A MACHINE OR APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE MANUFACTURE OF VARIOUS KINDS OF GARMENTS OR WEARING APPAREL
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Osbourn, of Albion Street, King's
Cross, in the County of Middlesex, Tailor, for the Invention
of "A MACHINE OR APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE MANUFACTURE
OF VARIOUS KINDS OF GARMENTS OR WEARING APPAREL."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Osbourn
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 1st October 1852.
I, FREDERICK OSBOURN, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "A MACHINE OR APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE MANU-
FACTURE OF VARIOUS KINDS OF GARMENTS OR WEARING APPAREL" to be as
follows:-
In the manufacture of such garments as coats, vests, and trousers,
or other similar articles of wearing apparel, it is usual, after taking
the measure, to cut out paper or card-board patterns or shapes of the
various parts of the dress, and by the assistance of these paper or card-
board patterns to mark out with chalk or color on the cloth, or
other material, the shape or form of the several pieces of which the
garment is intended to be made. This having been done, the work-
man cuts out the pieces by following the lines made on the cloth by
the chalk or color, and then these pieces are ready to be made up into

page_text: a garment. It has been found by experience that it depends greatly
upon the skill of the workman who marks the pattern on the cloth or
fabric by the aid of the paper or card-board patterns whether or not
considerable waste of material should or not take place; and, even
when skilful men are employed, it will be found that owing, perhaps,
to want of care in arranging the paper patterns, or some other cause,
a given length of cloth will not always furnish the proper number of
pieces to form garments. The object of the present Invention is, by
means of suitable apparatus and a skilful arrangement of the pattern
pieces, to carry on this business in a more methodical manner, and at
the same time to effect considerable economy in the use or con-
sumption of the cloth or fabric intended to be employed for making
garments, without the necessity of employing skilled and, therefore,
expensive labor. To effect this object I first prepare a pattern on
which all the several parts of a garment, say, for instance, of a coat,
are skilfully combined and arranged together in such a manner as to
form only one piece, leaving as little waste material as possible between
the several parts of the pattern. The annexed drawing represents the
several pieces of a coat combined and arranged in this manner.
It will now be understood that as these patterns are all connected
together in one piece, it will only be necessary to place it flat upon the
cloth or fabric intended to be cut up to form garments, and then
to mark out the pattern on the pieces of the cloth with chalk or
color, and any common workman can then cut out the several pieces.
In order further to facilitate the manufacture of garments on an
extensive scale I employ a machine or apparatus consisting principally
of a large table, on which the cloth or fabric to be cut up is laid out
smoothly; the piece of cloth is placed in a drawer or box at one end of
the table, and the end of the piece is attached by pins, hooks, or some
other convenient means to a straight bar, the opposite side of which is
secured to a band or cloth, or a series of bands or tapes which extend
along the table, and, after passing under a roller at the opposite end of
the table, this band or bands passes upwards and round a second roller
and back over the table to a third roller, from whence it returns to the
other end to a fourth roller, or a series of rollers, over which it passes
down to another roller below, and from thence to a beam or cylinder on

page_text: which it is wound. This beam is placed in a box below the table, and
on its axle is mounted a cog wheel, which is driven by a pinion on the
axle of a winch handle whereby the whole machine is operated as fol-
lows: Upon turning the winch handle a certain number of times a
certain quantity of the band or bands which pass over the rollers as afore-
said becomes wound on the beam or cylinder in the box below the table,
and a corresponding quantity of cloth or fabric is drawn out of the box
at the other end of the table, and is laid smooth on the table. The
workman then takes the pattern shown in the Figure, or any other
analogous pattern, according to the kind of garment intended to be
produced, and after placing it on the cloth he carefully marks all the
lines thereof on the cloth. This having been once done, the workman
must shift the pattern to another portion of the cloth, and mark out
the pattern again a second time, and so on until all the cloth on the
table has been marked; then, upon turning the winch, a second
quantity of cloth will be drawn from the box, and is operated on in the
same manner until one half of the whole length has been marked off.
A counting apparatus is attached to one side of the machine, so that
the workman may see how many yards have been marked; the whole
piece is then doubled and transferred to the cutter, who can then pro-
ceed to cut out four pieces at a time, as the cloth being doubled in
the first instance, as usual, and doubled again in the length, there will
be four thicknesses. By this means a great economy of labor, time,
and material is effected when large quantities of cloth are operated on,
and the patterns are not so liable to be damaged in use.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Frederick Osbourn in the Great Seal Patent
Office, on the 31st March 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
FREDERICK OSBOURN, of Albion Street, King's Cross, in the County
of Middlesex, Tailor, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the sixteenth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Frederick Osbourn, Her especial license that
I, the said Frederick Osbourn, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Frederick Osbourn, 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 "A MACHINE OR
APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE MANUFACTURE OF VARIOUS KINDS OP
GARMENTS OR WEARING APPAREL," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Frederick Osbourn, 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 Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Frederick Osbourn, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon
(that is to say):
In the manufacture of such garments as coats, vests, and trowsers.
or other similar articles of wearing apparel, it is usual, after taking
the measure, to cut out paper or card-board patterns or shapes of

page_text: the various parts of the dress, and, by the assistance of these paper
or card-board patterns, to mark out with chalk or color on the cloth or
other material the shape or form of the several pieces of which the
garment is intended to be made. This having been done, the workman
cuts out the pieces by following the lines made on the cloth by the
chalk or color, and then the pieces are ready to be made up into
a garment. It has been found by experience that it depends greatly
upon the skill of the workman who makes the pattern on the cloth or
fabric by the aid of the paper or card-board patterns whether or not
considerable waste of material should or should not take place; and,
even when skilful men are employed, it will be found that owing,
perhaps, to want of care in arranging the paper patterns, or some other
cause, a given length of cloth will not always furnish the proper
number of pieces to form garments. The object of the present Inven-
tion is, by means of suitable apparatus and a skilful arrangement of the
pattern pieces, to carry on this business in a more methodical manner,
and at the same time to effect considerable economy in the use or con-
sumption of the cloth or fabric intended to be employed for garments,
without the necessity of employing skilled and, therefore, expensive labor.
To effect this object I first prepare a pattern on which all the several
parts of a garment (say, for instance, of a coat) are skilfully combined
and arranged and connected together in such a manner as to form only
one piece, leaving as little waste material as possible between the
several parts of the pattern.
Figure 1, in the annexed Drawing represents the several pieces of a
coat combined and arranged in this manner in one piece, all the parts
being placed so close to each other that but very little space is left
between as waste. The outline of the several pieces of which the
pattern is composed is perforated with holes, through which chalk may
be dusted in powder on to the cloth, or the pattern may be marked
thereon by means of some liquid coloring matter, such as whiting or
chalk and water, laid on the surface of the perforated pattern with
a sponge or brush. If thought desirable, a series or several of these.
patterns may be connected together in one long length, (see Fig. 2,) so
as to extend the whole length of the table upon which the cloth to be
operated upon.may be extended.

page_text: It will now be understood that as these patterns are all connected
together in one piece, it will only be necessary to place it flat upon the
cloth or fabric intended to be cut up to form garments, and then to
mark the pattern on the cloth with chalk or color by means of a
sponge or brush, or otherwise, as may be found most convenient, and
then any common workman can, by following the chalk marks on the
cloth, cut out the several pieces, which may then be made up or sewed
together in the ordinary manner to form a garment. In order further
to facilitate the manufacture of garments on an extensive scale I
employ a machine or apparatus consisting principally of a long table,
on which the cloth or fabric to be cut up is laid out smoothly. The
piece of cloth is placed in a drawer or box at one end of the table, and
the end of the piece is attached by pins, hooks, or by some other
convenient means to a straight bar, the opposite side of which is
secured to a band or cloth, or a series of bands or tapes, which extend
along the table, and, after passing under a roller at the opposite end
of the table, this band or bands passes from thence to a beam or
cylinder on which it or they are wound. This beam is placed below
the table, and on its axle is mounted a cog wheel, which is driven by
a pinion on the axle of a winch handle, whereby the whole machine
is operated.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 3, is a plan view of this
apparatus, and Fig. 4, is a longitudinal vertical section thereof;
a, a, is the box on which the cloth to be operated on is to be placed;
b, b, b, b, is the long table on which it is smoothly spread out to receive
the perforated pattern. One end of the cloth is secured to a web, or to
straps, tapes, or bands, which pass over the roller c, to the beam d
below the table. On the axis of this beam is a toothed wheel, which
is geared into by a pinion on the axle of the winch handle shaft e.
Sometimes it will be found convenient to secure the cloth to a long web
ffff, as shewn in the Figures. This web is wound on a beam h, at
the left-hand end of the apparatus, and passes along the table b, b,
under the roller at the opposite end to the cloth beam d, on which it
will be wound with the cloth. The edges of this web f, f, are marked
with figures, (as shewn in Fig. 3,) which denote yards, so that it may
be seen at a glance how much cloth has passed over the table.

page_text: The operation of the machine is as follows:-Upon turning the
winch handle a certain number of times a certain quantity of the band
or bands, or of the web f, f, to which the cloth is secured as aforesaid,
becomes wound on the beam or cylinder d, below the table, and a
corresponding quantity of the cloth or fabric is drawn out of the
box a, at the other end of the table, and is laid smooth on the table b, b.
The workman then takes the pattern shewn in the Figure, or any
other analogous pattern, according to the kind of garment intended
to be produced, and after placing it on the cloth he takes a sponge or
brush, and, after dipping it in a preparation of whiting and water,
or some other composition that will not injure the cloth, he passes the
sponge or brush lightly over the perforated pattern, and thereby marks
all the lines thereof on the cloth. This having been once done, the
workman must shift the pattern to another portion of the cloth, and
mark out the pattern, again a second time, and so on until the whole
length of the cloth on the table has been marked. If, however, the
pattern is repeated several times on a sheet extending from end to end
of the table, the shifting operation may be dispensed with, and time
may be economized. The whole length of cloth spread out on the
table having been marked with the pattern, the cylinder d, must be
turned, and a second quantity of cloth will be drawn from the box a,
on to the table, and may be operated on in the same manner until one
half of the whole length of the piece of cloth has been marked off.
In the Drawings I have also shewn another arrangement for marking
the pattern on the cloth in such a manner that manual labor may be
still further dispensed with. A trough or vessel k, contains a liquid
preparation suitable for marking the pattern on the cloth. At the
bottom of the trough is a slot, which is partially closed by a roller i;
covered with cloth or felt for the purpose of taking up a certain
quantity of the coloring matter. A long length of the perforated.
pattern having been laid on the cloth, the latter, with the pattern
thereon, is passed under the roller i, and the coloring matter from this
roller being pressed through the perforations of the pattern, the latter
is transferred to the cloth. In this manner a piece of cloth may be
marked in a few minutes. The whole piece is then doubled, and

page_text: transferred to the cutter, who can then proceed to cut out four or more
pieces at a time, as the cloth being doubled in the first instance, as
usual, and doubled again in the length, there will be four thicknesses.
By this means a great economy of labor, time, and material is effected
when large quantities of cloth are operated on, and the patterns are not
so liable to be damaged in use.
When one piece of cloth has been thus operated upon, it may either
be removed on the cylinder or beam d, or may be unwound therefrom
by means of the beam or cylinder h, at the opposite end of the
apparatus, and afterwards folded up ready for the cutter.
Having now described my Invention, and the best means with
which I am at present acquainted for carrying the same into effect,
I claim, in conclusion,―
First, arranging and connecting together all the several parts of a
pattern for any particular garment in such a manner that they may
form one piece or pattern, whereby the pattern may be marked on
the cloth or fabric in a more convenient and expeditious manner than
heretofore.
Second, I claim the arrangement or construction of machinery
or apparatus herein shewn and described, or any mere modification
thereof, for facilitating the operation of marking patterns on cloth or
fabrics.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Osbourn, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
Witness, J. W, MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane, London.
F. OSBOURN. (L.S.)