Abstract:
A textile made according to this invention includes two thread systems, such as a weft and a warp system, one of the threads systems including a yarn made of a leather filament. The textile can be woven using a plain or complex pattern and its yarns can have different colors to achieve an esthetically pleasing look.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to provisional application Ser. No. 61/371,793 filed on Aug. 9, 2010, and incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    A. Field of Invention 
         [0003]    This application pertains to textile fabric made of yarns systems, at least one of the yarn systems including a thin leather thread. The application further pertains to a method of making the textile. 
         [0004]    B. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0005]    Textiles have been known throughout history and used for many purposes from clothing and clothing accessories to upholstery, wall coverings, etc. However, most textiles are made from either monofilament threads or multi-filament twisted threads, wherein the threads are made of natural or artificial fibers. 
         [0006]    Leather, made by the treatment of animal skin, has also been known throughout history and used for many purposes as well, including outerwear, shoes, decorations, accessories, etc. However because a leather is made of one or more layers of relatively thick skin, it is not as supple as a textile. Moreover, textiles can be made with virtually any pattern and color design using different colored thread and/or dying the fabric after it is made from the threads. However, it is more difficult to apply patterns and multicolored designs to leather. Typical techniques may include dying, stamping, stenciling, branding whole leather sheets. Alternatively, several multicolored pieces of leather can be sewn together, or cut into strips and braided. Thus, while articles and garments made of leather may last longer, they are stiffer and more difficult to decorate then textiles. 
         [0007]    Some efforts have made of making composite materials that include both textile an leather however these materials are assembled either by sewing pieces of textiles or leather together, or attaching pieces of leather to a textile material by sewing, gluing or other similar process. 
         [0008]    Thus, there is a need for a composite textile that incorporates both conventional textile threads and a leather component. the composite textile could be used advantageously for many purposes. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    A textile is woven or otherwise produced from a system of warp and a set of weft threads. At least one of the systems includes leather yarns formed from a monofilament of leather formed by cutting the monofilament from a piece of tanned leather made from an animal skin. The system with the leather yarn can include conventional yarns as well, such as silk. The other system are made from conventional yarns, including silk. The various yarns are dyed to various colors and the systems can be interwoven in various patterns. A third yarn system can be used on the back side. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  shows a photograph of the front side of a textile constructed in accordance with this invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  shows a photograph of the backside of the textile of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  shows a first enlarged section of the backside; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  shows a second enlarged section of the backside; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  shows an enlarged section of the front side. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    The present inventor has discovered that a leather can be made by cutting the skin of an animal into a long, very narrow strip, More specifically, the inventor has found that a leather thread can be made from an animal skin that is narrow enough so that it can be used to replace a conventional thread in a textile. In a preferred embodiment, a textile is constructed by weaving together a warp system of leather threads alone or a combination of leather and conventional threads with a weft system of conventional threads. Alternatively the leather threads are included in the weft system. While leather threads could be used in both the weft and warp system, the applicant believes that it is more practical to have leather threads incorporated only in one of the systems to insure that the resulting fabric is strong and supple with a good hand but it is not too thick and heavy. 
         [0016]    A typical method used to make such as a composite textile using the following process. 
         [0017]    1. Several animal skins (preferably goat skins) are prepared and dyed to any desirable colors using standard tanning techniques. 
         [0018]    2. The skins are cut into a long thin leather monofilament forming leather threads having a nominal dimension of 1.55×0.5 mm. The width of the thread can range from 0.75 to 2.0 mm. The thickness is determined by the thickness of the skin which can range from 0.5 to 0.8 mm and may have some variation. Preferably the thread is cut using an automated laser cutter, such as Precision Trimming and Kadic Machines. The resulting leather thread is generally rectangular in cross section having a width that is about 1.0-2.0 times its thickness. 
         [0019]    3. The leather threads are wound on bobbins. Each bobbin held about 500-1000 ft of leather thread. 
         [0020]    4. A hand loom is used to weave the systems. The size of the loom depends on the size of the composite textile panel that is desired. The Inventor has used a hand loom constructed and arranged to make a panel 15 m long and 35-40 cm wide. The heddle or comb of the loom and the frame cooperate to maintain the warp threads 2 mm apart. 
         [0021]    5. Conventional yarns are provided as the weft and warp threads. Preferably, these yarns are commercial silk yarns. However, yarns may be provided made of conventional natural or artificial fibers including cotton, wool, linen, nylon, polyester, etc. The threads are arranged so that in one embodiment the weft threads are made of a conventional yarn and the warp threads are leather yarns interspaced with conventional yarns. Depending on the look and thickness desired, several conventional courses of conventional threads (that are normally much thinner than the leather threads) are provided between each course from the leather threads. 
         [0022]    6. The loom is used to weave the two thread systems (e.g., weft thread system made of conventional yarns and the warp thread system including leather and conventional manner) in a conventional manner to obtain a composite textile panel. 7. The ends of the panel are finished using conventional techniques. 
         [0023]    8. The textile panel is then cut to size and used for various purposes, including upholstery, leather bags, shoes, etc. 
         [0024]    The composite textile panel has several desirable characteristics that are superior to a standard textile or leather. It is supple as a textile so that it can be folded easily. It is stronger then a textile because of the leather threads. It can be woven using almost any pattern to generate panels having any esthetic designs, including modern, traditional, historic etc. 
         [0025]    In one embodiment of the invention, the textile is woven using a straightforward weaving technique with no complicated patterns. A typical textile of this type may have 40-60 warp threads/in and 10-30 weft threads/in. 
         [0026]    Alternatively, more complicated patterns are used to weave a fabric and/or other techniques are used to interconnect the two thread systems, such as knitting.  FIGS. 1 and 2  show the front and back sides respectively of a textile  10  include a system of weft yarns  12  made of conventional yarns, and a system of warp yarns  14  including conventional yarns  16  and leather yarns  18 . The various yarns can have the same or different colors. As can be seen from these Figures, an interesting pattern is generated by having the leather yarn float over 3-10 weft yarns, as best seen in  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  5 . Moreover, to insure that the textile is not distorted after weaving, a third thread system, seen in  FIG. 4  of threads  20  are provided on the backside that are preferably interlocking with several warp and weft threads in a serpentine or S-shaped path. The third thread system preferably includes leather yarns as well. 
         [0027]    Numerous modifications may be made to this invention without departing from its scope as defined in the appended claims.