Stitch increasing method and cams for flat knitting machine having stitch increasing function

A stitch increasing method for a flat knitting machine which comprises a pair of opposed front and back needle beds, a plurality of compound needles disposed equally spaced in each said front and back needle beds wherein each of said plurality of needles comprises a needle body having a hook portion and a slider having a latch portion movable relative to said needle body over a given stroke such that the latch portion of the slider is brought into and out of engagement with the hook portion of the needle body to close and open the hook portion, and cam means disposed on each said front and back needle beds for operably moving each of said plurality of needles on each said front and back needle beds along an axis to transfer loops from compound needles on one of said front and back needle beds to the needles of the other of said front and back needle beds, said method comprising the steps of

• raising a delivery needle which carrier a loop on one of said front and back needle beds to a transfer position,
• raising a confronting transfer needle on the other of said front and back needle beds into the loop carried by the delivery needle,
• engaging the loop by the hook portion of both the delivery needle and the transfer needle,
• lowering the delivery needle and the transfer needle so that a portion of the loop is carried respectively by both the delivery needle and the transfer needle to extend between the front and back needle beds,
• relatively moving said front and back needle beds in either a first or second direction transverse to the axis along which each of said needles move, and
• transferring the portion of the loop carried by the transfer needle to a needle on the one of the front and back needle beds adjacent the delivery needle so that the loop is carried by adjacent needles on the one of the front and back needle beds.