US2512728A - Article of hosiery and method of making the same - Google Patents

Description

June 27 1950 P. 1.. THURSTON 2,512,728

ARTICLE OF HOSIERY AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Feb. 6, 1947 s Sheets-Sheet 1 A TTQRNEK Ju 7, 1950 P. L. THURSTON ,728

ARTICLE OF HOSIERY AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Feb. 6, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. PA UL L. THURS TON A TTORNEX June 27,1950 u s o 2,512,728

ARTICLE OF HOSIERY AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Feb. 6, 1947 SSheetS-Sheet I5 INVENTOR. PA (/L L. THURSTON A TTORNEY Patented clune 27, l95fi AETKCLE F HOSIERY AND METHQD 0F MAJKKNG THE SAME Paul L. Thurston, Martinsburg, W. Va, assignor to Interwoven Stocking Company, New Brunswick, N. 3., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 6, 194%, Serial No. 726,792

13 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to articles of hosiery and is particularly applicable to half hose and other hosiery knit of relatively heavy yarn or thread on a coarse gauge machine for example a machine having approximately 132 or fewer needles. Methods and apparatus for carrying out my invention are described and claimed in co pending application, Serial No. 18,223, filed March 31, 1948, now abandoned.

Coarse gauge hosiery knit of heavy yarn commonly used for informal or sports wear as well as for work socks. Some coarse gauge socks are formed of plain knit fabrics while others are rib knit, the term rib-knitting being used to include purl and Links-Links patterns as well as vertical rib. However, it has been common practice to form the sole portions of socks of plain knit fabric whether the leg portion and instep are plain knit or are ribbed.

in plain knit fabric all of the stitches are drawn through the preceding stitches in the same di rection, i. e., towards the outer face of the fabric. Such fabric is produced on a single cylinder knitting machine and may also be produced on a knitting machine of the coaxial cylinder type by operating the machine with all of the needles in the lower cylinder so that the machine operates in the same manner as a single cylinder machine.

In rib knit fabric, selected stitches are drawn through the preceding stitches in one direction, toward the outer face of the fabric, while other stitches are drawn through the preceding stitches in the opposite direction, e. g, toward the inner face of the fabric. The stitches which are drawn toward the outer face of the fabric are herein called outwardly facing stitches, while the stitches which are drawn toward the inner face of the fabric are called inwardly facing stitches. if the stitch arrangement in each course is the same as in the preceding course so that selected wales are formed of outwardl facing stitches, while other wales are formed of inwardly facing stitches, the resulting fabric is characterized by vertically extending ribs. The width or course-wise extent of the ribs is designated by the number of wales of like stitches forming the respective ribs. Fabric having ribs composed of three or more consecutive wales is commonly ref erred to as broad ribbed fabric.

If the stitch arrangement varies from course to course so that at least certain wales are composed of both inwardly facing stitches and outwardly facing stitches arranged in predetermined order, the resulting fabric is designated purl or Links-Links fabric. The term purl is frequent ly used to designate fabric in which a course or group of courses of outwardly facing stitches a1- ternate with a course or group of courses of inwardly facing stitches, while the term Links- Links is used broadly to include purl fabric as thus defined and also fabric in which selected courses as well as selected wales are composed'of both inwardly and outwardly facing stitches arranged in predetermined order. The arrangement of inwardly facing stitches and outwardly facing stitches in Links-Links fabric can be infinitely varied to produce different patterns as desired.

Rib knit fabric is produced on a cylinder and dial machine, the outwardly facing stitches being formed by the cylinder needles while the inwardly facing stitches are formed by the dial hooks or needles. Rib knit fabric including Links-Links fabric may also be produced on a machine of the coaxial cylinder type, outwardly facing stitches being formed by needles operating in thelower cylinder while inwardly facing stitches are formed by needles operating in the upper cylinder. If a vertical rib fabric is desired, the same needles are maintained in the respective cylinders throughout the knitting of the fabric. If it is desired to produce Links-Links fabric, selected needles are shifted back and forth from one cylinder to the other during the knitting of successive courses so that the wales produced. by such needles will comprise both outwardly facing stitches knit when the respective needles are in the lower cylinder, and inwardly facing stitches knit when the respective needles are in the upper cylinder.

In producing rib knit socks on a coaxial cylinder knittin machine, the top portion and the leg portion of the sock are knit by operating the machine with selected needles in the upper cyl= inder and other needles in the lower cylinder to produce the particular rib pattern desired. When the heel is reached all of the needles on one side of the needle cylinder, referred to as the sole side, are positioned in the lower cylinder to produce consecutive outwardly facing stitches or plain knit fabric. In some instances, this transfor is effected shortly before reaching the heel to form a plain knit high-splice portion just above the heel. The heel pocket is knit by reciprocation in usual manner. After the heel is 001m pleted the machine is again operated by continuous rotation to knit the sole and the instep portion of the foot. The needles on the instep side of the cylinder are distributed between the upper and lower cylinders to continue the rib pattern of the leg. However, all of the needles on the sole side of the cylinder remain in the lowor cylinder so that the sole is formed wholly of outwardly facing stitches, i. e., of plain knit fabric. Shortly before the toe is reached the needles on the instep side are transferred to the lower cylinder to produce a toe band composed of outwardly facing stitches or plain knit fabric throughout its circumference. The toe pocket is 3 then knit by reciprocation in the same manner as the heel.

It will thus be seen that the bottom of the foot or sole of a rib knit sock as well as the sole of a plain knit sock is commonly formed of plain knit fabric.

In plain knit fabric, the outer face of the fabric is formed by the vertically extending portions or legs of the needle loops of the knitted stitches which form a relatively smooth flat surface. inner face is formed primarily of the sinker loops and the transversely extending or bottom portions of the needle loops which together form a corrugated or washboard surface. In coarse gauge socks, for example socks knit of heavy yarn on a machine having approximately or fewer needles per inch, the inner face of plain knit fabric is so rough as to be uncomfortable to walk or stand on. Continual pressure of the bottom of the foot on a rough surface of this kind results in discomfort and fatigue of the wearer. The condition is accentuated by the fact that coarse gauge socks such as sport socks and work socks are customarily worn at times when the person wearing them is active and is on his feet for considerable periods. The resulting foot discomfort and fatigue unavoidably reacts adversely on the entire physiological and neurotic system at a time when greatest energy and endurance are desired.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome this objectionable feature of coarse gauge hosiery heretofore available and to provide a sock that is more comfortable to wear. A further object of the invention is to provide an improved article of hosiery having a smooth insole engaging the bottom of the wearers foot in contrast to the rough inner face of the soles found in coarse gauge hosiery presently available. While the present invention is not limited as to the coarseness or fineness of the hose it is particularly beneficial in coarse gauge hosiery where the washboard surface presented to the bottom of the wearers foot has been especially objectionable. The present invention is applicable to rib knit hose including Links-Links patterns as well as to plain knit hosiery.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and from the accompanying drawings which show by way of example several embodiments that have been selected to illustrate the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side View of a sock embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a composite stitch diagram of representative portions of the fabric of the sock shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side view of another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a composite stitch diagram of typical portions of the fabric of the sock shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a side view of a further embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the inner face of a section of fabric composed in part of outwardly facing stitches and in part of inwardly facing stitches.

In accordance with the present invention, the fabric of the sole portion of an article of hosiery is reversed so as to present a smooth inner surface to the foot of the wearer. In other words, the sole portion is formed of consecutive courses of consecutively inwardly facing stitches instead of The a being formed of outwardly facing stitches or plain knit fabric as heretofore. In contrast to the rough washboard surface presented to the wearers foot by the inner face of plain knit fabric of which the sole portions of socks have hitherto been formed, the inner surface of the reversed sole fabric of the present invention is smooth and soft, even in coarse gauge fabric such as that produced on an 84 needle machine. The smooth inner surface of the reversed sole makes the hosiery more comfortable to wear and avoids the foot fatigue incident to standing continuously on a rough surface.

The difference between the rough inner face of plain knit fabric and the smooth surface presented by the inner face of the reversed sole of the present invention is illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawings. This figure shows the inner face of a section of fabric taken at the junction of the reversed sole and adjacent fabric formed of outwardly facing stitches, for example in the area of the rectangle VI in Fig. 5. The left hand portion of the fabric shows the inner face of a portion of the reversed sole in accordance with the present invention. It will be seen that the inner surface of this portion of the fabric is formed by contiguous leg portions i l of the needle loops 1 2 which extend in a generally vertical or walewise direction though slightly inclined in a chevron or herringbone pattern. These exposed portions of the yarn lie substantially in the same plane to form a smooth flat and uniform surface. The right hand portion of Fig. 6 shows the inner face of plain knit fabric, 1. e., fabric formed by consecutive outwardly facing stitches. It will be seen that the inner surface of such fabric is formed by the transversely extending sinker loops i3 and the transversely extending bottom portions I4 of the needle loops which together form transversely extending wavy ridges separated by intervening valleys. These ridges and valleys form a corrugated or washboard surface, the roughness of which increases with the coarseness of the fabric. The contrast between the rough inner surface of the plain knit fabric which previously formed the sole portions of rib knit as Well as plain knit hosiery and the smooth surface presented to the wearers foot by the reversed sole in accordance with the present invention is readily apparent from the illustration in Fig. 6 and is still more apparent from examination of the fabric itself.

While reversed sole hosiery in accordance with the present invention has important advantages particularly as regards the foot comfort of the wearer, its production required the solution of difllcult problems. In knitting hosiery on a knitting machine of the coaxial cylinder type, the inherent limitations of the machine restrict the number of consecutive stitches that can be knit on the upper cylinder needles. The lower needle cylinder is provided with sinkers which are interposed between consecutive needles and cooperate with the needles in forming and casting off the stitches knit by needles operated in the lower cylinder. No sinkers are provided on the upper needle cylinder as such construction would unduly complicate the machine and would not be practical. The loops or stitches knit by upper cylinder needles are drawn over a fixed edge usually called a verge and are cast off or, more accurately, pulled 01f by tension exerted on the previously knitted fabric. By reason of the lack of sinkers in the upper cylinder and the difference in the way in which the stitches are formed and ferent lengths. duce a 6 X 3 ribbed sock with a l x 1' ribbed top, there are three different lengths oftransfer butts double transfer.

cast off in the upper and the lOWEY-CYlldldGlSythG -.number of consecutive stitches knit in :the upper cylinder has been quite limited. In other words,

. -themajority ofthe'stitches are outwardly facing stitches.-

broa'd rib fabric, such as an 11 x 4 rib, there are For example, even in producing very only 4 consecutive inwardly facing stitches knit on theupper cylinder needle while eleven consecutiveoutwardly facing stitches are knit on the lower cylinder. The formation of the entire sole of .a sock of inwardly facing stitches thus represents a-radical departure from the present practice. The difficulty of the problem of knitting a reversed sole in accordance with the .prevent invention was increased by the fact that in knitting a sock from the top to the toe the knitting of the v -sole portion of thesock immediately follows the heel pocket. The tension used toassist in casting off stitches formed by upper cylinder needles is applied to the fabric by power driven tension rollers between which the fabric passes. "These rollers are locatedbelow the lower cylinder and hence some distance from the .point at which knitting occurs. "As the rollers act on the string of fabric as a whole, the slack resulting from the additional portions forming the heel pocket causes lossof tension on the sole side of the needle cylinder at the time the sole is being knit. 7 When .thesoleisformed of plain knit fabric, as in the :prior'art; this loss of tension is unimportant as =i the: sole is knit on lower cylinder needles where thesinkers cooperate to cast off the stitches and tension is not required. The situation is quite idifferentwhen it is desired to form the entire .sole of inwardly facing stitches and a difficult problem is presented.

A further difficulty which may not at first be apparent but which is very realis the limitation in the number of needle transfers that can as a practical matter be effected in a coaxial cylinder machine. Needle selection in making the transfers is obtained by utilizing transfer butts of dif- For example, in order to "proin the upper cylinder and two in the'lower cylinder. At the first transfer, i. e., from plain to 1X 1 rib, the lower transfer cam goes in part way to engage only the long transfer butts provided on alternate needle sliders thus transferring altertransfer before the heel, the upper transfer cam goes in far enough to engage all but the very short butts. As these short butt sliders carry the 'rib needles on the instep side of the cylinder,

they are left in the top cylinder while those in the heel half are transferred down to the lower cylinder to produce plain knit fabric for the heel and the sole. t the final transfer, before the toe, the upper transfer cam goes all the way in and-transfers all of the remaining rib needles to the lower cylinder.

It will be seen that even to produce a relatively simple sock like that just described, rather complicated series of transfer operations is required. With this arrangement of transfer butts and cams, it is not possible to .=.transfer'all of the needles on thesole, sideto the ;upper cylinder to produce a-reversed-so1e in 'typezdoes not provideca solution to-this'problem. The Links-Links mechanism provides a fixed number of moves or needle selections, for example 12, afterwhich the pattern is repeated; If for example, one ofthe moves were to be used .tozposition-all of the needles on thesole side of the j cylinder in. the; upper; cylinder, these1needles -would be positioned in the upper cylindenevery twelfthzcourseia Thiswould obviously disrupt the Links-Links pattern in the .leg! portion of..the I seek.

Theseidifficulties and problems have beenoVercome by the present'invention and a greatly improved article of hosiery has been provided to 1 the trade.

tisockembo'dying the present invention. The

A Ll

' stitch structure of thelfabric of this-sock will bereadily understood by reference toFig-r2 which represents a stitch diagram of typical portions of successivetsections of the sock. The portions 1' selected are ztaken from a central longitudinal .bandapproximately 21 wales wide downthe side opthesockshown inFig. 1. Each square in the diagramlrepresents a stitch. A cross is placed .in a. square to represent an inwardly facing stitch.

. ."For. an outwardly facing stitch, the square-is left blank.

. :The. sock shown in Fig. l is provided at its up- I per edge with. an 'anti-ravel selvage or welt W. The .topportion or rib R of the sock is formed of 25x 2 rib fabric. As seen in Fig. 2, this fabric is composed of ribs formed by two consecutive wales of outwardly facing stitches alternating with ribs'formecl by twoconsecutive wales of inwardly facing stitches. -Theleg'portion L and .:stitches alternate with ribs of 4 consecutive wales of inwardly facing stitches. Above the heel,

.. there is an-area P, commonly referred to as a 'high-splic'e, formed of plain knit fabric. The heel l-i'is formed in the usual manner by reciprocatory knitting and is composed of outwardly facing stitches Immediately "following the heel, there are preferably one ormore circular knit courses oom-prisingconsecutive outwardly facing stitches i throughout the circumferential extent corresponding approximately to the width of the heel.

The. introduction ofthese courses avoids the formation of undesirably large eyelets adjacent the gore G of the-heel. -Two such courses are indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 by the reference numeral l5. The sole S of the sock, in accordance with the present invention, is reversed by being formed of consecutive courses of consecutive inwardly facing stitches, as clearly shown in Fig. 2'. i The reversal of the sole portion of the stock providesa smooth inner surface on the inner face of the sole as described above in conjunction with Fig. 6. In some-instances it is preferable to make the reversed sole narrower than the heel as illustrated in Fig. 2. Following the sole and instep there is a toe band portion B. The toe band is ordinarily formed of plain knit fabric throughout its circumferential extent. In accordance with the present invention, the sole side of the toe band is reversed, being formed of consecutive inwardly facing stitches, whilethe insteptside of the toe :band is formed ofputwardly facing stitches. The last course o two of the toe band may if desired be formed wholly of outwardly facing stitches before going into the toe pocket which is reciprocatorially knit in the same manner as the heel. The outer surface of the sole or other portions of the sock may if desired be brushed after the sock is knit.

As the method of producing the novel hosiery structure of the present invention is described more fully in the above-mentioned companion application, the method steps will be referred to here only briefly. The socks are preferably knit by string work on a machine of the coaxial cylinder type. The antiravel edge W may be produced in any desired manner. For example, a tubular welt may be formed by transferring alternate needles to the upper cylinder, knitting at least one round on all needles then holding the upper cylinder needles out of action while knitting a plurality of rounds on the lower cylinder needles only and thereafter resuming knitting on all of the needles to close the welt. After completion of the welt, selected needles are transferred to the lower cylinder and others to the upper cylinder to provide groups of two needles in the upper cylinder alternating with groups of two needles in the lower cylinder to produce the 2 x 2 rib top. In a multiple feed machine, the additional feed or feeds may be introduced at this time. The knitting of the 2 x 2 rib fabric is continued until the leg portion L is reached whereupon another double transfer of needles is effected to position groups of eleven needles in the lower cylinder alternating with groups of four needles in the upper cylinder. Shortly before the heel is reached, all of the upper cylinder needles on the side of the cylinder on which the heel and sole are knit are transferred to the lower cylinder to knit the high-splice area P. The machine is then operated by reciprocation of the needle cylinders to knit the heel pocket 4 while needles on the instep side of the cylinder are held inoperative and retain their stitches. The heel is preferably knit with a single yarn feed.

Following the knitting of the heel the machine is again operated by continuous rotation and one or more circular courses are preferably knit with the same needle selection as in knitting the high splice. Any additional feeds are reintroduced during the knitting of these courses. All of the needles that are to produce the reversed sole of the sock are then transferred to the upper cylinder so as to knit the inwardly facing stitches characterizing the reversed sole of the'present invention. Special mechanism is provided for transferring the needles to the upper cylinder and for applying additional tension to ensure the proper casting off of the stitches of the reverse sole section knit on upper cylinder needles as described more fully in the above mentioned companion application. The width or course-wise extent of the sole may be the same as that of the heel. However it is desirable, in some instances, for example from the point of view of appearance, to form the reversed sole narrower than the heel as shown in Figs. '1 and 2.

The group of needles on which the reversed sole is knit is thus smaller than the group of needles on which the heel and the high-splice portion are knit. Shortly before the toe is reached a transfer is made to position all of the needles on the instep side in the lower cylinder and knitting is continued to produce the toe band B. The needles on the sole side of the cylinder continue to operate in the upper cylinder. The upper part of the toe band is thus formed of outwardly facing stitches while the lower part is formed of inwardly facing stitches. The needles on the sole side of the cylinder are then transferred to the lower cylinder and the toe pocket is knit by reciprocation like the heel. After the toe has been completed, a plurality of circular courses are knit to form a band of plain knit material known as the loopers edge.

At various stages in the knitting of the sock yarn changes are made to introduce other or additional yarn. For example the yarn used in the leg portion L may be different from that used in the top portion R and a substitute yarn or splice yarn may be introduced when knitting the heel and the toe. The ends of yarn resulting from these yarn changes are on the inner face of the fabric and hence do not show when the article of hosiery is right side out.

In Fig. 3 there is shown another embodiment of the invention, the fabric structure of which is illustrated in Fig. 4. This embodiment is essentially the same as that of Figs. 1 and 2 except that the leg and instep portions of the sock are formed of Links-Links fabric instead of with vertical ribs. While the sole portion is shown in Fig. 3 as being the same width as the heel, it will be understood that in all embodiments of th invention a narrower or wider reversed sole can be used as desired since the width of the reversed sole is independent of the width of the high splice and the heel.

The reversed sole sock of Fig. 3 is knitted in substantially the same manner as that of Figs. 1 and 2 except that during the knitting of th leg and instep portions selected needles are transferred from one cylinder to the other to provide the desired Links-Links pattern. The particular pattern illustrated in the drawings is solely by way of example and is subject to infinite variations.

A further embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 5 differs from the embodiments of Figs. 1 to 4 in that the leg and instep portions are of plain knit fabric and hence formed of consecutive courses of consecutive outwardly facing stitches. Also the top portion is illustrated as being formed of 1 x 1 rib fabric although a broader rib may be used if desired. A further feature that is likewise applicable to the other embodiments of the invention is that the heel and toe are formed of terry fabric for example as disclosed in Thurston Patent 2,318,643. The terry fabric provides a cushioning effect at the heel and toe while the reversed sole of the present invention provides a smooth surface for engagement with the bottom of the wearers foot.

It will be understood that the various features of the several embodiments may be combined in other ways and that still other modifications may be made, the invention being in no way limited to the specific embodiments shown by Way of example in the drawing. The invention thus provides a new article of hosiery having important advantages over the prior art.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An article of circular knit seamless hosiery comprising leg and instep portions formed of inwardly facing stitches and outwardly facing stitches arranged in predetermined sequence, the number of outwardly facing stitches exceeding the number of inwardly facing stitches, heel and toe portions formed of outwardly facing stitches and an integral sole portion formed of consecu- 9 tive courses of consecutive stitches.

2. An article of circularly knit seamless hosiery comprising leg and instep portions formed of a lesser number of inwardly facing stitches and a greater number of outwardly facing stitches arranged in predetermined sequence to form vertically extending ribs, heel and toe portions formed of outwardly facing stitches and an integral sole portion formed of consecutive courses of consecutive inwardly facing stitches.

3. An article of circularly knit seamless hosiery comprising leg and instep portions formed of groups of inwardly facing stitches and groups of outwardly facing stitches arranged in predetermined sequence to form broad rib fabric, heel and inwardly facing toe portions formed of outwardly facing stitches and an integral sole portion formed of consecutive courses of consecutive inwardly facing stitches.

4. An article of circularly knit seamless hosiery comprising leg and instep portions formed of inwardly facing stitches and outwardly facing stitches arranged in predetermined sequence to form a Links-Links pattern, heel and toe portions formed of outwardly facing stitches and an integral sole portion formed of consecutive courses of consecutive inwardly facing stitches.

5. An article of circularly knit seamless hosiery comprising leg and instep portions formed of groups of consecutive inwardly facing stitches and groups of consecutive outwardly facing stitches arranged in predetermined sequenc to form a Links-Links pattern, heel and toe portions formed of outwardly facing stitches and an integral sole portion formed of consecutive courses of consecutive inwardly facing stitches.

6. An article of hosiery comprising a plurality of circular knit courses of stitches forming a leg portion, a plurality of reciprocatorily knit courses of outwardly facing stitches forming a heel portion, at least one circular knit course immediately following said heel portion comprising consecutive outwardly facing stitches throughout the circumferential extent corresponding approximately to the width of said heel portion and a plurality of consecutive circular knit courses comprising consecutive inwardly facing stitches throughout the circumferential extent corresponding approximately tothe width of the heel portion.

7. An article of hosiery comprising a plurality of circular knit courses of stitches forming a leg portion, a plurality of reciprocatorily knit courses of outwardly facing stitches forming a heel portion and a plurality of succeeding circular knit courses of outwardly facing stitches and inwardly facing stitches comprising consecutive inwardly facing stitches forming a sole portion having a circumferential extent less than the circumferential extent of said heel portion.

8. An article of hosiery comprising a plurality of circular knit courses of stitches forming a leg portion, a plurality of reciprocatorily knit courses of outwardly facing stitches forming a heel portion, at least one circular knit course immediately following said heel portion comprising consecutive outwardly facing stitches throughout a coursewise extent corresponding approximately to the width of the heel portion and a plurality of succeeding circular knit courses of outwardly face ing stitches and inwardly facing stitches comprising consecutive inwardly facing stitches forming a sole portion having a coursewise extent less than that of the heel portion.

9. An article of hosiery comprising a plurality of circular knit courses of stitches forming a leg portion, a plurality of reciprocatorily knit courses of outwardly facing stitches forming a heel portion and a plurality of succeeding circular knit courses each having the same total number of stitches as the courses forming the leg,'and comprising consecutive inwardly facing stitches forming a sole portion having a coursewise extent corresponding approximately to that of the heel portion and consecutive outwardly facing stitches laterally bounding said sole portion.

10. An article of circularlyknit seamless hosiery comprising leg and instep portions formed of inwardly facing stitches and outwardly facing stitches arranged in predetermined sequence, a sole portion formed of consecutive courses of consecutive inwardly facing stitches and a toe band portion formed of inwardly facing stitches throughout the portion of its coursewise extent corresponding to the coursewise extent of the sole portion and formed of outwardly facing stitches throughout the balance of its coursewise extent.

11. An article of circularly-knit seamless hosiery comprising leg and instep portions formed at least in the greater part of outwardly facing stitches, heel and toe portions formed of terry fabric comprising outwardly facing stitches of body thread and loops of terry thread on the inner face of the fabric and a sole portion formed of consecutive courses of consecutive inwardly facing stitches.

12. An article of circularly knit seamless hosiery comprising leg and instep portions formed of .outwardly facing stitches and an integral sole portion formed of inwardly facing stitches.

13. A method of knitting an article of hosiery on a circular knitting machine which comprises knitting a plurality of circular seamless courses composed at least in part of outwardly facing.

' stitches to form a leg portion, knitting a plurality of courses of outwardly facing stitches by reciprocation to form a heel pocket, knitting a plurality of circular courses to form sole and instep portions, the instep portions of said courses being composed at least in part of outwardly facing stitches while the sole portions of said courses are composed solely of inwardly facing stitches and knitting a plurality of courses of outwardly facing stitches by reciprocation to form a toe pocket.

PAUL L. THURSTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in th file of this patent;

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number OTHER REFERENCES Ser. No. 224,546, Nebel (A. P. C.), published May 4, 1943.

Patent No. 2,512,728

Certificate of Correction June 27 1950 PAUL L. THURSTON It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent reqmrmg correction as follows:

Column 1, line 9, strike out the comma and Words now abandoned;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read as corrected above, so that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Olfice.

Signed and sealed this 29th day of January, A. D. 1952.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Gommz'ssz'oner of Patents.

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