Knitted fabric with different pile lengths, knit product and socks using the same

Abstract

A knitted fabric that has a three-dimensional appearance includes a plurality of knitting structures of different pile lengths. The knitting structures include a plain stitch of ground yarn and pile yarn, a low-pile stitch in which a sinker-loop length of the pile yarn is longer than that of ground yarn, and a high-pile stitch in which the sinker-loop length of the pile yarn is longer than that in the low-pile stitch. A pile motif is formed by selectively arranging, in the same course, the low-pile stitch and the high-pile stitch in a region of the plain stitches on a stitch-by-stitch basis or by selectively arranging, in the same course, the high-pile stitch in a region of the low-pile stitches on a stitch-by-stitch basis.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A knitted fabric including different pile lengths in which a pile motif is formed by a knitting machine capable of forming a plurality of knitting structures of ground yarn and pile yarn in a same course by selectively moving sinkers in and out of between reciprocating knitting needles; wherein
 the plurality of knitting structures include:
 a first knitting structure defining one of a basic knitting structure and a varied knitting structure; 
 a second knitting structure in which a sinker-loop length of the pile yarn is longer than a sinker-loop length of the ground yarn; and 
 a third knitting structure in which the sinker-loop length of the pile yarn is longer than in the second knitting structure; and 
   the pile motif is formed by selectively arranging the second knitting structure and the third knitting structure on a stitch-by-stitch basis in a region of the first knitting structure in a same course, or by selectively arranging the third knitting structure on a stitch-by-stitch basis in a region of the second knitting structure in the same course.   
     
     
         2 . A knitted fabric according to  claim 1 , wherein a forward-rotation region formed by forward rotation of a cylinder of the knitting machine and a reciprocating rotation region formed by reciprocating rotation of the cylinder are provided, and the pile motif is arranged in the reciprocating rotation region. 
     
     
         3 . A knitted fabric according to  claim 1 , wherein a forward-rotation region formed by forward rotation of a cylinder of the knitting machine and a reciprocating rotation region formed by reciprocating rotation of the cylinder are provided, and the pile motif is arranged to extend across the forward-rotation region and the reciprocating rotation region. 
     
     
         4 . A knit product including the knitted fabric according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         5 . A knit product according to  claim 4 , wherein at least one of the first knitting structure, the second knitting structure, and the third knitting structure is selectively arranged in accordance with a distance between the selected knitting structure and skin when the knit product is worn. 
     
     
         6 . A knit product according to  claim 4 , wherein at least one of the first knitting structure, the second knitting structure, and the third knitting structure is selectively arranged in accordance with a magnitude of a load applied thereto when the knit product is worn. 
     
     
         7 . A knit product according to  claim 4 , wherein a gore line is defined by at least one of the second knitting structure and the third knitting structure. 
     
     
         8 . A sock including the knitted fabric according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         9 . A sock according to  claim 8 , wherein at least one of the first knitting structure, the second knitting structure, and the third knitting structure is selectively arranged in accordance with a distance between the selected knitting structure and skin when the sock is worn. 
     
     
         10 . A sock according to  claim 8 , wherein at least one of the first knitting structure, the second knitting structure, and the third knitting structure is selectively arranged in accordance with a magnitude of a load applied thereto when the sock is worn. 
     
     
         11 . A sock according to  claim 8 , wherein a gore line is defined by at least one of the second knitting structure and the third knitting structure.