An Improvement in or Pertaining to Aprons.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 19th June, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 19th Mr., 1890-Accepted, 14th June, 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in or Pertaining to Aprons.
I MARY WEDLAKE of 8 Berkley Road Regent's Park in the county of Middlesex
Gentlewoman do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Aprons are now very generally made with bibs or upper parts above the waist
bands and a great evil is experienced in that this bib or upper part has to be pinned
or otherwise fastened to the dress to the great detriment of the same or it will not
remain in its desired place. Now the object of this my invention is to fit and adapt
to the apron such an appliance that the bib or upper part thereof shall always be and
remain in its desired position.
To carry out this object I take preferably two pieces or strips of metal whalebone
or other suitable material which are formned and made somewhat like the front bones
of stays or corsets to fit the figure of the wearer and at or about where the waist
band of the apron will be these pieces or strips are joined together by a transverse
attachment being maintained by this attachment which may be a metal strip or band
the desired distance apart and this attachment can be so constructed that this distance
may when desired be altered and adjusted and the pieces or strips extend as far above
this attachment as is required to support the bib or upper part of the apron in position
and as far below this attachment as may be desired.
This apparatus is secured to the apron preferably on the inner side thereof in the
proper position in any convenient or usual manner it may be by passing the upper
parts of the pieces or strips above the attachment into sheaths or casings formed on
the bib or upper part of the apron which method is especially suitable when the
apron is made as is usual of a washable material. In any case the apparatus is
secured to the apron so that the attachment thereof coincides or thereabouts with the
waist band of the apron and when the apron is fastened round the waist of the
wearer this apparatus will support the bib or upper part thereof in position.
Dated this 19th day of June 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in or Pertaining to Aprons.
I MARY WEDLAKE of 8 Berkley Road, Regents Park, in the county of Middlesex,
Decorator, 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 :-
Aprons are now very generally made with bibs or upper parts above the waistbands,
and this bib, when it is not provided with a strap or band to pass over the shoulders,
is customarily kept in its position by means of pins, such practice being greatly to
the detriment of the dress of the wearer.
Now the object of my invention is to fit and adapt to the apron such an appliance,
that the bib or upper part shall be upheld and kept in its place without the need or
use of pins. I carry out this object by means of pieces or strips of metal, whalebone,
or other suitable material Figs 1 & 2 using preferably two pieces or strips A. A.
which are formed and made somewhat like the front steels or bones of stays or
Laia e77

page_text: corsets, and are shaped to fit the figure of the wearer above and below a. a. the waist,
and these upright pieces or strips reach as high as is necessary to hold the bib in its
required position, and are prolonged as far below the waist as is of advantage for
stability when the appliance is worn, and at or about the place of the waistband
they are joined by a transverse attachment B, which may be a metal strip, and by
this they are maintained the desired distance apart, and this transverse strip is so
constructed that the two upright strips are, when fitted in combination therewith,
capable of being adjusted and regulated so as to be kept laterally at any suitable
distance apart, according to the figure to which the appliance is to be adapted. To
effect this the transverse piece B, which is about in length five or six inches, and in
width one inch more or less, has four incisions made vertically Fig. 3. C at certain
defined proportions of the length, so that two raised bands D. D. or bars are by
pressure stamped up during manufacture, and correspondingly the two upright
pieces A. A. are formed to have on the inner edge of each a finger or projecting
strip E. E. about an inch and a half or more in length, at or about the place of the
waist, and these being made fit to slide under the aforesaid bars or bands, so stamped
and raised up, in the transverse attachment, are slid in and remain in whatever
position they are placed, being held by the bands sufficiently tight to require some
little force to move them. It is obvious that these projecting strips may be affixed by
rivetting when preferred, or when more suitable to the material used, and the same
may be done with the bars or bands which instead of being raised by pressure from
the substance of the attachment, may be put on by rivetting or secured by other
processes. By another arrangement Figs. 4 & 5 the adjustability can be obtained,
enabling the strips to be extended from their position not only in parallel but in
angular or sloping direction also, to answer the same purpose of adaptation when the
bib as worn is wider than usual. The appliance is in this case manufactured having
the two fingers or projecting pieces detached, but fixed by a rivet F. F. or eyelet,
with a certain ease of movement allowed, by which as will readily understood the
upright strips A. A. turn on a centre, and the breadth to which the points of the
upper portions spread apart may be altered in required degree, and the distance may
be preserved by cords or strings H. H. at the top and bottom, and tied correspondingly.
The better way however is to have the upright pieces fitted with eyelets like the
backs of stays and corsets and similarly laced, and for this particular mode of
adjustment the upright pieces when of metal can be punched, and small eyelets J. J.
let in at the required distance for lacing.
When the appliance is made with this capability of adjustment so as to spread
angularly, the provision of a slide movement laterally is not in such case necessary,
but the two methods may be used in combination if desired, with good effect.
The appliance is secured to the apron preferably to the inner side thereof, and so
that the transverse attachment coincides or thereabouts with the waistband of the
apron, and when the apron is fastened round the waist of the wearer this appliance,
by means of the upper portions of the two upright strips, will hold the bib of the
apron in position when the bib is connected with them in any convenient way, and
very suitably this may be done by having sheaths or cases formed on the bib to
receive the points of these uprights. When the apron is fastened, the constriction at
the waist keeps the appliance secure, and aids the firmness given by the prolongation
of these uprights below the waist.
I am aware that supports have been used for the bibs of aprons, but my invention
provides important advantages which have not been previously obtained, and I am
aware of the Specification of Letters Patent No. 15370 of 1886 granted to W. R. Kane
and I wish it to be understood that I do not claim anything described and claimed
therein.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is ;-
The construction of an appliance for holding up the bibs of aprons in position,

page_text: consisting of two upright pieces or strips extending above the waistband of aprons
and prolonged below the same, connected by a transverse attachment, the parts being
severally adjustable, for the purpose specified, and substantially as described herein.
Dated this Seventeenth day of March 1890.
MARY WEDLAKE.