A jacquard mechanism mounted in a circular knitting machine for knitting a jacquard

fabric, including a fixed selector cam for guiding a knitting needle in a fixed track, a
needle selector controlled to raise the knitting needle into a tucking track for a jacquard
knitting operation, a movable selector cam moved in a sliding slot in the fixed selector
cam to open/close the tucking track, and a driving mechanism controlled to move the
movable selector cam in the sliding slot of the fixed selector cam.

The methods of knitting the pile jacquard fabric are carried out on a circular knitting
machine including needles and sinkers, and a plurality of adjacent yarn feeders. The
fabric includes successive courses of plain jersey stitch wales knit of a ground yarn with
each successive course also including a first pile loop yarn knit with the ground yarn in
selected groups of adjacent wales and forming an individual pile loop in each intervening
sinker wale, and a second pile loop yarn knit with the ground yarn in other groups of
adjacent needle wales and forming an individual pile loop in each intervening sinker
wale. Both the individual pile loops of the first and second pile loop yarns are positioned
in side-by-side relationship in adjacent groups in each successive continuous ground yarn
course so that the density of the pile loops corresponds with the density of the ground
yarn stitch loops. The upstanding individual pile loops are adapted to be cut in a shearing
operation to form a patterned velour jacquard fabric

An athletic band structure having a knitted-in distinct design and a method of

manufacturing such a band are described. The athletic bands are knit using a jacquard
patterning mechanism to form a patterned tubular structure having one or more individual
courses, each of which have adjacent wales knit from visually distinct yarns. The tubular
structure is formed into a finished band in one of several ways. In one method of the
invention, the patterned tubular structure is folded axially and seamed to form a double
layer structure. The seam can then be repositioned to a central portion of the athletic band
where it is not visible when the band is worn. In the production of a high performance
embodiment of the invention, upper and lower sections of the patterned tubular structure
are knit from a specialty yarn such as a wicking or insulating yarn, which results in the
completed athletic band having superior moisture absorption capabilities as well as an
integrally formed design. In another method of the invention particularly useful in the
production of headbands, a small diameter tubular structure is knit using a jacquard
patterning mechanism to integrally form a defined design by causing one or more
individual courses to have adjacent wales knit from visually distinct yarns. Opposite ends
of the tubular structure are then secured together, to form a finished dual layer headband.
In this form of the invention, a plurality of adjacent wales can be knit from a specialty
performance yarn along one side of the tubular structure, to thereby form a headband
which has superior performance capabilities as well as a defined integral design