Improvements in and relating to Conformators or Garment Fitting Devices.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 13th June, 1899-Accepted, 2nd Sept., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Conformators or Garment Fitting
Devices.
I, JEAN BAPTISTE PEYRY, residing at 161, Rue Royale, in the City of New
Orleans, County of Orleans, and State of Louisiana, United States of America,
Manufacturer of Conformators, 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 :-
My invention has relation to conformators or garment fitting devices com-
posed of connectable and detachable sections or frames which are first connected
together and fitted to the person by first contracting or expanding (as the case
may be,) and in small degree both the length and the width of each section and
clamping together the members of each section, and then each section is laid out
flat upon the fabric or the material from which the pattern or outline of the
parts of the garment is to be cut; and the objects of my invention are to produce
a conformator consisting of a series of plates doubly slotted and doubly pivoted
at each end to other plates by means of which a person is enabled to take and
retain with the same instrument the form of another person of any size or form,
for example between eight and eighty inches waist; and to give to each portion
of the conformator either a concave, a straight, or a convex outline, and main-
tain said outline until it has been followed and marked upon the fabric from
which the pattern or the garment is to be cut.
I attain these objects by means of a conformator made of a series of patterns
adapted to be linked together, each pattern consisting of superposed links doubly
slotted, and doubly hinged or linked and clamped together permitting each link
to be laterally or diagonally braced to the adjacent links, as illustrated in the
accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a plan view of the series of patterns or frames used for fitting one-
half of the waist of a stout person, said frame being constructed in accordance
with my invention. Figure 2 is a plan view of an adjustable frame for fitting
one-half of the collar. Figure 3 is a front view of body-and-sleeve form of the
fitting device embodying my invention, shown applied to a woman's figure.
Figure 4 is a plan view of the frames used for fitting the inner and outer faces
of one of the sleeves. Figure 5 is a plan view of the frame used for measuring
and fitting one half of a dress skirt in accordance with my invention. Figure 5*
is a view of the frame of the belt of a dress skirt of which the end plates are of a
form slightly modified, and to one of which is attached upon one of its screw-
clamps, one end of a measuring tape M having sub-divisions of inches or of cen-
timeters, with which measurements of all the parts can be taken if its fastened
end is changed; by which means it is not absolutely necessary that each plate
should have a scale printed or stamped thereon. Figure 6 represents an outlined
pattern for a waist showing the location of the parts therein. Figure 7 represents
an outline of a templet provided with scales along its edges and used to guide
the operator while marking the location and shape of the parts. Figure 8 is a
plan view of a series of patterns or frames constructed in accordance with my

page_text: invention and used for fitting one-half of the waist or of the form of a man.
Figure 9 is a plan view of two frames adjustably constructed in accordance with
my invention and used for fitting the front and back of a pantaloons' leg.
Figure 10 is a perspective view of two consecutive sectional plates of one of the
pattern frames, on a larger scale, divergent from each other to show their adjust-
ability relatively to each other by means of three clamps passing through their
two parallel slots. Figure 11 is a perspective view on a larger scale of the sec-
tional plate from the middle of the front or breast part of the pattern frame
showing the three sets of slots, one of which slots is provided with an arched
guide to receive a tape measure. Figure 12 is a perspective view of the sectional
pattern frame. Figure 13 is a longitudinal section of a portion of two consecu-
tive sectional plates with one of the clamping devices therefor. Figure 14 is a
transverse section of two consecutive sectional plates and of the arched loop used
to support and guide a tape measure. Figure 15 is a side view of one of the hooks
used to connect the frames.
Heretofore various garment fitting patterns have been illustrated and presented
to the public, but most of them are defective because the same device cannot be
used to take the form of persons varying greatly in size, and because the adjust-
able portions cannot be maintained securely in their adjusted position without
diagonal braces, which generally interfere with either the vertical or the hori-
zontal adjustment of the patterns. Others have been provided with clastic con-
nections which do not retain the relative positions of the parts after they are
removed from a person.
With one of my conformators I am enabled to take the form and retain fitting
patterns for persons of any size from eight inches to more than eighty inches
waist and of any height. Each pattern consists of a series of short plates having
their ends superposed the consecutive edges of which are adapted to produce any
curve that may be found on a person's body, said short plates have two or more
series of parallel slots which permit them to be clamped together at four or more
points, whereby each link is adapted to be laterally or diagonally braced to the
adjacent links, and I dispense with diagonal bracings across the frame. Other
advantages will be mentioned in the description of the invention in connection
with the drawings.
The improved waist fitting pattern shown on Sheet 1 of the drawing is adjusted
to fit a very stout person, as it is provided with an additional or extra under-arm
frame B. It consists of the breast frame A, the under-arm frame B, the addi-
tional under-arm frame B2, the side-back frame C and the back frame D. Each
one of these frames consists of a series of short plates provided with at least two
parallel slots s lengthwise thereof. Said plates can be made of any suitable sheet
metal, as steel or brass, or, preferably, aluminium, they may also be made of
leather, of tough card-board, of parchment paper, of celluloid, of papier-mache,
or other suitable flexible material, and are arranged so that one end overlaps the
end or edge of the adjacent plate.
In the frame A, the neck portion consists of the slightly curved plates 1, 2,
3, 4, the latter constituting also the top plate of the front edge, under which are
placed the plates 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, the latter constituting also one of the plates
of the waist band. The frames are shown with a basque extension which con-
sists of the front plates 11, 12, the bottom plates 13, 14, 15 and the rear plate 16.
The waist adjustment is obtained from, besides the plate 10, the plates 17, 18, 19.
The back edge of the frame A consists of the plates 20, 21, 22. The latter con-
stituting also a portion of the edge of the arm-opening or arm-eye which is formed
in part by the curved-edge plates 23, 24, 25, 26, and from the latter are extended
the plates 27, 28, 29, and the latter is adjustably connected to the plate 1. The
plates 7 and 22 are provided with three slots lengthwise thereof and are adjust-
ably united by means of a series of horizontally located plates 30, 31, 32, 33.
The three slots in the plates 7 and 22 are to permit longitudinal and transverse
adjustments of the plates connected therewith. The plates 10 and 19 have each

page_text: one, four slots for the same purpose. The plates 1, 4, 10, 12, 15, 19, 22 and 26
have vertical and horizontal slots.
Each plate is united to the adjacent plates by four clamps c shown in detail in
Figure 13, consisting of a headed small bolt made to pass through any one of
the slots and a nut on its screw-threaded end, and preferably a sheet metal
spring d under the nut. Pivotally mounted upon many of the small bolts of the
clamps there are short straps e preferably of steel or other flexible material,
provided with a button-hole for engagement with the clamps of the pattern that
is to occupy a portion alongside thereof. These straps are swung over the frame
out of the way of its edge when the pattern is ready to be marked upon the fabric.
The under-arm frame B consists of two series of double slotted plates 34, 35, con-
nected together and united at the top by a series of double slotted plates 36,
and at the waist and bottom by a series of triple slotted plates, the end plates
of the top, the bottom and of the belt have vertical and horizontal slots. The
additional under-arm frame 12 is similar to the frame B, except that the top
connecting plates are slightly less curved than the plates 36 of the frame B.
The side-back frame C consists of two series of double slotted plates 37, 38,
connected together at the top by a series of double slotted and curved plates 39
and at the waist and bottom a series of triple-slotted plates 40 and 41.
The back frame 1) consists of two series of double slotted plates 42, 43 having
in its widest portion the triple slotted plates 44, 45, united by a series of double
slotted plates 46, and above them the series of double slotted shoulder plates
united at the back to the uppermost back plate 43 by a series of double slotted
curved plates 48. The collar frame E consists also of a series of double slotted
plates clamped together so as to be adjustable in both its length and width.
To obtain the proper patterns for each sleeve two frames are employed, the
frame for the underside is shown at F and the outer frame is shown at G in
Figure 4. The frame F consists of a series of double slotted plates 49 and 50
united at the top by a series of double slotted plates 51, at the bottom by a
series of triple slotted. plates 52, and about the elbow by quadruple slotted
plates 53 and intermediate double slotted plates to permit any desired adjust-
ment both lengthwise and across. The sleeve outer frame G consists of sub-
stantially the same arrangement of double slotted and quadruple slotted plates,
but the upper plates have a different convexity. The same kind of slotted
plates and clamps therefor, are used to obtain the skirt pattern H, shown in
Figure 5. At the front are a series of double slotted plates 55 and at the rear
are a series of similarly slotted plates 56. They are united together at the top
or belt line by a series of triple slotted plates 57;, at the hip line by a similar
series of triple slotted plates 58 and at the bottom by a similar series of triple
slotted plates 59, the end plates having an extra slot to permit the vertical and
horizontal adjustments of the series of plates of which the skirt pattern is made.
I prefer a slight curvature on the edges of all the plates.
An outlined pattern for a waist is shown in Figure 6. It may be of paper, or
is may be of textile material, and upon it is marked a line 60 corresponding
with the bottom edge of the breast plates 30, 31, 32, 33 of the pattern A, this line
is marked to place thereon the top of the darts of the front, and a second line G1,
corresponding with the bottom edge of the belt 17, 18, 19 of the pattern A is
marked to locate the darts on the belt, and their width; and if a basque is used
the bottom line of the plates 13, 14, 15 is indicated to locate the bottom of the
darts upon the hips. And following substantially the usual practice, but with
the use of the templet 64 shown in Figure 7, the darts 62 and 63 are marked,
and afterwards cut out of the material. The templet 64 is either of sheet metal
or of tenacious card-board, or of the same material as the pattern frame, it has
one edge at right angles with its ends, but the opposite edge is substantially
in the form of a concave parabola, and upon its face are printed the consecutive
divisions of a metre, viz. centimeters and their fractions, said subdivisions being

page_text: preferred to inches, as being smaller, and on the ends are divisions corresponding
in size with the divisions marked upon the plates of the frames.
In Figure 8 the invention is shown applied to the construction of adjustable
patterns suitable for use in fitting one half of the waist of a man. They consist
of the breast frame, the side back frame, and the back frame. These frames
consist of a series of double slotted, triple slotted, and quadruple slotted plates
adjustably retained together by means of suitable clamps substantially as here-
tofore described in relation to Figure 1, and a skirt may be added to the bottom
of the belt.
In Figure 9 the invention is shown applied to the construction of two adjust-
able patterns suitable for use in fitting both the front and back frames employed
in making one pantaloons' leg; these frames consisting of double and triple
slotted plates adjustably retained together by means of suitable clamps o, many
of said clamps having pivotally mounted thereon a series of links or hooks e pre-
ferably of steel or other flexible material to temporarily unite the frames with
each other, said links have, as clearly shown in Figure 15, a slot lengthwise
thereof to permit adjustment therewith, and a transverse slot leading into the
long slot for the admission of the clamping bolt without disconnecting said bolt
from the frames. The majority of the small or triple slotted plates used in pre-
paring the various frames described above are provided with numbered scales,
as shown also in Figs. 10, 12, 13, generally carrying the same numerals repeated
on each plate. Or they are provided with tape measures which are attachable
and detachable, to take and indicate the dimensions of each piece of the confor-
mator. These tape measures, for example, are placed upon the neck, upon the
bust, the belt, the hips, across the back, around the arm at the shoulder, the
elbow, the wrist, or upon all the lines of consecutive plates.
A series of the slotted plates are provided with arched loops f through a series
of which a tape measure can be passed along while taking the measure of a person
during the time that the frames are temporarily resting upon his form while
taking the impression of his body. Said arched loops are placed on a line pass-
ing around the neck, under the arms and encircling the chest; also on a line
encircling the waist, and one encircling the hips, as above described. In the
pantaloons frames said arched loops are on lines encircling the waist, the hips,
the knees, and the bottom. The arched loops f are made preferably of a strip
of metal or material out of which the slotted plates are made and are secured
thereto at each end by means of bolts f2.
Each plate of which the frames are constituted is connected at each end by
two clanips to the adjacent plates. By this arrangement one of the clamps can be
used as a substantially immovable pivot, while the companion clamp is slackened
and the edges of the plates are made to assume an angle, or a curve, as shown in
Figure 10, after which their new position is again doubly secured by screwing
tightly its hand nut. Each plate is also provided with two scales having divisions
of different sizes embossed thereon, and shown on a larger scale in Figs. 10, 11
and 12. The scale having large divisions is to represent, preferably, centimeters
(but may be inches or other well known scale) and the sum total of the centi-
meters exposed, for example on the plates 30, 31, 32, 33, besides the measured
width of the uncovered plates 7 and 22 will give the measure of the height of
the darts of the breast frame A. But the upper scale of finer divisions on the
plates 30, 31, 32, 33 is to guide the operator to adjust the conformator to the bust
measure. Said scale being fractions of centimeters arranged according to length
and number of double slotted plates used for the width of each frame. The
bottom scale gives the measure to place the darts properly upon the front.
This provision of two scales is particularly useful, for example on the plates 46
of the back, as the relation of the divisions of the two scales on the same plate
makes it apparent at a glance to persons accustomed to the use of said frames,
that the person measured is either of normal form, or possesses a full chest and
small back, or a hollow chest and arched back as the case may be.

page_text: To properly and quickly take the measure of a person, ascertain the form, and
transfer it upon either paper or upon textile material from which a whole gar-
ment or part thereof is to be cut, for example in connection with the frames
shown in Figure 1, I first take with a tape measure the size of the bust, waist
and hips, or one half thereof to the middle of the back, and will suppose that I
find 38 inches or 100 centimeters bust measure. I take a memorandum of said
dimensions, and then adjust each small double slotted plate located at the bust
so that the number 38 of the small divisions thereon will meet at the end of the
adjacent plate. I repeat the operation at the waist and at the hips and thus
obtain the series of frames set to the width of the person. I then measure the
front, under the arm and back, take a memorandum thereof and adjust up and
down each small double slotted plate in these locations so that one of their num-
bered divisions on each plate corresponds with the measurements first taken, and
thus obtain a series of frames that can substantially be depended upon to mark
patterns on paper or textiles.
But to further insure the production of perfectly fitting patterns, the flexible
frames already approximately correct, are coupled to each other by means of a
series of short links e and are made to encircle the person or one-half thereof
being additionally retained in position by tapes, preferably measuring tapes,
if only one half of the frames are used, said tapes being passed under
the arched loops f in which position minute adjustments of the small plates can
be made, particularly if there is any deformity to be fitted or overcome. Corres-
ponding measurements and adjustments of the double slotted plates of the frame
for the sleeves are made, and the latter can be connected to the bust frame by
means of the short links e carried by the latter. Corresponding adjustments can
be given to the skirt frame, or to the pantaloons frame.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
-
1. A conformator consisting of a series of frames, each composed of rows of
plates, each having at least two slots, with clamps in each end of each slot, so
that each frame can be kept rigid without the use of rows of plates extended
diagonally from one row of plates to another.
2. A conformator consisting of a series of rows of plates, each plate having two
parallel slots, and each plate united at each end to an adjoining plate by means
of clamps in the ends of the two slots and adjustable therein.
3. A conformator consisting of a series of rows of plates, each having in its
length two parallel slots united by clamps in each slot and having arched loops f
attached to the plates by clamps in said slots.
4. A conformator consisting of a series of rows of plates having in their length
two parallel slots, united by clamps in each slot and provided with hooks mounted
upon the bolts of said clamps, each hook having a slot lengthwise thereof and a
transverse slot leading into the longitudinal slot.
5. A bust conformator consisting of the front frame A, the back frame D, the
frame C on the side of the back, the under arm frame B, the additional under
arm frame B2, these frames consisting of rows of plates having two parallel slots,
with clamps having bolts passing through said slots, substantially as described.
Dated this 1911
T
1000
JENSEN & SON,
77. Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.