It is done on the two horizontal needle beds with two hooked latch needles, called purl needles with hooks, on both ends to alternately draw loops. There will be two needle beds in purl machines which are exactly opposite to each other and in the same plane, with one single set of purl needles. The needles move from back bed to the front and vice versa in the knitting action. The loops are drawn to the front of the fabric in one course and to the back in the next course. This is also called as ‘links-and-links’ stitch.
Stitch formation
As shown in the figure, the first position indicates the needle knitting in the front bed under the control of slider in that bed.
Next, the needle moves to the centre, with both sliders engaging the needle hook and form loop at the center of the needle.
When the sliders try to move back, the slider from back bed is pressed down by a cam and this holds the needle hook on that side.
At the same time the front bed slider gets freed from the hook of the needle, moves back and so the needle gets transferred to the back bed.
Yarn is fed to the side of the needle hook which is freed from the bed, ie from the front bed side. The needle moves towards the front bed, knocking the formed loop to the center of it. At the same time the back bed releases the hook and the front slider moves in to hold it.
Again the yarn is fed but from the opposite side to the first and thus the cycle begins.
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