Improvements in Woven Fabrics
Year: 1887

page_text: I, WILLIAM EDWARD GEDGE of No. 11 Wellington Street Strand London in the
County of Middlesex Patent Agent 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 certain new and useful Improvements in Woven Fabrics;
which consist in a novel combination of the warp and weft and especially in the
construction of the selvages.
Reference is had to the accompanying drawings, which are made to represent
some different styles of woven fabric, enlarged and designed so as the better to
show the manner of arrangement of the respective warp and filling-threads, in which.
Figure 1 shows the way the filling-yarns lay in the warp when payed off from a
bobbin in a shuttle in the usual way of weaving plain fabrics.
Figure 2, shows the way the filling-yarns lay in the plain fabric, as laid in the
peculiar way of weaving these fabrics according to this Invention.
Figure 3 is a plan view of a coarse, open, plain fabric, showing the manner of
forming the plain selvage, where one shuttle or kind of filling is used, as in ordinary
plain cotton weaving.

page_text: Figure 4, is an end view, showing the way the outside selvage-threads cross and
are bound by the filling in ordinary plain weaving.
Figure 5 is a plan view of a plain woven fabric, showing the manner in which the
filling-yarns are laid in the warp, and the way in which the selvage-threads are
bound in the method of weaving this class of fabrics according to this Invention.
Figure 6 is an end view of the selvage of a plain woven fabric, showing the manner
in which the warp or selvage-threads cross and are interwoven with the filling-threads
in forming the peculiar selvage of this Invention.
Figure 7 is a plan view of a fabric with two colors in warp, laid one and one, and
two colors of filling woven plain, and pick and pick, as in forming a plain hair-line or
pencil-stripe.
Figure 8 is a plan view of a fabric drawn two threads in an eye, and woven plain
two picks in the shed, as in plain basket or hop sack weaving.
Figure 9 is a plan view of a fabric woven four-harness twill, two widths broad,
showing the manner of forming the peculiar selvages of this Invention in this class
of fabrics.
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Figure 10 shows the way the filling-yarns would be laid in by the improved method
in weaving a check or plaid fabric according to this Invention.
In an ordinary woven fabric, the thread is reeled off the bobbin and laid in by the
passage to and fro of the shuttle in one continuous thread, as in Figures 1, and 3,
while in our improved fabric, the thread forming the filling is cut in pieces equal in
length to about twice the width of the fabric, and laid in so as to interlock and bind
the selvage, as shown in Figures 2, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10.
In figure 3 which represents the ordinary form of fabric, a-1, a-2, a-3, and a-4
represent the selvage-threads, a-5, a-5, the warp-threads, and a-6 the filling-yarn
of a plain fabric in which the selvage-threads are drawn, and worked the same as the
rest of the warp, and cross, as shown in Figure 4, with every beat of the lay, and so
bind the filling-yarn, which is laid in, as usual, in one continuous length, as it is
payed off, by the ordinary shuttle passing to and fro from side to side of the loom in the
ordinary manner of weaving a piece of cloth.
In plain two harness weaving, it will be seen the filling-yarns 1, and 3, (Figure 3)
or every alternate shot, are laid in the same shed, that is-over and under the same
sets of alternate warp-yarns, and in this case all that is necessary to bind the outside
selvage-thread, is that it changes its position with regard to the filling, with every
beat of the lay or passage of the shuttle, so that the filling passes alternately over and
under it, as shown at 1, 2, 3, 4, (Fig. 3).
In the improved fabric of this Invention, as shown in Figure 5, it will be seen that
owing to the filling being cut in short lengths and laid in, as also shown in
Figures 6, 7, 8, and 9, the outside selvage-threads, at least, must change only once
for each two beats of the lay, or one at every alternate passage of the shuttle, so as to
bind the filling-yarn at the edge of the fabric.
It will be seen that in this method of constructing a fabric, the selvage or outside
listing-threads of the warp are bound only by every alternate thread of filling, as for
instance a', and a", are bound by the bight of the thread -1; and a-3, and a-4
by the bight of the thread 6-2, (Figures 5, and 6 ;) while the ends 1, 2, 3, and 4
are left free and are laid in the selvage, as shown in Figure 5.
In these drawings only two threads are shown for each selvage, as this is sufficient
for illustration, but ordinarily the usual number will be used.
In all cases the free ends of the filling-threads being in the same shed of the selvage
as the next adjoining thread that is bound, it will be beat up close to it by the reed
in weaving, and be bound by the bight of the length of the filling-yarn that forms the
two next adjoining threads, and form a close, firm selvage.
In describing the manner in which these threads are laid in, I will speak of the
length of filling-yarn, as it is measured off for either side of the loom as one thread,
as -1, (Figure 2,) when it is laid in the fabric in two separate sheds, I shall call each end
of it, or half of it one thread, as the threads -3, and 6-4, (Figure 2:) and the same

page_text: applies to all the filling-yarns laid in from either side of the loom, and of any of the
fabrics woven in this way, as shown in Figures 7, 8. 9, and 10.
In Figure 7 is shown how the filling is laid in pick and pick, as in weaving hair-lines
or in backing.
It will be seen that by severing the filling-yarns and laying them in in this way,
the two colors or kinds of filling can be laid in, pick and pick, by one and the
same shuttle or thread-carrier, and while the loom is working pick about the threads 1,
and 3, of the light yarn c-2 of the right side, being alternately laid in with the
threads 2, and 4, of the dark yarn e-1 of the left side.
In Figure 8 is shown how two or more threads are laid in the same shed at
each passage of the shuttle or thread-carrier. The advantage of this is best under-
stood by supposing a case of basket-weaving, where two or more colors or kinds
of threads are used, and four or six or more threads are laid in the same shed.
It will be apparent that the product will be proportionally increased, speed and
other things being equal.
In Figure 9, a common four harness twill is represented, in which it will be seen
that the selvage-threads a-1, a-2, and a-3, and a-4, work twill the same as
the body of the warp. In Figure 10 is represented a 2 and 4, and 2 and 8,
check or plaid pattern, in which it will be seen the light yarns f-3, and 4,
forming the body or ground of the fabric, are laid in, and the selvage formed by
them, the same as shown in Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8, while the dark threads f-1,
and -2, when less than four or a multiple of four of these, are used or laid in
in succession in forming the check or bar, will be carried around, as shown, where
ends 1, and 4, of the thread f-1, and the ends 2, and 3, of the thread f-2, will
be laid on each side of the part woven by the yarns f-3, and f―4.
In all such cases it will be necessary to measure off these yarns f-1, and ƒ—2,
(Fig. 1) enough longer than double the width of the fabric woven to make up the
difference.
As all woven fabrics are constructed by laying the filling-threads across the warp-
threads and thus interweaving them, the quality and pattern of the fabric will not be
affected by the device used or the method employed for laying in the filling, so long
as the relative position of the warp and filling-threads are the same.
There is presented in the accompanying drawings a sufficient number of fabrics to
demonstrate the adaptability of the improved method of weaving of this Invention to
all kinds of woven fabrics.
Facing the drawings, as if standing in front of the loom, as the fabric is being
woven, the threads of filling, 2, 1, 3, 4, at the bottom of Figures 3, and 7, are the
first laid in, and the others follow in the order shown in the Figures.
The advantages of the improved fabric are numerous, but need not here be par-
ticularly enumerated. It may be said, however, that two or more threads can be laid
in at each beat of the lay or passage of the shuttle as in basket-weaving. Two colors
or kinds of filling are laid in pick and pick, with the one shuttle or thread-carrier
while the loom will not require to strike with both picker-sticks at the same time,
or pick and pick in any case, and consequently run much lighter all goods or fabrics
of this class.
Many forms of machinery might be employed to produce this fabric, the essential
features of the operation being that a large spool or bobbin is placed at each side of
the loom, and the end of the yarn or thread being brought to the proper point at the
end of the race, it is seized by nippers upon the end of the thread-carrier which takes
the place of the ordinary shuttle. When this thread-carrier is moved to the opposite
side it drags the thread with it and leaves the end at that side. Before this thread-
carrier has returned, a measuring off device draws enough more thread from the
bobbin to equal that first carried across the web, and cuts it off. The thread-carrier
having returned, takes this end and carries it across. This takes place from each end
of the loom and after each beat of the lay.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said invention
as communicated to me from abroad and in what manner the same is to be performed
I declare that what I claim is
1. A fabric composed of warp-threads, selvage-threads, and filling-threads, said
filling-threads being formed of pieces out of a length double the width of the fabric to
be woven, and being interwoven with the warp and selvage-threads, as described,
whereby loops and free ends are alternately presented, the selvage-threads binding one
side of the loop of one filling-thread, and the free end of the adjoining filling-thread,
substantially as described.
2. In combination with the body of the woven fabric, a selvage composed of threads
running with the warp, and of the alternately cut and looped ends of filling-threads,
substantially as described.