IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SEWING, WHIPPING, EMBROIDERING, AND FRINGING
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Leonard Lindley and Frederick Taylor, of Melbourne
Street, Mansfield Road, and Comyn Street, Nottingham, Sewing Machine
Manufacturers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
SEWING, WHIPPING, EMBROIDERING, AND FRINGING."
Sealed the 12th July 1864, and dated the 25th January 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Leonard Lindley and
Frederick Taylor at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 25th January 1864.
We, LEONARD LINDLEY and FREDERICK TAYLOR, of Melbourne Street,
Mansfield Road, and Comyn Street, Nottingham, Sewing Machine Manu-
facturers, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR SEWING, WHIPPING, EMBROIDERING, AND FRINGING." to be as
follows:-
The improvements apply to machines using one or more threads for sewing
or ornamenting fabrics.
The improvements consist in combining with the ordinary "lock-stitch
sewing machine" (whether for making one or more rows of sewing) a hori-
zontal needle carrying a separate thread, which needle is made to pass through
[Price 8d.]

page_text: the loop or loops of the upper needles. The thread from the horizontal needle
is secured by a shuttle thread or by a bobbin and hook similar to that used in
the machines known as Wheeler and Wilson's sewing machines; also (in
constructing machines more especially suitable for sewing over or whipping
the edges of fabrics) we combine with the perpendicular needle of a sewing
machine, which we will here call (No. 1), a needle (No. 2) to pass through
loop of needle (No. 1), and a needle (No. 3) working over the upper surface of
the fabric to pass through the loop of needle (No. 2). To the needle (No. 2)
a curvilinear motion is given, by which, after its point has passed through the
loop of needle (No. 1), it is made to ascend to the upper surface of the fabric
at a short distance from and by the side of needle (No. 1). The needle
(No. 3) carrying a separate thread is made to pass through the loop of needle
(No. 2), and to remain forward until the needle (No. 1), in descending, passes
through its loop. A greater or less number of needles may be used to form
a stitch, the first loop being taken from (or given by) the needle (No. 1), and
the last loop secured by it at the succeeding operation.
Figure 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed represents a side view, and
Figure 2 an end view, of a machine working with three needles, each having a
separate thread, as above described. The needle A has a vertical motion given
to it in the ordinary manner; the needle B has a curvilinear motion given to
it, so as to cause its point to pass through the loop of needle A that is formed
on the under side of the fabric, and then to rise up to the upper side of the
fabric, either through the fabric or by its edge; the horizontal needle then
passes through the loop of the needle B, and the needle C remains forward until
the needle A, in again descending in order to again pass through the fabric,
has passed through its loop. Figure 3 shews the positions of the needles
A, B, and C, when needle B, is about to enter the loop of the needle A.
In this Figure the line D represents the fabric the edge of which is being
sewn over or whipped; thread hooks having similar motions to the needles
B and C may be substituted for these needles, the loop of thread from the
needle A will then be conducted by the hooks from the under side of the
fabric around its edge and then over its upper side, so that the needle A,
when it again descends, will pass down through it. In the arrangement of
apparatus shewn in the Drawings the needles B and C have motion imparted
to them from cams on the shaft E, which shaft also imparts motion to the
slide that carries the vertical needle A. The cams give motion by the levers
F and F to the slides that carry the needles B and C; the slide that carries
the needle C has only a horizontal motion imparted to it by the lever F; the

page_text: needle B is carried by one end of a lever G that turns on a pin carried by the
slide H; this slide has a horizontal to-and-fro motion imparted to it by the
lever F, and the opposite end of the lever G to that which carries the needle
has a pin upon it which works in the irregular slot K; by this means the
requisite motions are given to the needle as the slide H is moved to and fro.
The line D, Figures 1 and 2, represents the surface on which the fabric is
sapported. In Figure 1 the lower end of the feeder that moves forward the
fabric at the requisite time is removed so as to shew the needles more clearly.
Figure 2 shews the feeder. We would remark that other arrangements of
apparatus to that shewn in the Drawing may be employed for giving motion
to the needles or hooks. When arranging the machine for forming a fringe
to the edge of a fabric one or more of the threads of the needles may be
lengthened out, as, for instance, the thread from needle C, or a thread hook,
may be substituted for needle C, and caused to pull thread from needle B and
out to the length required for the fringe. Another arrangement of machine
suitable for sewing over or whipping the edges of fabrics, and also suitable for
embroidering fabrics, is shewn at Figure 4. In this arrangement a curved
needle a is employed, which, when used for embroidering, is made to penetrate
and pass through the fabric in such a manner that the point will appear and
the loop be formed on the same side of the fabric as that on which it entered;
the loop thus formed is then conducted by a hook or guide so that the needle
at its next operation will pass through it before entering the fabric. The
Invention also consists in combining with the previously described curved
needle one or more needles (similar to previously described horizontal needle)
working over the upper side of the fabric to connect the loop with the back
stitch; also in combining with the foregoing one or more hooks for lengthening
one or more of the threads for the purpose of fringing. Figure 4 represents
a curved needle a and hook or looper b being used for sewing over or whip-
ping the edges of two fabrics placed edge to edge. The needle a is carried
by a lever c that turns on a pin d, and the looper b turns on a pin at e. The
pins d and e are carried by the framing of the machine. The thread loop
from the needle a is received by the looper b, and carried from the point m
to the pivot n, when it is entered and secured by the needle a at the next
operation; or in lieu of the looper b, a needle similar to needle C (Figure 1)
may interlace a separate thread.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Leonard Lindley and Frederick Taylor in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 25th July 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, LEONARD
LINDLEY and FREDERICK TAYLOR, of Melbourne Street, Mansfield Road, and
Comyn Street, Nottingham, Sewing Machine Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto us, the said Leonard Lindley and Frederick Taylor, Her special licence
that we, the said Leonard Lindley and Frederick Taylor, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Leonard Lindley
and Frederick Taylor, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "Ix-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SEWING, WHIPPING, EMBROIDERING, AND FRINGING,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Leonard Lindley and
Frederick Taylor, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one
or us or them, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Leonard Lindley and Frederick
Taylor, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:
In constructing machines more especially suitable for sewing over or
whipping the edges of fabrics we combine with the perpendicular needle of a
sewing machine, which we will here call (No. 1), a needle (No. 2) to pass
through loop of needle (No. 1), and a needle (No. 3) working over the upper
surface of the fabric to pass through the loop of needle (No. 2). To the
needle (No. 2) a curvilinear motion is given, by which, after its point has

page_text: passed through the loop of needle (No. 1), it is made to ascend to the upper
surface of the fabric at a short distance from and by the side of needle (No. 1).
The needle (No. 3) carrying a separate thread is made to pass through the
loop of needle (No. 2), and to remain forward until the needle (No. 1), in
descending, passes through its loop.
And in order that our said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect, we will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side view, Figure 2 an under side view, and Figure 3 a
portion of a front view, of a sewing, whipping, or embroidering machine thus
arranged.
a, a, is the frame of the machine, and b is the axis of the machine, which is
driven by a band passing around the wheel or pulley b keyed upon it; c is the
slide of the vertical or number one needle which is an ordinary sewing machine
needle; the slide c is worked up and down by a crank or excentric pin on the
end of the axis b entering a slotted course on the slide; d is a presser with a
shoe at its lower end resting on the fabric and feeding it forward as the work
progresses. The presser is fitted into a groove at the side of the frame and is
slotted at its upper end, a pin a' passes through this slot, and thus at its upper
end the presser is retained from lateral movement, but its lower end can pivot
about this pin. The presser is drawn downwards to press the shoe on to the
fabric by the spiral spring e, and the forward motion to feed on the work is
given to it by the cam on the axis b, and at the end of the forward motion it
is lifted to raise the shoe off the fabric by a pin g, fixed in the back of the cam,
rising up under the projection d' on the presser. As the presser is rising the
cam allows the spring e to cause it to return from its forward motion, so that
when it again descends it is in a position to make another forward step.
A screw on the presser regulates the length of the stitch, its inner end bearing
on the frame and preventing the return of the presser beyond the regulated
distance; h is a catch for raising the presser and holding it out of action when
required in adjusting the work. The thread to supply the vertical needle is
led from a bobbin placed on the pin i through an eye to the friction clip and
the eye, thence it passes through the loops or eyes and 5 fixed on the
lever k, which is centered at k¹, and is moved up and down in each motion of the
machine by projections k, kx, on the needle slide c, thus the taking up the
slack of the needle thread is provided for. From the eye the thread descends

page_text: through the small hole c¹ bored in the needle slide and so to the eye of the
needle, beyond which it becomes attached to the work; thus it will be seen that
the needle No. 1 carries down loops of its thread through the fabric, which is
moved onward a step after each action of the needle. Up to this point there is
no important novelty in the arrangement of the machine. Each time the
needle No. 1 descends the needle No. 2 passes through its loop; this needle
(which is shewn separately at Figure 4) is fixed on a lever centred at l¹ to the
slide m, which is able to traverse in guides on the frame beneath the table; is
a stud at the lower end of the lever 1, it is retained in the guide slot n, and has
jointed to it the connecting rod o, this at its further end is jointed to the
lever p, having a fixed centre on the frame at p¹ and a stud or friction pulley at
its further end på, this stud or pulley enters the cam chase q, and in this
manner the required motion is given to the needle No. 2. Thread is led to
this needle from a bobbin placed on the stud r, from whence it passes to the
friction clip s, through an eye in the levert to the eye of the needle, beyond
which it is fixed in the work. The levert turns on a fixed centre at t¹, it is
caused to draw thread from the bobbin at each motion by the stud coming
against it and forcing it back to its furthest point from the bobbin. The loop of
the needle No. 2 is carried upwards by its needle past the edge of the fabric
which is being sewn over, whipped, or embroidered, and then its loop is caught
by the needle No. 3, which is shewn separately at Figure 5, and is fixed to a
slide u, which moves in guides to and fro horizontally on the upper surface of
the table, a stud u¹ on the slide is embraced by the slotted end of the lever v,
which turns on a fixed centre at v¹, and at its further end v has a projection
or friction pulley upon it entering the cam chase 10; the cam chases q and w
are shewn spread out and in their proper relative positions at Figure 6.
Thread is supplied to the needle No. 3 from a bobbin on the stud x, it passes
through the friction clip y and the hole or eye a in the frame to the eye of
the needle, and beyond it becomes fixed in the work. In working the machine
it is preferred so to regulate the tensions of the several threads that the needle
thread may on the under side of the fabric pass to and fro at each motion
from the line in which its needle works to the edge of the fabric, whilst the
thread of the needle No. 3 passes to and fro between the same lines on the
face of the fabric, and the thread of the needle No. 2 is worked tight and forms
a rib along the edge. Figure 7 shews a portion of a plan of the part of the
table of the machine through which the needles work, the needle No. 1 sinks
through the hole A, and the needle No. 2 rises through the hole B, and these
holes are connected by a narrow slot C, by which the loops left by the needle

page_text: No. 1 on the under side of the fabric pass up to the surface of the table, these
loops being formed around the nib D, which acts as a mesh, and keeps the
loop distended and prevents the puckering in of the edge, of the fabric. If it
is desired to produce a fringe on the edge, it is conveniently done by adding
to the machine a hook to catch the thread of the needle No. 3 and hold it out
from the edge of the fabric in a loop of the required length, the said hook
being caused to free itself from its old loop and again to catch the thread of
its needle at each stitch or motion.
In witness whereof, we, the said Leonard Lindley and Frederick
Taylor, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-third day
of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-four.
LEONARD LINDLEY.
(L.S.)
FREDERICK TAYLOR. (L.S.)