Improvements in and relating to Devices for Making Garment Patterns.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Mar., 1891-Accepted, 18th Apr., 1891
Improvements in and relating to Devices for Making Garment
Patterns.
We, ELLEN AMANDA BERRY, spinster, and SAMUEL WALTON MCDANIEL,
Attorney-at-Law, both citizens of the United States of America, residing respectively
at No. 13, Garrison Street, Boston, in the County of Suffolk, and State of
Massachusetts, and at No. 69, Dana Street, Cambridge, in the County of
Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, one of the United States of America,
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 :-
The invention relates to a new and useful device to be employed in making
patterns for garments, and consists of a skeleton garment formed of elastic woven
material hardened in and stiffened in its minimum contracted and irregular form
and proportions by the incorporation with the woven material, of paraffine or an
equivalent body such as wax, whereby such garment may, after it has been
subjected to a limited degree of heat, say from 50° to 60° Fahrenheit, be
manipulated or moulded into any other form or shape.
The elastic property of the woven material of which the garment is formed
renders it capable of being stretched in any given direction, and the incorporation
with such woven material of paraffine, wax or equivalent body gives to such body
the property of ductility or plasticity, so that it may be moulded to any desired
form without liability to contraction.
The garments or skeletons forming the subject of this invention are designed to
be made in various sizes so that one of a size somewhat smaller than the person to
be fitted may be selected, and after being slightly warmed, and after stretching the
same sufficiently to enable it to be put upon the body of the person, it is then
manipulated and moulded to exact coincidence with the anatomical contour of such
person, during which manipulation the paraffine or other similar body incorporated
with the woven fabric cools, and hardens, and preserves the latter in the form it has
acquired by the manipulation referred to.
We wish it to be distinctly understood that the gist of this invention lies in the
new article of manufacture, which, being constructed in the first place by a skilful
person possessed of all the facilities for its manufacture, is in condition to be laid
away until needed, and suitable to be transported to distant localities, for use by
ordinarily skilled persons or by unskilled persons following suitable instructions
accompanying such article of manufacture.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a semi-garment or jacket composed of ordinary
Jersey cloth in its natural condition, and
Figure 2 represents the same jacket having incorporated with it, paraffine, wax,
or other suitable and equivalent material, and the shade lines in Fig. 2 represent
the contractions or distortions in the garment resulting from the treatment of the
same with the hot paraffine or wax.
We are aware that it has been proposed to use elastic garments to fit the body
of a person for whom a pattern is desired, and to coat or saturate such garment
while on the body of the person fitted, with hot paraffine or wax and to allow such
paraffine or wax to cool and harden for the purpose of preventing such garment,
when removed, from shrinking or returning to its original size and shape, and we
re aware that such garment when it is allowed to cool and stiffen and has been
emoved from the person will represent substantially a mould of such person, and
hat when our improved skeleton is removed from the body to w

page_text: been fitted it will also be substantially a mould, but we desire it to be understood
that we are laying no claim to any such mould, but confine ourselves to a body or
product, from which such a mould may be made by an ordinarily skilled person
without the employment of any auxiliary devices or material.
It will be readily understood that our improved article of manufacture may be
made in large quantities at a suitable factory by saturating skeleton garments of
varying standard sizes with the paraffine or equivalent material and drying the same,
after which they may be packed and shipped according to order and used at any
desired locality.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
A new article of manufacture consisting of a skeleton jacket of elastic material,
in its original minimum size and form, saturated and combined with paraffine or
equivalent material to give such jacket the property of plasticity and to enable the
same to be moulded and fitted, as hereinbefore fully set forth.
Dated this 23rd day of February 1891
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.