needle hooks working on a front needle bed 28 and or of a rear needle bed 29 of a knitting machine the fields of action 18 19 of the nozzles are superposed over the field of action of the slide thread 3 so that they commence after the start 21 and terminate prior to the end 22 of the field of action 22 of the slide thread 3 the cumulative width of the fields of action is at least equal to the distance between the two needle beds 28 29 during the knitting on two needle beds 28 29 the knitwear 30 is held by the stitches 31 in the needle hook 33 and by the stitches 32 in the needle hook 34 the arrangement shown is the one we find just prior to the needles being moved by the locks of the knitting carriage the slide thread 3 presses on the knitwear 30 and the compressed air spouts 35 and 36 originating from the nozzles 14 and 15 respectively press the stitches 37 and 38 against the needle beds 29 and 28 respectively during the start of the upward movement of the needles the stitches 31 32 expand and the slide thread 3 along with the compressed air jets 35 36 press the knitwear 30 downward so as to make sure that the stitches 31 32 remain taut during the upward movement the compressed air spouts 35 36 aid the stitch 31 32 to slide along the needle body 33a 34a the combination of the two elements compressed air and slide thread make possible the judicious dimensioning of the slide thread to avoid excessive friction of the slide thread on the stitch which could cause irregular columns of stitches to appear on the knitwear that is columns which.