IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LACE
Year: 1880

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Henry Johnson at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th August 1880. A communication
from abroad by Emile Dubout, of Calais, in the Republic of France.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LACE." A communication
'from abroad by Emile Dubout, of Calais, in the Republic of France.
This Invention relates to the manufacture of what is known as "Chantilly lace,"
which consists of, first, a net or ground composed of loops or meshes of a round,
or preferably polygonal, shape, being formed by interlacing the ground threads; and,
secondly, of designs composed of plain or heavy portions of various shades and
other combinations with borders.
All machine made imitations of this lace heretofore produced are more or less
defective or imperfect, but the lace manufactured according to this Invention is
characterized by its great resemblance to the hand made Chantilly lace, and the
peculiar means employed, as hereinafter described, enable a greater breadth of lace
to be produced on the same apparatus than was practicable with ordinary means.
In carrying out this Invention the round loop or mesh is produced by two
threads, an independent bar thread and a fine bar thread, which are wound a
certain number of times, and in the same direction, around a bobbin thread; then at
a given moment the independent bar thread rises to take the thread of the next
bobbin, and returns at the same time as another independent bar thread working
upon this latter bobbin descends to take the first bobbin thread.
.
This operation is performed alternately in the odd and even intervals existing
between the bobbin threads.
The heavy portions have been imitated in various way, generally by the aid of
additional threads termed guimp threads, but according to this Invention they are
obtained by the aid of the ground threads alone. The independent bar thread and
the fine bar thread separate. The fine bar thread at the moment when the heavy
portion is commenced continues to be wound round the bobbin thread, but in the
opposite direction; the independent bar thread comes between two bobbin threads
twisted with the fine bar thread, and proceeds to take the bobbin on the right and
the bobbin on the left alternately, thus making the loops or meshes of half size or
closer.
It takes the right bobbin and the left bobbin in inverse torsion to that effected
in the case of the fine bar thread.

page_text: The number of movements varies with the size of the loops or meshes. The
size of the threads also varies according to the degree of fineness which it is desired
to obtain.
Similar heavy portions have already been obtained, but they are made of cotton,
and combined with net with meshes or loops of a square or other form, which
might produce a suitable effect in cotton articles, but which cannot be admitted in
imitations in silk of Chantilly lace.
The special mode of working employed according to this Invention, as hereinafter
described, enables an imitation Chantilly to be obtained, forming an entirely new
product characterized by the union and combination of these two elements the
heavy portions and nets with round loops or meshes made as herein before
described.
The finer or open portions of the improved imitation Chantilly are also of a
novel character, which contributes to impart to the lace manufactured according to
this Invention an appearance of great fineness depending absolutely upon the
peculiar mode of working adopted according to this Invention for obtaining
products of this description.
This mode of working is totally different from those heretofore employed, and
it consists in combining the work of the independent bars and of the fine bars in a
peculiar manner.
The ground is made simultaneously and in every part of the width of the fabric
with simple torsion and double torsion (that is to say, one thread twisting to the
right and the other to the left, which produces the interlacing), with the half only
of the threads in the independent bars.
The parts in which a simple torsion is produced constitute the netted part of
the ground, as herein before described.
In the parts in which a double torsion is produced the fine bar thread takes the
bobbin thread in one direction, and the independent bar thread takes the bobbin
thread in the opposite direction, so as to form the various combinations required.
The stationary stump bar receiving the warp threads from the fine bars allows
these threads to twist to the right or the reverse, as required.
Articles have already been manufactured in which the netted part of the ground
was produced by simple torsion, whilst the heavy portions were produced by
duplex torsion, but this has been done with independent bars exclusively.
One of the characteristic features of this Invention is, that in order to obtain this
result, the work of the independent bars and the fine bars is combined with the
stationary stump bars in a peculiar manner, as hereinafter described. Articles
have already been made with all fine bars or all independent bars, or even half
independent bars and half fine bars, but when all fine bars are employed it is
possible to twist in one direction only, according to the working of the stump bar,
with all independent bars the twisting may be effected in both directions; in the
third case the fine bar threads are, as in the first case, subject to the working of
the stump bar.
By means of this Invention it is possible to twist with each of the threads in one
direction or the other, and change during the course of the work, as well with the
fine bars as with the independent bars.
For this purpose, in lieu of imparting a reciprocating motion to the stump bar in
order to raise or lower the threads of the fine bars the stump bar is made stationary,
so that the threads of the fine bars are only operated by the bars themselves, and
facility is thereby afforded for twisting in either direction upon the same bobbin.
This arrangement enables grounds for imitation Chantilly to be made with half
independent bars and half fine bars, whereby numerous advantages are obtained,
and more especially the following, viz.:-The number of independent bars that
may be arranged in the apparatus at a time is limited by the necessity of working
the carriages, but on the other hand a considerable number of threads are required
in order to obtain wide pieces of fabric. Consequently a machine which would
make great widths of fabric with independent bars exclusively would require to

page_text: be constructed of such relatively large dimensions as would be inadmissible in
practice.
On the other hand, by means of this Invention, a machine having a limited, and
consequently practicable and convenient, number of independent bars, may be
employed for the production of considerable widths of fabric because, in addition to
working the independent bars, the fine bars, which occupy a comparatively small
space in the apparatus, are also caused to operate, so that by these means a larger
number of threads may be employed, and the width of the fabric proportionately
increased.
Thus it is possible to make the twist to the right or the reverse upon the same
bobbin, and if required for the retrogression of a large thread the twisting may be
suspended on the right or on the left side of the bobbin thread.
The combination of this working of the fine bar thread with the working of the
thread operated by the independent bars, and combining or connecting the bobbin
threads, enables the grounds to be made with simple torsion and right and reversed
torsion at pleasure.