IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WATER- PROOF GARMENTS
Year: 1876

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Cunningham at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st July 1876.
ALEXANDER CUNNINGHAM, of Leith, in the County of Midlothian, North Britain,
India-rubber Manufacturer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WATER-
PROOF GARMENTS."
This Invention, which relates to improvements in the manufacture of water-
proof garments, is specially applicable to the construction of coats, capes, leggings,
caps, fishing stockings, and those classes of waterproof clothing generally which are
made of tweed, double texture, or single texture, lined or unlined.
The Invention has for its object in the first place to avoid the prominent appear-
ance of the pockets or pocket covers, button and button-hole patches on either
side, as well as any sewing which is or may be required to fasten on tabs, straps,
buckles, buttons, or other articles or pieces attached to such clothing, which occurs
under the existing conditions of manufacturing such goods.
The improvements also enable the linings to be brought down to the bottom of
the skirts of coats, and the seams, facings, and collars to be so united as not to shew
the tapeings on any part of the garments, there being no scams or parts requiring
to be stripped or opened up, as the pockets, button pieces, and button-hole patches
are cemented and placed between the inside and outside plies of the cloth.
Under this improved system of manufacturing such garments two single layers
or plies of cloth are used, one to form the inside and the other the outside of the
garments. The inside of each layer of cloth is coated with pure rubber dough,
varnish, or other cement made by dissolving india-rubber in coal tar, naphtha, or
other india-rubber solvent. This coating is or may then be sincolored or vulcanised
so as to cause it to remain without getting hard or sticky, or the garments may be
vulcanised after being made up. The layers or plies of cloth so prepared do not
require to be put against or upon one another until after being cut to the shape
requisite for the garments, the result of which is that the pockets, button, and
button-hole patches and other pieces can be laid in between the two plies or layers
of cloth, after which the inside being slightly cemented again the plies or layers of
cloth can be put together thereby enclosing the pockets, button, button-hole
patches, and other pieces between them, care being taken to keep the seam portions
from adhering together until the garments have been put together and taped.
Another object of the Invention is to maintain the clasticity and softness equally
over all parts of the garments after the garments have had the facings, collars, or
Pin D71

page_text: other parts put on. This results from there being no cloth between the facings,
collars, or other parts, excepting the patches of the pockets, buttons, and button-
holes.
Under these improvements the coat facings are formed in the following manner :-
The cloth to form the facings, collars, or analogous parts may be left on the fronts
and folded over, or the facings, collars, or analogous parts may be put on separately,
or the garments may be made without facings, so as to enable the garments to be
worn on either side. The india-rubber dough with which the garments are coated
enables these layers to be stuck together with very little varnish, that is to say,
the one upon the other, so that the garments are very little or no thicker at the
facings, collars, or analogous parts than elsewhere. Thus the necessity of stripping
off one layer of cloth as at present practised from under the facings, collars, and
seams is obviated. A narrow portion of cloth is folded down on one half of the
seams so as not to leave a raw edge, and the other half of the seams can or may be
left raw, the one being laid or lapped over the other. The seams may or can then
be taped all over to make them thoroughly waterproof, and the parts left open can
be laid down with the scams turned down or left with a raw edge, or the garments
may be sewn and taped and the seams that have been left open turned down over
the tapeing, which forms a seam the same on both sides as if having been sewn.
This new seam applies to all garments similarly made.
'
Another part of the improvements consists in this, that when one half of the
collár is sewn or cemented to the neck of the garment it can be finished in the same
way as herein-before described, the facings and parts of the collar adjoining the
facings being sewn together at the inner or outside edges are then taped if required,
and the facings, collars, and analogous parts may then be put on the garments
altogether, the result of which is, that such garments have the appearance of
tweed cloth clothing as made by tailors. By the foregoing modes of constructing
waterproof clothing a saving in cement or india-rubber varnish in making up such
is effected, and much less smell arises through not having to use naphtha or other
analogous solvent.
Another improvement, and which applies to garments not having fly facings,
consists in placing the facings and the two halfs of the collar with the wrong
side out, so as to admit of their being sewn on the wrong side, then to place
the patches in their various positions in front of the garment as they may be
required, slightly cementing the fronts, facings, and collars to make the different
parts adhere properly together, then turning the facings and collar parts on to the
right side in their proper position. By properly rolling the coat all over and
cleaning it is rendered thoroughly waterproof.