IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FABRICS MADE BY LACE MACHINERY
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHRISTOPHER
NICKELS, of York Road, Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-second day of May, in the sixth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Christopher
Nickels, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that
I, the said Christopher Nickels, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Christopher Nickels, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the
term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FABRICS MADE BY
LACE MACHINERY;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that
J, the said Christopher Nickels, shall cause a particular description of the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had;
will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Christopher Nickels, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,

page_text: and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had
to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon (that is to say):-
-
My Invention relates, first, to causing twist lace machinery to produce
fabrics composed or partly composed of threads or yarns of fibrous material
which have been previously covered. Secondly, my Invention relates to
causing warp lace machines to produce fabrics composed or partly composed
of spun threads or yarns of fibrous materials which have been previously
covered. And, thirdly, my Invention relates to the combining strands of india-
rubber thread in a transverse direction in twist lace fabrics made in lace
machines. And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued
by me.
In making fabrics in lace machines it has been usual to employ spun thread
or yarn made of cotton or of silk, but in some cases other yarn of fibrous
materials have been used, but in all cases the thread or yarn employed has
been produced simply by spinning. Now, the object of the first and second
parts of my Invention is to take advantage of the varied power of lace
machinery in order to make varied ornamental fringes, and ornamental gymp
fabrics, by causing lace machines to work to produce fabrics with threads or
yarns spun out of fibrous. material which have been first covered by winding
round other thread or yarn, or by.braiding the same over, so that each thread
used in some cases shall be composed of an internal spun thread or threads of
fibrous material, covered over externally by winding or braiding with other
yarn or thread, and in other cases the fabrics. are to be composed of numerous
of such covered yarns, in combination with yarns which are uncovered.
In carrying out the first and second parts of my Invention, I will suppose
that it is desired to produce varied ornamental stiff laces or fabrics in twist
lace or warp lace machines, and that threads or yarns of cotton are to be used,
covered over with silk; in which case each yarn or thread of cotton to be used
is to be covered by winding, or by braiding, or other suitable covering machines,
with silk, as is well understood when covering one description of yarn or
thread with another description of yarn or suitable covering material for
various purposes, and having covered the cotton yarns or threads, they are to
be used in place of the yarn ordinarily employed; and as such covered yarn
will be coarser than what is ordinarily employed (excepting in some cases where
thick yarns,
threads, or cords have before been used), I employ machinery of
proportionably coarser guage; and in making fabrics in twist lace machines, I

page_text: apply the covered yarn or thread as the warp threads of the fabrics to be
produced; and I also apply the covered threads as bobbin threads; and I
cause the two sets of covered threads to intertwist together in order to produce
fabrics in twist lace machines, and of widths according to the purpose to which
they are to be applied, and also of a more or less ornamental kind; and in
some cases I introduce ornamenting threads, covered or uncovered, in like
manner to what has heretofore been practised in making fabrics in twist lace
machines with uncovered threads; and in making narrow breadths of fabrics
in twist lace machines, wholly or partly of covered threads, I use lacing or
draw threads to lace the breadths together; such lacing or draw thread being
of simple yarn, and in this manner very ornamental fringes and such like stiff
and gymp-like fabrics may be produced in twist lace machines. The con-
struction of twist lace machines and warp lace machines, and their modes of
working being well understood, it is not necessary to enter into a description
thereof, as my Invention does not require that any alteration should be made
in the machine, provided it is of coarse gunge enough for the particular
covered thread or yarn employed.
In making fabrics in warp lace machines, according to the second part of my
Invention, I employ covered threads or yarns, as above explained, and cause them
to be looped on to the needles of the machine and interlooped into each other in
the ordinary manner of warp fabrics; and in some cases I introduce extra
ornamenting covered or uncovered threads or yarns which do not loop on the
needles, as is well understood in making fabrics of plain uncovered yarns or
threads in warp lace machines. In fact, the machinery may be worked in any
of the ordinary ways, simply using threads or yarns of spun fibrous materials
which have been first covered; and in some cases I form the warp employed
partly of uncovered threads; all which will depend on the taste of the workman
and the particular fabric which is intended to be produced. I would remark
that I am aware that what has been called " gymp," has been used in
ornamenting twist lace and warp lace, such gymp consisting of a larger and
softer spun yarn than that constituting the general ground of the fabric; and I
mention this circumstance because the technical language used in speaking of
covering yarns or threads with metal wire, or with silk, or other yarn, is called
gymping, and the article produced is called gymp; for which reason I have
called the material used by me in carrying out the first and second parts of my
Invention, thread or yarn composed of spun fibres covered over with silk or
other suitable material before working it into fabrics by means of twist lace or
warp lace machines, in order that it should be distinguished from the thick
uncovered threads heretofore used in lace machines called gymp. I would

page_text: winding, or braiding, or otherwise, as is well understood, and which I believe to
be the most important combination of materials, it will be evident that other
spun yarns of fibrous materials may be covered with silk or other suitable
material by braiding or by winding, or otherwise laying the same closely round
the internal yarn or thread used.
I will now describe the third part of my Invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a front view (in outline) of so much of an ordinary traverse warp
machine (which is the description of machinery I prefer for effecting my Inven-
tion), with the apparatus (shown in color) for introducing strands of india-rubber
transversely across the fabric produced in the machine, which, with the descrip-
tion hereafter given, will clearly point out the construction and relative position
of such apparatus and the means of introducing india-rubber across the machine,
or from selvage to selvage of the fabric or fabrics of lace. a is a pulley, having a
groove, which pulley has affixed to it the pinion c, and work on their axle z,
which axle is fixed on the framing of the machine; d is a cog wheel, having
twice the number of teeth of the pinion c, which cog wheel is connected to
an extra treadle e by a rod f working on an axle at g; b is a strong silken or
other suitable band, about the size of an ordinary swan's quill, which after being
lapped twice round the pulley a has its ends fastened to the square ferrule i,
which ferrule slides freely on the square rod j, and has a guide k, through the
eye of which the india-rubber strand or thread / from the bobbin m passes;
n are pulleys for facilitating the movements of the band b; o is a spring, one
end of which is fixed to the framing and the other to the treadle e, which spring
has sufficient power, when the cog d has made half a revolution from g to h,
to complete the revolution, and return the treadle e to the position shown in
the Drawing. u, U, are adjusting stops to regulate the portion of a revo-
lution the cog wheels are to make in order to cause the ferrules to proceed
the exact distance they are required, and cause the cog wheels to revolve
alternately in a contrary direction. The apparatus above described is that
used for interlaying the front india-rubber thread, or that which is interlaid
when the carriages are in front of the warp threads. As the apparatus for
interlaying the back india-rubber thread, or that which is intended when the
carriages are in the back bar, is of a like construction, and its operations alike,
I have denoted the same parts by the same letters in capitals, as A, B, &c.
The needle and fork bars are to be raised about half an inch, in order to make
room for the square rod J, as such rod is placed at the back of the warp threads,

page_text: the rodj being at the front; the ends of such rods pass through the standards
and are drawn tight by their nuts q, Q, in order to prevent vibration by the
ferrules i, I, proceeding across the machine; and, further, it may be necessary
to reduce the width of the entire piece of lace ordinarily produced half an inch
on each side, and remove the carriages, points, and threads thereby rendered
useless, in order to make room for the guides k, K. By these means the
machine will be capable of producing lace or fabrics with india-rubber threads
laid in transversely of the fabric; or if more than one piece is being produced
in the machine, then by applying additional guides, one to each breadth or
piece, the same effect of inlaying of india-rubber threads between the two
systems of threads used in bobbin net machines, may be effected, and such
inlaying of india-rubber threads or strands may be done in the progress of
the working of the machine, according to the fancy of the workman.
I would remark that I make no claim to the apparatus and machinery
shewn or described, they being similar to what have been before used; nor do
I confine myself to the same in carrying out this part of my Invention, so long
as fabrics are produced in twist lace machinery with india-rubber strands or
threads laid in the fabrics transversely, or from selvage to selvage, in the
progress of their making in such descriptions of machines; and it is not abso-
lutely necessary that the india-rubber strands or threads should be laid in at
back and front, as the simple laying in on one side will be in most cases
sufficient.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise details, provided the peculiar character of either
part of the Invention be retained; but what I claim is,-
First, the making of fabrics in twist lace machines by employing threads or
yarns of spun fibrous materials covered with silk or other suitable material
before being worked up into fabrics by such machines.
Secondly, I claim the making of fabrics in warp lace machines by employing
thread or yarn of spun fibrous material covered with silk or other suitable
material before being worked up into fabrics by such machines.
And, thirdly, I claim the mode of manufacturing fabrics in twist lace
machines by introducing strands of india-rubber transversely of such fabrics as
they are produced in such machines.
In witness whereof, I, the said Christopher Nickels, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-second day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-three.
CHRISTOPHER (L.S.) NICKELS.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-second day of November,
in the year of our Lord 1843, the. aforesaid Christopher Nickels came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to
the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-second day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-three.