Method and apparatus for knitting sliver loop knit fabric

A method of making sliver loop knit fabric on a knitting machine having a circle of latch needles and sinkers and a plurality of sliver and yarn feeding stations spaced about the circle of needles and sinkers, comprising the steps:

• (a) feeding sliver fibers and yarn to the needles,
• (b) manipulating the needles and sinkers to form the yarn and sliver fibers into a base fabric having knitted stitches incorporating tufts of sliver fibers, said tufts having free ends extending from stitches on and immediately adjacent to the needles,
• (c) blowing the free ends of the tufts diagonally outwardly in the same direction relative to the needle circle and downwardly onto the tops of the sinkers by jets of compressed air after the needles have begun to ascend from cast-off level and
• (d) incorporating the outwardly extending free ends of each of the tufts into plural courses and plural wales of the fabric by knitting and interlacing, whereby the sliver fibers extend diagonally course-wise and wale-wise of the fabric.

A method of making sliver loop knit fabric on a knitting machine having a circle of alternating latch needles and sinkers and a plurality of sliver and yarn feeding stations spaced about the circle of needles and sinkers, comprising the steps:

• (a) feeding sliver fibers and yarn to the needles,
• (b) manipulating the needles and sinkers to form the yarn and sliver fibers into a base fabric having knitted stitches incorporating tufts of sliver fibers, said tufts having free ends extending from stitches on and immediately adjacent to the needles,
• (c) blowing the free ends of the tufts outwardly of the needle circle and downwardly onto the tops of the sinkers by jets of compressed air after the needles have begun to ascend from cast-off level, said free ends being blown diagonally outward in the same direction at an angle relative to the needle circle sufficient to cause the outwardly extending free ends to traverse at least the sinker next succeding each needle, and
• (d) incorporating the outwardly extending free ends of each of the tufts into plural courses and plural wales of the fabric, whereby the sliver fibers extend diagonally course-wise and wale-wise of the fabric.

A method of making sliver loop knit fabric on a knitting machine having a circle of latch needles and sinkers and a plurality of sliver and yarn feeding stations spaced about the circle of needles and sinkers, comprising the steps:

• (a) feeding sliver fibers and yarn to the needles,
• (b) manipulating the needles to cause the needles to descend to cast-off level to form the yarn and sliver fibers into knitted stitches incorporating tufts of sliver fibers, said tufts having free ends extending from said stitches,
• (c) manipulating the needles to cause the needles to ascend from cast-off level to clearing level with incidental opening and clearing of their latches,
• (d) blowing the free ends of the tufts diagonally outwardly in the same direction relative to the needle circle and downwardly onto the tops of the sinkers by jets of compressed air after the needles have begun to ascend from cast-off level and
• (e) incorporating the outwardly extending free ends of each of the tufts into plural courses and plural wales of the fabric by knitting and interlacing, whereby the sliver fibers extend diagonally course-wise and wale-wise of the fabric.