, 1890-04-10
BRAINS IN MACHINES.
INVENTIONS THAT SHOW AMAZING
RESULTS OF GENIUS.


A Visit to a Chicago Fsotory-Ths Most In
trieate and Delicate Bits of Embroidery,
Made n Few Years Ago Only by Hand,
Turned tt Work of a ChieaEoan.
up to 1885 all embroidered and braid
ed garments, the cloaks and reception
gowns. capes, etc, had to be imported
from Paris and Berlin" said Mr.. Alex
ander, of the Chicago Braiding company,
''but they are now all made right here.
To show you the difference between then
and now it is only necessary 10 say that
the silk embroidery on n lady's jacket
alone used to cost about SIS to S2j. now
1t is made for 50. a fine embroidered silk
robe, such as now can be turned out here
for $40 or $50, used to require an outlay
Of $50 to 5000. With that it had to be
imported. 1t could not be made here.
Take another line of goods, such as en-
btoidered table covers, ~scarfs. Tides, pill
low shams, etc. They're all done by ma
chinery now. Allthose delicately twisted
flowers, those roses and vines and clusters
of grapes and pearl blossoms and sun
flowers and pansies-they're all wrought
into the cloth by machinery.
A DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK.
at is very curious to watch the ma
Subsequently, endowed with more
thar ordinary human intelligence-at
work. There are some ten different
kinds of machines kept in operation in
the establishment. The most curious of
all is a machine whose special domain is
the so called applique work 1t per
forms three tasks at one and the same
time. When properly adjusted a tiny
knife cuts out, according to the pretty
design intended, the figures from the
upper layer of cloth, while simultane-
ously the machine sews these figures on
to the layer OF cloth undcrneath-the
upper layer being generally Of medium
thickness, while the lower one is cloth of
the thickest, warmest and most expen-
sive kind. such as is suitable for a lady's
winter cloak. The stitch is pretty and
artistic. and the thread runs through the
double thickness of cloth, making the
work as durable as it is possible to have it.
THE effect thus obtained-artistic ara
besques, beautifully curving lines, form
ing an intricate yet pleasing pattern,
lying ON the cloth underneath, is very
pretty indeed. Generally two cloths OF
shades differing so much as to form a
fine contrast are chosen. The delicate
mechanism OF this machine is especially
noticeable in the cutting out of the upper
ayer Of cloth. For while the whole pro-
cess of cutting it and sewing it ON tight
at the same time is done so quickly under
the hands OF n skillful operator that a
yard of tthis applique work is made
within about five minutes, the knife
must be so nicely adjusted that it will
cut exactly through the thickness OF the
upper cloth and not the hundrcdth part
OF an inch deeper, or the whole material
and the whole work would become n
lead loss"
MANY WONDERFUL MECHASIsMs.
"wonderfulI' said the reporter.
YES" remarked Mr.. Alexander, while
a gratiied smile spread over his face,
'this is the only machine of its kind in
the world. I've had it patented, and
those In my establishment are the only
ones made so far. They don't even have
one in Paris"
Another machine, which is likewise
the product of a very ingenious brain, is
the so called three spool machine.
Two threads OF worsted and one thread
of silk cording are manipulated by this
machine in such a manner as TO lay down
the worsted on the cloth and TO spin the
silk right over and all around il. The
effect thus produced is that of very
thick silk braid. the whole being more
durable than silk throughout, yet much
less expensive.
The beading machine, by means of
which those most elegant ornaments on
u woman's dress, those glistening nra-
besques of beading, are put on, is another
triumph of mechanical genius. The
same may be said of the feather edge
machine, which does the so called "suu-
beam and rainbow" work, ~embroidcr-
ing the shades, which are gradually
toned down; of the c~ornelly machine,
which does the cording. and still more
so Of the soutache machine, which does
the simplest aud yet one of the most eff
fective styles of embroidery.
1t is the latter sort OF work, what Ia
dies call soutnche, of which State street
is full on any crowded afternoon. Nearly
every woman wears it on some piece of
garment, on a cape, n cloak, on her
dresses and ever on her underwear. And
it is Of exactly the kind which, but n
couple of years back, was very eNpcns-
i've, but which now, thanks to this won
derful piece of mechanism, has come
within the reach of all. And as there is
a great variety in the style of work lone
by these different machines, SO there is
in the material with which they work.
There is silk braid OF every imaginable
hue and thickness; there is colored spool
silk of a hundred shades; there is gold
thread and silver thread and bronze
thread, of which u great deal is especially
,,aaI Tor .-hat - LnA1rn M ssarraapnaW
work, /. e., embroidered flowers, leaves,
vines and fruits on tables and other GOV
ers.-Chicago Herald.
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