Between the needles there are thin pieces of metal called sinkers. These lie between alternate pairs of needles.

Behind and above the needles and fed from cones of yarn set behind the machine are the yarn carriers which travel from side to side laying the yarn on the bar immediately behind the needles. The yarn is laid loosely and as the carrier passes along the rear of the needles the sinkers press the slack of the yarn between them to form loops.

As the sinkers are designed to produce loops between alternate pairs of needles, at this stage these loops are made twice the required depth, and the dividers then move forward and push the yarn in between the

remaining pairs of needles. This reduces all the loops to an even depth and ensures that there is a loop round every needle.

While this is happening the needles gradually sink down and the loops of yarn slide under the beards of the needles. As the needles go down the the presser bar closes the beards allowing the needles with their yarn to pass through the loops around the stems of the needles. The needles then rise again, leaving the loops just formed around their stems, and the carriers of yarn move across the bar laying another slack length of yarn which is again divided and kinked into a new row of loops. Thus in a matter of seconds the motion of the carriers, sinkers dividers and needles has reproduced exactly the same effect as minutes of ordinary knitting on a pair of needles.

This is a description of the way in which the courses or rows of loops are knitted one after the other, during the making of the

The action of the bearded needles in the fully–Fashioned knitting frame