Stoll has applied for patent protection for a new method for producing a patterned knitted fabric (Fig 1). The production of a patterned knitted fabric with a course of stitches of base threads and patterned threads on a flat bed knitting machine with two opposing needle-beds involves (a) forming a course of base thread loops and inserting pattern thread loops on free needles of the other bed; (b) forming a base thread course using base thread needles; (c) wrapping caught loops of the other bed around pattern thread needles of one bed and slipping the wrapped loops with the stitches on the receiving needles; and (d) repeating steps (b) and (c).
Production of a patterned knitted article with courses of stitches consisting of a base thread (BT) and at least one pattern thread (PT) on a flat bed knitting machine with at least two opposing needle-beds involves a) at the start of the pattern repetition forming a course of stitches with the base thread and inserting catching loops with the pattern thread into free needles of the opposite needle-bed; b) forming a course of stitches with the base thread using the needles to be charged with the base thread to produce the pattern; wrapping the catching loops of the opposite needle-bed round the needles of the first bed to be charged with the pattern thread located on the receiving needle; repeating threads (b) and (c) until all catching loops for the pattern thread are wrapped and bonded into the article. An independent claim is included for a knitted article (specifically a flat or tubular article) formed by the process.