IM- PROVEMENTS IN TUCKING AND FRILLING OR GATHERING ATTACHMENTS FOR SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Richard Middlemore Thomson, of Glasgow, in the
County of Lanark, North Britain, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN TUCKING AND FRILLING OR GATHERING ATTACHMENTS FOR
SEWING MACHINES." A communication from abroad by James Massie, of
Guelpb, in the Province of Ontario. Canada.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Richard Middlemore
Thomson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 14th July 1876.
WILLIAM RICHARD MIDDLEMORE THOMSON, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Patent Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN TUCKING AND FRILLING OR
GATHERING ATTACHMENTS FOR SEWING MACHINES." A communication from abroad
by James Massie, of Guelph, in the Province of Ontario, Canada.
This Invention relates to improved constructions or arrangements of the parts of
mechanism or attachments for sewing machines by which tucking and frilling or
gathering are better and more easily effected than by such machines and their
attachments as heretofore constructed.
And the nature and novelty of the first part of the Invention or attachment for
tucking consists of a fork-shaped two-armed plate, the one arm broader and longer
than the other, the short arm being bent up near its junction to the other, which is
also bent up some considerable distance therefrom, leaving a space between for the
reception of the fabric or cloth being sewed, and having both arms carried forward
parallel to the part and space between close on the top of the sewing plate or bed
of the sewing machine, to which it is secured by the side of a short broad rectangu-
lar fixing and guide plate attached to the top of the long arm some little distance
in front of the short arm by a slot and countersunk headed screw with pinching
nut above, and by a slot in the holding plate with pinching screw over this passed
into the bed plate of the sewing machine, to which both plates are thus screwed or
otherwise secured in front of the needle and its vertical reciprocating bar, and with
the edge or end of the holding plate (which also forms the outside guide or gauge)
as much to the right hand of the needle as the width of tucks to be sewed are
required from the row of stitching; and with the end of the short arm twice the
width of the tuck plus the distance each tuck is to be from each other to the left
of the outside guide or the needle, according as the measurement is taken from
[Price 6d.

page_text: edge to edge of the tucks, or from the stitching of the completed tuck to the edge
of the new one, the slots in the long arm and in the outside gauge being made to
shift to any ordinary required width of tucks.
The cloth or fabric to be tucked is folded by the operator at the creases to form
the edge of each tuck, and is laid and fed forwards over the two arms, with the
edge of the said folded part of the tuck up against the guiding edge of the outside
gauge with a narrow spring presser or plate horizontally hinged or swivelling on
the upper front edge of the long arm, which sunooths down the folds and insures
the folded edge being drawn in in a line close up to the outer gauge, assisted by a
friction spring, sliding rod, or inside gauge on the short arin, which has a kneed
end or other equivalent shifted out to act within the fold of the tuck being sewed,
and press or guide it on the inside up against the outside guide.
The short arm has also a short thin sharp marking or creasing blade rivetted to
and projecting up from its extreme end under the cloth with the india-rubber pad
or striker on the free end of a vertically vibrating spring lever mounted over it on
a fulcrum spindle at its other end, carried in a bracket piece rivetted to the extreme
end of the long arm of the under plate, where the spring is formed by a steel wire
coiled round the spindle, having its one end fixed to the bracket, while the other
is fixed as a short lever to the long arm or lever of the india-rubber pad, so as to
raise it after each stroke or depression effected by the needle and needle bar, which
takes into and over a slotted link attached loosely to the long arm of the lever,
and so presses it down with each descent of the needle bar, which causes the india-
rubber pad to strike or press and crease the cloth parallel to the seam right along
as it is being sewed at the part where each succeeding tuck is to be formed, the
india-rubber pad being attached in an improved manner between a clip or ears fixed
on the under side of a secondary or bent return arm or part at the front end of the
reciprocating lever, so as to allow of its being set or adjusted to the exact height
and pressure desired to suit the position and motion of the needle and needle bar.
The sewed and tucked part of the fabric and work as finished is passed under
the short arm, and through the space formed by the bends in both arms at the
ends where they are joined, and where the sewed work can be rolled or doubled
up when broad.
The construction or general arrangement of the frilling or gathering attachment
(forming the second part or improvement of this Invention) consists of a stout sole
plate secured by a slot and pinching screw to the bed plate of the sewing machine;
with a reciprocating spring gathering feed bar, working in ears bent up out of the
checked sole plate, a little to the right and in front of the needle, and parallel off the
feeding in edge of the fabric being sewed, and so as to be pulled back by the short
vertical arm of a bell-crank lever, fulcrumed close over it in a long car also bent
up out of the sole plate, through the depression of the longer arm, carried forward
close to or under the needle bar, so that each time the latter comes down the lever
pulls back the feeding or gathering bar against the power of a spiral spring coiled
round it between its guides, so as to press it forwards each time the needle is raised,
the short vertical arm projecting down into a slot or check in the front end of the
bar, with a feeding screw in its extreme end acting against the lever, so that the
screwing in or out of this screw causes the lever to give the bar more or less
backward motion, and consequently feed inwards by the spring or actual gathering
action, to the feeding knee arm, fixed on its front end, with sharp teeth slightly
bent down in front and on each side of the needle, and working over a thin spring
knee arm below it, rivetted in one piece, with a spring arm and pressing guide
plate, to the front of the sole plate, and carried forwards in front of the needle,
where it has a presser or guide foot rivetted to it brought back under the needle,
with a hole in it for the needle to work down through, and having its front end
bent up in front over the feeding and lower pressure arm, all so that the edge of
the fabric or band to which the frill is to be sewed passes below the whole three
spring arms, while the fabric, to be gathered to form the frill, is led forward over
the under spring arin and under the toothed feeding or gathering arm, while the

page_text: binder or band to be sewed over the gathered part of the frill, when that is desired
to be applied, is led forward over both of the said under and gathering arms, but.
all pass together under the needle and upper spring guide or presser arm, which
in addition to its own spring is or may be depressed by the foot of the ordinary
spring presser over the ordinary feeder a little in front of the needle.
The even or inner edges of the whole three fabrics, or centre frill and its under
and upper binding bands or strips, are all passed through slits in a spring guide or
gauge, formed by four thin clastic fingers, the two centre ones longer than the two
outside or under and upper ones, all slightly pressing the cloth near their outer
ends, which are rounded and curved so as not to catch or gripe at their extreme
ends, but all free or open and even at their inner end or shoulder, to guide all the
edges of the three fabrics evenly over each other, and formed with a fixing arm on
the inside, having a slot and pinching screw for shifting and fixing it to the sole
plate, so as to guide the whole of the edges straightly and parallelly or regularly
forward to the feeding arms and pressers, that the seam or sewing may also be
parallel to the edge of the fabric.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Richard Middlemore Thomson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 13th January 1877.
WILLIAM RICHARD MIDDLEMORE THOMSON, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Patent Agent. IMPROVEMENTS IN TUCKING AND FRILLING OR
GATHERING ATTACHMENTS FOR SEWING MACHINES." A communication from abroad
by James Massie, of Guelph, in the Province of Ontario, Canada.
This Invention relates to improved constructions or arrangements of the parts of
mechanisin or attachments for sewing machines by which tucking and frilling or
gathering are better and more casily effected than by such machines and their
attachments as heretofore constructed.
And in order that the nature, novelty, and mode of performing this Invention
may be properly understood I shall now proceed to describe the several Figures on
the accompanying Sheet of Drawings which I have hereunto appended for the
purpose of showing the best means I am at present aware of for carrying the same
into effect or practice, the same letters of reference indicating the same parts in the
corresponding Figures.
Figures 1 and 2 are a corresponding side elevation and plan of a modification of
the tucking attachments forming the first part of this Invention, and referring to
these Figures, the construction and arrangement of the tucking attachments consist
all as follows:-A fork-shaped two-armed frame plate A, A', is used, the one arm A
being broader and longer than the other, as seen in plan Figure 2, the short arm A¹
being bent up near its junction to the other, which is also bent up some considerable
distance therefrom, leaving a space A" between for the reception of the fabric or
cloth being sewed, as seen in Figure 1, and having both arms carried forward
parallelly close to the top of the sewing plate or bed of the sewing machine at a, a¹,
to which it is secured by the one side of a short broad rectangular fixing and guide
plate B, attached to the top part a of the long arm A, some little distance in front
of the short arm a¹, by a slot and countersunk headed screw E and E¹ with the
pinching nut above, and by a slot e in the holding plate with pinching screw c¹ over
this, passed into the bed plate of the sewing machine to which both plates A, A¹,
and B are thus screwed, or otherwise secured in front of the needle and its vertical
reciprocating bar, and with the edge or end b of the holding plate B (which also
forms the outside guide or gauge for the edge of the fabric) as much to the right
hand of the needle as the width of the tucks to be sewed are required from the row
of stitching, and with the end a¹ of the short arm A¹ twice the width of the tuck
plus the distance each tuck is to be from each other, to the left of the outside

page_text: guide or the needle, according as the measurement is taken from edge to edge of
the tucks or from the stitching of the completed tuck to the edge of the new one;
the slots E, c, in the long arm A, a, and in the outside gauge B being made to shift
to any ordinary required width of tucks.
The cloth or fabric to be tucked is folded by the operator at the creases to form
the edge of each tuck, and is laid and fed forwards over the two arms A and A¹,
with the edge of the said folded part of the tuck up against the guiding edge b of
the outside gauge B, with a narrow spring presser or plate d, horizontally hinged
or swivelling at d¹ on the upper front edge a of the long arın A, which smooths
down the folds and insures the folding edge being drawn in in a line close up to
the outer gauge b, assisted by a friction spring sliding rod c, or the inside gauge on
the front end a¹ of the short arm A, which has a kneed end or other equivalent
at c¹ shifted out to act within the fold of the tuck being sewed, and press or guide
it on the inside, up against the edge b, b, of the outside guide B.
The short arm A¹ has also a short thin sharp marking or creasing blade a¹, rivetted
to and projecting up from its extreme front end a¹ under the cloth, with the india-
rubber pad or striker F on the free end of the vertically vibrating long spring
lever G mounted over it on a fulcrum spindle H at its other end carried in a
bracket piece I, I, rivetted to the extreme end of the long arm a of the inner
plate A, A, where the spring J is formed by a steel wire coiled round the spindle,
having its one end fixed to the bracket I, while the other is fixed as a short lever Ji
to the long arm or lever G of the india-rubber pad F, so as to raise it after cach
stroke or depression effected by the needle and needle bar, which respectively take
into and over a slotted link g attached loosely to the long arm of the lever G, and
so press it down with each descent of the needle bar which causes the india-rubber
pad F to strike or press and crease the cloth on the creasing knife a", parallel to
the seam right along as it is being sewed at the part where each succeeding tuck
is to be formed. The india-rubber pad F is attached in an improved manner
between a clip or ears G₁ fixed on the under side of the secondary or bent return
arm or part G¹ at the front end of the reciprocating lever G, as seen particularly in
Figure 2, so as to allow of the pad F being set or adjusted to the exact height
and give the pressure desired to suit the position and motion of the needle and
needle bar.
The sewed and tucked part of the fabric and work as finished is passed under the
short arm A, a¹, and through the space A", formed by the bends in both arms at the
ends where they are joined, and where the sewed work can be rolled or doubled up
when broad.
Figures 3, 4, and 5 show a side and end elevation and plan, all corresponding to
each other, of a modification or arrangement of the new or improved frilling or
gathering attachments constructed in accordance with the second part of this
Invention; and referring to these Figures 3, 4, and 5, the whole of the parts are
carried on the portable frame or bed plate A, secured by a slot and pinching screw A¹
to the bed plate of the sewing machine, with a reciprocating spring gathering feed
bar B working in ears A, bent up out of the checked sole plate A a little to the
right and in front of the needle and parallel off the feeding-in edge of the fabric
being sewed, and so as to be pulled back by the short vertical arm C¹ of a bell-
crank lever C, C¹, fulcrumed at C", close over it in a long ear A", also bent up out
of the sole plate through the depression of the longer armi C, carried forward close
to or under the needle bar, so that each time the latter comes down the lever C
pulls back the feeding or gathering bar B, against the power of a spiral spring B¹
coiled round it between its guides A², which spring presses it forwards each time the
needle is raised; the short vertical arm C¹ projecting down into a slot or check in
the one end of the bar B, with a feeding screw B" in its extreme end acting against
the lever C¹, so that the screwing in or out of this screw causes the lever to give the
bar more or less backward motion, and consequently feed inwards by the spring for
the actual gathering motion of the feeding knee arm b fixed on its front end with
sharp teeth slightly bent down in front and on each side of the needle, and working

page_text: over a thin spring knee arm c below it, formed in one piece with the spring
ann rivetted at a to the front of the sole plate A, and carried forward
in front under the needle and ordinary pressing foot of the sewing machine,
where it has a presser or guide foot d rivetted to it, brought back under
the needle with a hole e in it for the needle to work down through, and having its
front end bent up in front over the feeding or tucking and lower pressure arms b,
c, d; all so that the edge of the fabric to which the frill is to be sewed passes below
the whole three spring arms b, c, d, while the fabric to be gathered to form the frill
is led forward over the under spring arm c and under the toothed feeding or
gathering arm b, while the binder or band to be sewed over the gathered part of the
frill, when that is desired to be applied, is led forward over both of the said under
and gathering arms c and b, but all pass together under the needle and upper spring
guide or presser arm d, which in addition to its own spring is or may be depressed
by the foot of the ordinary spring presser of the sewing machine above over the
ordinary feeder a little in front of the needle.
The even or inner edges of the whole three fabrics or centre frill and its under
and upper binding bands or strips are all passed through slits in a spring guide or
gauge arm I, formed by four thin elastic fingers 1, 1, the two centre ones longer
than the two outside or under and upper ones l, all slightly pressing the cloth near
their outer ends, which are rounded and curved so as not to catch or gripe it at their
extreme ends, as seen particularly in Figure 4; but all free or open and even at
their inner end or shoulder to guide all the edges of the three fabrics evenly over
each other; and formed with the kneed fixing arm L on the inside, having a slot and
pinching screw L' for shifting and fixing it to the sole plate A, so as to guide the
whole of the edges straightly and parallelly or regularly forward to the feeding arins
and pressers b, c, d, that the seam or sewing may also be parallel to the edge of
the fabric.
To suit other or special sizes and shapes of the sewing plates or tables of sewing
machines, some slight modification of the holding sole plates A (or B, in Figures 1
and 2), and the position of the securing slots or pins e, e', E, E¹, and A', but this
will be evident to any person acquainted with sewing machines, and the work
required to be performed by these new or improved attachments.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in which
the same is or may be performed, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is-
First. The construction or arrangement of tucking attachments for and their
application to sewing machines, all substantially as herein described in reference to
and shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawings, or any mere
nodification thereof.
Second. The construction or arrangement of frilling or gathering attachments for
and their application to sewing machines, all substantially as herein described in
reference to and shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5 of the accompanying Drawings, or
any mere modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Richard Middlemore Thomson, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of January, in the
Witness,
JOHN BROWN,
Patent Agent,
96, Buchanan Street,
Glasgow.
W. R. M. THOMSON. (L.S.)