IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF VELVET, VELVETEENS, AND OTHER FABRICS ON WHICH THERE ARE FLOATED WEFT THREADS TO BE CUT
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Mellodew, of Oldham, in the County of
Lancaster, Manufacturer, Charles William Kesselmeyer, of Manchester,
in the said County, Warehouseman, and John Mayo Worrall, of Salford,
in the said County, Dyer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
TREATMENT OF VELVET, VELVETEENS, AND OTHER FABRICS ON WHICH THERE
ARE FLOATED WEFT THREADS TO BE CUT."
Sealed the 31st May 1861, and dated the 6th December 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Mellodew,
Charles William Kesselmeyer, and John Mayo Worrall, at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 6th December
1860.
We, THOMAS MELLODEW, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Manufac-
turer, CHARLES WILLIAM KESSELMEYER, of Manchester, in the said County,
Warehouseman, and JOHN MAYO WORRALL, of Salford, in the said County,
Dyer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE TREATMENT OF VELVETS, VELVETEENS, AND OTHER FABRICS ON WHICH
THERE ARE FLOATED WEFT THREADS TO BE CUT," to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to velvets and other such fabrics, which have a face
of silk, or of silk combined with other materials, and consists in dyeing or
printing such fabrics previously to the floated threads being cut, and they
are then finished in the usual manner.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Mellodew, Charles William Kesselmeyer, and John
Mayo Worrall, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th June
1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
MELLODEW, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturer, CHARLES
WILLIAM KESSELMEYER, of Manchester, in the said County, Warehouseman,
and JOHN MAYO WORRALL, of Salford, in the said County, Dyer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
"Thomas Mellodew, Charles William Kesselmeyer, and John Mayo Worrall,
Her special license that we,' the said Thomas Mellodew, Charles William
Kesselmeyer, and John Mayo Morrall, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Thomas Mellodew, Charles William
Kesselmeyer, and John Mayo Worrall, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF VELVETS, VELVETEENS, AND
OTHER FABRICS ON WHICH THERE ARE FLOATED WEFT THREADS TO BE CUT," upon
the condition, amongst others, that we, the said: Thomas Mellodew; Charles
William Kesselmeyer, and John Mayo Worrall, by an instrument in writing
under our hands and seals, (or under the hand and seal of one of us,) 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 imme
dilatey after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles William Kesselmeyer, do
hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement, (that is to say):-
Our Invention relates to the treatment of velvets, velveteens, and other
such fabrics, in which the face, plush or pile, is produced. by silk weft threads
in the grey or undyed state, or by weft threads, consisting of undyed silk
combined with other materials, floating over warp threads of cotton, silk,

page_text: linen, or any other substance, and .consists in a new and improved arrangement
of those processes to which such fabrics are usually subjected after having
been woven.
Hitherto it has been the custom to: treat such fabrics in the 'following
manner: First of all to stiffen the pieces on the back in the grey or undyed
state in order to produce a firmer adhesion of the floating weft threads of
the surface to the warp threads of the back of the fabric, so that the former
may not give way during the process of cutting; next, to cut open such
floating weft threads of the surface of the fabric, by introducing a cutter's'
knife and guide between such floating weft threads and the back of the
fabric, and thus to produce the plush or pile; then to steep such fabrics in
warm water in order. to dissolve the stiffening previously put in both, in
the warp threads preparatory to weaving, as well as in the woven fabric
previous to cutting, and also other impurities which may from any cause
exist in such fabric; then to cleanse such fabrics from the stiffening and
other dissolved impurities by submitting. them them to the process of scouring
or washing, generally by means of a machine, commonly called a wince, by
which such impurities are beaten or dashed out of the fabric, while, under-
going a continuous process of rinsing in water; then. to dry such cleansed
fabrics,in a stove through the action of hot air; then to brush up the plush
or pile of such fabrics, by submitting the dry pieces to the process of dressing,.
by which through the action of brushes rubbing the face or pile of the cloth
transversely backwards and forwards, and by other mechanical contrivances,
the divided or cut weft threads forming the plush or pile, which previously.
were lying flat and crushed down, are raised up so as to stand more or less
erect, thus rendering the plush or pile of the fabric more conspicuous, which
process is repeated till the desired result is obtained; then to submit such.
fabrics to the process of shearing in a shearing machine, in order to take
off all loose fibres and produce a level surface of equal length of plush or
pile; then to cleanse such fabrics by passing them through solutions of soda,
and spirits of salts, and to wash them out again in water; then to dye
such fabrics in the usual way of piece dyeing to the required shade or colour;.
then to wash out the superfluous colouring matter adhering to such fabrics,:
by again submitting them to the process of cleansing and washing out as
before stated; then to dry such dyed fabrics in a stove through the action of hot:
air, or on a drying machine by passing them over cylinders heated by:
steam; then again to brush up the plush or pile, by again submitting the
dyed and dry fabrics to the process of dressing in a dressing machine, in:
order that the divided or cut weft. threads forming the plush or pile which.

page_text: during the process of dyeing naturally have got more or less flattened and
clotted together, may again be loosened from each other, so as to produce
again a velvety surface; then to submit such dyed fabrics for the second
time to the process of shearing in. a 'shearing machine, in order to take off
all loose fibres and produce a level surface of equal length of plush or pile.
and lastly to finish such fabrics in various ways, by means of which. processes
the plush or pile is finally raised up, and a gloss or lustre is put on the same,
so that the fabric becomes ready for sale and use; all these processes are
well known to the practical cutter, dresser, dyer, and finisher, although they
may have been slightly varied at times, by repeating some of them more
or less according to the description or weight of the fabric, as, for instance,
a heavier fabric may require more dressing than a light 'one, and a badly
cut piece may require more shearing than a well cut one, yet the general
mode of treatment hitherto practised for such fabrics has been to cut them
first, then to scour them, then to dress them, then to dye them, and last of
all to finish them. It will be seen that by treating such fabrics in the
aforesaid manner and order of procedure, while undergoing the processes of
cutting, scouring, dyeing, and finishing, the plush or pile is repeatedly
disturbed and interfered with, by the pieces being several times immersed
in water, during the processes of scouring, and dyeing, which naturally must
have a tendency to disturb and flatten the plush or pile, so as either to occasion.
great difficulties in raising it up again during the process of dressing and
finishing, or to produce this. effect often in an incomplete manner only so
that the surface of the plush or pile of the fabric, instead of being quite even
in colour, often presents a more or less uneven and shady appearance arising
from the fact of such plush or pile being in some places more or less flattened
down and clotted together, while in others it is raised up and standing erect..
Now our present Invention will remedy this defect by preventing the
flattening down and clotting together of the plush or pile of such fabrics, and
by making the same to stand up erect all over the piece, so as to render the
surface of the plush or pile level and even, and free from the shady and dappled
appearance generally produced by the old mode of treatment; this we effect.
not by adding any new process of treatment or finish, but by altering the
order or succession in which the different processes named above are applied
to such fabrics after the same have been woven in the usual manner, nainely,
instead of first cutting such fabrics and thus exposing the plush or pile to the
various disturbing influences of scouring and dyeing, which have a great tendency
to flatten the same and to clot it together, we, in our new and improved mode
of treatment, apply those processes which have a tendency to flatten and

page_text: disturb the plush or pile, to such fabrics while yet in the grey and uncut state
previously to the floated weft threads being cut, as follows:-We first submit
such fabrics in the uncut state to the processes of scouring and dyeing, and
produce the plush or pile by cutting the floated weft threads of such fabrics in
the usual manner after the same have been scoured and dyed as above stated.,
After having been thus dyed and cut the fabric is made to undergo the pro-
cesses of dressing, shearing, and finishing, same as in the old mode of treat-,
ment, which processes have no tendency to flatten or disturb the plush or pile,
but, on the contrary, to raise it up and make it level and glossy, and thus by,
our Invention an improved and even coloured appearance is given to the surface,
of plush or pile of such fabrics, which cannot be obtained by following the.
old order or mode of treatment..
We now proceed to describe particularly the manner in which our Inven-,
tion is to be performed. The fabrics having been woven in the usual manner;
we submit them to the following order of treatment:-We first steep such;
fabrics in the uncut state in warm water in order. to dissolve the stiffening;
previously put in the warp threads preparatory to weaving, and. also other,
impurities which may, from any cause, exist in such fabrics. We then cleanse,
such fabrics from these dissolved impurities by submitting them, still in the,
uncut state, to the process of scouring or washing, by which such impurities
are removed out of the fabric while undergoing a continuous process of rinsing,
in water. We then further cleanse such fabric by passing them through.
solutions of soda and spirits of salts, and by washing them out again afterwards.,
We then dye such fabrics, still in the uncut state, in the usual way of piece-
dyeing to the required shade or color. We then wash out the superfluous,
colouring matter adhering to such fabrics by again, submitting them to the
process of washing out, as before stated. We then dry such dyed fabrics in.
a stove through the action of hot air, or on a drying machine by passing them
over cylinders heated by steam. The fabrics having thus been scoured and
dyed as aforesaid, we proceed to cut open the floating weft threads of the
surface of the fabric by introducing a cutter's knife and guide between such
floating weft threads and the back of the fabric, and thus produce the coloured
plush or pile. If it should be found that the floating weft threads of the
surface do not sufficiently adhere to the warp threads of the back of the fabric.
a slight stiffening may be applied to the back of the cloth previous to cutting, so
as to produce a greater adhesion of such floating weft threads to the warp threads
of the back of the fabric while undergoing the process of cutting, which slight
stiffening will serve to give greater consistency to the whole texture of the fabric,
and therefore will not require washing out afterwards. We then brush up the

page_text: plush or pile of such fabrics by submitting the pieces to the process of dressing
in the usual manner, by which; through the action of brushes rubbing the face
or pile of the cloth transversely backwards and forwards, and by other mecha-
nical contrivances the divided or cut weft threads are raised up so as to stand
erect, thus rendering the plush or pile more conspicuous. We then submit
such fabrics to the process of shearing in a shearing machine, in order to take
off all loose fibres and produce a level surface of equal length of plush or pile.
We lastly finish such fabrics in the usual manner, by means of which process
the plush or pile is finally raised up, and a gloss or lustre is put on the same
so that the fabric becomes ready for sale and use. All these different processes
áre well known to the practical cutter, scourer, dresser, dyer, and finisher, but
they have hitherto not been performed on such fabrics as before stated in the
order now particularly described, which improved mode of treatment consists
in dyeing such fabrics previously to the floated weft threads being cut. Such
fabrics may also be printed instead of dyed, or they may be dyed and printed
in the uncut state by substituting the well known process of printing for that
of dyeing, or else by printing such fabrics either before or after being dyed,
after which they may be cut, dressed, shorn, and finished in the same manner
as already stated.
"
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of our In-
vention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, we proceed to
state that we do not claim as our Invention any of the individual processes
of cutting, scouring, dressing, dyeing, and finishing, by which our Invention is
to be carried into effect; but what we do claim as our Invention is the treat-
ment of velvets, velveteens, and other fabrics on which there are floated weft
threads to be cut (such weft threads consisting of silk, or of silk combined
with other materials,) by dyeing or printing such fabrics previously to the
floated weft threads being cut.
:
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles William Kesselmeyer, have here-
unto set my hand and, seal, this Fifth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
C. W. KESSELMEYER. (LS.).