Abstract: The invention concerns a needle bar draw frame or gill box with a needle field or gilling area of needle bars carried by chains. With the aim of attaining the usual performances in respect of speed and drawing ratio at the same quality also in the case of voluminous short-staple slivers with draw frames operating with an upper and a lower needle field, control means engaging from above into the needle field are used in a draw frame provided merely with a lower needle field. These control means are constructed as bristle-like holding down devices which are arranged particularly immediately upstream of a pair of drawing rollers and possibly shortly downstream of a pair of entry rollers, while the central region is controlled in the usual manner by a bar roller or bar chain.