IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING ORNAMENTAL FABRICS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Cunningham and Robert Cunningham, both
of Paisley, in the County of Renfrew, North Britain, Manufacturer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING ORNAMENTAL FABRICS."
Sealed the 19th April 1865, and dated the 26th October 1864.
Robert Cunningham at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 26th October 1864.
We, JOHN CUNNINGHAM and ROBERT CUNNINGHAM, both of Paisley, in the
5 County of Renfrew, North Britain, Manufacturers, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WEAVING ORNAMENTAL
FABRICS," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to the weaving of ornamental fabrics of or similar to
the "Paisley shawl" class, and by means of it a perfect pattern is obtained
O on both sides of the fabric at considerably less expence than heretofore.
In practising the Invention the weaving arrangements employed are such

page_text: «
"
as to produce on each side of the fabric the "plain cloth" texture known as
once drawn pressed on two leaves." In commonly weaving such a cloth,
"single-faced," with "split," or "two-thread" harness, the heddles or healds
are made to throw only one half of the warps to the right side, the remaining
warps never appearing on the right side, but being worked into cloth by the
"ground" shot, or being "dumbflowered" by one of the right-side shots. By
this Invention, however, the use of a ground shot, or the dumbflowering of a
shot is dispensed with, and the half of the warps thus left free is used for the
other face of the fabric, so that no additional warps are required for the two-
faced fabric beyond what are ordinarily used for a one-faced fabric. The
harness is actuated by jacquard or other mechanism, so as to produce the
figuring on both faces in a manner which is well understood; but an important
feature of the present Invention consists in the mode of entering the warp
threads through the harness mails, through the heddles, and through the reed.
Two warp threads for the upper face are passed through one harness mail,
and two warp threads for the under face are passed through the next harness
mail. These four threads are entered separately through the eyes or mails of
four leaves of heddles, two for the upper face, and two for the under face, and
are then passed through two splits of the reed, an upper and a lower thread
through each split; or if the warps are not adapted for so fine a reed, the
whole four threads may be passed through one split. This arrangement
necessitates the crossing of one of the warp threads under the thread of the
adjacent barness mail; and in order that this crossing thread may not
interfere with the weaving action, it must be one of the threads for the under
face, this crossing being effected either between the harness and the heddles,
or between the heddles and the reed. If the reed has a split to every four
threads, each dent must be between the threads of each crossed pair, or the
crossing must be effected before the threads pass through the heddles. This
arrangement is of course repeated across the warps, or instead of every
alternate harness mail being appropriated to the upper and under warps
respectively, every alternate two or other convenient number of mails may be
'so appropriated, in which cases those threads that require it are suitably
crossed to bring them to their proper relative positions on passing through the
reed. When in weaving the fabric a movement of the jacquard or other
pattern apparatus is made for one of the wefts, the harness raises every pair
of the under warp. threads. at every point where that weft is to appear on the
under face, and it at the same time raises every pair of the upper warp
threads at every point, excepting those where that weft is to appear on-the

page_text: upper face. This action of the harness is, however, modified by that of the
heddles, a leaf of the upper side being raised, and one of the lower side being
depressed, the raised leaf in addition to the threads raised by the harness
raising or keeping up one thread of every pair of upper threads not raised by
the harness, whilst the depressed leaf keeps down or depresses one thread of
every pair of lower threads raised by the harness for the figuring of the lower
side. This action throws the necessary amount of warps to each surface to
produce the proper texture or "cloth." The same heddle leaves are raised
and depressed during the throwing of the run of shots required to form one
weft line of the pattern, the duplex heddle action being alternated for each
successive run of shots. With these arrangements there is only required one
half the harness that would be necessary to produce similar results by methods
hitherto in use, whilst the fabric produced is very superior.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Cunningham and Robert Cunningham in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 24th April 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
CUNNINGHAM and ROBERT CUNNINGHAM, both of Paisley, in the County of
Renfew, North Britain, Manufacturers, 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 sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year
of Iler.. reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said John Cunningham and Robert Cunningham, Her special licence
that we, the said John Cunningham and Robert Cunningham, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said John Cunningham
and Robert Cunningham, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS, IN WEAVING. ORNAMENTAL FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said John Cunningham and Robert Cunningham, our
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their,

page_text: or one of their hands and seals, 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 we, the said John Cunningham and Robert
Cunningham, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement in writing, that is
to say :-
Our, said Invention relates to the weaving of ornamental fabrics of or
similar to the "Paisley shawl" class, and by means of it a perfect pattern is
obtained on both sides of the fabric at considerably less expence than
heretofore.
In practising our said Invention we adopt weaving arrangements such as
produce on each side or face of the fabric the "plain cloth" texture known as
"once drawn pressed on two leaves." In commonly weaving such a cloth
single-faced, that is, with a perfect pattern on only one side or face, with
"split" or "two-thread" harness, that is, with two warp threads passing
through each harness mail or eye, the heddles or healds are made to show
only one-half of the warps on the right side, the remaining warps never
appearing on the right side, but being worked into cloth by the "ground"
shot, or being "dumbflowered " by one of the right-side shots, for the purpose
of fixing the figuring wefts, and of preventing their loosening should their
floating portions be subsequently cut away. By our said Invention, however,
the use of a ground shot, or the dumbflowering of a shot is dispensed with,
and the half of the warps thus left free is used for the other face of the fabric,
so that no additional warps are required for the two-faced fabric beyond what
are ordinarily used for a one-faced fabric of the kind herein-before referred to:
An inferior kind of one-faced fabric has been produced without the portion of
the warps referred to as worked up with the ground or dumbflowering shots,
and without having the floating portions at the back subsequently cut away,
and in such a fabric there is only one-half the warps we employ, but 'we
employ only one-half the warps hitherto used in weaving a two-faced fabric to
a given design. We may here remark that to the best of our knowledge two-
faced fabrics of the "Paisley shawl" class have previously only been woven
with a twilled texture or surface, and not with a "plain cloth" texture or
surface like the fabric made according to our said Invention. The harness is

page_text: actuated by jacquard or other mechanism, so as to produce the figuring on
both faces, and so as to throw between the faces the parts of the wefts not
appearing on either face, in a manner which is well understood.
And in order that our said Invention, and the manner of performing the
same may be properly understood, we will now particularly describe what we
believe to be the best and most economical mode of practising it, premising
that some of the details are obviously susceptible of being modified or varied
without departing from the novel and original features constituting the
essential characteristics of our Invention.
An important feature of our Invention, and more particularly of the
modification now being described, whilst equivalent. arrangements must be
adopted in other modifications in order to obtain the same results, consists.
in the mode of entering the warp threads through the harness mails, through
the heddles, and through the reed. The warps may be drawn off one or
more beams, but those for the upper and under faces respectively are kept
quite distinct in the weaving action, and are never transposed, those appearing
on the upper face never appearing on the under face, and vice versa. Two
warp threads for the upper face are passed through one harness mail, and two
warp threads for the under face are passed through the next harness mail.
These four threads are entered separately through the eyes or mails of four
leaves of heddles, two leaves for the upper face, and two for the under face,
and are then passed through two splits of the reed, an upper and a lower
thread through each split; or if the warps are not adapted for so fine a reed,
four threads may be passed through one split. In order with this arrange-
ment to produce a good cloth or web it is necessary to cross one of the warp
threads under one thread of the adjacent harness mail, and in order that this
crossing thread may not interfere with the weaving action it must be one of
the threads for the under face, this crossing being effected either between the
harness and the heddles, or between the heddles and the reed. If the reed
has a split to every four threads, each dent must be between the threads of
each crossed pair, or the crossing must be effected before the threads pass
through the heddles. This arrangement is of course repeated with every
successive four threads across the warps; or instead of every alternate harness
mail being appropriated to the upper and under warps respectively, every
alternate two or other convenient number of mails may be so appropriated, in
which cases those threads that require it are suitably crossed to bring them
to their proper relative positions on passing through the reed. When in
weaving the fabric a movement of the jacquard or other pattern apparatus is

page_text: made for one of the wefts, the barness raises every pair of the under warp
threads at every point where that weft is to appear on the under face, and it
at the same time raises every pair of the upper warp threads at every point,
excepting those where that weft is to appear on the upper face. This action
of the harness is, however, modified by that of the heddles, a leaf of the upper
face being raised, and one of the lower face being depressed, the raised leaf in
addition to the threads raised by the harness raising or keeping up one thread
of every pair of upper warp threads not raised by the harness, whilst the
depressed leaf keeps down or depresses one thread of every pair of under
warp threads raised by the harness for the figuring of the under face. This
heddle action throws the necessary amount of warps to each surface to produce
the proper texture or "cloth." The practical "Paisley shawl" weaver will of
course understand that the same heddle leaves are kept raised and depressed
respectively during the throwing of the run of shots required to form one weft
line of the pattern, the duplex heddle action being alternated for each
successive run of shots.
Y
In arranging jacquard apparatus in tying the harness to the tails or cords;
and in perforating the cards different needles and parts of the cards may be
apportioned to the upper and under warps respectively in any convenient way,
but it is obviously better to keep the parts so apportioned quite distinct, so
that in perforating each card one part of the card may be cut exclusively for
the upper face, and the other part for the under face; or separate cards may
be used for the two faces, but of course acting simultaneously. Then in
perforating a card for each weft there must be a perforation in the under face,
half at every point where that weft is to appear on the under face, whilst in
the upper face half there must be perforations at every point, excepting where
that weft is to appear on the upper face. As wherever the under warp
threads are raised the corresponding upper warp threads must also be raised,
in order that the weft may pass under the whole of them, (excepting, of
course, those kept down by the heddles,) so as to appear on the under face;
the upper warp harness threads may be legged to the under warp harness
threads so as to be lifted by them. This arrangement is not, however, of
much importance beyond preventing accidental omissions in perforating the
cards from acting injuriously. Single-lift jacquard apparatus is by preference
used in the present modification, but double-lift apparatus may also be used,
and is necessary in some of the modifications herein-after described.
The design is in all our modifications to be put in colors in the usual way
upon the French or hexagonally-ruled pattern paper; or it must be drawn in

page_text: an equivalent manner, and as the same weft obviously cannot be shown on.
both faces at the same points, the colors and pattern, or patterns for the:
respective sides must be arranged accordingly.
To render the fabrics made according to our said Invention the more
perfect, we form a kind of triple selvage at each edge. We have all the
wefts excepting that or those to form the selvage woven into the usual
catch cord a little beyond the intended finished edge in the ordinary way. We
form a two-ply selvage by means of warp threads suitably shed, and cause one
or more of the wefts to weave into one ply in passing out, and to weave into:
the other ply in returning in. This connects or binds the two plies at the:
edge, but the other wefts pass out at the edge between the binding or selvage
wefts to the catch cords beyond. After the fabric is woven the permanent
double selvage is combed inwards, and the projecting wefts are cut off, and on.
the selvage being pressed out again the cut ends disappear within it. There.
remains, however, to describe a peculiarity, without which the cut weft ends
would tend to spring out on the faces of the fabric at the inside margin of the
double selvage. This peculiarity consists in providing a few additional warp
threads, with which are interwoven the wefts to be afterwards cut, and this is
done in such a way that the third narrow ply of cloth thus formed lies between:
and is completely concealed by the two plies of the external selvage.
We will now indicate some of the modifications of which parts of our
improved processes herein-before described are susceptible, and which embody.
the same essential features, although inferior as regards economy and practical
convenience.
In a second modification instead of passing the warp threads two through
each harness mail, and then crossing one under another, as in our first
modification, an equivalent effect is produced by providing a harness thread.
and mail to each warp thread, such harness threads being connected in pairs
above the hole board, and being arranged so that the warp threads can be
passed through the harness heddles and reed without crossing, the mails for
the upper face warps being disposed alternately with those for the under face
warps. This arrangement will, however, be accompanied by the disadvantage.
of increased weight on the harness, each mail requiring a weight, and there
being double the number of mails.
In a third modification adapted to double-lift jacquard apparatus there is,
as in the second modification, a mail and harness thread for each warp thread,
and those for the two faces are similarly alternated, but the harness is double-
necked. To every cord or tail of one lift board there are tied two adjacent

page_text: harness threads, and to every cord or tail of the other lift board there are also
tied two adjacent harness threads, but in such a way that if one set of pairs
comprise the first and second, third and fourth, &c. harness threads for one
face, the other set of pairs comprise the second and third, fourth and fifth, &c.
threads for the same face. The harness threads are tied in the same way for
both faces, but the cords or tails for one face are by preference kept distinct
from those for the other face. This modification in addition to the increased
weight of harness, as in the second modification, involves the further dis-
advantage of increased tie with double-lift instead of single-lift jacquard
apparatus.
In a fourth modification the heddles are dispensed with, and their action is
as it were performed by the jacquard apparatus itself; but as the practical
weaver will understand this will involve the use of "full harness". jacquard
apparatus, although with a single lift board, it will in this case simplify the
perforating of the cards to arrange the cords or tails in four distinct sections,
those appertaining to the first, third, and other odd harness threads of one face
in one section, those for the second, fourth, and other even threads of the
same face in the second section, and in the third and fourth sections those for
the odd and even harness threads respectively of the other face. Then in
perforating the cards perforations are made corresponding to the figuring for
the under face in one of the two under face sections, and this alternately in
the different sections in every successive bridle of cards, whilst the upper face
sections are entirely perforated, excepting at the points corresponding to the
figuring on the upper face in one section, and in a different section. at every
fresh bridle of cards. :
Finally, in a fifth modification, heddles for one face only, by preference the
upper face, may be used, and an equivalent action be produced by the
jacquard apparatus, as in the fourth modification, for the other face..
We have herein-before explained our arrangements in connection with
jacquard pattern mechanism, but if other pattern mechanism is used the
practical weaver will understand that the arrangements must be modified
accordingly.
Having thus particularly described our said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is or may be performed, we have to state that we do not
claim to have invented any of the apparatus herein-before referred to; but
that what we believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention
secured to us by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the
weaving of two-faced ornamental fabrics of or similar to the "Paisley shawl"

page_text: class, and having a "plain cloth" texture with the same figuring wefts, and
the same proportion of warps as have hitherto been used in certain kinds
of similar single-faced fabrics, substantially in the manner herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Cunningham and Robert
Cunningham, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-
first day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-five.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
(L.B.)
JOHN CUNNINGHAM.
ROBERT CUNNINGHAM. (L.S.)