Crochet Machine | Knitting Elements of a Crochet Machine

The Crochet Machine
In hand crocheting, a hook is used to draw a new loop through the old loop with the chains of loops being joined together at intervals. On crochet machines, the warp chains are separate from the weft inlay and it is the latter threads that join the chaining wales to each other. 

Knitting Elements of a Crochet Machine

• A single horizontal needle bar whose simple reciprocating action can be used to operate individually-tricked latch, carbine or embroidery needles. The patent or carbine bearded needle is used for fine structures and has a sideways crimped beard placed in a permanently-pressed position. Although warp threads can only be fed into the beard from the left (necessitating a unidirec-tional closed overlap), the old overlaps are automatically cleared and landed by the movement of the needle. It is still the most frequently used needle, achieving speeds up to 2500 rpm. Reduced machine speed and high needle wear make its use uneconomical for knitting single end cotton yarns.

• No sinkers; instead a fixed hold-back bar is fitted in front of the knock-over verge to prevent the fabric moving out with the needles. 

Knitting Elements of a Crochet Machine

• Closed lap pillar stitches and inlay threads controlled and supplied as separate warp and weft respectively. Each needle is lapped from below by its own warp guide, which is clipped to a bar whose automatic one-needle overlap and return and underlap shog is fixed and is controlled from an eccentric cam whilst its upwards and downwards swing is derived from a rocker-shaft. The warp yarn is often placed low at the front of the machine. 

• The weft yarn, often placed above and towards the back of the machine, supplying the carrier tubes, which are clipped to the spring-loaded inlay bars.These bars are fitted above the needle bar and are shogged at the rate of one link per course, from pattern chains around a drum at one end of the machine.There are usually up to two warp guide bars and up to 16 weft inlay bars, which may be electronically controlled.

• Special attachments are available for producing fancy effects such as cut or uncut fringe edges, pile, braiding (equivalent to fall-plate) and snail shell designs.

Crochet machines, with their simple construction, ease of pattern and width changing, and use of individual yarn packages or beams provide the opportunity for short runs on coarse- or fine-gauge fancy and open-work structures and edgings, as well as the specialist production of wide fancy fabrics or narrow elastic laces.