IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FELT CARPETS."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Mitchell, of Waterfoot, in the County of
Lancaster, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
FELT CARPETS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Mitchell at the
"
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st January 1880.
WILLIAM MITCHELL, of Waterfoot, in the County of Lancaster.
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FELT CARPETS."
IMPROVEMENTS
My improvements relate to the manufacture of such felt carpets as are made
from a mixture or combination of wool and flax.
Hitherto it has been the practise to make such compound felt carpets of three
distinct layers of material, each being carded separately, that is to say, a layer of
wool for the back upon which the flax was then placed loosely and covered with
another layer of wool for the face.
These three layers were then passed through the felting and hardening process,
and were then printed, washed, and stretched.
The defects of this method of manufacture were as follows:-1. In consequence
of the layer of flax not possessing felting properties, the interior portion of the felt
could not be consolidated properly, but remained more or less loose in texture, and
the front and back layers of felted wool could be easily separated.
2. The colors were liable to run in the washing process, and
3. In consequence of the imperfect felting the stretching process caused the
fabric to be pulled much thinner in some places than in others, and the pattern to
be distorted in such a way that there was great difficulty in making and joining
the same.
*
"
In order to obviate these difficulties I mix the two fibres (wool and flax)
together in the required proportions, and I card them both together in one machine,
batt in which the flax
and at the same time producing thereby a compound
(instead of being loose and in a separate layer) is evenly distributed and
incorporated with the whole mass.
I then place this "batt," so formed, in the felting machine, and manufacture
therefrom a felt of the required thickness, which is then hardened in the usual
manner, by which means I obtain a felt composed of a mixture of wool and flax,

page_text: but instead of these fibres being in three separate layers, as heretofore, they are
intimately combined and incorporated together, so that they form one solid fabric,
much firmer and stronger than that produced by the former process, and not liable
to split into separate layers.
In printing this fabric, as the surface is not wool only (as heretofore) but a
mixture of wool and flax, I use only such colors as will print equally upon animal
and vegetable fibre, and instead of washing after printing I steam the felt to fix
and brighten the color. I omit the stretching process entirely, and by these
means I obtain a printed felt carpet much firmer and stronger than those hitherto
made from wool and flax combined, having a much superior appearance and "feel," 1
and with the pattern not stretched or otherwise distorted, so that there is no more
difficulty in matching and uniting the pattern than in a woven carpet.
"
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Mitchell in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 21st July
1880.
WILLIAM MITCHELL, of Waterfoot, in the County of Lancaster.
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FELT CARPETS."
"
"IMPROVEMENTS
These improvements relate to the manufacture of low priced felt carpets, such as
are made from wool and flax; and other fibrous materials, instead of being made all
from wool, as the superior felt carpets are. It has hitherto been the practice in
the manufacture of felt carpets (other than all wool felt carpets) to give the
required weight and thickness to the fabric by introducing flax waste (or other
low priced fibrous material) into the middle of the piece. In this mode of manu-
facture the "batt" was divided into three parts, the "face," the "middle," and the
back." The face is that side which receive color and on which the design is
printed; the "middle contains flax waste or hemp, or other fibrous material,
which is ordinarily mixed with coarse wool or woollen waste, etcetera, in order to
unite the vegetable fibres more firmly in the process of milling; and the "back"
is that side of the piece which is not printed, and which therefore has less wool on
than the face. These carpets therefore externally present a similar appearance to
all wool carpets in that they are externally covered with wool, but they differ from
all wools in the fact that the middle of the piece is composed of hemp or flax,
etcetera. It has hitherto been the custom to print these carpets with the same
preparation of colour, and in the same way as if the goods were composed
exclusively of wool, that is to say, the colors were prepared for printing wool or
animal fibres only, and not for flax or hemp or other vegetable fibres: In this
mode of manufacture therefore it was of the most essential importance that the
face should be composed of a sufficient number of layers of wool to thoroughly
cover the flax, in which case the piece could be printed as perfectly in regard to
colour and design as a piece composed exclusively of wool

page_text: --
The defects of this method of manufacture were as follows:-
First, in consequence of the flax or hemp not possessing the requisite felting
properties, the interior or middle portion of the fabric remained more or less loose
in texture, and the front and back layers of felted wool could be easily separated.
Again if the vegetable fibres appeared on the face of a piece of felt carpet the
process of printing brought them out more prominently, as the printing was
intended to print the wool only, and was not prepared so as to colour vegetable
fibres.
The appearance of vegetable fibres on the face therefore produced a speckled or
spotted appearance in the printed state which rendered the goods imperfect.
To cheapen the production of these goods there was a natural tendency to reduce
the weight of wool supplied to the face, and where this course was adopted the
durability of the carpet was largely diminished, and the liability to imperfect
printing was proportionately increased. In this mode of manufacture the durability
and value of a felt carpet were determined by the layers of wool on the face, for
when this was worn away the color and design were gone, because the layers of
flax underneath were not printed and would not take the color.
If by any
accident the face was rubbed off in any part of the piece by this method of manu-
facture, the defect would be prominently displayed after being printed, and would
therefore constitute an imperfect piece. Another defect in this mode of manu-
facture was that it tended to encourage stretching of the goods. In the lowest
priced goods the pieces were only slightly milled or fulled," in order that they
might be stretched to greater lengths. In this method of manufacture the tendency
of competition is to reduce the quantity of wool, to deprive the goods of the
requisite milling, and to obtain profit by an undue stretching of the cloth, and this
leaves such a thin covering of wool for the face that the colors are quickly worn
away, and the real value and durability of the carpet as an article of use are
considerably deteriorated.
of
Another defect is that this undue stretching of goods pulls the patterns out of
shape, so that they can only with great difficulty be matched when made up into
carpets.
In order to obviate these difficulties and to enable a felt fabric to be made
economically, and at the same time of far better quality than felt fabrics hitherto
made of mixed materials, I mix the two fibres (wool and flax or hemp, or other
vegetable fibres) together in the requisite proportions before carding, and then card
them both together in one machine. The material is then laid upon the carding
machine, and is continuously fed on the engine, and discharged from the doffing
comb onto the batt frame cloth until the "batt" attains its requisite thickness,
and what I term a compound batt is formed of a kind not heretofore used in
manufacturing like fabrics. I have discovered that such a batt is capable of being
hardened, milled, and formed into a felted fabric with great advantage.
I find that the compound batt thus produced by a mixture of wool and flax, does
not "mill" so rapidly as those produced on the old principle, where the middle is
composed of a different material from the face and back, but though it mills slower
I am enabled to mill it a longer time, and this makes the cloth exceedingly
durable and strong.
By this method of manufacture I am enabled to produce a cloth in the white
(that is not printed) cheaper and more durable than the one produced by the old
method.
This method of making felt carpet in the unprinted state is a great improvement
on the old plan, as all danger of damage to the "face" is removed (which causes
so many imperfect pieces on the old plan), because the face, middle, and back are
all composed of the same material. In printing this fabric, as the surface is not
composed of wool only (as heretofore), but is a mixture of wool and flax, care must
be taken to employ such a process of printing as will print equally upon vegetable
as well as upon animal fibres (which those ordinarily employed will not do). I find

page_text: that dyeing and printing materials formed of ordinary aniline colors and dye
wares answer well.
The goods are then steamed and the old process of washing is dispensed with,
thereby effecting a great improvement, as the washing process imposes a severe
strain upon the fabric, which very materially stretches the piece and injuriously
effects the matching of the patterns.
By this mode of printing I avoid the imperfections which result from the old
mode of printing in which the vegetable fibres were not printed or colored, and
there is this great advantage that the color goes through the fabric from face to
back (as in the case of all wool carpet), because the material composing the face,
middle, and back is all the same. This increases the durability of the carpet as the
printing remains perfect until the fabric is worn through.
These goods can be made at a much cheaper rate than goods made on the old
plan, and therefore there will be little or no inducement to increase their length by
stretching them, and the patterns therefore will not be distorted and pulled out of
shape, and there is no difficulty in uniting them and in matching the patterns.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention, together with
the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into
practical effect, I wish it to be understood that I claim as my Invention,―
First. The manufacture of felt carpets (in the unprinted state) by forming a
compound batt composed of mixed fibres of wool and vegetables, which is hardened,
milled, and formed into a fabric of superior quality, substantially in the manner
herein before described, instead of being made of three distinct layers as heretofore.
Secondly. The manufacture of printed fabrics of an improved character by
printing a felted fabric formed from a compound batt as above mentioned with dye
wares adapted to print equally well on vegetable or on animal fibres, or upon a
combination of both, the printed goods being steamed and washing being dispensed
with, substantially as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Mitchell, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twentieth day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty.