Abstract: An improvement for knitting pattern areas with hosiery knitting machines having a rotatable cylinder carrying latch needles therein, a knitting station at which a plurality of yarn feed fingers are independently movable into and out of yarn feeding positions for feeding background yarn at a basic level and pattern yarn at a higher level above the cylinder, and means for selectively positioning the needles at either a basic position for receiving only background yarn or an extended position for receiving both background and pattern yarn, the improvement being an auxiliary feed finger for feeding background yarn at a level more closely spaced from the cylinder than the basic level to needles at the basic position and below the latches of needles at the extended position for floating of the background yarn in knitted pattern areas behind loops of pattern yarn formed by extended position neeldes.

Abstract: For advancing the main drum in a circular knitting machine there is provided a device comprising a ratchet wheel rigid with the drum and having five rows of teeth axially spaced thereon. Five pawls are movable back and forth for engagement with the teeth of a respective row. A primary pawl can be disengaged from the ratchet wheel under control of the main chain, and four secondary pawls reciprocate in regular succession so as to perform two back and forth movements in the span of two revolutions of the needle cylinder(s). The secondary pawls have a front end wider than the axial width of the teeth. Between the rows of teeth there are arcuate members having a circumferential length depending on the knitting program and a height such as to disengage the pawls from the respective teeth. The arcuate members may be easily replaced to provide further advancing sequences for the main drum.