1. A continuous method of forming a series of variegating projections on a length of cloth comprising the steps of, during each forming cycle, moving a thread loop retaining member, having forwardly and rearwardly facing thread retaining formations, forwardly along a guiding path; guiding a binding thread across the guiding path in advance of the thread loop retaining member for engaging the thread therewith to guide the thread into the rearwardly facing retaining formations; guiding the thread into the forwardly facing retaining formations to form a thread loop held in the retaining formations; hooking the rear end of the loop on a cloth catching member to disengage the loop from the rearwardly facing retaining formations as the retaining member continues to move forwardly; feeding a portion of the cloth to the catching member for catching and retaining of a caught cloth projection by the catching member; hooking a front end of the loop on a rotatable body and rotating the body to draw the loop from the forwardly facing retaining formations; releasing the loop from the rotatable body and passing the loop over the caught cloth projection; tensioning the thread to bind the caught cloth projection while retracting the loop retaining member along its guiding path; and repeating the forming cycle.

4. Apparatus for continuously forming a series of variegating projections on a length of cloth comprising, in combination, a thread loop retaining member mounted for cyclical reciprocation longitudinally of a guiding path, said member having longitudinally spaced forwardly and rearwardly facing thread retaining formations thereon; loop forming means movable transversely of an intermediate portion of said guiding path to form a binding thread loop, retained in said retaining formations, as said member is advanced from the rear end of said guiding paTh toward the forward end of said guiding path; a loop tensioning member mounted adjacent the rear end of said path and having an aperture through which the binding thread passes in advance of engagement with said loop forming means, said tensioning member being movable between a forward thread guiding position and a rearward thread tensioning position; means operable, during movement of said loop retaining member forwardly along its guiding path, to move said loop tensioning member from its rearward thread tensioning position toward its forward thread guiding position; an oscillatable loop guiding body adjacent the forward end of said path; a cloth catching needle mounted on said oscillatable body for movement between an open cloth receiving position and a closed cloth retaining position; a cloth feeding needle mounted for reciprocation and oscillation in a substantially vertical plane intersecting said path and operable to catch a cloth and feed a caught cloth portion to said catching needle to the open position of the latter; means then operable to move said catching needle through its cloth retaining position to retain the caught cloth portion; and means, including said oscillatable body, operable to engage the loop on said thread retaining formations, to draw the loop from said thread retaining formations and to guide the loop over said caught cloth portion; and means operable, after said loop has been guided over said caught cloth portion, to simultaneously retract said loop retaining member toward the rear end of its guiding path and to move said tensioning member rapidly toward its rearward thread tensioning position to bind the loop around the caught cloth portion.