Iм- PROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Joseph Hughes, of the City of Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, Patent Agent, for the Invention of “Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."-A communication.
Scaled the 29th December 1854, and dated the 30th June 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Joseph Hughes
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th June 1854.
I, EDWARD JOSEPH HUGHES, of the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," as communicated to me from abroad,
to be as follows:-
The nature of this Invention consists of,-
Firstly, an improved machine for sewing with one long thread and one
needle and a hook, which hook takes the loop of the thread after it has been
taken up through the cloth and down again in another place around a spool, or
a case which contains, the spool, from which the thread is taken, producing
a perfectly fast stitch formed by one thread only.
Secondly, an improved machine for sewing, which not only ties or fastens
the thread in the material, but also ties it into itself, so that if the material
were removed from the seam or thread each stitch would form a knott, which

page_text: is accomplished by means of a forked lever giving motion to a needle bar, so
formed as to move the needle bar up and down whilst it turns round. There
are also springs to assist the needle bar to turn once round in moving up and
down. The thread, which comes from a bobbin in a case, or a bobbin without a
case, is thrown into the hook of the needle by thread guides moved by cam
motions and segment gears, or other suitable means.
Thirdly, another improvement, which consists of a combination of some of
the parts of the aforesaid machines with other motions, for using one needle
and one thread, with a hook or carrier, to carry the loop of the thread round a
bobbin case, or bobbin producing a fast stitch. The requisite motions for
working this machine are received from a cam, lever, bar, gear, and pinion.
The spool case is fitted in a spool holder, and connected with it by slides,
and receives a vibratory motion through a cam segment gear, pinion and shaft.
A hook is fastened to the holder to carry the loop from the hook of the
needle, and partly or entirely round the bobbin case or bobbin, whilst the
needle without the thread rises up out of the material; it then descends as
before, and the thread guide guides the thread into a hook of the needle, and
so on for another stitch.
Fourthly, an improved machine for using two needles, two threads, and two
hooks or catches, so as to form a stitch by the needles passing each thread from
opposite sides in diagonal directions, each needle thus passing its thread through
a loop formed by the other; the said method of using the hooks or catches is
also applicable to other sewing machines. The necessary motion is obtained
by cams and levers in any practical manner.
Fifthly, an improved method of sewing cloth or other material with one
thread, two needles with long eyes or spring eyes, and two thread guides to
carry threads through the eyes of the needles, producing a back stitch.
Sixthly, an improved machine for sewing with one thread and spring-eyed
needle, and a hook and thread guide to carry the thread through the eyes of
the needle, producing a back stitch similar to hand sewing.
Seventhly, a modification of the said improvements, by which button holes
may be sewed or worked by a lateral motion given to the needle.
Eighthly, an improvement by which two parallel seams may be sewed at
the same time by one machine, by having the two needles pass the thread or
threads for each seam through the cloth at or near the same time, and the
loops secured when formed in or through the cloth, and the threads guided at
or near the same time, so that the same movements used in sewing one seam
may be applied to the needles or thread guides in the production of two seams
at the same time.

page_text: Ninthly, an improved method of taking up the slack of the thread by means
of a lever pressing against it between the needle eyes and the material. These
improvements, with modifications of the same, will be fully explained in the
Complete Specification.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Joseph Hughes in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 30th December 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
JOSEPH HUGHES, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Royal
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Edward Joseph Hughes, Her special licence that I, the said Edward
Joseph Hughes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Edward Joseph Hughes, 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 "IN-
PROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Edward Joseph Hughes, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, 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 Royal Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Joseph Hughes, 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 (that is to say) :-
This Invention, as communicated to me from abroad, consists of, firstly, an
improved machine for sewing with one long thread and one needle and a hook,
which hook takes the loop of the thread after it has been taken up through the
cloth and down again, in another place, around a spool, or a case containing the

page_text: spool, from which the thread is taken, producing a perfectly fast stitch formed
by one thread only.
Secondly, an improved machine for sewing, which not only ties or fastens the
thread in the material, but also ties it into itself, so that if the seam or
material were removed from the thread each stitch would form a knot, which
is accomplished by means of a forked lever giving motion to a needle bar, so
formed as to move the needle bar up and down whilst it turns round. There
are also springs to assist the needle bar to turn once round in moving up and
down. The thread, which comes from a bobbin, either with or without a case,
is thrown into the hook of the needle by thread guides moved by cam motions
and segment gear or other suitable means.
Thirdly, an improvement which consists of a combination of some of the
parts of the aforesaid machines, with other motions for using one needle and
one thread, with a hook or carrier to carry the loop of the thread round a
bobbin case or bobbin, producing a fast stitch. The requisite motions for
working this machine are received from a cam, lever, bar, gear, and pinion.
The spool case is fitted in a spool holder, and connected with it by slides, and
receives a vibratory motion through a cam segment gear, pinion and shaft. A
hook is fastened to the holder, to carry the loop from the hook of the needle,
and partly or entirely round the bobbin case or bobbin, whilst the needle with-
out the thread rises up out of the material; it then descends as before, and the
thread guide guides the thread into a hook of the needle, and so on for another
stitch.
Fourthly, an improved machine for using two needles, two threads, and two
hooks or catches, so as to form a stitch by the needles passing each thread from
the opposite sides in diagonal directions, each needle thus passing its thread
through a loop formed by the other. The said method of using the hooks or
catches is also applicable to other sewing machines. The necessary motion is
obtained by cams or levers in any practical manner.
Fifthly, an improvement by which two parallel seams may be sewed at the
same time by one machine, by having two needles to pass the thread or threads
for each seam through the cloth at or near the same time, and the loops secured
when formed in or through the cloth, and the threads guided at or near the
same time, so that the same movements used in sewing one seam may be
applied to the needles or thread guides in the production of two seams at the
same time. This part of the said improvements is described in my Provisional
Specification as the eighth part; the intervening and ninth part I have
abandoned in this Complete Specification.
All these improvements will be clearly understood by reference to the

page_text: accompanying three Sheets of Drawings, in which the same letters of reference
are used to represent the same parts in each Figure having reference to the
same machine.
J
The first part of the said improvements is shewn in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of No. 1 Sheet of Drawings, in which one needle and
one thread are used, together with a bobbin, bobbin case, and a hook, to take
the loop of the thread which comes from the bobbin out of the hook of the
needle, and carries it round the case and bobbin, producing a firm and strong
seam that cannot be ravelled or ripped without cutting or breaking the
threads. In this machine the needle f receives its requisite motion from the
cam h through the lever d and the needle bar c. The bobbin case contains
the bobbin k, from which the thread 2 is taken by passing it through the eye m,
as seen at Fig. 12, and down past the end of the bobbiu, and out through the
bobbin case i at the point n, or any other convenient position. The bobbin
case and bobbin are placed in the cup or concave holder o, formed so as to hold
it, which is fastened on the end of the shaft p, on the other end of which is the
pinion turned by the gear r on the main shaft s, by means of which the said
bobbin, bobbin case, and holder are turned once round for every stitch the
machine makes. On the holder is a hook t extending from the side of the
bobbin case from the needle over the edge of the bobbin case to the side
nearest the needle, and is so formed as to take the loop of the thread from the
hook of the needle, and draw one side of it to one side of the bobbin case, and
the other part of the loop to the other side of it, causing the loop to pass round
the case and bobbin, making, when the stitch is drawn tight, the same loop
which passed round the bobbin case pass round the thread which extends from
the cloth to the bobbin, and so putting the stitch into the cloth that it cannot be
drawn out. There may be two, three, or any convenient number of the slides u,
see Fig. 1, passing through the holder o, and into the bobbin case i, which
are held there by the spring b, causing the case to turn with the holder o. A
projection on the under side of the table at w is so arranged as to come against
the small projections on the ends of the slides u, and cause them to move back
out of the bobbin case, so that the loop can pass freely around it by passing
one which is withdrawn when it is in the right position for the threads to pass
it, and afterwards to take its place and pass again into the case, so that each
slide is successively withdrawn to admit the passage of the thread. and then to
enter again and keep the case in the same position, and carry it round with
the holder o. The thread may be guided into the hook of the needle by the
thread guide already described for making the back stitch. The slides u are
principally used when the holder o has a vibratory motion, and the guides for

page_text: throwing the thread into the hook of the needle are attached to the side of the
bobbin case. To describe this part of the said improvements more clearly:
suppose the needle to have taken the loop of thread down through the material,
and to have risen up a little, causing one side of the loop to move out fron
the needle in such a manner as to allow the hook t to pass into it, as seen in
Figs. 1, 2, and 3, Sheet 1, then the said hook carries the loop round the
bobbin case i, and the thread guide, as already stated, guides the thread into
the hook of the needle f; the needle then rises, and carries the thread up
through the cloth or material, and at the same time draws the previous
stitch close and firm. The material is then fed along sufficiently for the
length of a stitch by a feeding apparatus, which only feeds in one direction.
The needle then again descends through the cloth or material, carrying the
thread in its hook to its lowest position, then rises a little to form a suitable
loop, to be caught by the hook t by the time the said hook gets round to the
right position to pass into the said loop, which is carried round by the thread
guide, and passes the thread into the hook, as before. The needle again
ascends, and by repeating the operation the seam is made, as seen in Fig. 11.
The formation of the stitch is seen in its different stages of progress in Figs.
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, Sheet 1.
The second part of the said improvements is shewn in Figs. 13, 14, 15, and
16, in which e represents the needle bar; f, the needle; d, d, the two ends of the
forked lever giving motion to the needle bar up and down, whilst it is turning
round. a and g are two springs fastened in the sides of the armi b, containing
the needle bar, for the purpose of assisting the said needle bar in turning round
when the stud h is passing the upper and lower points in the groove m, by
pressing against the pin r, as seen in Fig. 15, Sheet 1, all of which are so
arranged as to cause the said needle bar to turn once round in moving once
up and down. The thread 1, which comes from the bobbin in the bobbin case
i, is thrown into the hook of the needle f, by the thread guide u. The needle
then carries the thread up through the material, turns half round, and ascends
through it in another place (the material being fed along in the meantime).
When the hook t has moved back sufficiently far to take the loop out of the
hook of the ucedle, and carry it round the bobbin case i, as before described,
the needle descends to its lowest point, turns half round, and rises up to the
position seen in Fig. 13, Sheet 1. The thread guide u again throws the
thread into the hook of the needle f, which again ascends up through the
material, and forms another stitch, a succession of which forms the seam, as
seen in Fig. 16. The different stages of the formation of this stitch are seen
in Figs. 17, 18, and 19, Sheet 1. A vibratory motion is given to the bobbin

page_text: case i, which is necessary to carry the loop of the thread around it, and also
to give the required motion to the thread guide u, to guide the thread into
the hook of the needle by the cam p, as seen in Fig. 14, Sheet 1, through the
medium of the segment gear 9, the pinion r, and the shaft s, upon which the
holder o is fastened.
The third part of the said improvements is shewn in Figs. 20, 21, 22,
and 29, of Sheet 1. In describing this part of the said improvements,
I shall not particularise all the details, as most of them have been already
explained. The needle receives the requisite motion from a cam and
bar, as already described. The spool case i, containing the spool of thread,
as seen in Fig. 12, is fitted in the spool holder o, and is connected with
it by the slides u, as seen in Fig. 1, and receives the necessary vibratory
motion through the cam segment gear, pinion, and shaft. Upon the said
holder is fastened a hook t, to carry the loop from the hook of the needle
nearest the spool case, as before described. The operation of this contrivance
is as follows: Presuming the needle to have taken the thread / up through
the material which has been fed along far enough for a stitch, and then to have
carried it down again in another place to the position seen in Fig. 20, the hook
t will then take the loop of the thread from the hook of the needle, and carry
it partly round the bobbin case, whilst the needle without the thread will rise
up out of the cloth, which is fed along sufficiently far for another stitch, as
seen in Fig. 21; then the loop is carried round the bobbin case, and the
needle descends as before to the position as seen at Fig. 22, where the thread
guide u guides the thread t into the hook of the needle, which ascends above
the cloth, carrying the thread with it to the position seen in Fig. 23. The
cloth is again fed along for another stitch, when the needle again carries the
thread down through the material to its first position, as seen in Fig. 20, and
so on till the seam is completed.
This stitch may be varied and adapted to different kinds of work by using
the apparatus for giving a lateral motion to the needle. In the first example,
seen at Fig. 24, the needle brings the loop up at 1, then carries the thread to
the point 2, by means of its lateral motion without the cloth feeding. The
needle then carries the thread down through the material. The hook t takes
and carries it round the bobbin case, whilst the needle rises out of the material
without the thread, and passes to the point 3 by means of the cloth feeding
and the lateral motion of the needle. The needle again descends, brings
up the thread, and carries it to the point 4 by its lateral motion, then descends
with the thread through the cloth, and the hook t takes the thread round the
bobbin case, as before, and the needle again carries the thread from 5 to 6.

page_text: In the second example the needle passes from 1 to 2, from 3 to 4. from 5 to
6, and so on, by means of the feed motion and the lateral motion of the needle,
and in the third example by the feed motion alone. The fourth example shews
a side view of the seain.
The fourth part of the said improvements is shewn in Figs. 1, 2, and 3,
Sheet 2, and Fig. 1, Sheet 3. The necessary motion is given to the needles
f and g, by a cam h, through the levers i and j, which work the needle
bars and 1. The requisite motion is given to the hooks m and n by
the slots or cams o and p in the needle bars, and having the rollers g and r
working in them. The cloth or materials is fed along whilst being sewed
by the bar t, having the projection u, with teeth on the upper side, and
which is pressed up against the cloth by the cam v, whilst the cam w moves
it in a lateral direction, far enough for a stitch, by pressing against the
adjustable plate. After the cloth is thus fed along, the projection u moves
downwards, and the spring y moves the bar to its first position, ready for
a similar operation. The stitch is made as follows:-Suppose the needle g
to have carried the thread a, which comes from the spool a' through the
cloth 8, as seen at Fig. 2, Sheet 2, first example, and the hook n¹ to have
passed into the loop formed by a slight withdrawal of the needle, then the
ncedleg is drawn back out of the cloth, as seen at the second example, leaving
the loop of the thread which passes from the needle g through the cloth and
around the hook n', the cloth is then fed along the length of a stitch. At the
next movement, as seen in the third example, the needle f carries the thread b,
coming from the spool 1, through the loop of the thread d, and through the
cloth, when the hook n' passes into it. At the next movement, as seen at the
fourth example, the needle f withdraws, leaving the thread b round the hook
n, and drawing the previous stitch tight, the hook m¹ having withdrawn
out of the loop; then the needle 9 carries the loop of thread a through
the loop of the thread b, and through the cloth and the hook n', and then
passes through the loop, as seen in the first example. A repetition of this
operation produces a seam, as seen in Fig. 3, Sheet 2, in which each stitch
is dependant on the previous one of the other thread as a preventive against
ripping.
The fifth part of the said improvements is shewn in No. 3 Sheet of
Drawings, in which Fig. 2 shews an end elevation of the two arms a and b,
which support the needle bars, the slides, thread guides, reels for thread, &c.
Fig. 3 is a side view of the needles, slides, thread guides, &c.; c and d are two
double needle bars which receive their necessary motion from a cam and levers
in the same manner as those described in the fourth improvement; e, e,

page_text: represent the thread guides which receive their necessary motion from the
needle bar c, by means of the roller moving in the slot 9, in the thread
guides; h, h, are the needle slides, which are fastened to the rods i, and are
adjustable to large or small needles by means of the screws j,j; k and l are
two spools or reels from which the threads m and 2 are taken; o and p are
the needles in the needle bar d; q and rare two needles without eyes, one of
which works in the same line with the needle o, and the other with the
needle p, for the purpose of piercing leather or other strong material to be
sowed at the points where the needles o and p pass through for each stitch
before the said needles pass through the material. The lower end of the rod i
is made flat, and fitted into a slot in the projections, in such a manner that
it may be moved up and down. When the needle bar rises up, the rod i is
held by the friction spring t from rising with it until the projections comes up
against the spring u, the upper end of which is attached to the rod, and when
the needle bar moves down, the rod i does not move down until the projection s
comes against it, the pin v forcing it down, and by this means the points of
the slides h, h, are caused to rest until the needles o and p move up a little
sufficient to open their hooks, and then move close to and up with the needles
through the loops which are round the needles, and up against the material to
be sewed, and rest there until the needles pass up through the material,
receive their threads, and pass down until their hooks come under the points
of the slides, to prevent the hook from catching in the loops around them.
The slides and needles then move down together to their lowest position,
drawing the stitch tight. The sewing is performed as follows:-The needles
7 and move down through the material, and out again, leaving holes for the
lower needles to pass up through; then the needles o and p pass up through
the material to their highest position, and the needle bar c moves down a
little, causing the thread guides e, e, to guide the threads into the hooks of the
needles, which then pass down through the material, carrying the threads
thrown into their hooks with them in the manner before described. The
material is fed along far enough for a stitch by a feed motion similar to the
one illustrated in the fourth part of these improvements. The material is
again pierced, and stitches sewn into it as described, and in this way two
continuous parallel seams may be sewn into leather or other strong material,
thus enabling the operator to do twice the amount of work in a given
time when two parallel seams are required.
Having thus fully described the nature and particulars of the said In-
vention, as communicated to me from abroad, I desire it to be distinctly
understood that I claim the various improvements in sewing machines, or any

page_text: modification, as herein described, and illustrated in the accompanying three
Sheets of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Joseph Hughes, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of December One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the within-
named Edward Joseph Hughes, in the
presence of
JOHN BLOODWORTH,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
E. J. HUGHES. (L.B.).