An ImproveD ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Skelton Harrison, of Philadelphia, State
of Pennsylvania, United States of America, and temporarily of.
Albemarle Street, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
“An ImproveD ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Skelton
Harrison at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 26th August 1872.
I, THOMAS SKELTON HARRISON, of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania,
5 United States of America, and temporarily of Albemarle Street, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "AN IMPROVED ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES," to be as follows:-.
This Invention relates to an improved attachment for sewing machines,
which serves for gathering, hemming, ruffling, puffing, and flouncing,
O and for general dress trimming, and consists of a feed plate combined
with an arm adapted for attacliment to the presser foot or bar of a

page_text: sewing machine, leaving the bed plate wholly unencumbered, so that
the operator may form a ruffle at a distance from the edge of a piece of
goods, and at the same time attach it to any part of another piece of
material. The feed plate consists of one piece of metal adapted to work
directly against the under surface of the presser foot, and is provided
with a needle notch and formed with turned-up portions and lugs.
The Invention also consists of an index device provided with an arm
in combination with the lever and feed plate before-mentioned.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Skelton Harrison in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 26th February 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
SKELTON HARRISON, of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, United
States of America, and temporarily of Albemarle Street, in the County
of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in
the thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Skelton Harrison,
Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Skelton Harrison, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Thomas Skelton Harrison, 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 "AN IMPROVED ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Skelton Harrison, my
exccutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Scal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Skelton Harrison, 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 accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say)
The nature of this Invention consists in the combination of an arm,
feed plate, and lever, constructed, arranged, and operating with relation
to each other as herein-after described, and connected with the presser
> bar or foot of a sewing machine so that a piece of cloth can be ruffled
at a point distant from its edge, and also sewed to any part of another.
piece of cloth. By this arrangement the skirt of a lady's dress may be
trimmed with a series of ruffles of different sizes, and gathered at
different distances from the edges, and attached to the skirt at different
distances from the edge of the skirt, as may be desired.
5
In the accompanying Drawing which forms part of my Specification
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improvement in ruffling attachment
for sewing machines; Figure 2, a view of the presser foot and arm
detached; Figure is an end view; and Figure 4, a plan of the feed
plate; while Figure 5 shows the actuating lever and index device.
I shall describe the improvement as to be applied to a Singer sewing
machine, yet suitable modification in the manner of attaching will adapt
it to other machines.
▲ represents an ordinary presser foot provided with a folding in or
hemming device B, and attached to the presser foot bar of the machine
by a screw at a. From the side of the presser foot A projects a bent
arm C, of the form shown in Figure 2, upon the lower limb of which is
placed a feed plate E, which slides on and is held to the limb by the
bent portion g of the plate in such manner as to leave the bed plate of
the machine wholly unencumbered. The plate E is provided with a
folding in or hemming devices, which is formed by bending over
portions of the plate, as indicated in Figures 3 and 4, thus constructing
the feed plate and hemmer of one piece of metal. It is madeof the form
shown, and has a notch at e, Figuro 4, that it may may pass each side
of the needle and barely beyond it. The part about the needle should
be thin and smooth that it may cause as little friction as possible in its-
movement on the cloth. The hemmer ƒ also answers the purpose of a

page_text: back of the
is provided 1
and the arm
holder for a guide, which may be used in combination with the plate
and presser foot for guiding a piece of goods to be ruffled and sowed
between two other pieces, the upper piece being hemmed at the same
operation. But when the guide is not used the hemming device ƒ may
be used in combination with the presser foot, whereby a piece of goods 5
may be hemmed, [ruffled, and sewed to any part of another piece of
goods. The feed plate has a portion of it turned up at a right angle
to the horizontal plane of the plate, as indicated at x, Figure 3. This
turned up portion of the plate is used for supporting the
detached lug plate / which is soldered thereto. This plate
with two lugs i, i, between which the short arm of lever D
of the index device m operate, the former to give motion to and the
latter to regulate the extent of motion of the feed plate E. The
actuating lever D and piece m furnished with a set screw / are pivoted
to the bent arm Ċ as indicated at 8, and the lever D at u straddles tho 1
screw which holds the needle in position, from which it receives its
motion. The index devico m with its arm formed as shown at Figure 5,
by which the movement of the feed plate E may be regulated, is secured
against the short arm of lever D by the same rivet s. Elevating or
depressing the screw correspondingly varies the position of the
figures 2, 3, 4, on the index, and also the relative position of the arms
operating between the lugs i, i, causing an increased or diminished
movement of the feed plate E and of the length of the folds forming the
ruffle. The number of yards of goods required to make a yard of ruffle
will be indicated by the figure opposite the line z on the lever D.
But in all the changes of the index the feed plate E will always be
carried to the same point by the needle, and will also always be in
contact with the under side of the hemming device B on the presser
Sant

page_text: fold and hold it in place or attach it to another piece of goods if
such has been placed between the feed plate and the bed plate of the
machine.
•
Having described the nature of the Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as the Invention'
to be protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
1st. The combination of the presser foot A having the hemming
device B and bent arm C with the actuating lever D and feed plate E,
the whole being arranged, applied, and operating substantially as herein
described and shown in the Drawings, in such manner that the bed
plate of the machine is wholly unencumbered so that the operator may
form a ruffle at a distance from the edge of one piece of goods, and
at same time attach it to any part of another piece of material, as set
forth.
2ndly. The single feed plate E adapted to work directly against the
under surface of the presser foot, and provided with the needle notch a
and the lugs,i, i, all constructed and arranged as described.
3rdly. The index device m provided with an arm in combination with
the lever D, screw 2, and the feed plate E, all constructed substantially
as shown and for the purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Skelton Harrison, have
'hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of February,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
"
HAYAN N HARRISON