IMPROVEMENTS IN ORNAMENTAL WEAVING, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Orr, of Sutton Mill, Crosshills, near Leeds, in
the County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ORNAMENTAL
WEAVING, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Sealed the 15th January 1867, and dated the 27th July 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Orr at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th July
1866.
I, JOHN ORR, of Sutton Mill, Crosshills, near Leeds, in the County of York,
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
ORNAMENTAL WEAVING, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object certain improvements in ornamental
weaving, and in the apparatus employed therein.
The Invention has reference to the production of that class of brocaded or
embroidered fabrics in the weaving of which brocading shuttles and apparatus
are used.
A leading object of this Invention is to prevent the very frequent stoppages
consequent on the quick using up or exhaustion of the embroidering material,
consequent on the manner in which ordinary swivel or brocade shuttles and
frames are now used.
In the present Invention the supply of embroidering material during the

page_text: process of weaving is not from what is contained in the swivel or brocade
shuttles as heretofore, but from beams, rollers, or bobbins detached from said
shuttles and placed in any convenient part of the loom.
In working this part of the Invention the threads of silk, worsted, or other
substance that compose the embroidering material are ordinarily drawn through
harness and reed, in like manner to ordinary warp threads; but this is not
essential, as they may be arranged to pass over or under the reed, and they
are placed at one side, say for description sake the right side of the strips,
sprigs, or ornaments they are employed in forming; the swivel or brocade
shuttle is also made to contain a bobbin or pirn filled with thread in the
ordinary way, which thread is used not as embroidering material, but to form
a sort of selvage thread or cord at one side of each sprig or ornament. In
working, the shed for the swivel or brocade shuttles is formed by the jacquard
or other suitable apparatus in the usual way; the swivel or brocade shuttles
are moved through the shed from left to right, passing the embroidering
threads at the right side of each sprig, the shuttles having passed the em-
broidering threads are caused to move, and the shuttles are sent back, their
threads being by these means looped round the embroidering threads, and the
embroidering threads are drawn into the shed in a looped or doubled form, and
are held at the left side of each sprig or pattern, or ornament by the
tension of the shuttle threads, until the succeeding ground shoot fastens them
into the fabric. In like manner all the embroidering shoots are put in, the
operation being as will be seen somewhat similar to that of the lock stitch
sewing machine, only that in this case the working takes place round the
outline, or from side to side of each of the strips, sprigs, or ornaments being
formed, instead of through the thickness of the cloth, as with the lock stitch
sewing machine. Ordinary forms of swivel frames and shuttles may be used,
but by preference I use a frame of novel construction, having openings for the
ornament shed that narrow or taper in the upper parts, so that the warp
threads forming the shed for the passage of the swivel or brocade shuttles are
gathered into narrow compass, thereby lessening the space through which the
swivel or brocade shuttles have to pass, and the shuttles are moved through
the sheds by pushing instruments, which go through the sheds and then return
to their positions in order that the sheds may be changed. It may be stated
that this improved swivel frame is available and advantageous for weaving in
the ordinary manner of swivel frames, that is, when taking the embroidering
material from the usual receptacles in the swivel or brocade shuttles. It may
here be stated that the foregoing principle of operation, that is, taking the
embroidering or brocading material from beams, rollers, or bobbins, apart from

page_text: the swivel or brocade shuttles, may be worked either on the double shed and
simultaneous action of swivel and ground shuttles principle, or on the older
plan of single shed and alternate movement of swivel and ground shuttles
principle. It may also be noticed here that the method of supplying the
embroidering material affords great facility for introducing a variety of colors
into the fabric being woven, inasmuch as a number of embroidering threads
may be arranged at the side of the strips, sprigs, or ornaments to be formed,
any one of which may be arranged by jacquard or other pattern surfaces, to
be looped round by the thread from the swivel shuttle and drawn through the
shed in the manner already described.
Another part of this Invention is what may be called an improvement of
the lappet frame principle of ornamental weaving, inasmuch as the said lappet
frame is caused to execute similar work to that usually performed by the
swivel frame and shuttles. By the lappet method of ornamentation the
embroidering material is actuated by a series of needles placed in a frame at
intervals more or less wide, and having movements somewhat analogous to
those of the swivel frame and shuttles, only that the needles of the lappet
frame are generally caused to operate from beneath the ground warp, whereas
the swivel shuttles are made to act above the ground warp. The difference
of work produced by the two systems consists in this, that by the lappet
process the embroidering material is only fastened to the ground fabric at the
outlines or edges of the figures produced, being there looped round the ground
weft, while the embroidering material actuated by swivel or brocade shuttles
is passed underneath portions of the warp and thereby ingrained into the
fabric, being thus rendered more durable and having more the appearance of
hand embroidery. By the present improvement the embroidering material
carried by the lappet needles is also passed underneath portions of the warp
from the upper side, besides being looped round the ground weft, thus uniting
the qualities of the two systems, the mode of operation being in substance as
follows: Supposing, for the purpose of description, that the figures to be
produced are small round spots occurring at Intervals of say one inch
across the fabric, in this case the needles are fixed in the frame one inch from
each other, and the frame is placed above the ground warp with the point of
the needles downwards. It is desirable that each needle should be slightly
bent some distance from the point (where the eye is situated) towards one
side of the loom, say the right-hand side in the manner of a little foot. The
description of loom required is a jacquard or other index loom arranged to
form a double shed, that is, a shed through the whole body of warp for the
ground shuttle, and a shed of smaller portions of the warp raised somewhat

page_text: higher for the embroidering material to pass under; on this compound shed
being opened, and when the lath or batten is about three parts back, the
needles are caused to move towards the right side of the loom, passing the
bended part at the points of the needles underneath the higher portions of
warp; they are then depressed into the ground shed sufficiently low for the
ground shuttle to pass over the embroidering threads, thus producing the loop
round the weft already spoken of, and also the insertion of embroidering
threads underneath portions of the warp. As the lath moves forward the
needles are withdrawn from the warp by movements the reverse of those by
which they were entered. This process is repeated until the number of
shoots required to form the round spot are put in; the embroidering threads
are then floated on the surface of the fabric, either on the upper or under side
according as the needles are raised or depressed. The succeeding row of spots
can be put in at intermediate distances by shifting the needle frame in the
manner common to lappet and swivel frame weaving. Several frames may
when desired be used in one loom, as is common in lappet weaving, each
carrying embroidering material of the same or different color, and it may be
of different substance. It should be stated here that a variation of the fore-
going process can be employed, whereby one or more needle frames may be
used to insert the weft under the warp, and one or more additional frames to
dip into the ground shed so as to enter the loop of the threads from the side
acting frames.
Another part of this Invention relates to a new method of inserting pile
into fabrics, either in connection with brocading damask or any style of orna-
ment, or on fabrics that would otherwise be plain or devoid of ornamentation,
its chief uses are, however, in the manufacture of upholsterers' goods, such as
curtains, table covers, carpets, hearthrugs, stool covers, and others. In
working this part of the Invention a comb is used of a peculiar construction,
which is generally made of a length to correspond with the breadth of cloth to
be woven, and the length of the teeth is in proportion to the length or depth
of pile to be inserted into the fabric. The threads of worsted, silk, or other
material of which the pile or velvet is to be formed are coiled round the comb
from the back to the points of the teeth, which are serrated or grooved at the
points to prevent the coiled threads from getting into the openings between
the teeth, and the teeth are also curved or bended in some degree so as to give
the comb concave and convex sides for a purpose to be explained. In
weaving a fabric by this process, the ground or foundation cloth is woven in
the usual manner, and when the velvet pile is to be introduced, which may be
at intervals of one, two, three, or any convenient number of shoots, the loom

page_text: has to be stopped with the lath back and the requisite shed open, then the
comb with its supply of pile wound round is inserted (the points of the teeth
being downwards) among the warp threads, allowing one or more of them to
get into each opening between the teeth in the same way as between the dent
or split of a reed; a long needle carrying a thread, which may be called the
fastening shoot, is then pushed through between the teeth of the comb on
its concave side and the worsted or other material along its whole length; it
is caught as it projects at the other end of the combe from that at which it
entered and held by suitable apparatus while the needle is withdrawn; one
or more ground shoots are then woven in the ordinary way into the foundation
fabric, and the pile material is then cut along the length of the combe in the
manner common to velvet or plush weaving. It is to be understood that
the pile may be coiled on the combs in sections or at intervals more or less
wide, and changing with each comb full according to the requirements of such
sectional pattern as is being produced; also that the pile material may be
of divers colors changing along the length of the comb, and at each filling
of the comb, according to the requirement of the pattern being produced in
the same manner as in the several shoots of chenille or Turkey carpets.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Orr in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th
January 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN ORR,
of Sutton Mill, Crosshills, near Leeds, in the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Orr, Her special licence that I, the said John Orr, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Orr, my 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
ORNAMENTAL WEAVING, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOVED THEREIN," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Orr, my executors or adminis-
.

page_text: trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, 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 1, the said John Orr, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say;-
This Invention has for its object certain improvements in ornamental
weaving, and in the apparatus employed therein.
The first part of the Invention has reference to the production of that class
of brocaded or embroidered fabrics, in the weaving of which brocading
shuttles and apparatus are used. A leading object of this lnvention is to
prevent the very frequent stoppages consequent on the quick using up or
exhaustion of the embroidering material consequent on the manner in which
ordinary swivel or brocade shuttles and frames are now used, in which the
shuttle threads are the ornamenting threads, whereas according to my Inven-
tion the shuttle threads are used to draw ornamenting warp threads into
sheds opened to receive them, the swivel shuttle threads becoming longitudinal
threads in the fabric. In working this part of the Invention the threads of
silk, worsted, or other substance that compose the embroidering material are
ordinarily drawn through harness and reed in like manner to ordinary warp
threads, but this is not necessarily the case, as they may be arranged to pass
over or under the reed, and they are placed at one side, say for description
sake the right side of the strips, sprigs, or ornaments they are employed in
forming. Each swivel or brocade shuttle contains a bobbin or pirn filled
with thread in the ordinary way, which thread, however, is used not as
embroidering material, but to form a selvage thread at one side of each sprig
or ornament. In working the shed for the swivel or brocade shuttles is
formed by the jacquard or other suitable apparatus in the usual way, the
swivel or brocade shuttles are moved through the shed from, say, left to right,
passing the embroidering threads at the right side of each sprig, and the
shuttles are then sent back, their threads being looped round the cm-
broidering threads, by which the embroidering threads are drawn into the
shed in a looped or doubled form, and are held at the left side of each sprig
or pattern or ornament by the tension of the shuttle threads, which is to be
sufficient to draw the ornamenting threads through the shed, when the
succeeding ground shoot of weft fastens the ornamenting threads into the

page_text: fabric. Ordinary forms of swivel frames and shuttles may be used, or a
frame may be employed having openings for the ornament shed that narrow
or taper towards the upper parts, so that the warp threads forming the shed
for the passage of the swivel or brocade shuttles are gathered into a somewhat
narrow compass. It may here be stated that the foregoing principle of
operation, that is, taking the embroidering or brocading material from beams,
rollers, or bobbins, and using the threads of the swivel or brocade shuttles to
draw them into the shed, may be worked either on the double shed and
simultaneous action of swivel and ground shuttles principle, or on the older
plan of single shed and alternate movement of swivel and ground shuttles
principle. It may also be noticed here that the method of supplying the
embroidering material affords great facility for introducing a variety of colors
of ornamenting threads into the fabric being woven, inasmuch as a number
of embroidering threads may be arranged at the side of the stripes, sprigs, or
ornaments to be formed, any one of which may be arranged by jacquard
or other pattern surfaces, to be looped round and drawn into the shed by the
thread from the swivel shuttle. The swivel shuttle thread in its passage
to and fro passes over and under, and so links with the embroidery
thread.
Another part of my Invention consists in what may be called an improve-
ment of the ordinary lappet frame principle of producing ornamental
weaving, and consists in the said lappet frame being used in combination
with double sheds, and being caused to execute similar work to that usually
performed by the use of the swivel frame and shuttles. By the ordinary
lappet method of ornamentation the embroidering material is actuated by a
series of needles placed in a frame at intervals more or less wide. The
difference of work produced by the two systems consists in this, that by the
ordinary lappet process the embroidering material is only fastened to the
ground fabric at the outlines or edges of the figures produced, being there
looped round the ground weft, while the embroidering material actuated by
swivel or brocade shuttles is passed over some and under other portions of
the warp, and is thereby ingrained into the fabric, being thus rendered more
durable and having more the appearance of hand embroidery. By the present
improvement of the process of lappet weaving the embroidering material is
carried by the lappet needles by preference above the fabric, the points of the
needles moving downwards into the shed, and the ornamenting material is in
weaving an ornament caused to pass underneath portions of the warp and
over other portions of the warp, thus uniting the qualities of the two systems
of weaving before, referred to. Supposing for the purpose of description

page_text: that the figures to be produced are round spots or other forms occurring at
intervals, of say one inch across the fabric; in this case the needles are fixed
in the frame one inch from each other, and the frame is as before stated
placed above the ground warp with the points of the needles downwards.
The description of loom required in carrying out this part of my Invention
is a jacquard or other index loom arranged to form a double shed, that is a
shed through the whole body of warp for the ground shuttle, and a shed of
smaller portions of the warp raised somewhat higher than the ground shuttle
threads for the embroidering material to pass under. In other respects the
loom is to be suitable for working according to the well-known lappet system.
The upper shed is formed for two purposes, the one is that all the warp
threads which are desired to come above the ornamenting thread introduced
by any one of the needles shall be raised into the upper part of the shed,
whilst those warp threads which for the time are desired to be below the
ornamenting thread of a needle shall be kept at the lower part of the upper
shed, so that when the needle frame is moved transversely across the loom
the needles coming against the more raised warp threads push them out of
the way, till the needles having completed their traverse descend, when as in
ordinary lappet weaving the ornamenting threads introduced by the needles
are retained by a shoot of weft carried by the ground shuttle, consequently
when the needles are raised out of the shed and are out of the way of the
warp threads previously pressed on one side by the needles, these warp
threads return to their ordinary position, and come above the ornamental
threads last introduced by the needles, then in the next opening of the upper
shed some or all of the warps which were previously below the ornamenting
threads are to be raised. whilst those warps, or some of them which were
previously raised and pushed aside by the movement of the needles arc to
be in the lower part of the upper shed, and so on during the weaving of
ornaments across the fabric by the aid of needles carrying ornamenting
threads. The other purpose for which some of the warp threads are raised
is to insure. the needles entering in each case beyond the thread of each
figure or ornament, which for the time is to form the selvage or outermost
thread or threads of an ornament; for this purpose several warp threads (say
eight) which come next beyond those where an ornament is being pro-
duced are raised to the same height as those which are for the time to form
the upper warps of the ornament, hence as the needle in each case is moved
to a position somewhat beyond the outermost warp of the ornament the
needle will pass down in a space where there are no warp threads. Although
it is preferred that the needle frame should be above the warp as above

page_text: explained this is not essential, as a workman will readily understand that a
loom might be arranged to reverse the manner of opening a double shed
such as above described.
It should be stated that I make no claim to the arranging of looms so as
to open double sheds, various arrangements for that purpose being well
known and in common use for weaving various descriptions of fabrics.
In forming the requisite double shed for carrying out this part of my
Invention, it is only necessary that those parts of the warps which are to be
pressed on one side by the needles shall be sufficiently beyond the other
warps to insure their not passing under the points of the needles when being
pressed on one side by the needles. More than one frame of needles may as
heretofore in lappet weaving be used in a loom.
be formed, are coiled round
teeth, which are serrated or
threads from getting into the
Another part of this Invention relates to a new method of inserting pile.
into fabrics, either in connection with brocading damask or any style of orna-
ment, or on fabrics that would otherwise be plain or devoid of ornamentation,
its chief uses are, however, in the manufacture of upholsterers' goods, such
as curtains, table covers, carpets, hearthrugs, stool covers, and others. In
working this part of the Invention a comb is used of a peculiar construction,
which is generally made of a length to correspond with the breadth of cloth
to be woven, and the length of the teeth is in proportion to the length or
depth of pile to be inserted into the fabric. The threads of silk, worsted, or
other material of which the pile or velvet is to
the comb from the back to the points of the
grooved at the points to prevent the coiled
openings between the teeth, and the teeth are also curved or bent in some
degree so as to give the comb concave and convex sides for a purpose to
be explained. In weaving a fabric by this process the ground or foundation
cloth is woven in the usual manner, and when the velvet pile is to be intro-
duced, which may be at intervals of one, two, three, or any convenient
number of shoots, the loom has to be stopped with the lath back and the
requisite shed open, then the comb with its supply of pile wound round is
inserted (the points of the teeth being downwards) among the warp threads,
allowing one or more of them to get into each opening between the teeth in
the same way as between the dent or split of a reed; a long needle carrying
a thread, which may be called the fastening shoot, is then pushed through
between the teeth of the comb on its concave side and the worsted or other
material along its whole length. The introduced thread is caught as it
projects at the other end of the comb from that at which the needle has
entered, and the thread is held by suitable apparatus while the needle is

page_text: withdrawn one or more ground shoots are then woven in in the ordinary
way into the foundation fabric, and the pile material. is then cut along the
length of the comb in the manner common to velvet or plush weaving. It
is to be understood that the pile may be coiled on the combs in sections or at
intervals more or less wide, and changing with each comb full according to
the requirements of such sectional pattern as is being produced; also that
the pile material may be of divers colors changing along the length of the
comb, and at each filling of the comb according to the requirement of the
pattern being produced in the same manner as in the several shoots of chenille
or Turkey carpets.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Orr, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
JOHN ORR. (L.S.)