Year: 1886

page_text: I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, 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 :-
My invention has for its object to provide a new kind, style or form of shoe or
alipper, viz:-one the upper of which shall be composed of strands, strips or lengths
of narrow material united in such manner as to overlap each other and give the
desired or necessary shape or contour to the upper.
A further object of my invention is to provide a method or process of con-
struction of a shoe or slipper upper of the kind mentioned, which may be practised
or put into effect by means of a sewing machine, whereby such uppers can be
produced with facility and comparatively slight expense.
My invention consists first, in a shoe or slipper the upper of which is composed
of strips or narrow pieces of straw-braid or equivalent material united in over-
lapping strands or courses; second, in the process or method of constructing or
producing a shoe or slipper upper having the characteristics mentioned, and third,
in the specific construction of the upper, all as hereinafter fully specified.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is a plan view of a guide strip or foundation piece used in the manu-
facture of a shoe or slipper according to this invention.
Figure 2 is a plan view of the guide strip closed at the heel.
Figure 3 is a plan view of the upper closed at the heel.
Figure 4 is a vertical section of the improved shoe or slipper.
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the shoe or slipper.
1.
Figure 6 is a plan view shewing a modification in the construction of the
upper.
Any suitable material in the form of a long narrow strip such as tape or ribbon
may be used in producing the upper of the improved shoe or slipper but the article
mainly used is straw-braid either natural, or imitation straw or grass, or both
natural and imitation straw-braid.

page_text: In forming an upper of this material I first take a strip or piece of it of
sufficient length to encircle the foot slightly below the ankle, or a last, a short
distance below the top, or horizontally around the instep and heel.
In the said drawing A represents this piece, which I call the guide-strip, as it
forms the foundation or initial piece of the upper. I place this strip A on a sewing-
machine and run a line of stitching a around its inner edge, imparting to the strip,
at or about its middle, a curve or "flare" a¹ which said inner line of stitching
holds securely and firmly. This flare forms the beginning of the toe or instep
curve of the upper. The two ends of the strip are united at a² to form the heel,
and in such way that the heel portion is in a plane at or about at right angles to the
toe or instep portion, or, while the latter is horizontal, or approximately so, the
heel part is vertical or substantially vertical. Said ends of the guide-piece may be
united when the line of stitching a is formed, or subsequently. The piece A is
then an endless band, having two curves, one at the instep or toe portion and one
at the heel, the front curve being flat or horizontal, or nearly so, and the rear curve
vertical.
I next take a long strip of material B, such as straw-braid, and attach a course
of it to a piece A, underlapping said piece and sewing to the outer edge of the
latter at b, the work being done on a suitable sewing-machine, the line of stitching
being run in the reverse direction from the line a. The strip B is then continued
on in overlapping courses C C¹, all of said courses, including the first, having the
flat or nearly flat curve at the toe or instep, similar to that of the piece A and the
turn at the heel like the latter, said front curves being secured by "flaring" and
Baid heel turn being produced by "drawing" the material in the act of stitching.
(By "flaring" is meant bending or swaying the material laterally while sewing,
and by "drawing" is meant holding tightly or producing tension in the under
course while stitching to the one above.) These courses are continued until a
complete upper is produced and said upper is afterwards secured to a sole D com-
posed of leather or other material in the same manner as leather or other uppers
usually are.
Instead of making the upper of a guide-strip A, united at its ends to form an
endless band, and of a single long strip B forming courses or overlapping strands
as shown in Figure 3 of the drawing; the guide strip A having the front curve a¹
produced by an inner line of stitching a, may be left with its ends ununited at first,
and successive pieces of the same shape may be stitched to it, forming overlapping
courses of varying and gradually increasing length, with the toe or instep curvature.
This will produce an upper like that shown in Figure 6, A¹ being the guide-strip;
B¹ the next course, and C¹ the successive courses stitched together at their outer or
overlapping edges and open at the heel. The heel of this upper may subsequently
be formed like that of an ordinary leather upper, viz:-by stitching the heel ends
of the upper together and to a transverse or vertical strip or stay.
Any suitable material in long narrow strips may be employed for the upper, but
I prefer to use straw braid, either real or imitation. Any of the straws, as
Panama, Manilla, or Leghorn, may be used for the constituent of the braid, or the
latter may be of cotton or other textile material. By using straw-braid, either real
or imitation, a very attractive appearance of the shoe or slipper is obtained, and
lightness and ventilation are secured. By making the upper of strips the proper
shape is imparted to it without necessarily resorting to wetting or stretching and
this construction permits the utilization of material not heretofore employed in the
manufacture of shoes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is
First. A shoe or slipper upper consisting of strands or strips of straw-braid, or
equivalent material, united to each other in overlapping courses, substantially as
shown and described.

page_text: Second. A shoe or slipper upper composed of a guide-strip or band A, having a
curve at or about its middle and a line of stitching on or near its inner edge which
secures Baid curve, with overlapping courses of material secured to said guide-strip
and to each other, substantially as shown and described.
Third. A shoe or slipper consisting of a sole of leather or equivalent material
and an upper secured thereto, said upper consisting of overlapping courses of straw-
braid, either real or imitation, united by stitching to each other, substantially as
shown and described.
Fourth. The process herein described for forming a shoe or slipper upper con-
sisting in the following steps first, forming a guide strip or foundation piece by
running a line of stitching on the inner edge of a piece of material, and flaring
such material while so stitching it in order to produce a curve therein; and,
second, stitching successive strands or a continuous piece of material in overlapping
courses to the foundation piece or guide and to each other, substantially as shown
and described.
Doted this 10th dow of T1000
HASELTINE; LAKE & Co.,
For the Applicant.