IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIRTS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Wemyss Kennedy, of Glasgow, in the
County of Lanark, North Britain, Shirt Cutter, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIRTS."
Sealed the 17th April 1860, and dated the 26th October 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Wemyss Kennedy
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th October 1859.
I, WILLIAM WEMYSS KENNEDY, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Shirt Cutter, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIRTS," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to the arrangement and manufacture or construction
of shirts of various classes and qualities in such manner as to insure good
fitting and comfort, and freedom in wearing, whilst the shirt is much simpler
in structure than the common shirt; it is cut out with much greater facility,
and is cut in fewer parts than other shirts. The shoulder portions of the shirt
are each cut out of cloth diagonally as regards the line of warp and weft of the
fabric, so that great elasticity is secured at the part where stretching takes
place during wear. There are no shoulder straps nor any other separate
pieces of fabric between the shoulder piece and the upper end of the arm
where the junction occurs, and the fabric is solid throughout all the length
between the bottom or skirt end of the shirt, and the central junction at the

page_text: back of the neck. The general form of the shirt is such that the breast
portion lays quite flat upon the breast of the wearer, whilst the necessary
fullness of material is thrown into the back. In this way the shirt fits
perfectly to the body. Iit is cheap in first cost, and exceedingly comfortable
to wear.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Wemyss Kennedy in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 26th April 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
WEMYSS KENNEDY, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Shirt Cutter, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did; for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Wemyss Kennedy, Her special license that I, the said
William Wemyss Kennedy, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said William Wemyss Kennedy, my executors, ad-
ministrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIRTS," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said William Wemyss Kennedy, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Wemyss Kennedy, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to the arrangement and manufacture, or con-
struction of shirts of various classes and qualities in such manner as to insure

page_text: good fitting, and comfort and freedom in weaving, whilst the shirt is much
simpler in structure than the common shirt, it is cut out with much greater
facility, and is cut in fewer parts than other shirts. The shoulder portions of
the shirt are each cut out of cloth diagonally as regards the line of the warp
and weft of the fabric so that great elasticity is secured at the part where
stretching takes place during wear. There are no shoulder straps nor any
other separate pieces of fabric between the shoulder piece and the upper end
of the arm where the junction occurs, and the fabric is solid throughout all
the length between the bottom or skirt end of the shirt and the central
junction at the back of the neck. The general form of the shirt is such that
the breast of the wearer whilst the necessary fullness of material is thrown
into the back. In this way the shirt fits perfectly to the body. It is cheap
in first cost and exceedingly comfortable to wear.
And in order that my said Invention of improvements in shirts may be
properly understood, I shall now proceed to describe the illustrative Figures
on the explanatory Sheet of Drawings which I have hereunto appended for the
purpose of showing certain modifications under which my improvements may
be judiciously carried out in practice, that is to say, Figure 1 on the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings, represents a front view of a shirt manufactured
according to my improvements, and Figure 2 is a corresponding back view of
the garment. In cutting out the parts of shirts according to this system, the
front portion A, of the body of the shirt is cut in one piece and is carried
upwards to a greater extent than in the ordinary mode of cutting. This
elongation of the upper part of the front piece is so shaped as to form a yoke
shaped piece extending over the shoulders and uniting at the back of the neck
as shown at B, in Figure 2 of the accompanying Drawings. Thus the front
portion of the shirt is cut at the sides to fit tolerably close to the figure of the
wearer, and is then curved inwards to form the larger portion of the arm holes.
The cloth of which the front part is formed, is then cut in a slightly curved
direction as shown in the lower margin of the
accompanying Drawings. The curved space in which the linen front D is
inserted is formed by cutting out the front to a corresponding extent. The
back part C of the shirt is cut to correspond to the sides and arm hole portion
of the front part, the upper part of the back is however cut sufficiently wide
to admit of its being fulled in at the central part of the yoke piece B, when
made up. A "binder" which extends downwards to the dotted lines crossing
the front part in Figure 1, is stitched in below the shoulder parts. These
binders extend over the shoulders to the full extent of the yoke piece B, and
they are seamed together in a line corresponding to the central or back seam
part B, in Figure 2 on the

page_text: of the yoke piece. The front D, the neck band E, as well as the sleeves F,
are of the ordinary kind and therefore do not require particular description.
In shirts cut according to these improvements, the cloth of the upper portion
of the front part is on the bias, that is to say, the warp and weft of the cloth
gradually diverge into a diagonal direction towards the shoulder part, the yoke
piece B being quite on the bias. This disposition of the cloth gives a degree
of elasticity to the shoulder parts of the shirt which causes it to sit much
better round the neck than if cut in the ordinary way. The carrying of the
front part of the shirt over the shoulders also does away with the shoulder
straps so that the wearing of these straps by the rubbing of the braces is done
away with and a greater degree of comfort ensured to the wearer through the
absence of these extra folds or thicknesses of cloth upon the shoulders.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider novel and
original, and therefore claim, as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is, the system or mode of cutting and
making shirts in which the front or fore part of the shirt is cut in such manner
as to admit of its passing over the shoulders of the wearer and of forming a
back band or yoke piece and so dispensing with shoulder straps, at the same
time obtaining an easy and superior fit as hereinbefore described and shown
in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Wemyss Kennedy, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of April, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty.
WILLIAM WEMYSS KENNEDY. (L.S.)