Improvements in the Manufacture of Net-lace and like Fabrics.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Net-lace and like Fabrics.
We, WILLIAM HENRY HEYMANN, of Stoney Street, Nottingham, Manu-
facturer, and CHARLES JAMES Cox, of Rock House, Basford, Nottingham,
Lace Dresser, 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:-
It has hitherto been customary in the manufacture of net-lace made on the
ordinary bobbin net machine to introduce into the fabric one or a number of
threads at the edges of the fabric in order to give greater strength to the edges.
In the operation of finishing or dressing lace it has hitherto been customary to
treat it with starch or other stiffening material and pass through ordinary starch
mangles or rollers and then place it upon long frames (furnished with tenter pins
and capable of being extended) in its then wet state and allow it to dry in its
extended state. In some kinds of lace, the fabric is extended on these long frames
in the dry state and the starch or other stiffening material is applied by hand with
brushes and rollers: in either case, the lace when dry is taken from these long
frames upon folders, turned over and over, the whole of the operations being
manipulated by hand.
All these operations require great care and judgment on the part of work girls
and can only be effectively accomplished by skilled hands it being important that
the meshes in the lace be opened out equally and parallel with each other and
without appearing wayy.
According to our invention instead of weaving selvedge threads into the piece
separately side by side in the same plane, we lay a number of such threads
together so that in the process of weaving they are drawn up as it were into a
compact bundle, or we use a single cord of sufficient thickness instead of such a
bundle of threads.
The fabric may be passed through a narrow slit left between two bars or edges,
the slit being sufficiently wide for the fabric to pass through, but so narrow that
the corded edge cannot pass through. The cord may thus serve as the micans for
holding and stretching the fabric, and apparatus founded on this method of
stretching is described in the Specification No. 4097 15th March 1890.
The cords or equivalent sets of selvedge threads lying parallel and close to one
another and being additional to the warp of the fabric are woven in the manner
usual for an ordinary selvedge thread, except that where a bundle of threads is
used instead of a cord, the bundle is treated as if it were a single thread, so that it
is wrapped around tightly by the bobbin thread.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
--
The manufacture of net-lace and like fabrics with a cord, or its equivalent,
woven in at, or near the edge thereof, on each side, substantially as hereinbefore
described of sufficient thickness to serve for stretching the fabric in the manner
hereinbefore indicated.
Dated this 9th day of January 1891.
H. GARDNER,
Patent Agent, 166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said William Henry Heymann and Charles James Cox.