Year: 1887

page_text: I, SYDNEY PITT of Sutton in the County of Surrey, Gentleman (a communication
to me from abroad by Enock C. Bowling Manufacturer, and Henry P. Glover,
Merchant and Manufacturer, both of Ypsilanti in the County of Washtenaw and
State of Michigan, United States of America) 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 :-
This invention relates to stays for garments, such as dresses, jackets and corsets,
and consists in the combination of parts and in the manner of securing said parts
together, as will be hereinafter set forth, and pointed out particularly in the claims.
In the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification:-
Figure 1 represents a series of stays in sheet form, prior to the separation.
Figure 2 represents the stay proper.
Figure 3 is a view of same, in which the parts forming the stay, at the right, are
disconnected.
Figure 4 is a central longitudinal section taken on the dotted line X X of figure 2.
Figure 5 is a cross section taken on the dotted line 2, 2, of figure 2.
The stay consists of two covering fabrics B B' which may be of any suitable cloth.
The central part or stiffener D may be of steel, whalebone, wood or any suitable
flexible material. Located between the stiffener and covering fabrics are sheets of
gutta-percha tissue tt (see figures 3, 4 and 5).
The gutta-percha tissue acts as an impervious coating, adhering the parts together
by the application of heat. Rubber may be employed, but gutta-percha tissue is the
preferred material.
The parts constituting the stay, when placed together, are subjected to the pressure
of heated rollers or a common sad-iron, whereby the application of heat to the gutta-
percha tissue strips causes them to soften or melt, whereby they readily enter the
meshes of the covering fabrics, around and over the stiffener joining each other, so
that when congealed they form a single mass, firmly connecting the parts together,
inclosing the stiffener D within an impervious covering, thus holding said stiffener
firmly in position between the fabrics B B'.
When steel is used for the stiffener D, the impervious coating prevents moisture or
perspiration from the body of the wearer from reaching the stiffener, thereby
preventing the rusting of the steel.
It has been the common practice to attach stays to the waists of dresses, by forming
pockets along the open seams, and to insert the steel or whalebone stiffeners into said
bockets.

page_text: This requires much time, and as the stiffeners are loose in said pockets, they work
endwise through the garment and drop out, and are therefore objectionable.
This invention overcomes said objections, as the stay is attached to the open seain
by stitching through the fabric edges i and through the turned in margins of the
seam of the garment.
The covering fabrics B B¹ are wider than the stiffener D, thus forming textile
fabric stitching edges ii through which the stitching is done to secure the stay to its
garment.
The covering fabrics are also longer than the stiffener, likewise the gutta-percha
tissue, which firmly joins the ends ee of the fabrics, thus preventing the working
endwise of the stiffener D.
The gutta-percha tissue also prevents the edges of the fabrics from fraying or
tearing of parts.
The stays are produced in the following manner. The sheet of covering fabric B¹
is placed on a table or suitable platform (said sheet being large enough to cover one
side of a series of stiffeners when placed thereon).
I locate on said sheet of fabric, a sheet t of gutta-percha tissue, 1 place a series of
stiffeners D side by side at some distance from each other, then place over the
stiffeners an upper covering t of gutta-percha tissue, then over said last sheet an
outer covering B of fabric, then by passing a heated iron such as a sad-iron over the
covering B, the heat coming in contact with the gutta-percha tissue causes it to melt
and enter the interstices of the fabrics, also adhering to the stiffening blades, thus
firmly uniting the parts in sheet form, as shown in figure 1.
To obtain a single stay I cut by means of a knife or pinking wheel through the
fabrics and gutta-percha tissue at a point midway between the stiffeners D; as shown
by dotted lines XX of figure 1, thus producing the stay shown in figure 2.
The pinked edges f give to the stay a handsome appearance.
lf desired several stiffeners secured between the fabrics may be attached to a
garment in sheet form, and a single sheet of gutta percha tissue may be used
between the fabrics and over the stiffener to secure the parts together, without
departing from the nature of my invention.
The ends of the stiffeners are rounded at a to avoid sharp or cutting corners and
to give the stay a good appearance. The fabric ends e prevent the ends of the
stiffener D from penetrating through the garment to which it is to be attached.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The herein described stay, comprising the stiffening-blade, having a sheet of
gutta-percha tissue lying upon each side thereof and projecting over the ends and
edges of said blade, with the covering-fabrics having a like projection and cemented
thereto, whereby a stitching edge is provided surrounding the stiffening blade, as and
for the purposes specified.
2. A garment stay comprising a stiffening blade, having a textile fabric covering
with interposed impervious coating, the parts adherent together, and having the
textile-fabric stitching edges, substantially as and for the purposes specified.
Dated this 21st day of December 1887
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents.