IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR SEWING AND STITCHING CLOTH AND OTHER FABRICS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PÅTENT to Joshua Kidd, of Kildwick, near Bradford, in the
County of York, and of Bradford aforesaid, Stuff Manufacturer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR SEWING
AND STITCHING CLOTH AND OTHER FABRICS."
Sealed the 11th August 1855, and dated the 21st February 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joshua Kidd at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st February 1855.
I, JOSHUA KIDD, of Kildwick, near Bradford, in the County of York,
Stuff Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR SEWING OR STITCHING CLOTH
AND OTHER FABRICS" to be as follows:-
My improvements relate principally to the arrangement of the necessary
machinery for working the well-known chain stitch, and also the duble or
cross chain stitch, by one and the same arrangement of machinery, and also a
peculiar mode of feeding and regulating the stitch. The machine consists of
a frame longer then broad, with a hollow arm or crank box on the top, a little
resembling the well-known tailer's goose, with a movable lid made to fit the
body of the machine. At one end of the arm or crank box is the needle slide,
which has a perpendicular or vertical motion given to it by a bell crank moving
in the aforesaid hollow arm, which crank receves its motion from a shaft at the

page_text: back part of machine, on which is fixed a peculiar zig-zag or serpentine
projection, so formed as to give the required motion to the bell crank, which
rests with a forked end on the aforesaid projection, the machine receving its
motion from a balance weel fixt opon the aforesaid shaft, to be turned by hand or
otherwise. A slide is fixed to the under side of the machine lid or cover, which
receves a horizontal motion from the aforesaid bell crank. At the end of this
slide A (in Figure 1) is fixed a contrivance for forming the stitch. B is a crooked
needle with eyes and grooves at O and D, through which the thread passes
from the bobbin fixed under the machine when a cross chain stitch is required;
but when a single chain stitch is required, the under thread is dispenced
with. The needle B turns on a pin at F, and is kept in its position by
spring E; C is a needle with a forked end, terminating at D, opposite the
eye, and fitting into a grove in needle B. The pusher H turns on a pin at K,
having a small lever attached J, which moves on a pin L; i, i, two guide pins.
The pusher H is drawn to its place by spring N; H receves its motion from
the projection G on slide A, and carries the loop after being caught by needles
B and C to its proper place. M is a small pin on needle C, used only for the
single chain stitch. When the top needle assends through the cloth it forms
the well-known loop, which is caught by the needles B and C, and pushed on
to its place by pusher H. The top needle in decending passes through the
open needles B and C. The slide A then moving back leaves a loop round
the needle, and pulls the loop through the last stitch. The single chain stitch
is formed by one thread from the top needle, forming a loop round the under
needles B and C, the uper needle in its decent fastening the same by a second
loop; the contrivance to feed and regulate the stitch is shown at Fig. 2. P
shows the end of the aforesaid hollow arm; Q, the end of bell crank; Q, a
joint fixed to needle slide; S, S, the cloth presser, with helical spring U, under
which the cloth passes; R, a screw, with a flange at bottom to regulate the
stitch; T, T, weel stud, with helical spring V; W, weels, to move the cloth,
which are turned round by catch ✗, working ratchet weel Y, which as a
motion given to it by bell crank Q; X, X, are two dovetails, to keep the
movements firm. On the opposite side of this motion the needle slide R
moves, which as a key similer to the ordinary fluto key attached to it for
regulating the thread to and from the needle P'.
Having thus described my Invention, I wish it to be distinctly understood.
that I do not confine myself to the exact details shown and and described
above, as I consider the description mearly an outline of my Invention, which
I will more clearly and fully explain in my Complete Specification.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joshua Kidd in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st August 1855..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSHUA
KIDD, of Kildwick, near Bradford, in the County of York, and of Bradford
aforesaid, Stuff Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Joshua Kidd, Her especial license that I, the said Joshua Kidd,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Joshua Kidd, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR SEWING AND STITCHING CLOTH
AND OTHER FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Joshua Kidd, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 I, the said Joshua Kidd, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawings, that is to say:-
One essential feature of my Invention consists in the employment of an
arrangement of mechanism, which enables me to work the "chain stitch,"
and also the double or "cross chain stitch," without materially deranging the
machine, that is to say, I suit the apparatus for producing either of these, by
simply changing the needle or thread carrier.
In the accompanying Drawings the machinery I employ is represented in side
elevation at Fig. 1. The principal operative parts are shown at Fig. 2, which
is a horizontal view of the under side of the machine; Fig. 8 is an end view,
and Fig. 4 a side view, with part of the framing removed; Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8,
detached views of certain of the parts. The main shaft of the machine is

page_text: g
shewn at a, to which any motive power may be applied. Upon this shaft is a
projecting rib constituting a cam, which I form by bending a piece of metal,
shewn detached at Fig. 9, around a drum upon the shaft a. The rib b is
embraced by a grooved boss c, mounted upon a lever d, d*, turning on a fixed
centre at e, and connected at its extremity, and by means of a slot, to a pin f,
attached to a sliding piece g, mounted in guides on the outside of the frame-
work, as seen in Fig. 1. The lever d, d, is mounted within the neck h of
the frame, which is made in two parts for that purpose, one portion being
removed in Fig. 3. To the sliding piece 9 is attached a needle i, through an
eye formed in which the thread (shewn by the red line) passes from a bobbin j.
This thread is kept in tension by a spring k, and passes through guides 7, below
which it is pressed upon at certain times, and therefore is held fast to the slide
by a roller m, the axis of which is carried by a stationary part of the machine,
and is capable of being tightened at pleasure by a screw, so as to force the
roller m upon the thread, and slide or release it therefrom. At times, however,
(as hereafter to be described) it is necessary, during the operation of the
machine, to liberate the thread. This will take place whenever the slide 9 is
moved upward, until a recess n formed therein shall have arrived beneath the
roller m, which, then no longer being in contact with the slide at that part
occupied by the thread, will allow it an independent motion. Upon the plate
on which the rib b is formed is a second curved rib o, acting upon a grooved
boss
P, carried by a bar r, capable of sliding in guides s, attached to the under
side of the framing. Upon this bar is mounted a needle or thread carrier t, t*,
which receives its thread from a bobbin A, and is mounted by means of a
centre pin & fitting it rather loosely, and the under part of the head of which
is formed spherical, so as to allow the thread carrier a slight motion in every
direction, after the manner of an universal joint. The part t* of the needle
or carrier is situate above (when the machine is turned the right side upper-
most) a spring attached to the sliding bar r, and which spring has a
tendency to press it inward towards the said bar, but its motion in that direc-
tion is determined by its end being bent, so as to project inward. The spring u
has also a projecting part bearing against the part *, by means of which a
tendency is imparted to turn in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 2), but this is
prevented beyond a certain extent by a fixed pin not seen in the Drawing.
To the under side of the framing is fixed a piece provided with a projecting
part w, formed as an inclined plane. As the bar r is caused to slide in the
direction of the dotted arrow (Fig. 2), the projecting part upon the carrier t*
is caused to arrive in contact with the said incline, whereby the carrier becomes
turned upon its centre until it is clear of the projection w; the spring u** will
.

page_text: then cause it to move in the direction of the arrow, and the return of the slide
will convey the projecting part of the said carrier along the other side of the
piece w, by which means the needle t may be caused to move to and fro across
the point x, first on one side thereof and then on the other, and it is through
this point that the needle i descends, thereby admitting of the two threads
being looped together. Upon the under part of the framework is a plate 2,
on which is a projecting part 1, mounted in guides, and capable of moving
therein to and fro, as well as inward and outward. This plate is forced in one
direction by a spring 3, the extent of motion being regulated by a set screw 4.
Within a recess formed in the piece 1 is an arm 5 jointed to the bar r, and
upon it is formed an incline, which, as the said bar traverses. causes the parts
1, 2, to move inward and outward. The part 5 is furnished with a projection 6
formed as an incline, which, as the bar moves in the direction of the dotted
arrow, arrives in contact with a spring stop 7, by which means the jointed bar 5
is turned downwards, carrying with it the part 1, 2; but having passed the
stop 7, the spring 3 will restore them to their former position regulated by the
screw 4. The traversing of the bar r also will cause the incline formed upon 5,
and situate within the part 1, to act against it, so as to move the piece 2 inward
and outward, and upon this is fixed a notched plate 8 situate beneath the fabric
to be stitched. Within that part of the framework which carries the slide
is a rod 9, the lower end of which is provided with a foot 10, situate above the
notched plate 8, and borne downward by means of a spring within the framing.
By this arrangement, therefore, the fabric may be alternately pressed by the
plate 8 against the foot 10, and released therefrom, and may in the latter case
be carried forward by the sliding motion of the notched plate 8, above described.
To the upper part of the rod 9 is a handle 11, by which the said rod may be
raised for the purpose of applying the fabric to be stitched.
g
I will now proceed to describe the operation of the machine, and in so doing
will refer to certain Diagrams, shewn at Sheet 2 on an exaggerated scale. I
would observe, however, that they merely shew the method by which stitches
are formed in machines ordinarily used, and are only employed for the con-
venience of referring to the Drawings illustrating my Invention. The cam o
will move the bar r in the direction of the dotted arrow until the cam b has
carried the needle i and its thread through the fabric and into the position
represented at the Diagram No. 1, the needle or thread carrier t being also
moved by the cam o, as there seen. A further revolution of the cam will now
withdraw the needle, and as the thread is held on the slide g by the roller m, a
loop will be formed, as seen at Diagram No. 2. The bar r will now move in
the other direction, and will convey the carrier t and its thread past the needle i,

page_text: and through the loop which it now carries, as seen at Diagram No. 3, during
which time the plate 8 will have tightened the fabric upon the foot 10, by the
means above described. The cam 6 now withdraws the needle i through the
fabric, by which means its thread is drawn upon that of the carrier t, as seen
at Diagram No. 4, during which time the plate 8 will have been drawn from
the foot 10, and moved downward the required distance for a stitch. The
part will also (see Fig. 2) have passed beneath the incline n, so as to turn
the carrier t upon its centre, and the needle i then advancing will move for-
ward on the other side of the carrier t, as shewn at Diagram No. 5, looping its
thread around the needle i, which by a further advance effects the drawing
tight, as in Diagram No. 6, after which the needle will be withdrawn, and the
incline 6 will pass the stop 7, and the spring 3 will move the plate 8, so as to
accomplish another feed. During the advance of the needle i, as in Diagrams
5 and 6, the slide 9 will have necessarily moved downwards, so as to cause the
roller in to press upon the thread, and allow of the loop being tightened; but
when the said needle i is moving upwards from the position No. 8 to No. 4,
the recess n is opposite the roller m, and the thread may therefore be drawn
from the bobbin j.
Figs. 10 and 11 represent another method by which the feed may be effected.
A notched foot a is applied to the end of a rod b, capable of vibrating upon a
slack centre c. The upper part of the rod b is situate beneath a set screw
upon a lever d, mounted upon a centre c, which centre is itself capable of
turning, so as to allow a horizontal motion of the lever. The lever & has a
projecting pin situate beneath a roller mounted in a sliding piece 9. This
sliding piece has an incline plane h, against which a tappet i, mounted upon
the driving shaft j, arrives at proper intervals, thereby causing the lever to
turn upon its centre, and by acting against the set screw on the rod b,
elevate the foot a, from which position it is returned by the spring . The
shaft has also another tappet acting against a lever *, the other end of
which bears against the lever d, by which means it is caused at suitable
intervals to turn in a horizontal direction, thereby imparting a vibratory
motion to the foot a, so as to effect the feed, after which the former position
is gained by means of a spring n.
เ
Fig. 12 represents another method of effecting the feed; a portion of the
lever of Fig. 4 is denoted by a similar letter operating upon the needle
slide as above described; within the franting which carries that part is a rod
a, provided with notched' rollers b, borne downward by a barrel spring e;
upon the axis of the rollers 6 is a ratchet wheel c, and at d is a click taking
into the teeth. This click is formed upon a rod f passing through a barrel g,

page_text: in which is a spring, bearing the said click downward. As the lever d*
vibrates, it arrives in contact with a set screw h, and thereby lifts the click d,
which subsequently being forced downward by the spring g, effects a turning
of the rollers b, and a consequent advance of the material to be stitched.
The rate of feed may be determined by adjusting the screw. h upon the rod f.
Fig. 18 represents another form of needle or carrier; in this instance it is
fixed as shown at t upon a lever a, turning upon a centre u of the bar r,
upon which is fixed another instrument so as to constitute a double needle,
the whole being capable therefore of contraction and expansion by the turning
of one part. The lever a is caused to turn upon its centre by arrival in. contact
with an incline upon a spring w; by these means the loop will be enlarged
by the ordinary working of the machine, and the arrangement is particularly
suitable for heavy fabrics.
Fig. 14 exhibits another construction; in this instance the needle or
carrier t is mounted upon a lever a with a double joint b, so as to be capable
of turning slightly in cither direction, in order to allow for any accidental
obstruction; it is maintained in its general working position by a spring c,
which draws it to a fixed stop.
Another form is shewn at Fig. 15; in this instance the needle or carrier t
is a single fixed part moving in a direct line, and the thread is shifted thereon,
so that the needle i (Fig. 1) passes on either side thereof by causing different
parts of the curved carrier to coincide with the point through which the needle
descends.
Fig. 16 represents another form of needle or carrier; in this instance the
thread from the bobbin A passes through an eye a, and from thence over a
notch ; the carrier is mounted fast upon the bar 7, and moves therewith
without any independent motion. The loop having been formed upon the
needle i, as before explained, the carrier a, b, advances through it conveying
the thread, and in so doing drags a portion off the bobbin A; upon the return
motion the length thus drawn off will be left behind, constituting a loop,
through which the needle i desconds.
Thus far the description has referred to the production of stitches by the use
of two threads; I will now proceed to describe how the machine may be caused
to operate with one only; for this purpose it will merely be necessary to
unscrew the thread carrier t, and adapt the instrument shewn at Fig. 17, in
which is the bar denoted by the same letter of reference in Figs. 2, &c.;
upon this bar is mounted on a centre u a. tumbler lever a, a*, borne to a
definite position by a spring b. The part a constituting the needle, as it may
be called,. but not provided with a thread,. is furnished with a. projecting. pin c,

page_text: and also within it is mounted a second tumbler d, so as to turn on a centre,
and drawn back by a spring g. One arm of this tumbler has an angular
part e projecting above the arm a, and the other extends upward, so that
when the bar r moves back, and the part a* arrives in contact with the spring
incline w, thereby causing the arm a to be turned upward, the said part d is
caused to arrive in contact with a pin f, and by turning on its centre to carry
the angular piece e below the level of the needle a. The action of this
apparatus will be best understood by reference to the Diagrams Nos. 7, 8, 9, 10,
Sheet 2, drawn upon an exaggerated scale, and shewing the edge view of
Fig. 17. At No. 7 the loop is supposed to have been formed upon the needle i,
and the instrument a has passed through it, the projecting pin c carrying
the thread forward. In No. 8 the bar 7 has moved further, and the loop is
stretched out by the pin c; the needle i is now drawn upward as in No. 9,
and the loop still upon the pin c is drawn over the angular projecting piece e;
by this time the lever a* (Fig. 17) will arrive in contact with the spring
incline w, whereby the tumbler a, a, will be caused to turn upon its centre u,
so as to carry the loop from. its former vertical position, and the needle i will
descend through it on the other side of the needle a, as seen at No. 10;
previously to which, however, the cloth will have been moved for another
stitch, and the loop is thereby sufficiently opened. The above-mentioned
operation of turning the tumbler a, a*, will have caused the angular piece e
to be drawn down by the arrival of the part d in contact with the pin f, so
that the loop will not now be held thereby, and the bar r may be withdrawn
ready for another operation.
Fig. 18 shews another construction of needle or thread carrier which may
be employed; to the bar r the needle t is fixed. Above the needle is one
arm a of a lever turning upon a centre b attached to the bar r; the other end
is drawn forward by a spring 6*, so that the arm a rests upon the needle t.
To a stationary part of the machine is fixed a centre pin c, on which is
mounted a lever d, d, drawn against a stop by means of a spring e; the
part & carries an instrument f, f*, mounted so as to turn freely on a centre.
When the carrier t advances through the loop, the bar r will arrive in contact
with the lever d*, and by causing it to turn upon its centre will bring the
instrument fin contact with a pin g; a further motion of the bar r will then
cause the part to pass along the lever a, and push the thread thereon. The
needle i then descending will pass between the carrier t and lever a, and upon
the retreat of the bar r the said needle will open a passage by slightly moving
the spring 6*.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention, and

page_text: the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be under-
stood that I claim, as secured to me under the above in part recited Letters
Patent,―
Firstly, constructing sewing machines, so that I am enabled to render the
same capable of producing the "chain stitch" and also the "double or cross
chain stitch," by the substitution of one part which operates upon the thread
for another.
Secondly, the general arrangement and construction of parts above described
and shewn.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joshua Kidd, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twentieth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
JOSHUA KIDD. (L.S.)