Improvements in Sewing Machine Attachments.
Year: 1889

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sewing Machine Attachments.
I, ALICE LA GUAYRA MAYO, of Great Falls, in the County of Cascade, and
Territory of Montana, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My Invention relates to an improvement in hemmers, and is especially designed for
hemming all articles that require a wider hem than the ordinary fell; and the object
of the invention is to provide a device which will turn a hem from, for instance, a
quarter of an inch to about seven and a half, or eight, inches in width and also
to provide a means whereby a draw string, ribbon, or tape, may be inserted in the
hem; and a further object of the invention is to provide a hemmer which will have a
double gauge.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specifica-
tion in which figure 1 is a perspective view of the hemmer, figure 2 is a side elevation
of the same; and figure 3 shews the manner of attaching the hemmer to the sewing
machine. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.
A is a body bar provided with a vertically apertured post A' projecting from its
upper face, near one end and at one side, into which post the presser bar of the
machine is secured by a set screw a. The post A has, upon one side, a recess a¹
intersecting the bore or aperture, which recess ais purposed to accommodate the
presser foot.
. The frame of the hemmer consists of two side bars B B¹, the side bar B being
the wider of the two and provided with a longitudinal slot band having a scale
of inches upon the upper face and preferably at the outer edge. The side bar B
is made to rest in a suitable recess formed transversely in the upper face of the body
bar A at or near one end of said bar, as best illustrated in figure 1, the said side
bar B being adjustably held in connection with the body bar by a set screw 2 which
passes through the slot of the side bar, into the body bar, but if it is found
desirable a rivet may be substituted for the set screw 62, tho rivet being so located
as to permit the side bar B to readily, yet not too freely, slide upon the body bar..
The opposite side bar B₁ is passed through a transverse slot in the body bar at or
near the end, and the two side bars B B are pivotally connected at their outer ends
by a cross bar C which cross-bar rests upon the upper surface of the said side bars,
as illustrated in the drawings. A forward cross or guide bar D is formed integral
with the slotted side bar B extending at right angles therefrom a distance beyond
the smaller side bar B¹. The said inner guide or cross bar D is in the form of
angle iron being bent downward upon itself at right angles to form the vertical
flange d. A second and under guide bar E, which more properly may be designated
a retaining bar, is formed integral with the narrow side bar B1 extending at right
angles thereto, in direction of the slotted side bar B and beneath and in engage-
ment with the horizontal member of the guide bar D, as best illustrated in figure 1.
The retaining bar E is also continued beyond the outer edge of the side bar B' to
support the extension of the guide bar D.
Between the post A' and the side bar B¹, the hemmer proper H is secured to the
edge of the body bar contiguous to the guide bar D, which hemmer may be of
any desired construction, but is preferably formed of one or two pieces of metal,
preferably the latter, bent so as to represent in cross-section the letter U and
having one under edge turned upwards and inwards to curl over the fabric as it
passes through to receive the stitch.
In operation, the body bar is slid upon the side bar until the inner face of the
said body bar is made to register with the inch or fraction of the inch to which

page_text: the hem is to be turned. The material is then passed under the entire frame and
body bar, carried down in direction of the guide bar, passed over the retaining
bar and beneath the guide bar and into the hemmer.
A ribbon or tape may be inserted in the hem by placing the same beneath the
gauge. In lace it can be used as a border and in beavy material as a draw string.
Space must be left to remove the gauges, and in very wide hems, the hemmer should
be removed from the machine.
It will be observed, by reference to the drawings and to the above description, that
the body bar constitutes a presser foot holding the material firmly to the feed
mechanism, and that the attachment is applied directly to the presser bar of the
machine.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is ;
1. In a sewing machine attachment, the combination, with a body bar constituting
a presser foot, of a hem-former attached thereto, substantially as shewn and described.
2. In a sewing machine attachment, the combination, with a body bar constituting
a presser foot, of a hem-former secured to the said body bar and a gauge held to
slide upon said bar, substantially as described.
3. In a sewing machine attachment, the combination, with the presser foot provided
with a heel extension, of a hem former secured to the presser foot between the centre
and the toe, and a gauge adjustably attached to the heel extension, substantially as
described.
4. In a sewing machine attachment, the combination, with a presser foot provided
with an attached hem-former and a heel extension, of gauge bars held to slide upon
the presser foot capable of lateral adjustment, the said gauge bars operating in unison,
substantially as shewn and described.
5. As an improved article of manufacture, a sewing machine attachment consisting
of a presser foot having an attached hem-former and heel extension and a gauge
bar or bars adjustably secured to the foot, substantially as, and for the purpose,
specified.
6. In a sewing machine attachment, the combination, with the presser foot and
a gauge bar adjustable upon the said presser foot provided with an angular arm
at one end, of a hem-forming arm parallel with the angle arm of the gauge bar and a
pivotal connection between the said arm and gauge bar, all combined for operation
substantially as shown and described.
7. The combination, with the body bar A provided with an apertured post for the
reception of the presser bar and a hem-former secured to the said bar, of an adjust-
able frame consisting of a slotted side bar B having an integral guide bar D, an
opposing side bar B' provided with an integral retaining bar E engaging the guide
bar and a pivoted cross-bar C, all adapted to operate substantially as, and for the
purpose, specified.
8. The combination, with a body bar A provided with an apertured post adapted to
receive the presser bar and a hem-former H secured to said body bar, of an adjustable
frame consisting of a slotted gauge bar B adjustably secured to the body bar, a
transverse angled bar D secured to said gauge bar, an opposing narrower side bar B¹
sliding in the body bar, a transverse retaining bar secured to said narrower side bar
engaging the under face of the guide bar, and a cross-bar pivotally secured to one
end of the side bars, all operating substantially as shewn and described.
A. LA GUAYRA MAYO.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.