Improvements in Pile Fabrics and Methods of Producing the same.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Pile Fabrics and Methods of Producing the same.
I, JAMES WILLIAM BARKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at
Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States of America,
Manufacturer, 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:
Cotton possesses qualities which fit it as a material from which to make strong
serviceable and satisfactory pile fabrics such as carpets, furniture rugs, and like
articles, but certain physical characteristics of this material have rendered it
impracticable to weave it into fabrics, the difficulty being that the cotton threads
of commerce are heavily covered with a nap or floss (or "fly" as it is technically
designated) which becomes caught in the reed and harness mechanism of the loom
and tends to clog the same. When but few threads are engaged with a reed it
does not become sufficiently clogged to obstruct the work of the loom, but a
few cotton threads to each reed of the loom are not sufficient to form a com-
mercial pile fabric, for the reason that said threads are flexible and have but
little substance, and therefore form a pile which is not sufficiently solid or self-
sustaining to le satisfactory. Two conditions have therefore heretofore existed,
namely, first, that but a small number of fly covered cotton threads could be
operated by a reed and harness, and second, that the number which could be so
operated were insufficient in number to form a satisfactory pile.
In the practice of my invention I produce cotton threads or yarns which will
not become entangled with or clog the reeds and harness, and of which, therefore,
a sufficient number can be employed in each reed to form a pile having sufficient
body to be self-sustaining and otherwise satisfactory; this result I obtain by
subjecting the cotton, in the form of yarn or thread, to a treatment which
compacts or solidifies the substance, including of course the fly, of each thread,
and renders the exterior of the thread sufficiently smooth to prevent the clogging
of the reeds and harness. The treatment of the cotton threads to which I resort
is a process of sizing.
A sizing composition which may if desired be employed consists of machine
oil, soda, and corn starch, combined in proper proportions, such, for instance,
as one gallon of oil, one pound of soda, and twelve pounds of corn starch.
Other sizing compounds or substances may if desired be employed instead of this.
If a sizing compound is applied to the threads prior to the operation of
dyeing them, the dye destroys, or at least injuriously affects, the size, while if
the sizing operation is subsequent to the dyeing operation, the size is apt to vary
the precise shade of colour which the dye imparts.
For these reasons I conduct the sizing and dyeing operations contemporaneously,
by admixing the foregoing, or any preferred, sizing mixture with the dyeing
compound, and if necessary I supply to the vat the necessary additional colour
to counteract the effect of the sizing compound, and to produce the desired tone,
and to this compound I subject the material to be treated."
The cotton, when taken from the bath, is charged with both colour and size,
and presents a compact and smooth appearance, so that any desired number of
threads may be introduced in a single reed to produce a carpet or other fabric
having a pile of the desired solidity and body.
In practice I have found that a very satisfactory pile is formed by the
employment of eight sized threads of cotton as the equivalent or in the stead
of a single woollen figuring warp thread, although a somewhat less number may
be employed with good results. This employment of a large number of cotton

page_text: threads of small size renders the manufacture of sightly, serviceable, and durable,
cotton rugs and carpets practicable.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. The process of treating cotton thread both to dye it and to fit it to be woven
in a loom, which consists in subjecting it to a dyeing compound, with which is
admixed a sizing compound, as specified.
2. The process of treating cotton thread both to dye it and to fit it to be woven
in a loom, which consists in subjecting it to a dyeing compound, with which is
admixed a sizing compound, consisting of machine oil, soda, and corn starch, as
specified.
3. The method of manufacturing cotton pile fabric, which consists in subjecting,
cotton threads to a sizing compound, to render them fit to be operated upon by a
loom, and in then weaving them in a loom to form the required fabric, substantially
as set forth.
4. The method of manufacturing cotton pile fabric, which consists in subjecting
cotton threads to a dyeing compound with which is admixed a sizing compound,
and in then weaving them in a loom to form the required fabric, substantially as set
forth.
5. A. pile fabric the pile of which is formed of sized cotton thread, substantially
as set forth.
6. A pile fabric the pile of which is formed of a large number of light sized
cotton threads, substantially as set forth.
Dated this Sixth day of February A.D. 1891.
JAMES WILLIAM BARKER.