Improvements in Fabrics.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 14th June, 1898-Accepted, 27th Aug.,
1898
CUMILELE DE PORTIVATION
Improvements in Fabrics.
I, OTTO A. MOSES, of No. 49, Exchange Place, New York, County and State of
New York, United States of America, Electrical and Mining Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My invention, while capable of application in connection with various forms
of fabric, has reference more particularly to that form thereof which is made use
of in the manufacture of undergarments and other similar articles.
The requirements necessary to a perfect fabric of this class are, first, warmth,
and second, a capability to absorb and carry away from the surface of the body
of the wearer the moisture that exudes therefrom in the form of perspiration.
To meet the first of these requirements, soft wool has usually been employed.
This material, however, while affording the maximum degree of warmth, has
been found more or less objectionable in practice, principally because of its high
degree of elasticity, its shrinkage, its great cost, and its lack of absorbent qualities
to the requisite degree.
To obviate these several objections, while at the same time retaining the heat
nonconducting qualities of the wool, it has been the custom to combine with such
material, either in the yarn or otherwise, silk, cotton, or other materials. Tho
several materials thus employed, however, while serving either to strengthen the
fabric and restrain its elastic capabilities within the required limits, as is the case
with the first of those mentioned, or reduce the cost thereof, as is the case with
the second, have, like the wool itself, not possessed absorbent capability to the
requisite degree, and even if they had, their disposition within the fabric have
not been such as to enable them to carry away from the inner to the outer side
thereof the moisture taken up by the former.
"
With a view to overcoming the objections incident to the use of these materials
in connection with the wool in the manner above pointed out, and to meeting
the second of the before mentioned requirements, it has been essayed to manufacture
the fabric wholly of cotton or wholly of linen. With the first of these materials the
result sought has not been accomplished, owing to the fact that the absorbent
capability possessed by it is so small that when the moisture given off from the
body by perspiration is at all profuse only a small percentage of it is taken
up upon the inner side of the fabric, the remainder being left in a puddle,"
so to speak, upon the surface to flow down along the same or dry at the place
where exuded, as in the case with wool. With the second of these, on the other
hand, the maximum degree of absorption has been attained, and the moisture
taken up by the inner side of the fabric has been readily carried through its body
to the outer side where it has been either dissipated by the layer of air between
the inner and outer garments, or else conveyed directly to the outer garment and
carried away by it. With the linen, however, as with the cotton, the requisite

page_text: degree of warmth has been found wanting, and for this and other reasons it has
not been generally adopted.
To obviate therefore the objections incident to the use of wool and the other
materials mentioned, either alone or under the arrangement above pointed out,
in the manufacture of fabrics of the class mentioned, and at the same time produce
a fabric which shall possess the maximum degree of warmth and capability of
absorption, with a minimum degree of cost, are the objects of my invention.
To these ends, the invention consists in a fabric which is composed of wool
and an absorbent material, the latter being so incorporated with the former that,
in the completed fabric, it extends from the interior to the exterior thereof
through the same, all as will hereinafter more fully appear.
Referring to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of this specifi-
cation,
Fig. 1, is a rear view of one form of fabric manufactured in accordance with
my invention, and
Fig. 2, a similar view of a slightly modified form thereof.
In the drawing I have shown my invention as applied in connection with a
knitted fabric, but I do not limit its application thereto, as it is obvious that
it may be applied in connection with woven fabrics with equal advantage and
efficiency.
In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing, a indicates the
woolen yarns, and 6 the linen yarns, which are interknitted to form a plain
fabric, with the respective yarns extending through the same from the back
to the front thereof.
«
With the fabric shown in Fig. 1, the woolen and linen yarns are so inter-
knitted that the longitudinal rows of loops, or what are known in the art as
wales," of the linen yarn "c" are alternated with the longitudinal rows of
loops or wales of the woolen yarn d, whereby the two appear upon the front
of the fabric in alternate stripes extending longitudinally of the same throughout
its length, with the yarns connecting the loops of the adjacent rows or wales
of each extending across the backs of the intermediate rows or wales of the
other in the form of floats, as shown at e.
With the fabric shown in Fig. 2, on the other hand, the transverse rows or
courses of loops, instead of being composed of alternate rows of the linen and
woolen yarns as in Fig. 1, are severally composed of loops of yarn of the same
material, with the yarns composing the successive transverse rows or courses of
loops alternated with one another, whereby one of such rows or courses, as, for
instance, f, will be composed of woolen yarn, the next row or course of loops, g,
will be composed of linen yarn interlocked with the first, the next, f, of woolen
yarn interlooped with the second, and so on, each transverse row or course of
woolen loops being followed by a transverse row or course of loops of linen yarn,
and each transverse row or course of linen loops in turn being likewise followed
by a transverse row or course of woolen loops in alternation.
In both of these forms of fabric, however, the two yarns appear upon both
sides thereof, and pass from the one to the other through the body of the same,
whereby, in addition to affording the requisite degree of warmth and bringing
the wool in contact with the skin of the wearer, the moisture given off by him
in the form of perspiration is taken up by the linen and carried through the
fabric to its outer side where it is either dissipated by the layer of air between
the under and the outer garments, or else transferred to such outer garment to
be carried away thereby.
For manufacturing either of the fabrics shown in the drawing any suitable
and well known form of knitting-machine, equipped with appropriate knitting
and presser wheels, may be employed, and either of the fabrics produced thereon
by the usual operations of such machines.
The fabric as thus far described is a smooth plain fabric that is designed more
especially for under garments, such, for instance, as undershirts and drawers.

page_text: I propose, however, in some instances, to knit it in the form of a double ribbed
fabric, which shall be suitable for sweaters and other like articles, by feeding
the same yarn to both sets of needles of a knitting machine having two rows of
needles, and using for such yarn a woolen one at one course, and a linen one at
the next, and so on in alternation, whereby in the completed fabric these alternate
rows or courses of loops of woolen and linen yarn shall appear on both faces
thereof as alternate strips extending transversely of the fabric, and passing through
the same from one face to the other.
From the foregoing, it will be seen that I produce a fabric which affords not
only the requisite degree of warmth and action upon the skin of the wearer, but
one which possesses the capability of taking up and carrying away moisture
in the highest degree, the first two of these characteristics being accomplished
by the presence of the wool, and the last by the presence of the linen which
possesses absorbent capabilities to the maximum.
Although in the foregoing I have described what I consider the best embodi-
ment of my invention, I wish it distinctly understood that I do not limit myself
thereto, since it is obvious that I may modify the same in various ways without
departing from the spirit thereof, as, for instance, instead of employing linen
as one of its constituents, I may, if I so desire, make use of other materials that
possess absorbent qualities to the requisite degree, as for instance, ramie.
Again, instead of knitting every other course or wale of woolen yarn and
every other alternate course or wale of linen, I may, if I so desire, knit two or
more courses of wales of woolen yarn, and then follow these latter courses or
wales with two or more courses or wales of woolen yarn, and so on, or otherwise
alternate them as may be preferred.
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 fabric composed of wool and an absorbent material which are so disposed
with respect to each other that both extend from one face of the fabric to the
other and present a contacting surface on each face composed of separate portions
of wool and of the absorbent material, substantially as described.
2. A fabric composed of wool and linen yarn which are so interlocked that
both extend from one face of the fabric to the other and present a contacting
surface on each face thereof that is composed of separate portions of wool and
of linen, substantially as described.
3. A knitted fabric composed of wool and linen yarns which are so inter-
knitted that both extend from one face of the fabric to the other and present a
contacting surface on each face thereof that is composed of separate portions of
wool and linen, substantially as described.
Dated th: 1911.
1
T 1000