IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING ORNAMENTAL BOBBIN NET OR TWIST LACE
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARKE, of Nottingham, Lace Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Thirtieth day of April, in the seventh year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William
Clarke, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said William Clarke, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Clarke, my exors, adiñors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING ORNAMENTAL
BOBBIN NET OR TWIST LACE;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that I, the said William Clarke, shall cause a particular description of
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being there-
unto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Clarke, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the

page_text: manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
My Invention relates to manufacturing breadths of bobbin net or twist lace
with scolloped or vandyke edges, and consists of so arranging and working
machinery used in the manufacture of bobbin net or twist lace that the bobbin
threads and the warp threads at those edges of the breadths where scollops or
vandykes are to be made shall be carried back towards the body or ground of
lace or net; those bobbin threads and warp threads which are progressively
not required being prevented twisting with each other, and yet at the same
time such warp threads and bobbin threads shall be either collected
together and tied into the edge of the vandykes or scollops as they are
made, or else carried back opposite the places of other threads and worked
double therewith in producing the bobbin net or twist lace. And in order that
a workman may readily understand the nature of this Invention, I will suppose
that a bobbin net or twist lace machine has been at work making breadths of
lace or net side by side in the ordinary manner; the workman will readily
perceive that if the machinery were so arranged that the outermost bobbin
thread and warp thread were to be prevented twisting by the proper move-
ment of the warp thread, and moved towards the ground or body of the lace
or net, and there made fast to the edge of the breadth of lace or net which was
being produced, such working would be the commencement of a scollop or
vandyke; and then in the progress of the working the machinery, if that warp
tbread and bobbin thread, together with the next bobbin thread and warp thread
were to be prevented twisting and be carried back and fastened into the fabric
as it was produced, and so on, for a succession of movements of the machinery,
the depth of vandyke or scollop desired would be obtained, and the shape of
such scollop or vandyke would evidently depend on the number of rows of
meshes made before the depth of vandyke has been obtained; the more rows of
meshes made for the same depth of scollop or vandyke, the more rounding will
be the edge of such scollop or vandyke, and the fewer the rows of meshes
which are made in arriving at the desired depth of vandyke or scollop, the more
pointed will that vandyke or scollop be; and this may be controlled in the
working of the machinery by a cut of wheels or any suitable pattern surface.
In making lace, on the pillow, by hand, a single breadth at a time, it has
been usual when making lace with a scolloped or vandyke edge to employ a
quantity of threads equal to what would be necessary if a breadth of lace were
going to be made with parallel edges or selvages, and of a width equal to the

page_text: greatest breadth of the vandyke or scolloped lace, and such descriptions of
scolloped or vandyke lace or net has not been before made several breadths at
one time, side by side, and laced together (by suitable lacing threads) by bobbin
net or twist lace machinery; and it is the so arranging and working bobbin net
or twist lace machinery that scolloped or vandyke lace or net of the description
above mentioned may be produced several breadths side by side, and laced
together at the same time, which constitutes the peculiar character of my
Invention. And it may be desirable to remarke that I am aware that breadthis
of lace with vandyke or scollop edges, but of very different kinds to that above
mentioned, have before been made in England, several breadths at the same
time, side by side, and laced together, as the same have been secured by Patents
taken by Mr. Henry William Nunn and by Mr. William Crofts, and the nature
of their respective Inventions are described in the Specifications inrolled to
their Patents, Mr. Nunn's Invention consisting of producing a fast purl in
vandyks or scollops on a ground of bobbin net or twist lace, and then cutting
away the ground of the lace; thus, though the lace has a fixed purl, it had a
raw edge; and in Mr. Crofts' Invention he caused carriages and warp threads
to be left out between two breadths of lace, according to the depth of vandyke
or scollop he desired to make, and then he so arranged the working of the
machinery that the bobbin threads and warp threads used in making the
scolloped or vandyke edge should be progressively carried into the space left
vacant and work separate from the outer threads, making the same breadth of
lace, and then having moved to the greatest extent, away from the ground or
body of the fabric, the threads making the scollop were progressively brought
back to work with the other threads, thus making an open head or scollop. And
I mention these Inventions in order to point out the difference of character
of each of them to that for which the present Letters Patent have been granted.
In the first case (Nunn's), although a quantity of threads were used, equal to
making a breadth of lace as wide as the greatest width of the scollop, there was
no fastening of the series of bobbin threads and warp threads progressively into
the fabric between two vandykes or seollops; on the contrary, the threads went
on twisting together, producing lace or net, which was cut away between the
scollops or vandykes after the lace had left the machine; and in Mr. Crofts'
Invention the threads used were only suitable for making a breadth of lace
equal to the narrowest width of the vandyke or scolloped lace or net produced, and
here was no accumulating and carrying back of the threads into the fabric of
he lace as the scollop or vandyke was being made, but the vandyke or scollop
depended on there being an open head or separation of the part forming the
vandyke or scollop from the ground or body of the fabric. Now, according to

page_text: my Invention, I make vandyke or scolloped twist lace or bobbin net with or
without purl, at pleasure, at the vandyke or scolloped edge progressively,
accumulating the series of bobbin threads and the series of warp threads as the
fabric is narrowed, without allowing them to twist, and cause them to be
fastened into the fabric, and then having finished one vandyke or scollop, the
series of bobbin threads and the series of warp threads so accumulated, and
which have been carried back towards the fabric, are progressively again brought
into work and twist together as the fabric widens, till the greatest width of the
twist lace or bobbin net is attained, at which time all the bobbin threads and
warp threads will be working or twisting with their respective threads in such
order as to produce the desired pattern of fabric according to the pattern
surface used to control and govern the working of the threads, and this will be
the case, whether the threads making the scollops be simply carried back and,
tied in at the edge, or carried back and worked double. The nature of bobbin
net or twist lace machinery being well understood, as well as the manner of
working the same, it will not be necessary to enter into any description thereof,
neither will it be necessary to describe any of the well-known means of
producing different grounds of twist lace or bobbin net, nor the mode of
obtaining ornamental patterns therein, my Invention not interfering with the
production of the same; and the bobbin net or twist lace machinery for
performing my Invention may be greatly varied in its character, so long as
the machinery is suitably arranged for allowing the series of bobbin threads
and the series of warp threads which make the scollop or vandyke edge to
be progressively prevented from twisting (in those cases where the threads
are to be simply tied in at the edge), and progressively accumulated and carried
back towards the ground of the breadth of lace, and then having completed one
vandyke or scollop, for such series of bobbin threads and warp threads to be
caused progressively to be unaccumulated, and to twist together, part remaining
accumulated, till the greatest width is attained, as above explained. In order,
however, that the workman may have the fullest information I am possessed of
I have hereunto annexed Drawings of machinery used by me, which I will now

page_text: out in other lace machines, whether arranged for making traversed or un-
traversed bobbin net or lace, the parts being suitably modified according to the
description herein given. The lace machine being fitted up properly for
making breadths of lace according to any desired pattern, as is well under-
stood, the workman having determined the greatest depth of the scolloped or
vandyke edge he will require to be made to each breadth of lace, it is desirablo
to place the warp threads, which stand opposite the spaces where the scollops
or vandykes are to be made on to separate rollers, so that they may be used
separately, one faster than another, according as they are required by the par-
ticular design for scolloped or vandyke edge; and these warp threads I prefer
each to be placed in separate guide bars, or otherwise, so that they may have
independent motion, in order that as they are no longer required to make lace,
they may be prevented twisting with their bobbin threads, as is well under-
stood, when preventing the twisting of particular warp threads with their
bobbin threads, in lace machinery. For producing various effects I prefer
to leave out one bobbin thread and one warp thread between each two-
breadths, to allow of two points being inserted in the space between the
selvedge and the draw thread bobbin, one point being in the main point bar,
and the other in the purling point bar. Thus a good selvedge is secured to
the straight edge of the breadth by one point, and the draw thread bobbin is
caught and carried to any part of the scollop by the other point; and I use
a bobbin and a warp thread for the lacing or draw threads, to combine each
two neighbouring breadths of lace, and I prefer to employ a strong thick
warp thread at the back or straight selvage of each breadth of lace, such thick
thread being worked by a guide bar having suitable rackings to allow the
lacing bobbin thread to pass round it, as is well understood. And I use the
warp draw thread, which enters into the purl formed upon the scolloped edge
for the purpose of being linked by the lacing bobbin thread, as is well under-
stood when using a bobbin thread and a warp thread to lace two breadths of
lace together, as heretofore practised. The carriages with their bobbins
swing through and through between the warp threads where the scolloped or
vandyked edges are being made, in the same manner as where the body or
ground of the lace is being made, according as the pattern requires, and
although the warp threads are accumulated above the carriages, the guides
carrying the warp threads which go to make the scolloped or vandyke edges
etain their positions, to allow of the swing of the carriages between them
imply preventing the twisting of those bobbin threads with their warp threads,
which are going out of action, and are to be accumulated. This will be better

page_text: understood on examing the Drawing marked A, where there are several
breadths of lace side by side, showing various stages of the working of the
scollops or vandykes; but it will be evident that although I have for conve-
nience shewn the breadths of lace in various stages of producing the scolloped
edges, yet such will not be the case in making the breadths upon the machine,
as the same parts of the scolloped edges of the breadths will be made at the
same time. By the Drawing A it will be seen that the warp threads and the
bobbin threads just above the carriages range in their ordinary places, in order.
to the passage of the carriages between the warp threads, the pattern surfaces
which act upon the different guide bars being so formed as to accommodate
the positions of the guides to the various inclinations of the warp threads, and
the accumulation of the threads is only at the outer edge of the scollops or
vandykes, where the threads not making meshes are tied up in a bundle by two
extra warp threads to each breadth, worked by two extra guide bars, in such
manner that they may be brought into position to be linked into by two or
more of the outermost carriage threads, making the breadth of lace pre-
vious to the work being taken up, such two extra warp threads being one at
the back and the other at the front, and their threads are to be on separate
beams, and so weighed that the slack which would otherwise be caused (by
these threads being carried to the outermost edge of the breadth, and more or
less beyond the point where the accumulated threads are to be fastened,) may
be taken up as the threads to be fastened thereby are being carried back by
the purl taking up points, as hereafter explained; hence, it will be required
that these extra or fastening warp threads should be capable of movement a
distance equal to the greatest depth of the vandyke or scolloped edge, which
will depend on the cut of the wheels or other pattern surfaces which work the
guide bars carrying such extra or fastening warp threads, and which pattern
surface will be according to the pattern surfaces used for making the desired
colloped or vandyke edge, and such will be the case with the cuts of wheels
or other pattern surfaces working the guide bars carrying the warp threads
used in making 'the scolloped or vandyke edge of each breadth of lace. They
will work the guides suitably for producing the required pattern of lace during
the time each of those warp threads are allowed to twist with their bobbin
threads, the pattern surfaces being so arranged as to successively prevent the
twisting of the bobbin threads with their warp threads, as they are required to
be accumulated to make the scollop or vandyke edge, and the pattern surfaces
are to be so arranged (that having completed one-half of the scollope o
vandyke) as to cause the threads progressively again to twist till the whole

page_text: again come to work with each other at the greatest width of the scollope. It
is not necessary that both the warp threads and the bobbin threads opposite
where vandyke or scolloped edges are made to the various breadths should be
accumulated and tied up at the outer edge of each breadth of lace, as it will be
re dily understood by a workman that the warp threads being capable of
independent movement as they successively go out of action, so far as twisting
with their bobbin threads, they may by their pattern surfaces be caused to go
so far into the lace as to stand opposite other warp threads, that the bobbin
threads of those outer warp threads may twist with them, as well as with their
own warp threads, and thus working the warp threads double, and then only
accumulating and carrying back the bobbin threads in the manner above men-
tioned; and if desired, the bobbin threads and their carriages might be suc-
cessively moved out of their own spaces into the spaces of other of the carriages,
the threads of which make the body of the lace, but such means would render
the working more complex. The extent and contour of the vandyke or scol-
loped edge made to each breadth of lace is governed by the working of the
point bars, there being spaces left in the main points opposite the places where
scolloped or vandyked edges are to be made to the breadths of lace, and these
spaces are to be equal to the greatest depth of the scolloped or vandyke edge
to be made, by which means any variety of contour may be given to the edge
within the extent of such depth, depending on the pattern surfaces employed
for working the separate points used in making such edges. I prefer to
employ taking-up points twice as numerous as the gauge of the machine, as is
now very commonly practised, as such an arrangement saves much trouble
heretofore experienced in setting the points in order to their entering correctly.
amongst the threads. In the Drawing a, a, are the ordinary taking-up point
bars, with vacant spaces b, b, in the points opposite every place where a vandyke
or scolloped edge is to be made, and in those spaces in the back points, and in
the front points, the points carried by two other back and front bars work the
points; c, c, are what I call the purl taking-up points, for it is by means of these.
points that the outermost threads when forming the purl is progressively taken up,
the purled edge being according to any of the makes usually practised; and it
will be understood that it is not the very outermost threads which will ordi-
narily be accumulated, as they go to make the desired purled edge; but it is
the warp threads and the bobbin threads intermediate of the purling threads
and the body of the lace which are progressively accumulated and carried back
and tied near the edge of each breadth of lace. I usually employ three points
for taking up the purl as it is made; and the lower part of the plate which

page_text: governs the position, at which the point c shall enter the threads, never changing
the point bars. c, c, are so worked that these points shall when out of the
work move back to the outermost extent of their movement, so as to take the
purl produced by the working of the outermost warp threads and bobbin
threads, and then having done so as they go up with the work, the plates 2, 2,
against which they work, are to cause them to be slided along towards the body
of the net or lace a distance according to the extent to which the scollop or
vandyke has been formed, driving the warp threads and bobbin threads which
have just previously been prevented twisting by their pattern surfaces, so that
they may be accumulated, the fastening warp threads linked into the purling
threads being drawn tight by the weighting of their beams, as the purling
points progressively drive the threads before them a distance according to the
pattern surface working the points c, c. The point bars c, c, are at all times
drawn by their springs d, d, towards the right-hand end of the machine, and in
order to keep these and the other point bars hereafter described securely
in their places, on their main point bars there are clamping plates e, e,
screwed to the main point bars, and there are screws f passing through slots in
the extra point bars, to retain them when sliding, as shewn in the Drawings;
and in order further to secure the proper and correct action of those extra
point bars they have projections 9, 9, affixed thereon, carrying stems h, h, which
slide through holes formed in the projections i, i, fixed to the main point bars,
as shewn. j are set screws, the heads of which work against the hinged plates
2, which are pressed on by the bolts l, which are to be acted on by cuts of
wheels, or other suitable pattern surfaces, and according to these pattern
surfaces so will be arranged the other pattern surfaces working the other parts
above described, in order to produce the figure or contour of vandyke or scol-
Toped edge desired to the lace; m, m, are other extra points, which, together
with the purling points, are capable of filling the spaces in the main points, so
that supposing that no scollop or vandyke was making, the point bars would
work as one complete point bar at back and front, and such, in fact, is the
case at the time when the greatest width of lace is being made, that is, when
making the top of a scollope or vandyke, and these points m, m, by means of
their cuts of wheels, or other suitable pattern surface, will be caused progres-
sively to move over the main points (such movement being made when the
points are out of the work), as the lace becomes less and less in width, and if
the scollop or vandyke is to be as deep as the width of the space in the main
points, than at the time the vandyke or scollop is at its lowest part, or where
the lace is narrowest, the points m will be all ranging over the main points,

page_text: the object of these points being that they shall for the time being extend
beyond the main points a distance equal to take up the work which extends,
beyond the main points, and they do not at each time of taking up, or while
the points are passing from the heads of the carriages to the work, move
towards the left hand as the purling points do; but a scollop or vandyke being
completed, or at its lowest part, the lace being at its narrowest part, then
these points m move out towards the right-hand end of the machine, according
as the lace becomes wider in the making of the next scollop or vandyke. The
purling points at all times after having entered the threads at their extreme
position to the right hand, move up to the points m; hence these two sets of
points, together with the main points, when up and supporting the work, offer
the proper compliment of points for the width of lace then making. The point
bars m are by their springs n at all times drawn towards the right-hand end of
the machine, and the ends of the main point bars work against stops o, o. At
their left-hand ends p, p, are set screws of the point bars m, which work against
the plates q, the set screws p, p, being carried by projections s, s, affixed to the
point bars m, such projections s having stems t which pass through holes in
the projections i, which are affixed to the main point bars, and thus prevent
any injurious strain upon the point bars m. The plates are affixed to the
bolts r, r, which are acted on by cuts of wheels or other suitable pattern
surfaces, in the manner above described.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best means I am
acquainted with for performing the same, I would wish it to be understood
that I make no claim to the machinery shewn in the Drawings, except so far
as the same is modified for the purposes of my Invention, nor do I confine
myself thereto so long as the peculiar character of my Invention be retained;
and although I have shewn the various warp threads to be actuated by guide
bars, yet it will be evident that independent instruments or other modes of
operating upon the warp threads and bobbin threads may be resorted to where
there is the power of obtaining the necessary movements by placing the warp
threads and bobbin threads in a position to be accumulated, whatever part of
the scollop is for the time being made. But what I claim is, first, the so
arranging bobbin net or twist lace machinery that lace with scolloped or
vandyke edges may be made therein by causing the warp threads and bobbin
threads used in making the scollopped or vandyke edges to be carried back
successively and accumulated and fastened into the edges of the lace or net, as
above described.
And, secondly, I claim the mode of arranging and working the taking up

page_text: points of bobbin net or twist lace machinery for making scolloped or vandyke
edges to bobbin net or twist lace, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clarke, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-four.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirtieth day of October, in the
year of our Lord 1844, the aforesaid William Clarke came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.