flat, even-selvedged nature, so that garments had to be cut to
shape from the fabric. He soon learned to fashion or shape the
garment at will, during the process of making, by transferring loops
at the edges, inwards to narrow, or outwards to widen. This process
at the present day is known as fashioning, and all garments of the
best make are shaped or fashioned in this manner. After Lee had
practised his new art for a few years at Calverton he removed to
London, but on his receiving no help or encouragement from Queen
Elizabeth or her successor, King James, he was induced to cross over
to France with his frames. There he built up a flourishing industry
at Rouen, under the patronage of the French king, Henry IV.
Through the murder of this monarch he lost his patronage and died
of want about the year 1610. He was buried in an unknown grave
in Paris.
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| Fig. 5.—Formation of a Loop on a Hand Frame. |
| 1, Bearded needle cast in the lead. A, Lead; B, Shank; C, Eye; D, Beard. 2, The thread is laid over the needles and formed into loops between the needles by means of the sinkers, those new-formed loops being brought under the needle beards (as at 3). 4, The beards pressed or closed to allow the old loops to be passed on to the top. 5, The old loops knocked off the needles and left hanging round the newly formed loops. |
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| Fig. 7.—Eight at once, 130 gauge, full-fashioned, seamless bosom, sloped shoulder underwear frame, Cotton’s patents. (William Cotton, Ltd., Loughborough.) |
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| Fig. 6.—A 1/1 Rib Stitch. |
A number of improvements had been made on Lee’s frame during the 18th century. The one of greatest importance was the rib machine invented by Jedediah Strutt of Belper in 1758. It was not what could be actually termed an improvement on Lee’s frame, but an addition to it. Lee’s frame was not altered in any way, Strutt’s machine being added to it, and the two being worked in conjunction produced a fabric of a more elastic nature and alike on both sides (fig. 6). Strutt’s machine consisted of a set of needles placed at right angles to and between Lee’s plain needles, with the result that, when knitting, the frame needles drew their loops to one side and the machine needles their loops to the opposite side of the fabric. The first offshoot from frame-work knitting was the invention of the hand warp loom in 1775. It was improved by the addition of the Dawson wheel by William Dawson in 1791. This machine is the origin of the various complex machines now working on this principle. Some of these have Jacquard mechanism attached, and nearly all of them are driven by motive power. About the middle of the 19th century close on 50,000 of Lee’s hand frames were in use, finding employment for nearly 100,000 persons. Many attempts had been made previously to transform Lee’s frame into a power or rotary frame. One of the first and most successful was that invented by Luke Barton in 1857. This frame was fitted with self-acting mechanism for fashioning, and was practically Lee’s frame having rotary shafts with cams added to give the various movements, this type of frame being known as straight bar rotary frames. In 1864 William Cotton of Loughborough altered this frame by reversing the positions of the needles and sinkers. Although made by various builders it is still known as the “Cotton Patent Rotary Frame” (fig. 7). Since 1864 a great number of important improvements and additions have been made to this frame. Single frames are built which will turn off one dozen pairs of hose at once, with the attention of one person. One of the most important inventions in connexion with the hosiery trade was the latch, tumbler, or self-acting needle invented by Matthew Townsend and David Moulding of Leicester in 1858. Previous to this Lee’s type of needle was the only one in use. This latch-needle (fig. 8) consists of a stem having a butt at lower end by which it receives its knitting action from cams,
