IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FURRED THREADS AND FURRED FABRICS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edward Thomas Hughes at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th November 1868.-A communication from abroad by François
Vouillon, of Louviers, in the Empire of France.
1
I, EDWARD THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes and Son, Patent
Agents, 123, Chancery Lane, London, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FURRED
THREADS AND FURRED FABRICS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS CONNECTED
THEREWITH," a communication to me from abroad by François Vouillon,
of Louviers, in the Empire of France, to be as follows:-
This Invention consists,---
First. In an improved system and mechanical arrangement for coating
threads or yarns of wool and other fibrous materials with the hair or
fur of animals, and afterwards employing them to form fabrics having
all the appearance of real skins of fur with their lightness, warmth,
and peculiar aspect, and also for forming fabrics having plain or even
surfaces.

page_text: And, secondly. In forming furred fabrics by causing fur to adhere to a
woollen or other fabric used as a foundation. Numerous attempts have
been made to mix fur with wool in the beater or carding machine, but
without success, as the motion of the beater causes the hairs to be joined
together, and in the carding machine the mixture is unequal, besides
which the fur being finer than the wool it is to a great extent covered by
the wool in the operations of coiling, drawing, and spinning. The furred
threads are formed by taking threads or yarns of any fibrous material, but
more especially wool, which after carding or combing has been spun into
warp and weft. These threads are first wound on bobbins placed on
twisting spindles, and afterwards unwound from them and wound on
other bobbins, and it is in the passage from one set of bobbins to the
other that the threads receive their coating of fur. The threads from the
unwinding bobbins and twisting spindles pass through a vessel con-
taining gum water or steam or acidulated water for facilitating the after
process of felting. From this vessel the threads pass through a box
supplied with fur from above, there being across the box when required
a sheet of wire gauze to receive the surplus fur, or below the gauze, or
at the bottom of the box without the gauze, there is a revolving fan or
blower which blows up the fur in a cloud and causes it to adhere to the
threads as they are turning and twisting. during their passage through
the box from whence they pass to be wound in their coated condition
on the winding on bobbins which await them. The threads thus covered
with fur may be employed as weft, and produced by weaving with
ordinary warp threads, a fabric which being fulled or milled, opened up,
and lightly cropped in places where required has the appearance of fur,
the warp threads being entirely hidden. If it is desired to obtain the
appearance of fur on both sides of the fabric, a double fabric is woven
and the warp is completely hidden between the two furred faces. If
instead of a furred fabric a plain one is required the weft threads coated
with fur are passed between rotary rubbers to make them smooth, by
which means a light fabric can be produced by weaving, it being only
necessary to scour and press it and lightly crop it in the parts required.
The same kind of fabric may be produced in which the disguise is still
more perfect by having both the warp and weft coated with fur, and
submitting them to the action of the rotary rubbers. Instead of
employing furred threads a furred fabric may be obtained by taking
an open fabric of wool or other fibrous material to serve as a foundation

page_text: and placing it in or passing it through a bath of gum water or acidulated
water as may be required, and then blowing upon the under side of
the fabric a cloud of fur, submitting the coated fabric to the processes
of fulling, pressing, and spinning, and also shearing or cropping where
required.