In recent years the knitting industry has expanded considerably due to the increased demand for knitted fabrics. Not only does the weft knitting industry produce more of the fabrics which are exclusive, to the kntting trade but it has also branched out into fields which were previously only open to the weaving trade. This increasing demand is partly due to the development of new fibres,but mainly to the technological improvements of the knitting machines,which now provide many new structures and more scope for patterned-fabrics. Another improvement in weft knitting machinery has been an increased rate of fabric production, but in this field the limitations of the machines have now almost been reached. The work discussed in the following chapters is primarily concerned with an investigation into the fundamentals of the weft knitting machine to see if substantial increases in rates of fabric production can be achieved.