Improvements in Ladies' Cycling Skirts.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 21st July, 1897-Accepted, 21st Aug.,. 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Ladies' Cycling Skirts.
I, CHARLES JOSIAH Ross, trading as J. & G. Ross, of 227 High Street, Exeter, in
the County of Devon, Outfitter, 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 :—
This invention relates to a cycling shirt for ladies which is so made as to provide
the advantages of a divided skirt when seated on the cycle saddle and yet will assume
the appearance of an ordinary skirt when the wearer is dismounted.
My invention consists in the combination with a skirt of part of a pair of knicker-
bockers the legs of which latter are secured by flaps, tops or extensions to the front
and rear of the waistband of the skirt. The fork of the knickerbockers is secured
to the inside of the back seam of the skirt; the shirt back pieces being cut in such
a way as to form the seat to the garment and of sufficient fullness to fall in graceful
folds or box pleats when the wearer is dismounted.
In the accompanying.drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a cycling skirt made
according to my invention, Fig. 2 is a front elevation of same with the front flap or
apron A unbuttoned and let down, and Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one of the
knickerbocker legs with part of the back of the skirt.
The same letters of reference where they occur are used to denote the same or
corresponding parts in all the figures.
The front of the skirt is provided at its upper part with a flap or apron A which is
secured by holes and buttons a and b or by other suitable means to the side pieces B,
and to the waist band C, all in the manner well-known in connection with cycling
and riding skirts.
as
The knickerbockers are inade as follows;B-The top side or front half E.
of each leg is provided with an upper extension piece D the outside edges e of
which
are carved or angled the inner edges being joined together
shown in Figure 2 to form the central front seam d. Thus the two extension
pieces D when joined form an extension front the upper edge of which is secured in
or to the waist al of the front flap or apron A, (see Fig. 2). The leg seams e¹ are
sewn up completely and the crutch or fork f closed up thereto, the side seams e² being
sewn up to a little above the fork f, say to e³ where the angle or curvature of the
edge e commences. The under side or rear half F of each leg is connected to the
fork and is made without a seat, being curved as shown at f¹ (Fig. 2) and made
straight at the upper inside edges, and the two undersides are sewn together along
the rear central line so as to form a side and rear top flat D' which is secured to the
waist band C at the back thereof. The curvatures f¹ thus enclose a square space
between them through which is drawn the seat portion G formed on the back of
the skirt.
Each half H of the back of the skirt is cut with a seat portion G. and the two
halves H of the skirt back are sewn together along the line g, Fig. 3, and the seat G
so formed is then sewn to the fork for fastened with button and hole or any suitable
fastening device so that the seat G forms a continuation of said fork f.

page_text: The back parts H are made sufficiently full to be box pleated as shown in Fig. 3
so as to completely hide the seat G and the seat seam g.
The garment being made as above described it is put on by undoing the flap or
apron A and letting it fall to the position shown in Fig. 2, when the lower limbs may
be passed into the knickerbocker legs, and the garment drawn up and the flap A and
the waist band C fastened. The wearer will then have on a pair of knickerbockers
the legs of which are secured to and enclosed within a skirt the inside of which is
made with a seat for the garment; the parts being so arranged that by the act of
sitting down the fullness of the skirt will be drawn forward out of the way of the
saddle and the seat of the garment will be in its proper position there being no
risk of the skirt hanging on 'the saddle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is;
1. A ladies cycling skirt having the legs of a pair of knickerbockers secured therein
and connected at the fork to a seat portion formed on the back of the skirt substantially
as described and illustrated and for the purpose stated.
2. A ladies cycling skirt having a let down front apron, a pair of knickerbocker.
legs secured inside the waist band by extension pieces, and a seat portion formed on
the back of the skirt and secured to the fork of the knickerbocker legs so as to
form a continuation of said fork substantially as described and illustrated and 'for
the purpose stated.
3. A ladies cycling skirt having a let down front apron, a seat portion formed on the
back of the skirt, and a pair of knickerbocker legs made up in the manner herein
described and secured at the fork to the seat formed on the back of the skirt
substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
4. The combination with a cycling skirt having a seat portion formed on the.
back thereof, of a pair of knickerbocker legs secured at the fork to the seat portion
aforementioned and at the upper part to the waist band of the skirt, substantially as
described.
1
1004
F. W. GOLBY,
36 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agent for the 'Applicant.