There are four main types of transfer stitches; 1 Plain needle loop transfer stitches, produced by transference of a loop

from one needle to another in the same bed.

2 Fancy lacing stitches, produced by modification of the plain loop stitch. 3 Rib loop transfer stitches, produced by transferring a loop from one needle bed to the other. 4 Sinker loop transfer stitches

15.2.1 Plain loop transfer stitches Needle loop transfer on plain fabric is most commonly achieved on straight bar frames using specially-shaped, rackably-controlled transfer points (Fig. 15.1). In designs it is termed a lace stitch [1] whereas in selvedge shaping it is termed fashioning. When crossing over transfer stitches or narrowing, it is possible to transfer a loop to the next-but-one adjacent needle. When the needle loses its loop and is required to knit at the next cycle, it will form a loop configuration having the appearance of a tuck loop which, when widening, may require filling-in (split stitch, Chapter 19). Two-needle widening is not practical because an

insecure stitch is produced by two adjacent empty needles re-starting knitting at the same time. Loop transfer to adjacent plain wales in rib structures has seldom been achieved automatically by means of transfer points and, even then, it has tended to be restricted to the narrowing of collars and sleeves. The method can be mechanically complex and slow. Only a few straight-bar rib frames were ever built.Although there are some electronic Vbed flat machines that have beds of loop transfer points, most use rib loop transfer needles and needle bed racking to achieve that purpose. 15.2.2 Fancy lacing stitches The bearded needle sinkerwheel machine produced the largest range of fancy lacing stitches [2]. Some are unique to it and have the term 'a jour' in their description, which implies a sequence of samples. A jour C or knupf (Fig. 15.2) - also termed filet lace, weft knitted net and knotted stitch - has square apertures in an all-over effect that is popular for men's athletic underwear. On an E 16 fine gauge machine, 1/18's cotton or 2/70 denier nylon might be used. A course of long loops is knitted and the two side limbs of every second needle loop 'B' are spread sideways onto the needle loops 'A'. The second is knitted with a short stitch length and tucking occurs on needles 'B' to make the aperture wider. Another stitch, known as a jour B, has a twisted transferred loop, produced by

Fig. 15.2 A jour knupf. deflecting the beard of the receiving needle across into the eye of the delivering needle so that, as the loop is pressed-off from the delivering needle, it twists over. The effect is

achieved by using toothed lacing wheels with the upper wheel's teeth coupling two beards together; these teeth are arranged according to pattern requirements. A jour H is loop displacement without transference, and is produced by deflecting alternate needles (receiving needles) underneath and past the loops on the delivering needles so that, when the receiving needles spring back into position, they draw the limbs of the adjacent needle loops sideways over their heads. 15.2.3 Rib loop transfer stitches Figure 15.3 illustrates an example of a rib loop transfer stitch. At the first course, needles are knitting only in one bed. At the second course, an empty needle in the opposite bed commences knitting, producing 1 x 1 rib, and at the third course, this needle transfers its loop to a needle knitting in the opposite bed. The rib loop transfer stitch is a very popular stitch. Modern automatic V-bed flat machines have special loop transfer needles, and individual needle selection and camming facilities for rib loop transfer from either bed, in addition to selection facilities for knit, tuck and miss. The RTR type circular garment-length knitting machine has a similar arrangement at transfer cam sections in the cylinder. On some underwear models there is also collective dial-to-cylinder rib loop transfer for changing from 1 x 1 rib to 2 x 2 rib needle set-out at the transition from the welt and border to the body section of the garment. (Knitwear models tend to use

Fig. 15.3 Knitting on empty rib needle followed by rib loop transfer. press-off cam facilities acting onto the back butt of every third dial needle prior to the start of a garment). Whereas the RTR type of machine produces designs involving selective transfer of cylinder loops onto dial needles that already have a loop of their own, V-bed flat machines can select needles to transfer their loops onto empty needles in the opposite bed to knit linkslinks designs, cables and cross-over stitches and selvedge edge shaping.

15.2.3.1 The requirements for rib loop transfer The basic requirements for rib loop transfer on any rib machine are: 1 Specially-designed latch needles with a ledge for lifting the delivering loop and either a recess or a spring clip on the side of its stem to assist entry of the receiving needle hook into the spread loop. 2 A delivering needle cam that lifts the needle higher than normal clearing-height, lifting and spreading its loop so that the hook of the receiving needle can enter it as its cam lifts it to approximately tuck height. Normal needle selection arrangements can thus be employed to select those needles required to be lifted by the delivering needle transfer cam. 3 A needle bed rack of between 1/3 and 1/2 of a needle space so that the stems of the delivering and receiving needles are very close during the loop transfer action. Figure 15.4 illustrates the transfer action, together with its associated cam system. There is a receiving cam (R) and a delivering cam (D) in each needle cam system at the end of each system, thus providing the possibility of two-way loop transfer in the leading system in each direction of carriage traverse. The delivering needle cam has a double peak; the first peak lifts the loop to stretch and open it ready for transfer on the second peak. The receiving needle cam in the opposite bed is aligned with it and the under edge of, the delivering cam in its system acts as a guard cam for the receiving needle butts. In Fig. 15.4a, the delivering needle (b) is moving towards transfer height, with the receiving needle (a) about to enter the recess on its underside. At this point

(Part of the cam system) Fig. 15.4 Rib loop transfer on a modern V-bed machine. (Part of the cam system) Fig. 15.4 Rib loop transfer on a modern V-bed machine. (Fig. 15.4b), a stop ledge (c) on the rising delivering needle (b) contacts and opens the latch of needle (a) (this arrangement is necessary for opening the latches of empty receiving needles).

In Fig. 15.4c, needle (b) is cammed to full transfer height, lifting the loop to be transferred, and needle (a) is cammed into it with its hook open. In Fig. 15.4d, transference is completed by lowering needle (b) so that its loop is knockedover and fully transferred into the hook of needle (a). Single-bed knitting is possible whilst the beds are racked for transfer. 15.2.3.2 Rib loop transfer on a circular garment-length RTR-type machine For rib loop transfer, the dial is shogged so that the cylinder needle is closer to the dial needle on its right. As the cylinder needle is raised, a gear-type deflecting mechanism, rotating with the cam-box, deflects the needle to the right so that the dial needle can now enter its recess on the left side and penetrate the lifted cylinder loop. The cylinder needle now descends, casting-off its loop into the hook of the dial needle and returning to its undeflected position. At the next knitting section, the empty needle may be selected to miss or to receive the new yarn. Collective dial-to-cylinder rib loop transfer usually occurs on every third cylinder needle when changing from 1 x 1 to 2 x 2 rib in the knitting of stitch-shaped vests. Dial needles with back butts are cammed out so that the ledges on their stems align their loops with the cylinder needle hooks. An angular cam face deflects the dial needle against the direction of knitting so that the cylinder needle normally on its right enters its expanded loop on the left, aided by the recess in the back of the dial needle and a part shog of the dial. The dial needles then withdraw, transferring their loops and not taking part in knitting again until 1 x 1 rib is required. 15.2.4 Sinker loop transfer stitches Pelerine eyelet is a cellular structure whose elliptical apertures are formed at courses where adjacent plain wales move outwards as a result of the absence of connecting sinker loops. Specially shaped pelerine points consisting of two shaped members occupying a single trick are employed to gather the sinker loops, usually at two successive courses, transferring them back at the next knitting cycle to the hooks of the two needles between which they were originally formed. Pelerine eyelet is produced in the form of continuous fabric on circular plain web eyelet machines where it is used for lightweight underwear, as rib eyelet in one set of the 2 x 2 rib wales of ladies' body-length stitch-shaped underwear, and as eyelet designs in some types of socks. Although the diameters of web eyelet machines range from 9 to 22 inches (23-56cm), 16 inch (40cm) tends to be popular, in a common gauge of E 16 using cotton counts between NeB 2/28's and 2/35's. The points are normally set-out in the cylinder for convenience of selection and re-arrangement, and the plain knit base structure is produced by a full set of needles in the dial.

Figure 15.5 illustrates standard all-over plain web eyelet, having a repeat area of three wales by four courses. After every three needles A,B,C, in the dial, a pair of points is placed in the trick of the cylinder. Courses 1 and 2 are knitted as plain fabric, with the points merely rising to act as holding down sinkers when the dial needles move out to clear. Before the start of the third course, a cam lifts a butt of the points, causing their head to protrude between the head of the two dial needles

Fig. 15.5 Pelerine stitch. in the gather position. Thus, as the needles knit courses 3 and 4, extended sinker loops are drawn around the raised head of the points. The butt of the points now enters the transfer section and the points are cammed to a higher level so that the ledges on either side lift the gathered sinker loops that are spread by the wider eye-shape of the head. The needles are then cammed outwards by a tuck cam so that the two adjacent needles enter the eye of the points (Fig. 15.6a) just beneath the gathered sinker loops. The points now descend and the two members spring apart (Fig. 15.6b) as they pass the outward dial needles, fully transferring the gathered sinker loops into the hooks of the two needles. Diagonal eyelet has alternately staggered eyelet holes produced by odd pairs of pelerine points operating through their long top butt at the first four-feed cycle, and even pairs of pelerine points operating at the second four-feed cycle by means of their long bottom butt, and so on, with each butt position having its own cam-track. Patterned eyelet can be produced by using a pattern wheel to select points for collection at every third feeder (the friction of the sinker loop holds the points in action at the fourth feeder). Dummy points engage the wheel from the other cylinder tricks and, as only every third pattern wheel trick is in use, three different pattern selections may be loaded. Designs

may either be in the form of eyelet motifs on a plain ground or plain motifs on an eyelet ground. Some of the newer eyelet structures employ two needles to a pair of points. Fine eyelet has a four-feed repeat sequence, close eyelet has a two-feed collect and transfer sequence using odd points at the first sequence and even points at the next, whilst pin point is a patterned eyelet having two plain courses and selection for a single collect and transfer course.

Fig. 15.6 Pelerine transfer action. For standard eyelet, a 16-inch diameter machine might have twenty feeds and five transfer stations, and for close eyelet sixteen feeds and eight transfer stations. Occasionally, points with one straight member and one curved member have been employed to produce half sinker loop transfer stitches.