CHAPTER IV

THE RACK STITCH—MAKING SHAPED COLLARS—OPPORTUNITIES IN DESIGNING FABRICS

THE rack stitch is used on many sweaters for a border on the bottom, also for a narrow strip on both sides of the shoulder seam, and a strip at the place the stitch changes from half cardigan to plain for the cuff. Many sweaters have the collar and the border down the front made separately in the rack stitch and sewed on. Most of the designs in the knitted neckties made on flat machines are based on the rack stitch. Another very important use for this stitch is in making a smooth sightly edge on the bottom of sweaters, the ends of cuffs, etc.

The rack stitch is always made on one of the cardigans. From this statement the reader will realize that this stitch is not made in place of the half or full cardigan, or any other stitch but is an addition to, or a further development of these stitches.

Fig. 30 shows a half cardigan stitch ready to rack, as it is customary to make the one needle rack on this stitch. It should be noticed that the racking is done on the course that holds, or does not cast the previous stitch off on one side. Fig. 31 shows the stitch after the plate has been racked over one needle. This illustration practically explains the whole principle of the rack stitch. The rack will show on the side that casts the stitches off the needles. It is customary to hold the stitch or tuck on the back plate, therefore the rack shows on the front side of the fabric, or the side toward the operator of the machine.

Operation of Racking

It is understood, of course, that on a flat machine there must always be an end needle on one plate or the other. Usually the knitter sets up his machine with one plate carrying the end needle on one side of the work and the other plate carrying the other end needle. Which end of the respective plates carries this needle depends on the position of the racking cam. In the illustration, Fig. 30, the front plate has the end needle on the right and back plate has the end needle on the left. After racking as in Fig. 31, these positions are reversed. It will be noted that the front plate has been racked or moved over one needle so the front needles will come up through and operate between the next two needles to the left of their previous positions.

Or to explain it in a different way, in Fig. 30, before racking, the front plate has the end needle on the right and operates outside of the last needle in the back plate, but after racking, as in Fig. 31, this end needle on the front plate has been shifted over so it comes up inside the last needle in the back plate.

After racking over one needle there must be one full round or two courses put on before racking again; that is while racking on the half cardigan stitch, and then the plate is racked back to the first position. This operation of racking first one way and then the other with a round between each rack is continued until the necessary number of racks are finished and then the operator proceeds with the plain half cardigan.

This procedure would make a plain rack on one side of the fabric only. We have assumed in this explanation that the back is stationary and the front plate is the one that moves, but I wish to have it understood here that it makes no difference which plate is stationary and which one racks or is movable; the results are the same.

Some writers use the words shog or shogged in place of rack or racked, but the writer of this work has avoided the use of these words as they are seldom or never used by the practical knitter, at least not in this country.

The Racking Mechanism

In most of the modern flat machines the plate that racks has enough end clearance to rack over at least two needles, and some of them as many as four, though racking two needles is sufficient for all ordinary work. Fig. 32 shows the method of racking or moving the plate to make the rack stitch, or at least this is the principle used as a rule on the imported machines, with some modifications by some makers. This also applies to the method shown of attaching the plates to the frame.

There is a large flat bottom hole, _c_, bored about half way through the plate; through the bottom of this hole there is made an elongated hole, _b_, through which the plate is attached to the frame by the shouldered screw, _a_, the head of which is flush with the top of the plate. It will readily be seen that with this method the plate cannot be moved in any direction except lengthwise of the plate, or crosswise of the needles. To secure this movement at will there is a steel strap, _d_, attached to the under side of the plate by the screws _j_ and _k_, and through the outside end of this strap there are two elongated holes through which are attached two shouldered studs with nuts _e_ and _f_. These studs extend down on both sides of the steps of the racking cam, _g_, and together with the plate are moved back and forth by the steps on the racking cam. The cam is moved by the handle, _i_, in the hand machines, or by the ratchet, _h_, being operated by pawls or dogs in power machines.

The letter _h_ shows a front elevation of the ratchet, while _i_ is a side view. It will be noted that there are only three teeth on each side, and these two groups are opposed one to the other. If the reader will examine the racking cam, _g_, with due thought the reason for this will be obvious. There are three steps on the cam and the cam must have an oscillating movement and not a rotary one. The ratchet, _h_, and the racking cam, _g_, are both attached securely to one hub, therefore must move together on a stud which projects from the end of the frame.

The plate as illustrated in Fig. 32, sets at the limit of its movement to the left, consequently any racking that is to be done must move the plate to the right, therefore the pawl at the top of the ratchet would engage the uppermost tooth, _q_, and turning the ratchet one tooth would move the racking cam one step, thus moving the plate over one needle through its contact with the studs, _e_ and _f_. There are two pawls, upper and lower, arranged to engage the teeth on the ratchet either at the top or the bottom as required. If we wanted a one-needle rack only, after putting on one round of stitches we would have the lower pawl engage the tooth, _n_, of the ratchet and move the racking cam back to its first position. If, however, we wanted a two-needle rack, the upper pawl would engage the second tooth, _o_, of the ratchet. For three racks it would then engage the next tooth, _m_, after which it would be necessary to start on the return to the first position, remembering to put on one course or one round, as the case may be, of stitches between each rack. If racking on the half cardigan stitch there should be one full round between the racks, but if on the full cardigan the racking may be done every half round or every course, as will be explained hereafter.

Fig. 33 is a photographic reproduction of a piece of fabric, face and back, of a one-needle rack which shows on one side of the fabric only. A fabric with the two-needle rack which would show on both sides of the fabric is not illustrated, for it would be the same on both sides as the face side of Fig. 33. A line drawing of the rack stitch is shown at Fig. 34. This is drawn out of proportion and is very loose and not like the fabric, but by making it this way the direction the yarn takes may be easily located.

The Zig-Zag Stitch

Fig. 35 is an example of a fabric that may be made with a one-needle rack. It is called the zig-zag stitch. To make this the machine should be set to make the full cardigan stitch. After setting up the machine and putting on one round, the needle plate is racked over one needle, put on a course or half round and rack back one needle. Continue this racking back and forth on each course for five rounds, then skip one rack or put on one full round without racking and continue as before. Repeat this operation of racking every course for five rounds and then skip one rack and we have a zig-zag stitch.

The points come where the rack is skipped, or in other words the direction of the diagonal stitch will continue in the same direction as long as the needle plate is racked every course without skipping, but immediately one rack is missed the stitch starts diagonally in the other direction. It is obvious from the foregoing explanation that the knitter is not obliged to use any set number of courses between the change, but may use any number at his discretion to get the distance desired between the points.

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Shaped Collar for Sweaters

The peculiar characteristic of this stitch is utilized in making a shaped collar for sweaters, as shown in Figs. 38 and 39. First let the reader remember that the direction the diagonal stitch takes all depends on which end of the machine the carriage is at when the racking operation begins. It should be understood that the collars are made in a long string and the three parts, as shown in Fig. 38, are duplicated one after another. On either end, where this piece has been cut off, there was a duplicate of the plain racked piece shown at the middle, and at the end of these there was another diagonal piece, and so on from the beginning to the end.

It should be clear to the reader that if the piece shown (Fig. 38) were cut through on the broken lines we would have one complete collar and we would have left the diagonal stitch that belongs on one end of each of the two adjoining center pieces, therefore by cutting all the collars apart at the point indicated by the line we would have our collars shaped without any waste and would have a selvage or finished edge on the outside.

The collar is stitched or sewed on the neck opening of the sweater along the cut edge and across the bottom of the racked center piece, and after it is finished and the sweater coat buttoned up it folds over and looks as shown in Fig. 39. As stated before this collar can be made on a machine that racks over only one needle, but in that case the center piece would be racked on one side only, therefore it is customary to make these collars on a two needle rack machine with the middle portion racked on both sides as will be noted in Fig. 39.

Making a rack on both sides of the fabric is very much like making the diagonal stitch in the operation of the machine, even though the resultant fabric is so radically different. It should be made with a full cardigan stitch same as the zig-zag or diagonal, and the needle plate must be racked every course or half round, but with this difference: When making the diagonal stitch the needle plate is racked over one needle and back again, while to rack both sides of the fabric the needle plate is racked over two needles. This does not mean that the knitter should rack over two needles at once, for this should never be done, but rack over one needle, let us say to the right, then put on one course and rack over the second needle to the right, put on one course and rack one needle to the left, put on one course and rack the second needle to the left. Or in other words, rack alternately two needles to the right and left and put on one course or half round each time the needle plate is racked one needle.

There is one other point that should be remembered in making this collar and that is the manner of starting the diagonal stitch in the proper direction after finishing in the middle portion. Each time this part is finished the diagonal stitch should go in the opposite way from the previous time, therefore when the one needle half round rack starts to make this stitch the first rack should be made with the carriage on the opposite side of the machine from which the previous one was started.

Opportunity for Varying Designs

Fig. 37 is an interesting example of what may be done with the two-needle rack. Designs of this character require the removal or pulling down out of operation of every other needle, therefore a machine of any given cut, or needles per inch, would be in reality only half as fine as cut and would necessitate the use of a heavier or larger yarn.

To make the fabric shown in Fig. 37 pull down or remove every other needle in the front plate. Then pull down or remove every other needle in the back plate for five needles, then leave two needles together and remove every other needle for five more, leave two needles together and continue as before until the full width of needles in working position are as follows: Every other needle down out of working position in the front plate, and every other one down in groups of five with two needles together between these groups in the back plate.

We will find by this arrangement that when we rack the plate over one needle, every second group of five needles in the back plate will rack across a needle of the front plate, but the other groups will simply move between the needles in the front plate, therefore will make a plain half cardigan stitch only, while the other groups will make a rack stitch. If this operation were continued in this way, racking one needle only back and forth, we would get a fabric with vertical stripes of alternating plain half cardigan and rack stitch. But if we rack back and forth one needle each round for ten rounds, then rack over the second needle and rack back and forth one needle in this position, we will find that the groups of five needles that were racking in the first instance are now making the plain half cardigan stitch, and the groups that were at first making the plain are now racking.

An ingenious knitter can make an almost unlimited number of designs of this character by different arrangements of his needles and a variation of the timing of his racks. One thing which should be remembered is that all racking should be done on the course that tucks or holds two stitches when racking on the half cardigan. On the full cardigan both courses are tucked, therefore it does not matter which one is racked, only the side of the fabric on which the rack shows is dependent upon which course the plate is racked.

The design shown in Fig. 36 at _a_ is simply a zig-zag stitch with three needles taken out of the back plate at short intervals, giving these places a piping effect. The fabric at _b_ is a plain one-needle rack with the piping made in the same manner.