Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 12th June, 1895-Accepted, 13th July, 1895
I, FRIEDRICH WILHELM SCHUBERT, of 103 Dorf Strasse, Gelenau, Saxony,
in the Empire of Germany, Hosier, do hereby declare the nature of this inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The subject of this invention is an improvement in stockings, especially long
stockings such as are commonly worn by women and children, its purpose being to
enable garters to be dispensed with.
The said improvement consists in inserting, or suitably "working in," one or
more india-rubber strips, into the portion of the stocking to be worn above the
calf of the leg, the pieces thus inserted constituting a convenient equivalent of, or
substitute for, the various kinds of garters which have had to be resorted to until
the present time, in order to keep the stockings properly stretched and securely
fastened in place. The advantage they present over ordinary garters being, that
they are not liable to be lost, in addition to which, not being apt to tightly com-
press the leg and thereby to interfere with the circulation of the blood, they possess
the merit of neither hurting nor inconveniencing the wearer.
The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings,
in which it is illustrated by two views.
Figure 1 being an elevation of a stocking provided with the improved arrange-
ment of elastic strips, and
Figure 2 a detail view, showing one of the said strips upon an enlarged scale
as it appears on the inner side of the stocking.
In the form in which the improvement is to be carried out in the drawings (by
way of example), the stocking a is fitted with two india-rubber strips, such as b,
situated above the calf, on both sides of the leg. This arrangement is preferable
to that of circular strips, encircling and compressing the leg, like an ordinary
garter, and also, therefore impeding the free circulation of the blood. This incon-
venience is, of course, entirely avoided in the arrangement shown, inasmuch as
here, the front and rear portions c and c' remain free and open, exercising no undue
pressure upon the leg at the corresponding parts.
Each piece, inserted into the fabric of the stocking, consists of an india-rubber
strip or band, such as d, preferably worked in on the inside; and by this expression
worked in" is meant that it may be either woven or knitted into the texture of
the stocking, or stitched on to the same, at the edges d'. The preferable course is
to employ for this purpose india-rubber bands, the edges of which are longer
than the intermediate portions, as illustrated in Figure 2. By such means the said
edges are prevented from compressing or "cutting" the leg, when fully stretched
out.
As shown in Figure 1, the stocking shrinks into folds wherever a piece or strip
of india-rubber is inserted, which folds it retains while it is not worn, but which
wholly or partly disappear when the stocking is put on.
It will be readily understood that the invention may be carried out in various
forms, other than that here shown without departure from the principle of the
invention. Thus, single india-rubber threads, might, for instance, be woven into
the worsted fabric, so as to constitute, in the end, yielding or elastic strips of the
class bereinabove described.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
Stockings with portions or strips of elastic material inserted or worked into
their texture, with a view to dispense with the employment of garters, substantially
as herein described.
MARKS & CLERK,
18 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., and
13 Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents for the Applicant.