CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN HAND-LOOM WEAVING, AND FOR PRODUCING A DOUBLE FABRIC OF RAISED FIGURED WORK IN THE SAME LOOM BY ONE PROCESS OF WEAVING
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
KERB, of Thread Street, in the Town of Paisley, and County of Renfrew, in
that part of Great Britain called Scotland, Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, by Writ of Privy Seal, dated the Twenty-second day of May,
in the eighth year of Her reign (One thousand eight hundred and forty-five),
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant to me, the said
Robert Kerr, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power,
sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Robert Kerr, my exors, admors,
and assigns, and every of them, by myself and themselves, or by my and their
deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I, the said Robert
Kerr, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter, during the term of
years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
called England, Her Majesty's Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN HAND-LOOM WEAVING,
AND FOR PRODUCING A DOUBLE FABRIC OF RAISED FIGURED WORK IN THE SAME
LOOM BY ONE PROCESS OF WEAVING;" in which said Letters Patent is contained
a proviso that I, the said Robert Kerr, shall cause a particular description
of the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the same is to be

page_text: performed, to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within
six calendar months next after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Robert Kerr, do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in weaving shawls or other figured fabrics double, in
other words, in weaving two shawls or other figured fabrics the one upon the
other at one and the same time, to be afterwards cut up or disjoined, and in
appropriating and turning to use in weaving such double fabric the loose wefts
or spottings which, by the present process of weaving, are left rough upon the
shawl and other figured fabric when it comes from the loom, and are cut or
clipped off before the article is exposed for sale; and the manner in which this
double fabric is produced, and wefts or spottings appropriated, is by a method
of colouring the pattern on the design or ruled paper, as after described, and
of arranging the parts of a loom, as also after described, whereby the two
pieces are woven back to back, having so much of the wefts and spotting as
may still remain untaken up lying between them. Two separate warps, two
harnesses, and two sets of heddles are required. The two harnesses must be
alike; that is to say, if the gross tye of the first harness is, say, four hundred
cords, and contains, say, eight parts in the breadth, then the other harness must
be tyed in exactly the same way. One of the warps is entered into one of the
harnesses and one of the sets of heddles, and the other is entered into the
other harness and other set of heddles, taking a mail from each harness
alternately. Both warps are entered into one reed as if they were one warp,
each split of the reed having double the quantity of threads in it that is
required for a single fabric. Assume the full width of the pattern to be four
hundred cords, which, for the better elucidation of the principle involved, divide
into four portions of one hundred cords each, and number them, say 1, 2, 3,
and 4. Number 1 may be coloured in any way that taste may suggest; but in
colouring Number 3 care must be taken not to use any colour on the cor-
responding cords to where such colour has been painted with on Number 1.
In like manner Number 2 may be coloured at pleasure; but when colouring
Number 4 the same rule must be observed as was done when Number 8
was being coloured, that is to say, the colours that have been used in
Number 2 must not be used on the corresponding cords of Number 4. (There
are hereto subjoined two Designs, marked "Designs No. I. & II." Number I.

page_text: is divided into four portions of one hundred cords, each portion being coloured
as above described, and marked with the corresponding number 1, 2, 3, 4.)
The pattern is then lashed in the usual manner for one of the harnesses, after
which the portions Numbers 1 and 2 are placed at the opposite side of the
simple Number 2, occupying the former position of Number 4, and Number 1
the former position of Number 3, Numbers 3 and 4 occupying the former
positions of Numbers 1 and 2 respectively. The pattern requiring to be lashed
a second time for the second harness, the pattern setter (observing the saine
order or run of colours which he did when lashing it the first time) forms into
a lash all the cords that are not painted the colour he is lashing; that is to say,
when he forms, say, the amber lash, then the cords that are not painted amber
is what forms the amber lash, and so with the other colours. When the
pattern is lashed he joins or couples the first lash of the first and second
lashings, and makes them as it were one lash. In like manner he joins or
couples each lash of the first lashing with its corresponding lash of the second
lashing, forming each two into one lash. The simple or simples are then tyed
on to the harness tail, after which the first lash is drawn; that is, the simple
cords in the lash are pulled, and the proper portions of the warp are thereby
raised, and the proper colour of weft or spotting thrown into the shed by
means of the shuttle and beaten up by the lay by the workman, who has by
this time commenced weaving, and so on with the succeeding lashes. It will
now be seen that as Numbers 1 and 2 are formed with wefts or spottings that
are unappropriated by Numbers 3 and 4 respectively, a double fabric is pro-
duced with raised figured work on each, outside having the wefts or spottings
so far as not completely taken up lying between them. Or the same result
may be produced in the following manner:-A double set of work looms, as
described above, is required, and the pattern setter lashes the pattern in the
manner already described, except that when lashing it the second time the
pattern is not transposed from its first position, and that he entirely changes
the run of colours. For example, if the first lash of the first lashing has been,
say, amber, then the first lash of the second lashing must not be amber, and
the same must be observed with all the other colours. It is to be observed that
the pattern setter must not choose a run of colours for himself, but abide by
the directions of the pattern drawer, who must determine on the arrangement
of the colours before proceeding to colour the pattern. By referring to design
No. II., appended, it will be seen that there is never less than two cords
(across the design) between the yellow and white, the green and red, and the
blue and pink. It will be seen also that the run of colours for the first
lashing is yellow, red, green, white, blue, pink, and that the-run for the second

page_text: lashing is white, green, red, yellow, pink, blue, thus that the two runs of
colours are entirely different; and as when lashing the pattern the second time
the cords that are not painted the colour that is lashing is what is taken, the
same figure, differently coloured, is formed on the upper and directly below
on the under fabric. Thus, wherever there is an object on the upper fabric
formed of yellow around green, the same object is formed on the under fabric
of white around red. The pattern drawer may, as a matter of course, arrange
his pattern so as to transpose any other two colours he chooses; but he must
observe not to have fewer than two cords between them, as otherwise it will
be impossible to separate the two fabrics without injury to one or both, because
the weft that is appropriated on the upper fabric will also be appropriated
almost perpendicularly below in the under one. The lashes of the two
lashings require to be joined or coupled in the manner already described,
The description now given is adapted to the draw-loom commonly in use,
The loom or machinery known as "Jacquard" may however be used. In
that case two warp threads, two harnesses, and two sets of heddles, are also
required, as already described. The pattern setter, instead of lashing the
pattern, reads in the colours according to the directions given above, previous
to their being stamped or cut out in the card paper, and the known differences
between the two looms are, of course, to be attended to.
For further illustration of the Invention, there is hereto appended a Drawing
marked "Drawing No. III." Figure A describes a side view of a Jacquard.
loom, with the additions necessary for the production of a double fabric. By
"additions" is meant the two harnesses, the two warps, and the two sets of
heddles. There are other additions easily perceptible described in the loom,
but these are not indispensible. It will be seen, for example, that there are
five yarn beams, and the additional weights required for keeping them in
working order. The beam 1 contains all the warp upon which the undermost
figure is formed, and is entered into the four leaves (which constitutes one set.
of heddles) next the lay beams 2, 3, 4, and 5, each containing a fourth part of
the other warp. The yarn on beam 2 is entered into the backmost leaf of the
other four leaves (which constitutes the other set of heddles); the yarn on
beam 3 is entered into the second backmost leaf; the yarn on beam 4 is
entered into the third backmost leaf; and the yarn on beam 5 is entered into
the fourth or backmost leaf. The use of four beams for the warp of the
second tyed harness is this:-To tweel the uppermost figure properly it is
required to rise one fourth of the warp when casting the spotting, and three
fourths when casting the ground or small shots, consequently, the remaining
portion of the warp, which is stationary if the whole warp is on one beam,

page_text: will have a tendency to hang loose in the "shed," and thereby mar the free
passage of the shuttle; whereas when four beams are used in the way described
the stationary portion of the warp is not operated upon when the other
portion is risen and sunk by the mounting. Upon the same principle it is
desirable to have the warp of the first tied harness upon four beanis also,
which may or may not be adopted at pleasure where the encreased accomoda-
tion required for their use can be had. Figures B, C, and D, are draughts of
cording for working a double fabric; Figure B represents a draught of
cording for a double fabric, with two backs for binding shots; Figure C
represents a similar draught with a small or ground shot, and Figure D
represents a similar draught with one back for binding shot. In all the
Figures the black stripes are treddles; the red are marches; the blue are lifted
warp; the amber are sunk warp; the crossing checks are stationary warp.
In Figure B the treddles numbered 1, 2, 6, 7, 11, 12, 16, 17, work the
binding shots of the under web; treddles 4, 5, 9, 10, 14, 15, 19, 20, work
the binding shots of the upper web; treddles 3, 8, 18, 18, work the spottings
of both webs. In Figure C the treddles 11, 8, 5, 2, work the ground of the
under web; treddles 1, 4, 7, 10, work the ground of the upper web; treddles
3, 6, 9, 12, work the spottings of both webs. In Figure D treddles
1, 4, 7, 10, work the binding shot of the under web; treddles 3, 6, 9, 12,
work the binding shot of the upper web; treddles 2, 5, 8, 11, work the
spottings of both webs. Figure E describes a bridle or set of cards. The
portion toward the right (1) has the figure of the undermost fabric cut on it;
the portion towards the left has the figure of the uppermost fabric. It will
be seen that the needle holes that are cut on the one portion is what is uncut
on the other. It is to be borne in mind that the second tied harness of
Figure A, and to which these cards are cut, is tied with a half part at each
side of the web, which obviates the necessity of cutting and shifting the portion
of the design. Figure F describes a side view of the Jacquard machine used
in Figure A. It is the machine for which James Morrison, of Paisley, has a
Patent, and of course it is not included in any part of my Invention, nor do I
include therein any of the looms, implements, or materials before referred to.
And such my Invention being, to the best of my knowledge and belief, entirely
new, and never before used within that part of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland called England, Her Majesty's Dominion of Wales, and
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, I do hereby declare this to be my Specification
of the same, and that it doth comply in all respects, fully and without reserve
or disguise, with the proviso in the said in part recite: Letters Patent

page_text: ntained; wherefore I claim to maintain exclusive right and privilege to my
d Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Kerr, have affixed my seal to and
subscribed these Presents, written upon this and the two preced-
ing pages of stamped paper, at Paisley aforesaid, the Seventeenth
day of November, One thousand eight hundred and forty-five, before
these Witnesses, John Dunn, Writer, in Paisley, by whom these Pre-
sents are written, and David Gilmour, Foreman to the said Robert
Kerr, the word "portions" on the fourteenth line of this page being
deleted before subscription.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventeenth day of November,
in the year of our Lord 1845, the aforesaid Robert Kerr came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, 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.
Enrolled the Twenty-first day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-five.