Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-09-15
Kid Gloves and Their Production.

Very few persons who are daily wearing
Kid gloves ever stop to think how many
hands are required before a glove can be
put on the counter, ready for the Gus.
toner.
The materials used in making kid
glove are either the skins of kids from
six weeks to three months old-and these
furnish the best article or the skins of
lambs of about the same age; there are
also the skins of sheep, but these make
but poor and inferior article. The first
process of making a glove is the tawing
To facilitate the removal Of the hair or
wool, the skins are placed in solution of
lime, after which thay are placed in run
ming water to remove the lime, and after
being taken out of this the hair easily
comes out with the aid of blunt scraper.
This process is repeated two or three
times, until every hair and small particle
of flesh adhering to the skin are entirely
removed, and the skins then are ready
for the tawing operation.
For this porpose they apply, an ingre-
dient of the yolks of eggs, alum, salt, etc,
polluted preparation, in which solution
the skins remain for several weeks, so
that they may become thoroughly satur-
ated, which gives them the necessary
wilderness, after which they undergo the
various coloring processes. The dying
requires considerable skill and fine eve
for the composition of the various shades.
The color is applied to each skin separ-
ately with a brush, each requiring from
one to four applications of the color ac-
cording to the shade desired. The only
exceptions tothis are the very light shades,
the so-called evening colors, which are
produced by immersing 900 or 800 skins
at one time in vat containing the color
ing matter, which will soak through
every particle of the skin. After being
thoroughly dried in a room heated up to
1870 deg. Fair, the skins reach the cutter
to be cut in square pieces; this is most
delicate operation, and not only requires
skill, but good judgment. The gloves
have to be cut with the grain of the SKIN,
running from the head down, and great
waste of material would result from the
employment Of any but the most skillful
hands. One skin will cut on an average
from three to four gloves, according to
sizes required; though when large sheep
skins are used, one skin will give from
nine to ten inferior gloves. The squares
thus cut are put up in packages of from
six to twelve pairs Of gloves, and by
means of a punch and powerful press,
are cut out IN pieces ready to be sewed.
The sewing on the gloves is all done
by hand, and requires the best seam
stresses. Over 5000 stitches are required
to sew pair of ladies' gloves, and the
best hands cannot finish more than four
pair in day of twelve hours. For the
sewing of lower grades of gloves there is
now machine in use, but. even with this
help, the best hands cannot sew more
than twelve to fourteen pairs per day.
The making Of button holes, putting on
buttons, packing, ETC., all require extra
hands, each trained in their special voca-
ton, and thus glove, before being ready
for sale, passes through no less than 900
different hands.
The largest glove producing countries
are France, Germany, Belgium, Austria
and Italy. England also makes some
few gloves, but mostly heavier goods,
such as driving gloves: etc. France and
Belgium make the fnes1 goods, using
only kids skins, while Germany makes ali
kinds of lamb and sheep skin gloves, and
Italy produces nothing but a very low
priced article. The consumption of
gloves in this country, in proportion of
Its population, is still very small. Last
year there was a total Importation of
100000 dozen only, while France alone
manufactured 100000 dozen, of which
one-half were exported. The produc-
ton of Germany and Austria can be safe
ly calculated at 100000 dozen per an
mum.
The production of gloves in this coun-
try IL still in Its infancy, and limited to
heavy goods, such as driving and lined
gloves for winter wear; but the time is
not far distant, when we will be able tc
produce the greater part of the gloves
needed Cor our home consumption.
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