WO2015092703A1

WO2015092703A1 - Method for tying off at least one yarn at the beginning or at the end of its feed in the production of a weft knitted fabric with a knitting machine for knitting with alternating motion

Info

Publication number: WO2015092703A1
Application number: PCT/IB2014/067013
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ettore Lonati; Fausto Lonati
Original assignee: Santoni S.P.A.
Priority date: 2013-12-19
Filing date: 2014-12-17
Publication date: 2015-06-25
Also published as: ITMI20132129A1

Abstract

A method for tying off at least one yarn at the beginning or at the end of its feed in the production of a weft knitted fabric with a knitting machine for knitting with alternating motion. The method consists in: - having a weft knitting machine with at least one feed or drop and with a needle holder that supports a plurality of needles that can be actuated to pick up the yarns delivered by the feed and to form knitting; the needle holder being movable with respect to the feed along a trajectory and the feed being arranged in proximity to this trajectory; the needle holder being able to be actuated with respect to the feed along its trajectory with an alternating motion, i.e., along two mutually opposite directions of motion, respectively a forward motion and a return motion, in order to move the needles so that they face in succession the feed and form the knitting both in the forward motion and in the return motion of the needle holder with respect to the feed; the needles arranged in the needle holder being selectable and able to be actuated to form dropped stitches, tuck stitches or not to form knitting at the feed. At the beginning or in proximity to the end of the feeding of at least one yarn (FN or FV) by the feed, some needles of a group of contiguous needles (24-29 or 25'-29') are actuated to pick up the yarn (FN or FV) in a tuck stitch position and to form at least one portion of initial knitting weave (v, z) or at least one portion of final knitting weave (ν', z') and the direction of motion of the needle holder is reversed after the forming of the at least one portion of initial knitting weave (v, z) or prior to the forming of the at least one portion of final knitting weave (ν', z') by the group of needles (24-29 or 25'-29').

Description

METHOD FOR TYING OFF AT LEAST ONE YARN AT THE BEGINNING OR AT THE END OF ITS FEED IN THE PRODUCTION OF A WEFT KNITTED FABRIC WITH A KNITTING MACHINE FOR KNITTING WITH ALTERNATING MOTION

The present invention relates to a method for tying off at least one yarn at the beginning or at the end of its feed in the production of a weft knitted fabric with a knitting machine for knitting with alternating motion.

The term "tying off, in the present document, is understood to reference the locking or retention of at least one yarn at the beginning or at the end of its feed or supply to the needles of a knitting machine in order to prevent ladders, groups or holes from forming in proximity to the beginning of the knitting or to the end of the portion of knitting manufactured with said yarn.

The tying off of a new yarn at the beginning of its feed to the needles of the knitting machine is termed "knitting in".

In circular knitting machines, the knitting in of a new yarn on needles on which knitting formed in previous steps of work is already present is performed by picking up the new yarn with the needles in the dropped stitch position or by picking up the new yarn with the first of the needles that have to knit it, moving said needle to the tuck stitch position if the machine allows this possibility.

More particularly, if knitting in is performed with the needles in the dropped stitch position, the needles that must form the knitting with the new yarn are extracted with their tip or head from the needle holder at the feed that delivers the new yarn so as to engage the new yarn while the last loop of knitting previously formed is on the shank of these needles, below the latch of the needle, and are then caused to retract into the needle holder so as to form new loops of knitting, knocking over the previously formed groups of knitting that are concatenated, in typical weft knitting, with the new loops of knitting formed with the new yarn. At the point where knitting in occurs with dropped-stitch needles, the untied loop or loops of knitting formed by the first needles that pick up the new yarn are much more open than the basic loops of knitting, i.e., than the loops of knitting formed previously and subsequently.

If instead knitting in is performed with the first needle in the tuck stitch position, said first needle that must pick up the new yarn, at the feed that provides the new yarn, is extracted from the needle holder with its tip or head to a smaller extent, so that the loop of knitting formed previously does not descend below the latch of the needle which is actuated so as to engage the new yarn and caused to retract into the needle holder, thus forming a pseudo-loop of tuck-stitch knitting that is superimposed on the preceding loop of knitting and is knocked over together with it when the needle forms a new loop of knitting with the new yarn.

At the point where knitting in occurs with the first needle that picks up the new yarn in the tuck-stitch position with the knitting already present on the needles, there will be a first loop of knitting or a series of first loops of knitting, which are subsequent to the pseudo-loop of tuck-stitch knitting cited previously, which are not tied and are slightly more open than the basic loops of knitting, i.e., the loops of knitting formed previously and subsequently.

In traditional circular knitting machines, the knitting in of the new yarns and the beginning of the forming of knitting with the new yarns occurs in the same direction of rotation of the needle cylinder of the machine. The needle in the tuck or dropped position in fact picks up the yarns for knitting in and, during the same turn of the rotary motion of the needle cylinder, the needles that follow the needle that picked up the new yarn for knitting in immediately begin to produce knitting with the new yarn.

The loops of knitting that are not tied, i.e., the loops of knitting formed by the first needles that have picked up the new yarn in the dropped stitch position create a sort of more or less wide openings known as "eyes or holes". The presence of these eyes or holes is a problem, since it impairs the quality of the manufactured items.

Similar problems occur with the methods currently used to stop or lock a yarn at the end of its process of feeding to the needles of a knitting machine, which moreover do not offer adequate guarantees against the possibility of ladders starting from the stitches that were produced last.

The aim of the present invention is to solve the problems described above, devising a method for tying off at least one yarn at the beginning or at the end of its feeding process in the production of a weft knitted fabric with a knitting machine for knitting with alternating motion that eliminates or reduces significantly the risk of producing eyes or holes at the start or end of knitting of a yarn.

Within the scope of this aim, an object of the invention is to propose a method that makes it possible to produces manufactures that are qualitatively better than those that can be obtained with tying off methods of the known type.

Another object of the invention is to propose a method that offers adequate safety guarantees against the occurrence of ladders at the knitting start or knitting end region of a yarn.

A further object of the invention is to propose a method that can be performed with knitting machines for knitting with alternating motion simply by modifying the actuation program of the machine and the selection of the needles.

This aim, as well as these and other objects that will become more apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a method for tying off at least one yarn at the beginning or at the end of its feeding process in the production of a weft knitted fabric with a knitting machine for knitting with alternating motion, which consists in:

- having a weft knitting machine with at least one feed or drop and with a needle holder that supports a plurality of needles that can be actuated to pick up the yarns provided by said feed and to form the knitting; said needle holder being movable with respect to said feed along a trajectory and said feed being arranged in proximity to said trajectory; said needle holder being able to be actuated with respect to said feed along said trajectory with an alternating motion, i.e., along two mutually opposite directions of motion, respectively a forward motion and a return motion, in order to move the needles so that they face in succession said feed and form the knitting both during the forward motion and during the return motion of said needle holder with respect to said feed; the needles arranged in said needle holder being selectable and able to be actuated to form dropped stitches, tuck stitches or not to form knitting at said feed;

characterized in that at the beginning or close to the end of the feeding of at least one yarn by said at least one feed some needles of a group of contiguous needles are actuated to pick up said at least one yarn in a tuck stitch position and form at least one portion of initial knitting weave or at least one portion of final knitting weave and the direction of motion of said needle holder is reversed after the forming of said at least one portion of initial knitting weave or prior to the forming of said at least one portion of final knitting weave by said group of needles.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the method according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example with the aid of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic view of the knitting of a portion of fabric manufactured with the method according to the invention, seen from the back side;

Figure 2 is an enlarged-scale view of a detail of a portion of fabric, seen from the back side, manufactured with the method according to the invention, which corresponds to the steps of knitting indicated by the box X in the schematic view of Figure 1, highlighting the beginning of the knitting of a yarn;

Figure 3 is an enlarged-scale view of a detail of a portion of fabric, seen from the back side, manufactured with the method according to the invention and highlighting the end of the knitting of a yarn.

To perform the method according to the invention, a weft knitting machine is used which has at least one feed or drop and a needle holder that supports a plurality of needles, which can be actuated, in a manner known per se, to pick up the yarn or yarns delivered by this feed and form the knitting.

The needle holder can move with respect to the feed along a trajectory and the feed is arranged in proximity to this trajectory.

The needle holder can be actuated with respect to the cited feed along its trajectory with an alternating motion, i.e., along two mutually opposite directions of motion, respectively a forward motion and a return motion, in order to move the needles so that they face in succession the cited feed and form the knitting both during the forward motion and during the return motion of the needle holder with respect to the feed.

The needles that are arranged in the needle holder can be selected and actuated, in a manner known per se, in order to form dropped stitches, tuck stitches or not to form knitting at the cited feed.

For the sake of simplicity of description and for greater clarity, it will be assumed that the yarn delivered by the cited feed is a single yarn, where it is understood that the same feed can supply the needles with two or more yarns that are knitted simultaneously by the needles as if they were a single yarn.

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the method according to the invention at the beginning of knitting with a new yarn FN.

Figure 1 shows the actuation diagram of the needles arranged in three contiguous sectors 1 , 2, 3 of the needle holder, with the indication of three steps A, B, C of the method that are performed in sequence. The needles arranged in the sector 3 are not actuated and therefore do not produce a knitting. The needles arranged in the two sectors 1 and 2 can pick up the yarn at the feed being considered to be the new yarn FN, and can pick up the yarn F at any other feeds that might be present on the machine being used. In any case, the needles arranged in the sector 2, from a certain moment onward, are actuated so as to pick up the new yarn FN at the feed being considered and to form the knitting as a continuation of the knitting formed previously with the yarn F. In said Figure 1 , knitting proceeds from the bottom upward, as is evident from the arrangement of the letters A, B, C that identify the various steps of the method.

Actually, in Figure 1 there are two sectors designated by the reference numeral 3 because the example given refers to a circular knitting machine and the schematic view shown in Figure 1 refers to a cylindrical needle holder that is projected in flat view.

Figure 2 shows a portion of fabric 10 manufactured with the method according to the invention and derived from the knitting steps shown schematically in Figure 1. The portion of fabric 10 is manufactured from the bottom upward. In this figure, the numerals 21-31 designate the rows of loops of knitting produced by corresponding needles arranged in the sectors 1 and 2 of the needle holder. For the sake of convenience, hereinafter the numerals 21 -31 will designate the needles that form said rows of loops of knitting. The letters 1-t designate the rows of knitting formed in succession, from the bottom upward, by the needles 21-31.

With reference to these figures, with the method according to the invention, at the beginning of the feeding of a new yarn FN by the cited feed, some needles of a group of contiguous needles 24-29, starting with the first needle that must pick up the new yarn FN, are actuated to pick up the new yarn FN in the tuck-stitch position and to form at least one portion of initial knitting weave v, z and the direction of motion of the needle holder, after the forming of this at least one portion of initial knitting weave v, z by the group of needles 24-29, is reversed, as becomes evident from the pattern of the knitting in Figure 2, before the production of knitting with the new yarn FN is started by the needles 24-31 arranged in a sector constituted, in the case shown, by the sector 2 of the needle holder.

Conveniently, the needles of the group of needles 24-29 that are used to produce the at least one portion of initial knitting weave v, z belong to this sector 2 of the needle holder.

Advantageously, the at least one portion of initial knitting weave v, z is provided by actuating some needles 25, 27, 29 or 28, 26, 24 of the group of needles 24-29 so that they pick up the new yarn FN in the tuck stitch position and are alternated with needles 24, 26, 28 or 29, 27, 25 of the same group of needles 24-29 that are excluded from picking up the new yarn FN, i.e., are excluded from knitting and retain in their tip or head the last loop of knitting formed previously.

Conveniently, at the beginning of the feeding of the new yarn FN by the cited feed, at least some needles of the group of needles 24-29 starting with the first needle 25 that must pick up the new yarn FN are actuated to pick up the new yarn FN in the tuck-stitch position and to form two portions of initial knitting weave, respectively a first portion of initial knitting weave v and a second portion of initial knitting weave z, and the direction of motion of the needle holder is reversed both after the forming of the first portion of initial knitting weave v and after the forming of the second portion of initial knitting weave z, as can be seen in the pattern of the knitting in Figure 2.

Advantageously, the second portion of initial knitting weave z is performed by picking up the new yarn FN with needles 28, 26, 24 of the same group of needles 24-29 but other than the needles 25, 27, 29 that were moved to knit, in the tuck-stitch position, at the feed during the forming of the first portion of initial knitting weave v. It should be noted that instead of providing two portions of initial knitting weave v, z it is also possible to form a single portion of initial knitting weave. In this case, with reference to Figure 2, said portion of initial knitting weave might correspond to the portion of initial knitting weave z that is formed with the needles 28, 26, 24 moved to pick up the new yarn FN in the tuck-stitch position. In this case, the first needle to pick up the new yarn FN would be the needle 28. The result that is obtained by forming a single portion of initial knitting weave is aesthetically less satisfactory than the execution of two portions of initial knitting weave but is in any case much better than what is obtained with methods of the traditional type.

Preferably, both if a single portion of initial knitting weave is produced and if two portions of initial knitting weave portions are produced, each portion of initial knitting weave is formed by picking up the new yarn FN by means of some of the needles of the group of needles 24-29 in the tuck-stitch position alternated with needles of the group of needles 24-29 excluded from the pickup of the new yarn FN according to a 1X1 selection, i.e., a selection according to which for every two contiguous needles alternately one needle is moved to knit in the tuck-stitch position and the subsequent needle is kept inactive or left out, retaining in its tip or head the last formed loop of knitting.

Even more preferably, if two portions of initial knitting weave v, z are produced, as shown, after the first portion of initial knitting weave v produced with this needle selection, i.e., by picking up the new yarn FN with the needles 25, 27, 29 in the tuck-stitch position and with the needles 24, 26, 28 excluded from knitting, the second portion of initial knitting weave z is produced and is formed by reversing the direction of motion of the needle holder and the selection of the needles, i.e., by picking up the new yarn FN by means of the needles 28, 26, 24 that had been excluded from picking up the new yarn FN during the forming of the first portion of initial knitting weave v and excluding from picking up the new yarn FN the needles 25, 27, 29 that have knitted during the forming of the first portion of initial knitting weave v.

In this manner, the loops of knitting formed with the new yarn FN are superimposed on the loops of knitting that were already present on the needles 24-29 and are knocked over with them and concatenated with the subsequent loop of knitting that will be formed by the corresponding needle with the new yarn FN.

It should be noted that the selection of the needles on the basis of which some needles of the group of needles 24-29 are moved to knit to pick up the new yarn FN in the tuck-stitch position might be different, for example it might be a 1X2 or 1X3 selection, i.e., one needle knits every three needles or every four needles and the number of needles that form the portion of row or rows of initial knitting might be different from what has been described. In this case, in the forming of the second portion of initial knitting weave z, the needles that have picked up the new yarn FN to form the first portion of initial knitting weave v would be excluded from knitting and at least some of the needles excluded from knitting during the forming of the first portion of initial knitting weave v would be moved to knit.

With particular reference to Figure 1 , during a first step A, the needles arranged in the sectors 1 and 2 are actuated and form a knitting with the yarn F. In this first step, the needle holder can be actuated with a continuous motion or with an alternating motion with respect to the feed that supplies said yarn F and the region 41 of the knitted fabric 10 shown in Figure 2 is formed.

Subsequently, during the second step B, the group of needles 24-29, by means of the movement of the needle holder with respect to the feed that supplies the new yarn FN, is caused to transit in front of this feed and some of the needles 24-29 are actuated as described above so as to form the first portion of initial knitting weave portion v and the second portion of initial knitting weave z. The actuation of the needles 24-29 in the tuck-stitch position in 1X1 selection with swapping of the needles that are moved to knit upon the reversal of the motion of the needle holder is indicated by the squares 54-59, which illustrate schematically the actuation or exclusion from knitting of the needles 24-29.

In the third step C, the needles 21 -23 arranged in the first sector 1 of the needle holder continue to knit exclusively with the yarn F, forming the region 42, whereas the needles 25-31 arranged in the second sector 2 of the needle holder are fed exclusively with the new yarn FN, forming the region 43 of the knitted fabric. In this third step C, the needle holder is actuated with an alternating motion with respect to the feed or feeds that supply the yarns F and FN and the needle 24 is actuated so as to pick up alternatively the yarn F or the yarn FN, thus joining the regions 42 and 43 in a manner known per se, as is evident from Figure 2.

In the schematic view of Figure 1 , the needle 24 was categorized as belonging to the first sector 1 of the needle holder, but functionally it belongs equally to the first sector 1 and to the second sector 2 of the needle holder.

Figure 3 illustrates a portion of fabric 10' manufactured from the bottom upward. In this figure, the numerals 25'-32' designate the rows of loops of knitting produced by corresponding needles. In this case also, in a manner similar to what has already been done for Figure 2, the numerals 25'-32' designate the needles that form said rows of loops of knitting. The letters f-r' designate the rows of knitting that are formed in succession, from the bottom upward, by the needles 25 '-32'.

With reference to this figure, with the method according to the invention, near the end of the feeding of a yarn FV by the feed being considered, some needles of a group of contiguous needles 25'-29' are actuated in order to pick up the yarn FV in a tuck-stitch position and to form at least one portion of final knitting weave portion ν', z', and the direction of motion of the needle holder, prior to the forming of this at least one portion of final knitting weave ν', z' by the group of needles 25'-29', is reversed, as is evident from the pattern of the knitting in Figure 3.

Conveniently, the needles of the group of needles 25 '-29' used to produce the at least one portion of final knitting weave ν', z' belong to the same sector of the needle holder the needles of which have been used until that moment to knit the yarn FV.

Advantageously, the at least one portion of final knitting weave ν', z' is performed by actuating some needles 25', 27', 29' or 28', 26' of the group of needles 25'-29' so that they pick up the yarn FV in the tuck-stitch position and are alternated with needles 26', 28' or 29', 27', 25' of the same group of needles 25'-29' that are excluded from picking up the yarn FV, i.e., are excluded from knitting and retain in their tip or head the last previously formed loop of knitting.

Conveniently, near the end of the feeding of the yarn FV by the cited feed, at least some needles of the group of needles 25'-29' are actuated to pick up the yarn FV in the tuck-stitch position and to form two portions of final knitting weave, respectively a first portion of final knitting weave v' and a second portion of final knitting weave z', and the direction of motion of the needle holder is reversed both before and after the forming of the first portion of final knitting weave v\

Advantageously, the second portion of final knitting weave z' is produced by picking up the yarn FV with needles 28', 26' of the same group of needles 25 -29' but different from the needles 25', 27', 29' that were moved to knit, in the tuck-stitch position, at the feed during the forming of the first portion of final knitting weave v'.

In this case also, instead of providing two portions of final knitting weave ν', z', it is possible to provide a single portion of final knitting weave. In this case, with reference to Figure 3, said portion of final knitting weave might correspond to the portion of final knitting weave v' formed with the needles 25', 27', 29' moved to pick up the yarn FV in the tuck-stitch position. The result that is obtained by forming a single portion of final knitting weave is less satisfactory than the execution of two portions of final knitting weave but is in any case much better than what is obtained with methods of the traditional type.

Preferably, both if a single portion of final knitting weave is produced and if two portions of final knitting weave are produced, each portion of final knitting weave is formed by picking up the yarn FV by means of some of the needles of the group of needles 25'-29' in the tuck-stitch position alternated with needles of the group of needles 25 -29' excluded from picking up the yarn FV according to a 1X1 selection, i.e., a selection according to which for every two contiguous needles alternatively one needle is moved to knit in the tuck-stitch position and the subsequent needle is kept inactive or left out, retaining in its tip or head the last formed loop of knitting.

Even more preferably, if two portions of final knitting weave ν', z' are formed, as shown, after the first portion of final knitting weave v' formed with this selection of the needles, i.e., by picking up the yarn FV with the needles 25', 27', 29' in the tuck-stitch position and with the needles 26', 28' excluded from knitting, the second portion of final knitting weave z' is provided which is formed by reversing the selection of the needles, i.e., by picking up the yarn FV by means of the needles 28', 26' that had been excluded from picking up the yarn FV during the forming of the first portion of final knitting weave v' and excluding from the pickup of the yarn FV the needles 25', 27', 29' that have knitted during the forming of the first portion of final knitting weave v\

In this manner, the loops of knitting formed with the yarn FV are superimposed on the loops of knitting that were already present on the needles 25'-29' and are knocked over with them and concatenated with the subsequent loop of knitting that will be formed by the corresponding needle with a new yarn F.

It should be noted that the selection of the needles on the basis of which some needles of the group of needles 25'-29' are moved to knit to pick up the yarn FV in the tuck-stitch position might be different; for example, it might be a 1X2 or 1X3 selection, i.e., one needle knitting for every three needles or every four needles, and the number of needles that form the portions of final knitting weave might be different from what has been described. In this case, during the forming of the second portion of final knitting weave z' the needles that have picked up the yarn FV to form the first portion of final knitting weave v' would be excluded from knitting and at least some of the needles excluded from knitting during the forming of the first portion of final knitting weave v' would be moved to knit.

Preferably, the method according to the invention is intended to be used on circular knitting machines; however, it can also be used on rectilinear machines.

In practice it has been found that the method according to the invention achieves fully the intended aim, since thanks to the forming of at least one portion of knitting weave performed by picking up the final portion of the yarn with some needles in the tuck-stitch position and by reversing the direction of motion of the needle holder after or before the execution of said portion of knitting weave, as described above, it eliminates or in any case reduces significantly the risk of producing eyes or holes at the knitting start or end points of a yarn.

In particular, at the beginning of the knitting of a new yarn, thanks to the fact that before beginning the actual knitting the new yarn forms at least one portion of knitting weave with some needles in the tuck-stitch position and the needle holder is actuated in the direction opposite to the direction of the beginning of the knitting of the first row of knitting to be formed with the new yarn, the first loop of knitting formed after the first needle that has picked up the new yarn is "tied off or "closed", avoiding the creation of a hole or eye and therefore achieving a result, in terms of knitting, that is qualitatively superior to what can be obtained with methods of the known type- Moreover, at the end of the knitting with one yarn, the execution of at least one portion of knitting weave performed by picking up the final portion of the yarn with some needles in the tuck-stitch position after reversing beforehand the direction of motion of the needle holder, in addition to achieving a result that is completely satisfactory from an aesthetic point of view, achieves high security against the risk of ladders.

The method thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the accompanying claims; all the details may furthermore be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to the requirements and the state of the art.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application no. MI2013A002129, from which this application claims priority, are incorporated herein by reference.

Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

1. A method for tying off at least one yarn at the beginning or at the end of its feed in the production of a weft knitted fabric with a knitting machine for knitting with alternating motion, which consists in:

- having a weft knitting machine with at least one feed or drop and with a needle holder that supports a plurality of needles that can be actuated to pick up the yarns delivered by said feed and to form the knitting; said needle holder being movable with respect to said feed along a trajectory and said feed being arranged in proximity to said trajectory; said needle holder being able to be actuated with respect to said feed along said trajectory with an alternating motion, i.e., along two mutually opposite directions of motion, respectively a forward motion and a return motion, in order to move the needles so that they face in succession said feed and form the knitting both in the forward motion and in the return motion of said needle holder with respect to said feed; the needles arranged in said needle holder being selectable and able to be actuated to form dropped stitches, tuck stitches or not to form a knitting at said feed;

characterized in that at the beginning or near the end of the feeding of at least one yarn (FN or FV) by said at least one feed some needles of a group of contiguous needles (24-29 or 25'-29') are actuated to pick up said at least one yarn (FN or FV) in a tuck stitch position and form at least one portion of initial knitting weave (v, z) or at least one portion of final knitting weave (ν', ζ') and the direction of motion of said needle holder is reversed after the forming of said at least one portion of initial knitting weave (v, z) or prior to the forming of said at least one portion of final knitting weave (ν', ζ') by said group of needles (24-29 or 25'-29').

2. The method according to claim 1 , characterized in that at the beginning or near the end of the feeding of said at least one yarn (FN or FV) by said at least one feed, at least part of the needles of said group of needles (24-29 or 25'-29') is actuated to pick up said at least one yarn (FN or FV) in the tuck stitch position and to form two portions of initial knitting weave (v, z) or two portions of final knitting weave (ν', ζ') in succession, respectively a first portion of initial knitting weave (v) or a first portion of final knitting weave (ν') and a second portion of initial knitting weave (z) or a second portion of final knitting weave (ζ'), by reversing the direction of motion of the needle holder after the provision of said first portion of initial knitting weave (v) or of said first portion of final knitting weave (ν') and by varying, in the provision of said second portion of initial knitting weave (z) or of said second portion of final knitting weave (z¹), at least part of the needles of said group of needles (24-29 or 25'-29') moved to knit with respect to the ones moved to knit in providing said first portion of initial knitting weave (v) or said first portion of final knitting weave (ν').

3. The method according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that for the provision of said first portion of initial knitting weave (v) or of said first portion of final knitting weave (ν') a first part (25, 27, 29 or 25', 27', 29') of said group of needles (24-29 or 25 '-29') is moved to knit whereas a second part (24, 26, 28 or 26', 28') of said group of needles (24-29 or 25'-29') is excluded from knitting and in that for the provision of said second portion of initial knitting weave (z) or of said second portion of final knitting weave (ζ') said second part (24, 26, 28 or 26', 28') of said group of needles (24-29 or 25'-29') is moved to knit whereas said first part (25, 27, 29 or 25', 27', 29') of the group of needles (24-29 or 25'-29') is excluded from knitting; in said needle holder, the needles of said first part (25, 27, 29 or 25', 27', 29') of the group of needles (24-29 or 25'-29') being alternated with the needles of said second part (24, 26, 28 or 26', 28') of the group of needles (24-29 or 25'-29').

4. The method according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that in said needle holder the needles of said first part (25, 27, 29 or 25', 27', 29') of the group of needles (24-29 or 25'-29') are alternated with the needles of said second part (24, 26, 28 or 26', 28') of the group of needles (24-29 or 25'-29') according to a 1X1 needle selection.

5. The method according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said group of needles (24-29 or 25'-29') is arranged in a sector of the needle holder in which the needles that are intended to knit said at least one yarn (FN) or that have knitted said at least one yarn (FV) are arranged.

6. The method according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that at the beginning of the feed of said at least one yarn (FN), the direction of motion of said needle holder is reversed both after the provision of said first portion of initial knitting weave (v) and after the provision of said second portion of initial knitting weave (z).

7. The method according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that near the end of the feeding of said at least one yarn (FV) the direction of motion of the needle holder is reversed both before and after the forming of the first portion of final knitting weave (ν').

8. The method according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said knitting machine is constituted by a circular knitting machine, said needle holder being constituted by the needle cylinder of said circular knitting machine.