitted fabric, whereby after completion of the knitting of the knitted fabric, the back-layer knitted fabric portion ( 5 a , 12 c ) in that folded region or both of the back-layer knitted fabric portion ( 5 a , 12 c ) and the middle-layer knitted fabric portion ( 5 b , 12 b ) can be developed in a widthwise direction of the knitted fabric, the method comprising: (a) the step of forming the front-layer knitted fabric portion ( 3 a , 12 a ) in the state in which the middle-layer knitted fabric portion ( 5 b , 12 b ) and the back-layer knitted fabric portion ( 5 a , 12 c ) and the second knitted fabric are attached to needles on the second needle bed, (b) the step of forming the middle-layer knitted fabric portion ( 5 b , 12 b ) of the first knitted fabric in the state in which the front-layer knitted fabric portion ( 3 a , 12 a ) is attached to needles on the first needle bed and also the back-layer knitted fabric portion ( 5 a , 12 c ) and the second knitted fabric are attached to the needles on the second needle bed, (c) the step of forming the back-layer knitted fabric portion ( 5 a , 12 c ) in the state in which the front-layer knitted fabric portion ( 3 a , 12 a ) and the middle-layer knitted fabric portion ( 5 b , 12 b ) are attached to the needles on the first needle bed and also the second knitted fabric is attached to the needles on the second needle bed, and (d) the step of forming the second knitted fabric in the state in which the front-layer knitted fabric portion ( 3 a , 12 a ), the middle-layer knitted fabric portion ( 5 b , 12 b ), and the back-layer knitted fabric portion ( 5 a , 12 c ) are attached to the needles on the first needle bed.