Preform and knitted tubular item having a retaining edge of a single thickness and method of producing such an item
AssigneeHanes Operations Europe SAS
InventorsGilles Garcon, Laurent Massotte
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The method of producing a tubular knitted item (10), in particular a leg for a pair of tights, involves preceding the normal basic knit with a start that involves knitting, on only a portion of the needles on p first courses (11, 12) and on all of the needles on q subsequent courses (13, 14), an elastane yarn (21) covered with a water-soluble yarn (22); then, once the item has been knitted, the item undergoes an aqueous treatment, for example combined with dyeing, so as to make the water-soluble yarn (22) covering disappear, whereby the p+q courses (11-14) of knitted elastane that precede the normal basic knit are kept on the edge of the item.
Claims19
A method of producing a knitted tubular item on a circular knitting machine comprising a plurality of needles and one or more feeders, the method comprising:
- knitting a first plurality of courses of elastane yarn covered with a water-soluble yarn using less than all of the plurality of needles;
- after knitting the first plurality of courses, knitting a second plurality of courses of elastane yarn covered with a water-soluble yarn using all of the plurality of needles;
- after knitting the second plurality of courses, knitting a third plurality of courses;
- and
- once the tubular item has been knitted, applying an aqueous treatment to the first plurality of courses and the second plurality of courses in such a manner as to make the water-soluble yarn disappear, leaving a bare knitted elastane at the first plurality of courses and the second plurality of courses.
A preform of a circularly knitted tubular item comprising:
- a border region comprising a first plurality of courses followed by a second plurality of courses, each of the first plurality of courses comprising less yarn than each of the second plurality of courses;
- and
- a body region comprising third plurality of courses,
- wherein the first plurality of courses and the second plurality of courses comprise an elastane yarn covered with a water-soluble yarn.
A circularly knitted tubular item comprising
- a border region comprising a first plurality of courses followed by a second plurality of courses, each of the first plurality of courses comprising less yarn than each of the second plurality of courses;
- and
- a body region comprising a third plurality of courses,
- wherein the first plurality of courses and the second plurality of courses consist of bare, uncovered elastane yarn.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.